ODOT & Walmart Say Stay Safe this Holiday Season

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Wal-mart are teaming up this year to help you have a safe holiday shopping season. Their message to Ohio drivers? "Ice and Snow...Take it Slow." In a campaign that started last week and will last throughout the holiday season, the ODOT's safety message will appear in the 150 Walmarts and Sam's Clubs in the state. This is the second year that a public and private partnership has formed to encourage driver safety.

"Being safe is a team effort. Through this partnership with Walmart, we will be reaching millions of Ohioans with an important message of safety," said Jolene M. Molitoris, the Director of the ODOT.

Walmart Safety Fleet Manager, Jim Murphy said of the partnership, "We want to take care of our employees and our customers, that's why we decided to partner with ODOT. While obvious, the message to all drivers, in 'Ice and Snow... Take it Slow' does not grow old."

Both the ODOT and Walmart are champions of safety. In the state, Walmart's delivery truck drivers have been recognized and awarded numerous times for safety by the Ohio Trucking Association. This year, Walmart even received the "Safest Fleet in America" award.

Last winter, there were 44,725 accidents on Ohio roads. 3,415 people were injured and 80 people were killed. Many of these accidents were the result of speeding or following too close.

The ODOT says that all drivers need to realize that winter road conditions can change from minute to minute within less than a mile. This goes for everyone driving vehicles that have four wheels or eighteen wheels and especially in snowy or icy conditions.

To access up-to-date and 24-hour road conditions, visit the ODOT's map-based website http://www.buckeyetraffic.org/. And remember, in Ice and Snow...Take it Slow!

---

Remember to call 513-422-1907 for Security Camera Systems in Middletown, Cincinnati, or the Dayton, Ohio areas.

Middletown Among Fastest Recovering Cities

According to Forbes magazine, Middletown is one of the top cities that is recovering quickly from recent economic woes. Ranked at number 55, Middletown was just one of three Ohio cities on the list. The others were Dayton and Columbus. Ironically, Forbes named Middletown one of the fastest dying cities earlier in the year.

Omaha, Nebraska topped the list that included several Texas metro cities, a few other Northeastern manufacturing bases, and a few Southern cities. According to Forbes, "diversified industry and relatively stable housing fundamentals" are what is helping these cities with recovery. Cities where home prices don't fluctuate at extremes and where multiple industries thrived seemed to fair the best.

The list was made by ranking the 100 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas in five categories that included home prices, sales rates, foreclosures, size of a city's economy and unemployment rate.

Light Up Middletown Set to Begin November 27th

On Friday, November 27th, the drive-through light display in Smith Park in downtown Middletown will light up at 6:00 PM. This is the eleventh year for the event that will run every night through New Year's Eve until 10:00 PM, regardless of weather.

If you're looking for an inexpensive holiday activity for the family, Light Up Middletown is a great opportunity. Admission is a donation of any amount. Bring the whole family out to tour the 100 acre park, see the tunnel of lights, the floating sea serpent, a huge Santa's workshop, the penguin village, an airplane, hot air balloon, this year's new candy-cane entrance, and so much more. In addition to the animated lights displays, Santa and Mrs. Claus will greet children every Friday and Saturday evening through December 19th, from 7:00-9:00 PM. For a suggested $10 donation, you can have photos made with Santa.

On December 8th, the annual hot air balloon glow will be added to the display. Ten balloons will inflate and glow like giant ornaments. There will also be entertainment and food on those nights, from 7:00 - 8:30 PM.

Light Up Middletown is constructed and maintained by a group of seventeen volunteers known as the Grandpa Gang. With local businesses providing assistance, such as heavy lifting equipment, the men work from mid-October until opening day to make each year's event is unique and better than ever. For the second year in a row, the group is working to exchange incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs that use less electricity.

If you're interested in bringing a large group, motor coaches, buses, and motor homes are welcome. All arches will accommodate large vehicles. Smith Park is located at 500 Tytus Avenue and every entrance into the city has "Light Up Middletown" signs pointing the way. For more information, call Flo Randall at 513-423-1877 or 513-267-2789.

Middletown to Receive Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund Grant

Last week, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and Ohio Department of Development Director Lisa Patt-McDaniel announced $28 million in Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund grants to be awarded throughout the state. The funding will allow for the usage of of idle industrial and commercial properties and is expected to create over 1,400 jobs for the state.

Middletown will receive a $1.6 million grant to conduct remediation and demolition at the STM Redevelopment Project property. The property, which started out as the Sutphin Wrenn Union Paper Mill in the 1850s, was purchased by STM Partnership in 1979 and several industrial operations have occurred there since. Today, four small storage and light manufacturing operations make up part of the property, but part of it is vacant and owned by the City of Middletown. Once remediation is complete, the city and another owner hope to attract a commercial project that will help the city with economic growth.

"Too many of our workers and businesses are reeling from this global economic recession, which makes our partnerships with local communities and our efforts to improve Ohio's business climate even more important. Clean Ohio investments encourage business development and job creation by revitalizing our communities and previously-used industrial properties," Governor Strickland said in a statement.

The Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund is a statewide competitive program that provides grants to acquire property, demolish structures, conduct environmental cleanup, and improve infrastructure on or serving a brownfield property. It has served 80 projects since it began. Read more about the various Ohio city projects here: Dayton Minority Biz.com

Holiday Affair on the Square

On November 22, Middletown will kick of the holiday season with the fifth annual A Holiday Affair on the Square. The event will take place from 3:00 - 6:00 PM, with a traditional holiday brunch at the Manchester Inn from 11:00 - 2:00 PM. What began as the opening of the Got Art! exhibit has grown into a daylong celebration of the Art Central District and Middletown's arts community.

The Middletown Art Center will be open from 12:00 - 4:00 PM and it will feature the work of graphic artist and Middletown resident, Sam Ashworth. Central Avenue (between Verity and Main) will be closed to traffic so that guests may experience free horse drawn carriage rides. From 3:00 - 5:00, attendees may visit "Homelessness: Telling Our Own Stories," which is a traveling art exhibit that shows guests what real homeless people experience in their own words.

The Miami Middletown Downtown facility at 4 North Main Street will host a reception for work by the Gerilla Arts Collaborative. They will also be serving free warm beverages and entertainment will be provided by local musician, Chuck Evans. If you'd like to do a little holiday shopping, Fair Trade Goods from over ten different countries will be for sale at the We Can Business Incubator at 1011 Central Avenue from 3:00 - 5:00. A large percentage of the profits go directly to rescuing artists from poverty and homelessness.

At 5:00 PM, the show will shift gears and live entertainment will take the stage at Governor's Square Park on the corner of Central and Broad. Kip Moore and friends from the Middletown Lyric Theatre, the Angel/Wesley Choir from the First United Methodist Church, the GATE music class from Middletown Public Schools and others will perform. The evening will finish with the lighting of the city's Holiday tree.

Butler County National Philanthropy Day

The Community Foundations of Butler County and Butler County Development Roundtable will host its third biennial National Philanthropy Day later this month, on Friday, November 13. The luncheon will take place from noon until 1:30 PM at the Marriott in Hamilton. It is being sponsored by gold level sponsors: Duke Energy, First Financial Bank, Miami University Hamilton, and Cox Ohio Publishing and silver level sponsors: Atrium Medical Center/Premier Health Partners and US Bank.

National Philanthropy Day (NPD) is recognized all over the country and is a day to pay tribute to people who are active in the community and have impacted our lives, work, and community through their philanthropic work. Butler County nonprofit agencies have been invited to the luncheon to honor volunteers and donors who contribute to their organizations and the Butler County community. The agencies will have the opportunity to publicly recognize those individuals.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. O'Dell Owens, a native of Cincinnati. Dr. Owens is a graduate of Woodward High School and Antioch College and is no stranger to making a difference. He spent his years as an intern, resident, and chief resident at Yale and later went on to accept a position with Harvard Medical School as a clinical instructor in the OB/GYN department, as well as a Fellow in reproductive Endocrinology and infertility. In 1982, he returned to Cincinnati and established an in-vitro fertilization program, achieving the first successful conception, pregnancy and delivery from a frozen embryo. In 2004, he was elected as Hamilton County's coroner. He has won numerous awards and actively serves on a number of boards. He also spends time working to motivate disadvantaged young people to reach full potential.

The emcee for the event is John Lomax, co-anchor of Good Morning Cincinnati on WKRC-TV. The Knoxville, Tennessee native began working at the channel in 1983 as the Northern Kentucky Bureau Reporter. He serves on a number of boards and volunteers with many organizations. This is his third year as emcee for the NPD event. He has also hosted the Middletown Community Foundation's Crystal Apple Awards, Butler County MRDD and the Atrium Medical center's Hospital Gala in 2007.

For more information about the luncheon, contact Kelli Kurtz at 513-863-1717.

Middies to Make Fourth Playoff Appearance

The Ohio School Athletic Association announced, on Sunday, the 32 teams who will be part of the state football championships. The Middletown High School Middies, who are currently 9-1, made the cut. It's their fourth playoff appearance and the first time they've made the playoffs since 1990. On Saturday, November 8th, they'll play Moeller. Tickets will be $9.00 at the gate and $7.00 at participating schools.

The Monroe Hornets also made the cut. They are currently 8-2. This is their eight playoff appearance and in both 2005 and 2007, the team made it to the state semifinals. They will play at Chaminade Julienne on Friday night, November 6th.

Other nearby teams who made the playoffs include Valley View and Carlisle.

PPMD: Leading the Fight to End Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Every year, 20,000 new cases of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy are diagnosed in infants and children. Duchenne is the most common fatal genetic disorder diagnosed in childhood and typically affects males, though it can occur in all races, genders, and cultures. It can be passed from parent to child but over a third of cases happen spontaneously, meaning there is no rhyme or reason as to why one person will contract it and another will not. There are many medical treatments that will help slow it down, but there is not yet a cure. That's where PPMD comes in.

Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy is a non-profit organization, headquartered in Middletown, whose mission is to "improve the treatment, quality of life, and long-term outlook for all individuals affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy through research, advocacy, education, and compassion." The group has a number of objectives including identifying promising research, making state-of-the-art information about treatment options available to everyone, creating a supportive community for people affected by Duchenne, and encouraging policymakers to afford the same priority to Duchenne as they do other disorders.

PPMD focuses on research, advocacy, education, and compassion to help meet their goals and objectives. They also sponsor and take part in a number of campaigns and events that promote family empowerment and community awareness. Some of these events include a race called "Run For Our Sons," a monthly donation campaign called S.T.I.R, several annual national and regional conferences, and supporting grassroots efforts to raise money and awareness.

Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy's corporate office is located at 1012 North University Boulevard in Middletown. To get more information or find out how you can help, call 513-424-0696 or visit their website at www.parentprojectmd.org

Take a Fall Foliage Tour in Ohio

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has introduced a new feature on its website called "Hit the Road." The new map feature on the Ohio Fall Foliage website allows Ohio residents and visitors to the state to choose from 32 mapped routes that are known for their beautiful autumn views. The routes were chosen by natural resource professionals.

The map shows highlighted routes with place markers at the starting points of each route and identifies nearby state parks, forests, wildlife areas and nature preserves. To further help plan outings this season, the ODNR will update the website weekly with color updates.

Ohio is home to over 100 species of trees which makes for beautiful scenery when the leaves begin to change. To learn more about Ohio's fall foliage, you can call 1-800-BUCKEYE or visit the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Middletown Teachers Know Their History

Just because school was out for the summer, doesn't mean the learning stopped. But this summer, the teachers were the ones being taught. In July, several Middletown teachers visited New York City to learn about and experience several notable locations such as the Statue of Liberty, the Tenement Museum, and Ellis Island. Much of the trip was focused on the historical aspect of immigration to this country and learning what many of our relatives went through to get to the United States.

The teachers were able to take part in this trip through Teach American History (TAH), a program set up by the federal government to help improve teachers' knowledge, understanding, and appreciation for American history, in order to help student achievement. The program provides grants to various school systems in hopes that they will improve quality and promote the teaching of United States history as a separate academic subject. The grant also provides school districts with the money to purchase books, DVDs, online subscriptions to educational website and student materials.

Future trips, paid for by the grant, are planned to Boston, Massachusetts and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where teachers will learn about the Civil War and America's early settlers. In addition to the federal program, Middletown Schools have partnered with the Ohio Historical Society's Ohio Social Studies Resource Center to provide classroom materials and resources focused on Ohio's state history.

This year, several Middletown teachers are involved with TAH. They are: David Hiteshew, Christina Pierett, Rachel Robinson, Megan Mihal, Barb Florence, Anna Bowman, Tiffany Aponte, Troy Rees, Michele Cochran, Lisa Slone, Cindy Centers, Jenny Clark, Joe Howard, Tara Kueker, and Michelle Puckett, Chad Bowers, Angie Bogenschutz, Matt Butler, Scott Colliflower, Greta Popp, Tara Kueker, Joe Howard, Ray Banks, Chris Brandt, Ray Banks, Anna Bowman, Michelle Puckett, Jenny Clark, Barb Florence, Richard Packert, Christina Pierett, Mary Lou Mooney, David Hiteshew, Joyce Leifheit, Cindy Centers, Jennifer Moon, Josh Shaffer, Rachel Robinson, Michelle Cochran, Cathy Hodson, Terry Shores, Tammy Roberts