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Greene County Safe Communities Coalition hosts AARP Driver Safety Course

In Local News, Senior Lifestyle on April 11, 2011 at 1:20 pm

XENIA — Cars have changed. So have the traffic rules, driving conditions, and the roads you travel every day. Some drivers age 50-plus have never looked back since they got their first driver’s license, but even the most experienced drivers can benefit from brushing up on their driving skills.

The Greene County Safe Communities Coalition has partnered with the Greene County Council on Aging to host an AARP Driver Safety Course on Wednesday, April 20, 2011 from Noon – 4:00 p.m. in the Media Room located at 541 Ledbetter Road in Xenia.

What Will You Learn by Taking the Course?

You can expect to learn current rules of the road, defensive driving techniques, and how to operate your vehicle more safely in today’s increasingly challenging driving environment. You’ll learn adjustments to accommodate common age-related changes in vision, hearing, and reaction time. You will learn the following:

  • How to minimize the effects of dangerous blind spots
  • How to maintain the proper following distance behind another car
  • The safest ways to change lanes and make turns at busy intersections
  • Proper use of safety belts, air bags, anti-lock brakes, and new technologies used in cars
  • Ways to monitor your own and others’ driving skills and capabilities
  • The effects of medications on driving
  • The importance of eliminating distractions, such as eating, smoking, and cell-phone use

After completing the course, you will have a greater appreciation of driving challenges and of how you can avoid potential collisions and injuries to yourself and others.

What Else Do You Need to Know?

  • You may be eligible to receive an insurance discount upon completing the course, so consult your agent for details.
  • You may be eligible to receive a discount on roadside assistance plans.
  • The AARP Driver Safety Program has helped millions of drivers stay safe on the roads since its inception in 1979.
  • Although it is geared to drivers age 50 and older, the course is open to all licensed drivers.
  • AARP membership is not required to take the course.
  • There is no test to pass.

The course costs only $12.00 for AARP members and $14.00 for non-members.

How Can I Sign Up or Learn More Information?

Call Laurie Fox, Greene County Safe Communities Coordinator, at 937-374-5669 or email lfox.

Sunday Fire In Jamestown

In Local News on April 11, 2011 at 9:28 am

Photographers Pam Suske and Shawn Keller submitted these photos of a Sunday afternoon fire in Jamestown. At around 7:45 p.m., Silvercreek, New Jasper and Jefferson Township fired departments were on the scene of a house fire just across from the Marathon gas station on W. Washington Street on the west end of town. No word yet on the cause or injuries.

High-Tech Xenia House Open For Spring Parade of Homes

In Business, Economy, Jobs, Local News on April 11, 2011 at 9:15 am

The Completed ICF Home by Beaver-Vu Construction

XENIA – A new energy-efficient home in the Wright Cycle Estates of Xenia will be a featured stop on the 2011 Spring Parade of Homes Tour, Sponsored by the Home Builders Association of Dayton. Built using Insulated Concrete Forms technology, the home will be open for tours from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, April 9-10 and 16-17.

Located at 2230 Schwinn Ave., just south of downtown Xenia off of State Route 42, the home was built by Beaver-Vu Construction of Beavercreek. A combination of interlocking polystyrene foam blocks and reinforced concrete form the foundation and walls of the ICF house, resulting in greater energy efficiency (equivalent to R 22 insulation), as well as increased fire and storm resistance.

Insulated Concrete Forms can be used in slab foundations, crawl spaces, basements, and the living area. Utilizing the ICF technology helps to create a healthier living environment by reducing excess noise and eliminating moisture problems common to traditional construction techniques.

Marty Walling, vice president of Beaver-Vu Construction, chose Xenia for the ICF home site partly because of its resistance to high wind. “Among the many benefits of ICF construction, is its inherent ability to resist winds up to 250 miles per hour,” Walling says. He also notes that the ever-shifting weather of the Miami Valley is perfect for demonstrating the home’s energy efficiency.

Furnishings and staging for the ICF model home are being provided by Jo Beth Bryant of Total Transformations Home Staging. For more information about the ICF home tour, or to schedule a private showing, contact Marty Walling at Beaver-Vu Construction by calling (937) 426-4455. Complete details about the 2011 Spring Parade of Homes is available online at http://www.hbadayton.com.

Beavercreek Firm Builds Xenia Home Using Green Technology

In Business, Economy, Local News, Media, State News, Uncategorized on March 16, 2011 at 9:32 am

In an effort to meet the growing demand for environmentally friendly, more energy efficient homes, designers have developed cost-saving heating and cooling systems, appliances and electrical systems. Until now, however, those improvements have been used in standard stick-framed homes where the energy savings can escape, literally, right through the walls.

Just south of Xenia in the Wright Cycle Estates, Beaver-Vu Construction and Waterproofing is building a home using new technology that marries the insulating properties of a polymer with the strength of concrete. Located at 2230 Schwinn Ave., the project is making use of Insulated Concrete Forms, or ICF, which combines polystyrene foam with reinforced concrete.

Used in the foundation and walls of the home, ICF offers greater energy efficiency (equivalent to R 22 insulation), as well as increased fire and storm resistance.  ICF can be used in the walls of slab foundations, crawl spaces, basements, and the living area creating a healthier living environment by reducing excess noise and eliminating moisture problems common to traditional construction techniques.

Marty Walling is the vice president of Beaver-Vu Construction, based in Beavercreek, Ohio. He recently became one of a select group of professional builders nationwide to earn the Certified Green Professional (CGP) designation and is an authority in the new, continuously insulating technology.

“An ICF home is extremely energy efficient because it is air-tight,” Walling says. “No joints exist in the exterior wall envelope, or between walls and floors. This prevents conditioned air leaking from the interior to the exterior of the home. Energy savings from reduced air infiltration are obvious when compared to the large amount of heating and cooling losses experienced in traditionally built houses.”

Walling says that the idea of building an ICF-structured home had interested him for some time, but he was skeptical of the quality and design of available materials. “I investigated Nudura Insulated Concrete Forms which has a local distributor, Holdfast Technologies,” Walling says. “After attending one of their informational seminars, I felt their materials met all the criteria I was looking for.” Almost as important was the choice of location for this unique project.

For Walling there was no better location than Xenia, Ohio. He chose Xenia because of his long history with the Wright Cycle Estates development and to help promote one of the benefits of ICF construction: its inherent resistance to high winds, up to 250 miles per hour.

“We own building lots at Wright Cycle Estates and over the years we’ve heard endless comments regarding Xenia’s tornadic history,” Walling said. “Sometimes serious questions were raised regarding safe rooms within slab construction. So, if we were going to build this project anyway, why not make the most logical choice for the location.” As one might expect, increased energy efficiency and structural integrity comes with a higher price tag.

Until the ICF technology is more widely used, construction may be more expensive than that of traditional wood-framed homes. According to Walling, however, the expense is negligible.

“Depending on the build, construction costs using the new technology can be anywhere from 5 to 10 percent higher.” He added that the long-term benefits such as reduced sound transmission, greater fire and moisture resistance and overall energy savings would far outweigh any initial expense and insists that ICF is a good investment in the Miami Valley.

The ICF home project is expected to be completed in late March and will be on the market and available for tours early in April. A public open house is planned as well to give people a chance to see, first hand, how this new building technology can benefit future homeowners. For more information on this project, contact Marty Walling at Beaver-Vu Construction by calling (937) 426-4455 or go online to http://www.beaver-vu.com.

 

 

 

Public Employee Protests Just The Beginning

In Business, Economy, Jobs, Local News, Media, National News, Opinion, Politics, State News, Uncategorized on February 28, 2011 at 8:35 pm

By Gery L. Deer

DEER IN HEADLINES

A serious uprising is currently in progress against several state legislatures around the country. In capitol buildings around the country public employees are protesting en mass in response to a proposed bill that, among other things, would limit their collective bargaining power.

When Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker announced that there would be an immediate vote on the bill, thousands of teachers, firefighters, nurses and other public workers descended on the capitol and entrenched themselves in dissent.

A similar bill has been introduced in other states, including Ohio, resulting in the same kinds of resistance. In an unprecedented and brilliant political publicity stunt former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland joined the protestors on Thursday, even donning their red-colored clothing. The red clothing is an effort by union members to steer opinion away from the belief that unions are purely democratic organizations.

While protests flare, the democratic members of the Wisconsin legislature fled the state in an effort to stall the vote. Both states are in a serious budget deficit and their republican legislative members are insisting that correcting the disproportionate benefit investment requirements between the public and private sector employees would help to shore up state coffers.

In addition, the Ohio bill would replace negotiated salaries for teachers with merit raises, which is how wage increases are granted in the majority of private sector jobs. Limiting the power of unions to engage in collective bargaining activities on behalf of public employees has sparked rage across the country, and now the Tea Party movement has jumped into the fight, showing the instability and unfocused actions of its organizers.

The Tea Party’s involvement in the collective bargaining debate serves only to contradict its own foundation. The Tea Party movement began because certain groups of conservative Americans were unhappy with the ways in which their legislative representatives were handling their interests in Washington, in effect, limiting their collective bargaining strength.

The point of a union is to work on behalf of its members to bargain with employers for the best possible working conditions and benefits. Representation of a group of constituents, whether they are made up of voters or union members, is essentially the same concept. In Ohio, Governor John Kasich is not only supporting the current bill but also wants even further union limitations.

If balancing the budget is really the problem, perhaps unions and legislators should do a better job at bargaining in the first place. Some salaries for public workers seem totally off balance with the position. The idea that anyone in a public school system, for example, makes a six-figure income should infuriate people more than anything else.

Consider the superintendent of Dayton Public Schools whose salary, as of July 2010, was $150,000. Why? The Ohio governor earns only $145,000, and that’s only the 14th highest in the country. How does running a school system possibly warrant more money than overseeing the operations of an entire state?

Besides the collective bargaining argument, there is also the debate as to whether public workers should be required to contribute as much to their retirement and healthcare plans as their private sector counterparts. The answer to this is a resounding yes. There is no reason that public employees should have their health care or retirement over-subsidized by the taxpayer when those same constituents already provide their paychecks.

Some teachers are underpaid and some are making too much, as do firefighters, police officers and health care providers. But in the end, they are taxpayers too and they should appreciate that everyone else has to ante up for their benefits and forcing the public to pay the majority of it is unreasonable.

There is no question that that there may be inherent union corruption and their power should be reasonably limited to work for the good of lower level employees, not to boost overinflated benefits of a few. Sadly, unions are still a necessary evil in the continuing effort to ensure fair labor practices whether public or private.  That said, if the governors of these troubled states are paying attention, there are only two words to keep in mind: remember Egypt.

Columnist Gery L. Deer is a freelance journalist and business writer based in Jamestown. Read more at http://www.gerydeer.com

Jamestown Firm Offers Resume Help

In Business, Economy, Jobs, Local News, Uncategorized on January 20, 2011 at 2:19 pm

GREENE COUNTY, OH – As hundreds of thousands of Ohioans continue to search for a job, a well written resume can get be the difference between getting the interview and getting shut out. GLD Enterprises Commercial Writing based in Jamestown has just announced an affordable service for those having trouble creating an effective resume.

While a resume will rarely be the determining factor in why an applicant is hired, it is usually the first impression that a potential employer gets of the individual. For as little as $20 per hour, GLD Enterprises Commercial Writing will work one-on-one with clients to help customize a resume to suit the applicant and the desired position.

Owner and managing copywriter of GLD Enterprises, Gery L. Deer, is an award-nominated freelance journalist and business writer. “A resume is one of the most important parts of anyone’s job search and, oddly, it’s also the one document that is reviewed more subjectively than people realize,” Deer said. “There is no way to really know what a human resources professional is going to be looking for, so it’s important that the information is well written, clearly explained and economically worded.”

According to Deer, basic language and communication skills are essential to any job and many resume coaches or free help centers ignore a prime factor in resume development – the writing. “Resume help programs often over emphasize the layout of a resume, or more trivial issues like whether your name should be in bold print,” he said. “We can help the applicant to focus on the wording and content of the document to make it stand out from the competition. The improvement they gain in their communications skills will
also benefit them once they land their new job.”

In addition, help is available for preparing job-specific cover letters and for those job-hunting professionals who require a CV, or curriculum vitae, which is a more expanded listing of academic achievement and work history. For a minimal hourly fee, GLD Enterprises experts can also assist people with the completion of online job applications, which can often be tedious and frustrating.

“If people have patients, and prepare before trying to fill out internet-based job applications, the process will go smoothly, but it is still time consuming. We can help with that,” Deer said. For more information on resume assistance programs call GLD Enterprises Commercial Writing at (937) 902-4857 or visitwww.gerydeer.com.

 

Modern Liberal Society Rewards Self-Destructive Behavior

In Local News, Media, National News, Opinion, Politics, Uncategorized on January 20, 2011 at 2:01 pm

Commentary By Gery L. Deer

DEER IN HEADLINES

Over the last month the rags to riches story of the homeless man with the “golden voice,” Ted Williams, captured national attention. One minute he’s begging for change along a busy intersection in Columbus, and the next he’s being offered high-paying voiceover jobs. The Cleveland Cavaliers even offered Williams his own home at no cost.

During an appearance on The Dr. Phil Show, television host Dr. Phil McGraw asked Williams some tough questions that had to have crossed the minds of millions. Paraphrasing what Dr. Phil said to him, “Ok, so you’ve been in trouble with the law, been on drugs and alcohol, abandoned your wife and children, and now you’re getting a second chance. Why do you think this time will be different?” Williams really had no response.

A few weeks later, Dr. Phil’s concerns are realized when Williams is arrested after a drunken fight with his daughter. He is now in rehab, thanks to some straight talk and a compassionate, if not misplaced intervention by Dr. Phil.

Williams was plucked from homelessness and a life of drugs and drinking and plopped down in the middle of fame and fortune and yet people had some ridiculous idea that he would suddenly change his ways. Why are people so much more willing to help someone with a troubled past than to support people who have stayed on the straight and narrow their entire lives?

For those who work hard their whole lives, struggle to pay the bills, stay away from drugs and booze and do everything they can to secure a home and job, stories like this are extremely frustrating. It seems to some that working hard and staying cleans only means that the breaks will never come.

Modern American (liberal) society seems more and more to look down on the working person and holds the lazy, entitlement-driven, drunken and disorderly in higher regard than ever. Today’s celebrities, for example, are valued not for their talent but for their ability to beat a DUI arrest or drug bust.

Spare the “it’s an addiction” defense. In order to become addicted to something, a person has to start doing it in the first place. It is seriously doubtful that anyone held a gun to Mr. Williams’ head the first time he emptied a bottle of Grey Goose, which he is reported to have been drinking before his latest arrest.

It’s unrealistic and hopelessly optimistic to think that someone with such a long history of destructive behavior is suddenly going to change because he got money and a haircut. In fact, it generally goes the other way. People who are yanked from a sorted existence of their own making only tend to indulge to the extreme when given the opportunity.

So what will become of Mr. Williams? Statistics are against him, unfortunately. Since he did not choose to go to rehab on his own, instead being shamed into the decision on national television, it is unlikely that his recovery will be successful. Adding that he may emerge with more fame and money than was available before his rehab stint, the sudden kick in status from having nothing to getting everything will probably have him seeing the bottom of a bottle sooner than later.

Statistics can be wrong, of course, and the man with the golden voice might just get his life together. After all, not everyone has the opportunity to have Dr. Phil come to their rescue.

For everyone else out there who is working hard and staying clear of temptation, keep it up. It might seem frustrating at times that no bleeding heart do-gooder will ever swoop in to solve your problems for you, but there really is a light at the end of the tunnel. The real trick is to know how to turn it on — hard work, persistence, and faith in yourself.

Gery L. Deer is a freelance columnist and business writer based in Jamestown. Read more at http://www.gerydeer.com.

Only Loughner Is To Blame for Tucson Shooting

In Business, Media, National News, Politics, State News, Uncategorized on January 12, 2011 at 11:51 am

Commentary By Gery L. Deer

DEER IN HEADLINES

As authorities work to piece together more details on the Tucson, Arizona shooting that killed six and critically injured Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, people should be mindful of the dangers involved with courting rumor and speculation.

Pundits are inundating the airways and cyberspace with opinions, speculation and finger pointing in an effort to use this horrific event to discredit the platform of their opponents. Politicizing this event in such a way is shameful.

While there is little doubt that the shooter, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, is a deeply troubled and unstable individual, no evidence has been uncovered at this point to support theories of conspiracy. Nor has he been officially tied to any sort of anti-government organization or political party.

Yet, there is further talk about this man being encouraged to violence by the politicians themselves through metaphor or badly worded speeches and writings. However, to blame Sarah Palin, Barak Obama or anyone else for this man’s twisted behavior is pointless and disrespectful to all involved, particularly the victims.

The events of January 7th were perpetrated by one man whose dissatisfaction with the world around him combined with his mental and emotional issues to push him over the edge of reason and compassion.

No doubt the Hollywood left will soon weigh in about the fact that the man used a gun. A gun control argument regarding this situation is pointless. If Loughner was as mentally disturbed as has been reported, he would have found a way to do this, whether by way of a gun or some other weapon. And if the gun could not be bought legally, he would have obtained it illegally.

Just a reminder, Presidents Reagan and Kennedy were both shot while surrounded by the United States Secret Service – the best-trained and best-armed security officers in the history of the world. Crackpots will always find a way.

Through all of the mindless conjecture being bantered about on television news and talk radio, one argument does have some merit. Political rhetoric and unrest is at a long-time high in America right now. Not since the Vietnam War have Americans been so politically divided.

Clearly America’s political landscape is toxic and shows no immediate signs of improvement. Even so, how one chooses to respond to the current state of government separates activists from lunatics. There is no way to know what Loughner hoped to gain by attacking Congresswoman Giffords, but it is likely he expected to be killed in the attempt.

No one made this man act as he did. It was his choice – whether he proves out to be sane or not. His political or emotional motives are little comfort to families and friends of his victims who struggle to cope with the loss and injury of loved ones.

The big question now is to determine how something like this can be prevented from happening again? Unfortunately, there is just no way to do that. As long as there is a voice of the people, there will be no way to please everyone and fanatics always manage to float to the top, like flotsam in the currents of history.

Occasionally, those fanatics turn out to be great heroes, like our own founding fathers. Usually, however, they are just misguided malcontents who never see the bigger picture or have any understanding of how their actions affect others.

Winston Churchill said, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” As long as people are free to speak their minds, people will voice their discontent. Practiced peacefully, protest brings about healthy change and keeps politicians on the straight and narrow. When protest turns violent however, as it did in Tucson, innocent people pay the price.

Gery L. Deer is a freelance writer and columnist based in Jamestown, Ohio. More at http://www.gerydeer.com

Xenia BNI Informational Session Set For Friday at XACC Office

In Business, Local News, Media, Uncategorized on January 12, 2011 at 11:48 am

XENIA, OH – Jim Weghorst, executive director of the Miami Valley region of BNI, or
Business Network International, has announced the formation of new chapter of
the organization in Xenia. Local business professionals are invited to attend a
free informational session beginning at 1 p.m. on Friday January 14 in the
meeting room of the Xenia Area Chamber of Commerce office, 334 W. Market Street.
Weghorst will show participants how referral based networking can increase
visibility, credibility and profitability in today’s difficult economic
environment.

The international BNI organization was started in 1985 by professional
networking guru Dr. Ivan Misner and has grown to more than 5,000 chapters
world-wide.  The goal of BNI is to help members develop a profitable,
direct-contact referral network free of internal competition because only one
representative from each profession is allowed per chapter. Through the BNI
structure, a network of professional connections will grow well beyond the core
group and extend small business contacts to unrealized potential customers.

Local writer and public relations consultant Gery L. Deer, of Jamestown, is a
long-time member of the Greater Dayton Professionals Chapter of BNI which meets
in Beavercreek. Deer has served several positions in his chapter’s leadership
team over the years and will be attending Friday’s session to answer questions
and offer a member’s perspective.

“A membership in BNI compliments other networking activities such as chambers of
commerce and service clubs while offering the opportunity to grow by focusing on
the exchange of qualified referrals rather than cold leads,” said Deer. “My
chapter closed 2010 with over a million dollars in referred sales and my hope is
that a chapter in the Xenia area can do the same.”

BNI also offers members access to extensive educational programs in the areas of
business growth and networking. For more information call Jim Weghorst at (513)
314-1236 or go online to www.bni.com.

Indiana earthquake felt in Jamestown

In Media, State News, Uncategorized on December 30, 2010 at 9:59 am

INDIANA – An earthquake measuring 3.8 on the Richter scale struck just before 8 a.m. Eastern Time Thursday morning. According to the U.S. Geological Survey the quake was three miles deep and was felt well into western Ohio.

Officials say that the epicenter was located approximately 15 miles southeast of the town of Kokomo, about 50 miles north of Indianapolis.

Minor damage was reported in Indianapolis and residents in west central Ohio felt vibrations in floors and furniture.

“I couldn’t imagine what was causing it,” said one resident of Jamestown, Ohio. “I thought the cats were doing something to cause it.”

Official report available here.