You will find these news stories and more in this week’s Tippecanoe Gazette.
You can pick up a copy of the Tippecanoe Gazette at CVS, Foodtown, Clark’s, Bob Evans, Miami Valley Wine & Spirits and Grounds For Pleasure.
City Unveils A Multi-Million Dollar Needs, Not Wants, List
A proposed 10-year capital improvements plan identifying items city administrators say are needs versus wants includes more than $3 million in spending for fire department-related equipment and projects.
The big-ticket items – a new aerial ladder truck and West Main Street fire station improvements – would cost more than $2 million, according to current estimates.
The proposed 10-year capital improvements plan, which is under review by the City Council, carries a total estimated price of around $20 million.
City officials said current sources of revenue should bring in more than $7 million, leaving a $12 million funding gap.
Where that money would come from remains to be determined, possibly with the assistance of a citizens advisory committee. Among options suggested have been increases in the income tax or property tax.
I Swear! And The Board of Education Does Not Like It!
People who feel the need to swear at Tipp City schools’ staff during phone calls could end up on the phone alone.
“We would ask citizens of our district to be respectful when they call in,” Kate Johnsen, Tipp City Schools’ Board of Education president, said during the board’s Aug. 23 meeting.
During her remarks to fellow board members and the public, Johnsen discussed staff reports of people calling a school office, apparently angry and “not treating staff with courtesy.”
“On several levels, that’s wrong. It is not appropriate behavior,” said Tom Merritt, Tipp City schools’ board member.
Staff members have been told they can hang up the phone on someone who insists on swearing, Johnsen said.
The School Year Is Off To A Good Start For Bethel
Bethel students returned to school last week to find a new superintendent in place who is learning the ropes just as they are in this new school year.
“I’m too new to know what’s new,” said Superintendent Jeff Cassell, former basketball coach and math teacher at Franklin-Monroe High School, who began his position Aug. 1.
So, talking about the first week of school that began Aug.23 fell to junior high/high school principal Tim Zigler and elementary principal Jodi Petty.
“We made it through the first week okay,” Zigler said. “It was a pleasant week. We had good weather for it.”
Last Friday, he was looking forward to the first football game that same night.
“It’s also Senior Recognition Night, with parents there. And we take special photos,” Zigler said.
“In the past, we’ve done Recognition Night at the last game of the season – we thought we would try it at the first game this year,” he said. “We’ve not had that good of weather on the last night. And we wanted our football players to start out the year excited.”
Zigler reflected on other first-week successes. “Our soccer has gone well this week. Girls won two games this week and the boys won one,” he said with pride.
“One soccer player, senior Chelsy Swackhamer, has signed on at Ohio State. She got six goals in two games this week,” Zigler said.
As if all that wasn’t enough, the golf team, which started competing in August, has had seven straight wins as of last Friday, he said.
Tipp Middle School Acquires A Little Character
Character education has made its entrance at Tipp City Middle School. The new program, developed by the school’s Character Education Committee, was introduced with Character Ed Kick Off Day for the school’s more than 600 students Aug. 24.
“The activities were phenomenal,” said teacher Mandy Myers.
The yearlong program will feature quarterly traits or “pillars” beginning with tolerance, followed by respect, leadership, and perseverance. Activities each quarter will focus on one of the pillars.
Kick-off activities included students viewing a video to gain a better understanding of character education and making tolerance trees and locker signs for the school. In the afternoon, students participated in a variety of leadership/ice breaker activities. Among the activities were a celebrity ID game and a hula hoop pass.
SPORTS
Feathers Fly When Red Devils Face Falcons!
Nothing like putting your best foot forward to start the season.
That’s exactly how the Tippecanoe football team opened its season on the road Friday with a convincing 30-7 non-league victory over Graham.
The tone of the game was set on the Red Devils’ first play from scrimmage. After a touchback on Graham’s opening game kickoff, Tipp had possession on their 20-yard line.
Senior running back Dylan Bourelle, who tallied 119 yards on just seven carries, made his first carry a tone-setter as he took the handoff from quarterback Jake Watkins and sprinted down the right sideline for an 80-yard score. Senior Kyle Pignatiello added the extra point, giving the Red Devils a 7-0 advantage in the game’s first 20 seconds.
EDITORIAL:
Finding The Good In A Bad Economy
The economic news last week was as bleak as it has been for a while. Those of us who are students of history – or who lived through the infamous “Great Depression” of the 1930s – are seeing unsettling similarities. It seems the old maxim “those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat it” may very well be true, at least at the federal level.
But living in a small town during tough times does have its advantages. We have the ability to insulate ourselves a bit, and to protect and support each other. That is something we can learn from our Tipp elders who still recall last century’s economic woes. The stories they share about Tipp citizens and Tipp businesses looking out for each other during lean times are heartwarming and motivational.
The Gazette is a big advocate of the “Shop Tipp, Support Tipp” concept. Of course, as a Tipp-based business, we naturally gravitate toward initiatives that encourage people to spend their money locally, but, more important, we believe that “taking care of Tipp” is the key to encouraging and maintaining growth, even in the harshest economic climate. If Tipp City is growing and thriving, its citizens will do likewise.
A bad economy forces people back to basics. We hunker down and hold on to the things and the people that truly matter. In so doing, we discover – or rediscover – a perspective we may lose sight of when times are good and all that we desire is plentiful. It is during the toughest times that we not only learn to depend on others, but to look out for others, as well. It is during times like these that, instead of going out to dinner on a Tuesday night, perhaps we pitch in at a local food pantry instead. Or maybe we begin teaching our children the value of thrift shopping, or we make a point of donating time or resources to a worthwhile cause, or helping out at a community event. Why? Because during hard times we become acutely aware that the fortunes of others are intrinsically tied to our own well-being.
Defining Our Greatness
Yes, we are living in a time of uncertainty, but it is times like these that ultimately define our greatness, NOT our misfortune. Americans – and small town folk in particular – have the unique ability (born of freedom) to rise above their circumstances. There is a stubborn optimism and a passionate belief in individual achievement that set us apart from the rest of the world. What Europeans call our “cocky arrogance,” is really just that stubborn, age-old determination to “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps,” both individually and collectively. That mind-set – the very mind-set that saw our Tipp elders through the Great Depression – is still deeply ingrained in our community psyche.
While the news at the national level is grim, we are blessed with a sturdy life preserver that will see us through the worst of times. That life preserver is called “community.” We saw vivid evidence of it in August when the American Legion drew so many people to its benefit for Tristan Bowling that it ran out of food. Tristan’s family had hoped – but not expected – to draw that kind of crowd. They were overwhelmed and deeply grateful. We see and hear similar stories every time someone in this community is in need. So, as we face these tough economic days, we must take a good look around this amazing little town. We should never be too proud to accept help if needed, nor too self-absorbed to offer it. Help a neighbor, reach out to a stranger, support your local civic clubs and community groups, make it a point to shop your local businesses (have you really taken the time to see what Tipp City has to offer? Why not spend a day peeking in all the shops and retail establishments? You will find treasures you never expected!)
There is no storm that we can’t weather together. If recovery is just around the corner, then we’ll come out of it quicker and stronger than the disjointed, detached big cities. And, if it takes a little longer to regain our economic vitality, then at least we will be sharing the load and drawing on the same strength and unity that served our ancestors so well. We have a unique opportunity to show our children what it means to be an American and what it means to be part of a community. In so doing, we hand them the same tools that our parents and grandparents handed us – the tools of self-reliance, compassion, and cooperation. The tools of freedom.
