Tonight is going to be the start of a weird football season, one which has already seen practices turned upside down and schedules thrown out the window less than a month before the season. No spectators. No hot dogs. Blah, blah, blah. At this point in 2020 it takes something wildly unexpected to shock me, but something will shock me tonight. When the kicker puts foot to ball to start the game at Marysville it will conclude a series of events that I find unfathomable – even under the cloud of COVID. There is no way this high school season…
Author: Chad Williamson
The first student hasn’t walked through the door for the start of Marysville’s school year and the district has recorded its first positive case of coronavirus. Superintendent Diane Allen told members of the board of education at Thursday night’s meeting that a member of the Marysville staff has tested positive for the virus and is in quarantine. She would not identify that staff member, or even clarify if the individual was a teacher or member of the support personnel, because of medical privacy issues. “We worked with the health department to assist in contract tracing and they have notified all…
The photo above, taken by Robin Ansley Thompson, shows senior members of the Marysville football team. The image created an online uproar when opponents said some of the flags being held were racist in nature. Supporters of the team countered that the flags show support for first responders and the military, some of whom are family members of the boys in the photo. (Photo submitted) Flags held by Marysville football seniors seen as racist by some; called a tribute by others A photo of senior members of the Marysville football team created an online uproar with calls of racism Thursday…
Nearly 900 Marysville students opt to learn from home In Marysville, a collection of students roughly the size of the entire Triad School District have opted to learn from home when school begins on Aug. 24. And while 882 students choosing to stay home might seem like a large number, it’s in the ballpark of what district officials were expecting based on the results of a parent survey earlier this summer. Results of the poll showed about 15% of the district’s students planned to enroll in the district’s Virtual Academy, a remote learning option put in place for families who…
Health concerns appear to have ensured that no organized baseball or softball will be played in the village of North Lewisburg in 2020. The Triad Junior Baseball and Softball Association made a request to North Lewisburg Council to be allowed to use the village ball fields for a fall league and tournament beginning in September. Mayor Cheryl Hollingsworth brought the request to council at Tuesday night’s meeting. She said she had concerns over the request because of the trends in Champaign County coronavirus cases. Hollingsworth noted that total cases in late July were in 90s but jumped to more than…
Newsrooms are pretty nimble when it comes to handling unexpected situations. Newsworthy events spring up randomly, often bringing new challenges to the story telling process. So when the coronavirus turned life upside down in March, the rapid-fire changes it pushed on the world didn’t impact news gathering too much. It just dumped a huge volume of really important stories in our laps for weeks on end. Newspapers kind of thrive in chaos and we have been living in that state for months. The only real hurdle thrown at us was the number of meetings that switched from in-person to virtual.…
Though issues of parking, lights and sewer runoff are volleyed about, it’s clear the hang up between neighbors and a planned expansion to a local restaurant centers around noise. An online informational meeting Wednesday night between stakeholders of Leon’s Garage at the corner of East Fifth and Oak streets and neighbors in the area saw a few concessions offered, but at its heart some families in the area do not believe an outdoor music venue belongs in a residential neighborhood. The plans for the $2.5 million expansion impact the city block that houses Leon’s and the adjoining House of Spirits.…
Marysville students will be in class two days per week to start the school year as officials announced Monday that the district will open on Aug. 24 under a hybrid schedule. Students across all grade levels will be placed into two groups, listed as either red or blue sections. Students in the red section will attend class on Monday and Tuesdays while blue students will attend on Thursday and Friday. A third group of students, defined as vulnerable by the Ohio Department of Education, will be in school each day. “Our model allows us to balance in person instruction and…
The Marysville School District has been awarded a $1,050,000 literacy grant from the Ohio Department of Education. The district was one of 35 in the state to receive a Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grant, funded by $42 million from the U.S. Department of Education. Awards ranged from just under $400,000 to $2.1 million. “We are thrilled to be chosen among our peers to receive this competitive grant,” Superintendent Diane Allen said in a press release. “By receiving these funds, it’s an acknowledgement that our current work on reading instruction and literacy instruction is among the best. According to ODE, we…
The news this week of arrest of Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder in connection with a $60 million bribery case is not without a Union County tie. State Representative Tracy Richardson issued a statement calling the charges of the case “shocking” but also holds connections to Householder in terms of campaign contributions and voting record, most notably supporting him for his leadership position and voting for House Bill 6, the energy measure at the root of the investigation. While the dollar amounts in the case are “shocking,” influence peddling is nothing new to state politics. In fact, local…
District will make decision on startup plan on Aug. 3 There were three big take-aways from Marysville’s plan for reopening schools: Masks will be worn by everyone in school buildings; there will be an extended remote learning break from Thanksgiving through Jan. 19; and learning will likely be impacted for the entire year. The Marysville Board of Education approved a plan for reopening Thursday, which involves four different scenarios ranging from in-school classes to learning from home. The district will have four levels that can be adjusted quickly districtwide or can be implemented building-by-building. None of the plans for the…
Despite an uncertain impact from the coronovirus pandemic on tax collection, the village of North Lewisburg isn’t in panic mode. Village council viewed the 2021 temporary budget at Tuesday night’s meeting and found that estimated revenue and expenditure numbers were generally unchanged from last year. This comes despite the fact that a great deal of the village revenue comes from its 1% income tax which could fluctuate in the wake of the virus when compared to government entities relying on property taxes. Administrator Andy Yoder said the village generally budgets conservatively. He said estimated revenue for 2021 has been set…
The extra days will be used to prepare teachers Students in the Marysville School District will begin classes a bit later than originally planned. Following a vote by the Marysville Board of Education during a special meeting Monday night, the first students will begin class on Monday, Aug. 24, a few days later than originally scheduled on the 2020-21 school calendar. The extra days will be used to allow teachers to prepare for the start of a school year that will look very different due to the restrictions and safeguards put in place to fight the coronovirus pandemic. “A delay…
There used to be a reporter in the newsroom a few years ago that could not understand how phrases or attitudes, judged by modern standards to be offensive, were ever allowed to happen in the past. We talked about cartoons when I was little that contained inappropriate stereotypes of Indians and Japanese. We talked about the commonly accepted name for a game of tackle-tag that contained a homophobic term and how the story of Br’er Rabbit was printed in childrens’ books. This young reporter simply couldn’t believe that people could be so obtuse to other cultures and lifestyles. He couldn’t…
Bruce Daniels, left, gestures towards plans he and Rick Crago, in the pink shirt, have for an expansion project at the property containing Leon’s Garage and the House of Spirits, during a meeting Wednesday. The stakeholders invited neighbors to the House of Spirits to share their concerns during the two-hour meeting. Also shown looking at the plans are neighbor Patricia Croy, second from left, and her son, Kelly. Also pictured, wearing the mask, is Liz Martin. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson) At meeting on Leon’s expansion, official says information is being gathered Whenever the expansion of the Leon’s Garage reaches…