SPONSORED BY SV ACTS, INC.                    SPRING VALLEY TOWNSHIP

                                                                                        November 2009

 Spring Valley ACTS — Jon Keck

 Wow! Here we are already in November; the kids had a good night for Trick or Treat, with all of the scary and/or fun costumes. Thanks to all of our volunteers down at the park, we hope that everyone had a good time.

 A successful Potato Festival; there was a lot of activity leading up to the festival. A big thank you to all involved, from early on all the way through to the actual clean up. Without you we couldn’t have completed the task.

 This brings us to our annual ACTS Appreciation Dinner to be held on December 4^th, more details will be in our annual membership mailing. We had a lot of issues with our membership drive this past year, from not sending one out in November last year to a bunch of the mailing never reaching our residents. This year we are going to do the actual prep and mailing ourselves, hopefully avoiding the problems we encountered this past year.

 We hope to see you at the Appreciation Dinner and/or Christmas in the Village on December 13^th. Please look for and respond to the forth coming membership and scholarship drive.

 

2009 CITIZEN OF THE YEAR—Contributed by Carol Harner

 Potatoes were on everyone’s mind the weekend of October 3^rd and 4^th as they enjoyed the thirty-second annual Potato Festival in Spring Valley. During that time we took the opportunity to recognize special people in our area who serve our community well.

This year the festival honored Jon Keck as the Citizen of the Year. Jon is a 15 year resident of the community and the current president of the ACTS group. His personal goal is to “leave the world a better place and to have fun doing it”. To fulfill this Jon has participated in the Wee Bucs football program, coached for YRC, been an 4-H advisor for the Spring Valley Country Kids, supported the Gifted program and Junior Achievement program at Xenia City Schools and has been a member of the Swine Committee for the Greene County Junior Fair.

Jon has worn many hats around the village and township of Spring Valley. He was a coach for the softball program, a member of the Concerned Citizens group, labors hard with the remodeling of the Cement House and the rebuilding of the Carriage House, and has served on the Potato Festival Committee for a number of years. He feels the challenge for Spring Valley is to continue with the refurbishing of the Barrett House Museum and add to the wealth of historical knowledge of this area. He also would like to see more young people get involved in the activities of the community.

Another award given at the festival was to Bob and Ione King, recognizing their long-term community service to the Spring Valley community as well as to our country. Bob is a WWII veteran, survivor of the Omaha Beach conflict. He has served on the Spring Valley Village Council, donated and planted trees for the Beautification project, drove a van for the Red Cross, the Little Miami River Cleanup Committee and served on many committees for the Potato Festival, Tent Sale and Barrett House. Many know him for his recitation of the Gettysburg Address at the annual Memorial Day service.

Ione served her country as an Army nurse during the end of WWII and the start of the Korean War. In 1993 she was inducted into the Greene County Women’s Hall of Fame and in 1996 was honored as the Woman Veteran of the Year. She received a 50 year pin from the Red Cross. She was instrumental in the Dedication of Constitution Park in Spring Valley on the 200^th birthday of the signing of the Constitution. She was an asset in the early years of the Pump, a Spring Valley Newsletter, worked on Potato Festival committees, the Little Miami River Cleanup, as well as the Rt.42 Scenic Byway committee.

We are so proud to have these honorees in our community.

 

FESTIVAL CONTEST WINNERS

 ROYALTY    

  Queen:  Stephanie Wuebben      1^st runner up  Destiny Miller

  Jr. King:  Brandon Wagner        1^st  Travis Foster                   2^nd  Stephen Holton

  Jr. Queen:  Clara Haines            1^st   Maria Smith                   2^nd  Valerie Spicuzza

  Prince:  Richard Braddy             1^st   Brant Amburgy        2^nd   Nathan Miller

  Princess: Belladonna Ravana     1^st  Randi Braddy                        2^nd  Samantha Nuckles

 

 PUTTIN’ ON THE HITS
  Senior (7^th – 12^th grades)

            1^st (tie)  Micaela Moon  and  Alysa Snell                      2^nd  Samantha McPherson

  Junior (6^th grade & under)

            1^st  Megan McPherson    2^nd   Kirtlynne Hickman      3^rd  Maria Smith

 

PET PARADE

             YOUTH                                                                         ADULT

  1^st      Stephanie Wuebben & Lacy, a Yorkshire terrier                     Caroline Brannigan & Maeve, an Irish wolfhound

  2^nd      Hailee Davis & Pandie, a Pomeranian                         Tanisha Bates & Isabella, a Chihuahua                          

  3^rd       Alex Madden & Jackie, a Jack Russell terrier             Sean Lantz & Zetta Mae, a Chihuahua

  4^th      Sara Foster & Gracie, a Lab/Shepherd mix                                                     

  5^th      Clara Haines & Darth Vader, a Mini-lop rabbit           

 

KIDDIE TRACTOR PULL

 

  Class 1 (0-35 lbs)      Alex Mangan               Levi Woliver

  Class 2 (36-50 lbs)    Caleb Hudgle               Ean Woliver

  Class 3 (51-65 lbs)    Colin Britton                Garrett Combs

  Class 4 (66-80 lbs)    Jake Snoddy                Megan Britton

  Class 5 (81 – 95 lbs)  Savanna Ranney          Alex Snoddy

 

  

SPRING VALLEY PARK DISTRICT—Tracey Wright

 Softball sign-ups will be at Spartan Spirit during the entire month of March. Anyone wishing to volunteer in any capacity,  please contact Tracey Wright 376-2598.

  

Spring Valley Area Chamber of Commerce —Judy Madden 

The Spring Valley Area Chamber of Commerce quarterly business dinner meeting will be Wed. November 4^th at the Spring Valley Senior Center on Spring Valley-Paintersville Rd.  Dinner will be at 6:00pm and our business meeting starts at 6:45pm. For reservations please call Pat Zehring at 862-6621 or Judy Madden at 862-4110.

 Our speaker will be Bob Hackett, our State Representative.  Bob is very knowledgeable on county and state issues.  Prior to becoming our State Representative, he was Madison County Commissioner.  Bob is looking forward to meeting everyone, to hearing your concerns, and to answering your questions.

 The next business meeting will be March 3^rd, 2010 and the speaker will be announced at a later date.  Please note that this is a month later than originally scheduled, in hopes of avoiding bad weather.

  

Spring Valley Lions Club

 The Spring Valley Lions would like to thank everyone who patronized our food trailer at the Potato Festival. It was a huge success, and most of the money will be spent helping people of the village and of our state. We would like to thank all those who are not club members who volunteered their services.

 The next upcoming event for the club will be the senior citizens dinner on November 7th at Ancil's place. Watch the local newspaper for the starting time.

 The club will also be serving at Ancil Dodge's annual consignment sale on November 14th.  The club will be hosting the Lions Zone meeting on November 19th at 6:30PM at the senior center.  Also the club had two members attend the September USA/Canada Leadership forum in Memphis, Tennessee.

 The Spring Valley club is trying to help the Xenia club out with their Poinsettia sale starting now--to be delivered in early December. A small plant is $7.50; a large plant is $12.25.  If you would be interested in purchasing the poinsettias for your home, office, or church please contact Xenia Lions club president Lindsey Florkey at 361-3543 or Lion Don Carroll at 352-6706. They would appreciate any help you can give them.

If you are interested in joining the club, contact Jim or Sandy Smith at 862-5861 or Dave Jordan at 372-4774.

                                                                                                                                                                Lion Dave Jordan

  

Spring Valley Community Youth Choir -- is now the "SparTunes"...

After several creative ideas, the members of the community choir have recently voted on a new name... "The SparTunes".  Deriving it from the historical Spring Valley Spartans, we hope that this name will help to give us a more community spirited, fun and memorable style!

The choir is well under way this season and boasts 14-16 active members.  Our upcoming appearances include:
            Lions Club Dinner on November 7^th
            Christmas in the Village on December 13^th
            SV Senior Center in December
            SVUMC worship service (TBA)
as well as performances at local nursing homes (dates TBA)

Any youth in grades K-12 are invited to join us. Practices are held on Thursdays from 4-5:30pm with snack provided.  Transportation arrangements can be made. 

I would like to thank the many people who have generously donated to our choir fund.  Money collected will be used to purchase uniform shirts, snacks, and music. 
If you are interested in participating in the choir, in making a donation, or would like our ensemble to perform, please contact the director, Shery Snell at 862-4726.

  

SPRING VALLEY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

                PO Box 277  One West Walnut St.   862-7691   Pastor:  Rev. Kay Hatch       www.billsroom.com/svumcpartyline

 SVUMC' s Turkey Supper and Bazaar is Saturday, November 14^th. The Bazaar begins at 3:00pm and the Turkey Supper at 4:00pm.  This is always a great meal at a very reasonable price.

 Christmas Eve Candlelight Service is scheduled for 8:00pm on December 24^th.

 Bread Ministry and Food Pantry continues.  Stop by the Church any weekday morning 9am till noon for some delicious free bread or food from the pantry.

                                                                                                            God bless ~ Kay

                                               

SPRING VALLEY COMMUNITY LIBRARY — Sue Losekamp

1 E Walnut St  Telephone & Fax# 937- 862-4538

Hours: Mon & Wed 3 – 8, Tues & Thurs 2 – 5 & 6:30 - 8, Sat 10 – 3

Note: Hours may be shortened or we may be closed at the upcoming holidays or

during bad weather—please call ahead to determine when we will be open.

 

With nice weather during the Potato Festival and hardworking helpers, we had another successful Book Sale.  Thank you to everyone who worked before, during, and after our book sale: Jim & Ann Barlow, Ann’s friend “Petey”, Bob & Chris Herbst & granddaughter Megan, Darline Wieland, Jan & Tom Johnston, Judy Thompson,  Karen Penry, Sue Bennett, Phyllis Berns, Marilyn Zabinski, Stephanie McKee & Polly Mulligan,  Charlene Landis, Tom Losekamp. Thanks a million to you all and also to everyone who shopped the sale.

 Thanks to the generosity of Kohl’s, we will be offering a Story Hour on Saturday November 14^th, beginning at 2:00pm. We hope all the children who enjoyed the summer story hours will join us. This will be the same day as the SVUMC Bazaar and Turkey Dinner and we hope the whole family can come enjoy the afternoon.

 We continue to stay up-to-date with the bestsellers in Adult fiction. The latest are: 

            The Lost Symbol   Dan Brown                                    Pilgrims: a Lake Wobegon romance   Garrison Keillor

            Black Hills  Sandra Brown                              Even Money  Dick & Felix Francis                            

            Homer  and Langley  E.L. Doctorow             The Last Song  Nicholas Sparks        

            Hothouse Orchid  Stuart Woods                     Spire  Richard North Patterson           

            City of Ashes; City of Bones; & City of Glass  Cassandra Clare      

            Say you’re one of them   Uwem Akpan  (Oprah’s Book Club selection)

New NON-FICTION include:

            Big Little Life: Memoir of a Joyful Dog   Dean Koontz

            Master of War: Erik Prince  Suzanne Simons

            A Guide to Yoga  Janice Jerusalim

New for YOUNG ADULTS:
            Homeschool Liberation League   Lucy Frank           

            Thirteen Reasons Why  Jay Asher

            Just Listen  Sarah Dessen

New for CHILDREN:
            The Dragon Cant  &  The Uncrossable Canyon   James Dongweck

Julie B’s essential survival guide to school  Barbara Park                 

            Wild Horses: galloping through time  Kelly Milner Halls

            Coraline (graphic novel adaptation)  Neil Gaiman                  Frindle   Andrew Clements

            Kids can do it: Quick Knits  Judy Ann Sadler

New  DVDs: 

            Spider-Man 3               New in Town                Little Miss Sunshine: Fun in the sun

 

New energy-efficient windows have been installed and all doors have been weatherized at the Library, thanks to the grant applied for by our Township Trustees and awarded by the Greene County Department of Development.  We are looking forward to a much warmer winter inside the Library.  Repairs are also being made to the porch deck and framing where weather and termites had taken their toll.  And we are adding a railing at the front step to make that entrance safer.

 

SPRING VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY—Barbara Fouke

 Meetings – The Society meets on the third Monday of each month at 7 P.M. in the George Barrett Concrete House.  Everyone is welcome.

Town Hall Facelift  – If you have been in the village lately, you will have noticed that Town Hall’s first floor storefront is getting a much-needed facelift.  Town Hall, built in 1888, has a cast iron storefront made by the McHose and Lyon foundry of Dayton, and an ornate front door in the Eastlake style.  The storefront’s details have been hidden since the 1950s under thick coats of white paint.  Remnants of earlier colors were found under the white paint: dark green, orange-gold, burgundy, and a greenish-gray.  Archivist Peggy Leadingham found several early photos from 1914 and the 1930s showing a uniformly dark color scheme, perhaps the dark green.  This led us to believe that the gray, burgundy, and orange colors were from an earlier period, and indeed, a stylish three-color scheme for such an eye-catching façade would have been a typical early Victorian choice.  Books show that color schemes of the period favored earth tones, including dull gold or orange (the brighter pastel colors we associate with the “painted ladies” did not come into vogue until the turn of the century).  Thanks to everyone who has supported the work on Town Hall’s historic storefront: the Village Council; the hardworking duo of Brett Bonecutter and Mike McPherson; Peggy Leadingham; and many volunteers who spent long hours scraping paint, caulking, painting, cleaning up, and talking to passersby about the building’s history, including Tina Vought, George McGowan, Jake Rider, Issac Hampton, Karena Hampton, Gloria Graziano, and Barbara Fouke (and please forgive us if we overlooked anyone).

Walking Tour – These excerpts from "A Self-Guided Walking Tour of Spring Valley", first published several years ago by the Historical Society, describe buildings 15 through 17 on the tour.  We invite you to take a stroll through the village, look at the houses we describe, and enjoy our rich architectural heritage.

    15.  100 East Main, Senator Isaac M. Barrett House, 1850

This brick, 1-story cross-gabled dwelling with a rear addition was home to George Barrett’s son Isaac, and features Greek Revival elements.  The rear addition, wrap-around porch addition, and brick piers were added around 1910.

I.M. Barrett built a large flour mill northeast of Spring Valley, was a pork and grain dealer, and took over the woolen mill from his father George.  He was Spring Valley’s first mayor, and served in both the Ohio Lower House and Senate in the late 1880s.  I.M. Barrett also maintained a summer home opposite his flour mill, currently 1879 St. Rt. 725.

   16.  Mound

Behind the Barrett and Copsey houses is a large glacial mound.  I.M. Barrett partially excavated the mound and installed tanks from which pipes fed fuel oil to heat and light his home.  For that reason, the two sets of paired brick chimneys of the I.M. Barrett house do not terminate in hearths.  The presence of Native American artifacts in the glacial debris has led to the consecration of the Mound.

   17.  101 East Main, 1890

This frame, 2-story dwelling features a hipped roof with a pedimented wall dormer centered above a second-story oriel.  Note the recessed entrance and full-façade porch with spindle work.  The 1-story east side office extension is original.  A 2-story gabled barn stands behind the house, and a storage building/summer kitchen is adjacent to the rear of the house.

 

Spring Valley Volunteer Fire Department—Eric Snell

 We have a huge need for volunteer Fire Fighters and EMTs.  You can obtain an application by stopping by the firehouse during the day or asking any volunteer that you know.  You may call 937-862-5011 with questions.  If you can’t help, but know someone that may be interested, please pass this message along.  Thank you!

 Serving the Community,

Spring Valley Township Fire Department