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It’s Where You Live! www.troydailynews.com November 16, 2013
Volume 105, No. 270
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Loose horses cause crashes Six horses dead, others loose Staff Report
Letters to Santa Ho! Ho! Ho! It’s time for all good boys and girls to send their Christmas wishes to Santa at the North Pole. Again this year, the Troy Daily News will collect letters for the North Pole. Kids are invited to visit our website at www.tdn-net.com, click on the Letters to Santa link and follow the directions. All letters will receive a reply from Santa at the North Pole! On Monday, Dec. 23, the Troy Daily News will print all the letters received from around Miami and Shelby counties in a special Letters to Santa supplement. So tell Santa if you’ve been a good girl or boy and send him your Christmas wish list! Letters will be accepted online until Dec. 6. Merry Christmas!
COVINGTON — Horses that escaped from a farm on Sugar Grove Road, south of Covington, wreaked havoc around the community early Friday morning, causing several traffic crashes that ended with six animals dead. Reports of collisions between cars and horses began around 3:30 a.m. with crashes on State Route 41 near east of Covington claiming the lives of three of the horses. Three more died on U.S. Route 36 at the west edge of the village. Miami County sheriff ’s deputies, motorists and volunteers rounded up the
remaining horses, several of which were injured, over the next several hours. A total of 40 horses, boarded by the Judson Thompson family on Sugar Grove Road, reportedly escaped. The search was hampered by darkness. All animals were captured or accounted for by 9 a.m. The Ohio Department of Transportation and local refuse companies removed the carcasses from roadways shortly after daybreak. Deputies are investigating how the animals managed to escape. None of the motorists involved in the crashes sustained serious injury.
Mike Ullery | Civitas Media
A pair of riders approach the area of State Route 48 and Faulkner Road on Friday morning as they participate in the attempt to round up surviving horses that escaped from a horse farm on Sugar Grove Road near State Route 48. The riders were searching nearby riding trails.
Neighborhood to revive SW District board Residents to form watch group and set up board in Dec. Melanie Yingst
Staff Writer myingst@civitasmedia.com
Hospice hosting birthday bash TROY — Hospice of Miami County will host a birthday bash from 2-4:30 p.m. Sunday in honor of the organization’s 30 years of caring for patients and families in the community. The event will be held at the Troy Church of the Brethren, 1431 W. Main St., Troy — the exact location of the first Hospice meeting, held Nov. 17, 1981. The public is invited to come and share stories of Hospice of Miami County’s first 30 years of service. There will be a small silent auction and a brief program at 3 p.m. For more information about the event, call (937) 335-5191 or visit www. HospiceOfMiamiCounty. org.
INSIDE TODAY Calendar...........................3 Crossword........................8 Deaths..............................5 Joyce A. Pace Eddie J. Williams Eldridge A. James Betty Jane LeMaster Opinion ...........................4 Sports .....................11-12
OUTLOOK Today Mostly cloudy High: 58º Low: 52º Sunday Rain and wind High: 67º Low: 42º Home Delivery: 335-5634 Classified Advertising: (877) 844-8385
Anthony Weber | Troy Daily News
Miami East Local Schools will find out soon if it will get a grant to receive five new propane buses.
Miami East applies for Straight A Fund grant East hopes to procure a grant to buy five propane buses for the district Colin Foster
Staff Writer colinfoster@civitasmedia.com
CASSTOWN — The Miami East Local School District will find out at the beginning of December if it has received a grant from the Ohio Department of Education’s new Straight A Fund to purchase five new propane buses. Lisa Fahncke, district treasurer, spearheaded the Straight A Fund grant submission last week, which totals more than $500,000 for the purchase of five new buses — something the Miami East School District has long needed to upgrade, but hadn’t been able to get the finances for. This marks the third time the Miami East district has applied for a grant to purchase buses in the last year. Miami East tried
to get a grant through the Clean Ohio Fund in the fall of 2012 and in the spring of 2013, but the district was denied. If Miami East gets the Straight A Fund grant, it would allow the district to save cost on fuel. Superintendent Dr. Todd Rappold said the average cost for diesel fuel runs between $3-3.40 a gallon, while the cost is roughly $1 for a gallon of propane. “We’re just excited about the prospect of this,” Rappold said. “We were, for many years, under some financial hardships, and we were not able to look at replacing a bus here and there. It’s been over five years since we’ve got a new bus in the fleet — and a third of our buses have more than 200,000 miles. This was a wonderful opportunity to replace some of those buses.”
Rappold said the district would sell some of the old buses if they get the grant, but added they would most likely keep a few of them around for spares. There are 15 buses currently in the fleet for the district’s transportation, with the oldest being from 1999. The Miami East Local School District encompasses an area of 118 square miles. There is an 18,000 gallon propane tank on the school’s campus, and Rappold said that getting this grant would be very cost efficient for the school. On average, the buses in the fleet travel about 75 miles per day, and which doesn’t take into account the extracurricular trips such as sporting events and other activities. More than 420 organizations have submitted 570 applications to be considered for funds to improve achievement and increase efficiency through the Straight A Fund. The $250 million fund was created in the new state budget, which was signed over the summer by Governor John R. Kasich.
Dettmer begins partial demolition Will E Sanders
Staff Writer wsanders@civitasmedia.com
TROY — Once considered a state-ofthe-art medical facility for its time, a long-standing hospital on the grounds of the Upper Valley Medical Center campus, 3130 N. County Road 25-A, Troy, was partially demolished this week. The partial demolition of the former Dettmer Hospital facility began at the start of the week on the south end of the structure and includes portions deemed “too outdated for further use.” Pre-demolition planning and abatement transpired earlier this year. The partial demolition project, which is being performed in several phases, is expected See DETTMER | 5
Mike Ullery | Daily Call
A pair of track hoes work to demolish a portion of the former Dettmer Hospital on the UVMC campus Tuesday afternoon.
TROY — Every house has a story, but some stories are more interesting than others. Residents of the Southwest Historical District are reviving its neighborhood and restoring its board after years of being dormant. According to Laura Reed, she chose to buy a historical home in the district after moving back last spring to Troy from New England and was alarmed at the safety issues surrounding the borders of the downtown district. Reed said after several incidents near their neighborhood, she and other concerned neighbors decided to reorganize the neighborhood and reestablish their presence within the Troy community. The neighborhood will hold its first meeting to establish a nominating committee and a community gathering from 7-9 p.m. Dec. 16 at the TroyHayner Cultural Center. Reed said a letter informing residents about the meeting will be sent to all homeowners within the borders of the historical district. With the reestablishment of the board, Reed said she hopes the board will continue to work on the following five goals: Historical Preservation, Zoning issues and complaints, Safety, Social Growth and Charity. Reed said, for example, she hopes to help the elderly members of her neighborhood with the upkeep of their home by helping paint, landscape and other laborious tasks. Kathy Smith, a resident of the historical district, said many have viewed the district’s organization as a “social club,” but stressed the organization is much, much more to keep its neighborhood safe, fun and inviting. “We are getting our board back because we are proud to live here,” Smith said. “To me, there’s no other place I’d rather call home.” Smith said there are many more young families moving into the Southwest See BOARD | 5
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