Greater Miami River Clean-Up

If you'd like to make an impact on your community, there's a great volunteer opportunity for you on Saturday, May 1st.

The Sixth Annual Clean Sweep of the Great Miami River will take place this Saturday from 8:00 AM until 12;00 PM. The clean-up consists of the lower 54 miles of the Great Miami River, which includes the area from Middletown to the Ohio River near Lawrenceburg, Indiana and the work site at Shawnee Lookout in North Bend.

Volunteers should meet at the part at 2012 Lawrenceburg Road. You will receive a free t-shirt and bottled water. Gloves and trash bags will be provided. For more information, contact Brian Bohl at brian.bohl@hamilton-co.org or 513-772-7645, extension 15, or Kristine Roselle at 513-728-3551, extension 245.

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

Middletown Youth Symphony to Perform Tuesday April 27

The Middletown Youth Symphony’s spring concert will be held at the Middletown High School and will be free and open to the public. As usual, there will be a short showcase preceding the main concert featuring soloists and small ensembles which will begin at 7:00pm. At 7:30 p.m., the Middletown Youth Symphony will serve up some of the most challenging pieces these young musicians have ever played.

The program is coordinated by co-director, Deborah Dornon and will open with “A Mighty Fortress”, arranged by Vaclav Nelhybel, which will be “a big, massive workout for the orchestra.” Another quite difficult song being performed is called "Scheherazade" by the composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and based on the famous “Arabian Nights.”

“I’m very excited about that." said orchestra co-director Lucy Firlie Ginther "It’s a piece a lot of youth symphonies are afraid of, but we have the personnel to do it,” he said. “We have a really talented and very well-developed bunch of kids.”

Also on the roster is “Poem” by C.T. Griffes, for flute and small orchestra, and Mendelssohn’s “Octet,” which is for eight string players. The show’s finale is a work by Robert Smith called “The Great Locomotive Chase,” which tells a story in music about the theft of a train during the Civil War.

One of this year’s graduating seniors, Alex Lindon of Middletown, who plays first trumpet with the Middletown youth symphony had this to say about the concert. "It’s definitely going to be a good show,” he said, citing “Scheherazade” as a piece he thoroughly enjoys. “It’s mostly strings, but it sounds really cool".

Remember, by attending this free concert you will be supporting the Middletown community and the Middletown Youth Symphony. Hope to see you all there!

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

The Ohio Council on Women and Girls

Last month, Governor Ted Strickland established the Ohio Council on Women and Girls. He signed the executive order at Momentum 2010 - the Ohio Women's Summit. The purpose of the Council is to work to advance the health care, economic development, and education for women and girls.

Upon signing the order, Strickland commented, "I am pleased to announce the creation of this council, which will bring together voices from across state government to help develop a coordinated policy response to issues that affect women and girls. Over the past decades, women have carved out opportunities in politics, business and society that will impact women and girls for generations to come, but we still have work to do. This council will play a vital role in helping engage individuals, organizations, and communities across the state to further strengthen the role of women in our society."

The Council will meet each quarter and will include a number of representatives from all across the state's government. Together, they'll work on policy that has an impact on the issues females often face. They will also work on recommendations to the governor regarding legislation and policy that affects women, support public outreach, and work with local governments and non-profit organizations.

Momentum 2010 was a two-day event that brought hundreds of Ohio women and girls together to promote their own health, economics, and education Attendees were given the opportunity to network, be educated, foster collaborations, and come together to support women's policy. Speakers included the Governor and the First Lady, advisor to President Barack Obama, Valerie Jarrett, Pulitzer Prize-winner Connie Schultz of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and diversity and inclusion expert Audra Bohannon.

Fore more information on the Ohio Council on Women and Girls, visit OhioWomen2010.com.

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

Robot Joins Surgical Team at Atrium Medical Center

The name da Vinci may be synonymous with art, but for Middletown residents the name may soon mean so much more.

Atrium Medical Center is expanding its surgical options through the acquisition of a da Vinci Si HD robot, which utilizes a minimally invasive approach to assist surgeons in operation. The robot boasts the use of smaller incisions when compared to traditional open surgeries meaning shorter hospital stays, reduced pain and faster recovery times, according to hospital officials.

Dr. David Miller, a urologist at Atrium and one of two surgeons capable of operating the da Vinci Si gives his opinion about the robot. "(Robotic surgery) is better for the patient, better in a lot of ways. What used to land patients in the hospital for three days, they are now going home the next day. I can see better and have better control.”

Of course, the da Vinci robot was a major investment for the hospital costing nearly $2 million. The da Vinci Si HD comes equipped with state of the art technology and an intuitive interface with breakthrough surgical capabilities. There are four arms that control up to three surgical instruments and a high-definition camera which allows for up to 10x magnification and provides highly accurate depth perception. In addition, Intuitive® motion technology replicates the experience of open surgery by preserving natural hand-eye coordination and intuitive instrument controls. When coupled with the EndoWrist® instrumentation, which gives the surgeon a far greater range of motion and dexterity than a human hand, the da Vinci Si HD is an unparalleled piece of medical technology that provides enhanced precision, dexterity and control for many complex surgical procedures.

For David Miller, robotic surgery is the future of medicine.

“I don’t plan to do another open prostatectomy again,” he said. “Patients aren’t afraid of (the robot). They are demanding it, so we are preserving the amount of patients that would otherwise go somewhere else.”

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