Month: September 2021

The first-ever Millstone Festival in Richmond will feature a recurring county favorite, the Richmond Rotary Club’s Battle of the Bowls Chili Cook-Off.

The cook-off consists of two different chillies that participants can try. The first is the main competition, where participants have to make a traditional red chilli in three to four hours. A press release for the competition defines traditional red chilli as any type of meat or combination of meat cooked with red chili peppers, various spices, and other ingredients, with the exception of beans and noodles, which are strictly prohibited. When the chillies are ready, the jury will select the three best bowls. The chillies are judged on the taste, texture of the meat, consistency, blend of spices, aroma and color.

First place gets $ 300, second place gets $ 200, and third place gets $ 100.

The second area of ​​the competition that contestants can choose from is the People’s Choice Chilli, which also requires a minimum of two liters of chilli per contestant. This creation requires either beans, noodles, or both. To judge the People’s Choice chilli, Taste tickets will be sold during the competition so that guests can try the chillies. Whoever has the most taste wins. There is a material prize for the winner of the public competition, a 43-inch LED television from Pieratt’s.

Both competitions are included in the $ 35 entry fee. Participants can choose to participate in the People’s Choice Chili Contest.

Those who want to take part in competitions must adhere to strict rules. These rules are as follows:

• Participants must be 21 years of age or older.

• No ingredients must be pre-cooked in any way before the start of the official cook-off. The only exceptions are canned or bottle tomatoes, tomato sauce, paprika, pepper sauce, drinks, broth and the grinding and / or mixing of spices. Meat can be treated, pre-cut or ground. All other ingredients need to be chopped or cooked during the prep time.

• Participants are responsible for bringing all their cooking utensils with them. The sponsors of the cook-off provide each participant with an area and a table.

• Each competitor receives a competitor number from the chief scorer and receives an official judge’s trophy. Each participant should check that the number on the bottom of their mug matches the participant number assigned to them. Each participant is responsible for bringing their trophy, which must be filled to the bottom of the cup, into the judging area at the official time of judging.

• The chief judge’s decisions are final.

Tim Houck, market president of Community Trust Bank, told The Register The Rotary club hosted the chili contest eight or nine years ago and held it for about three years in a row.

Houck said the Millstone Festival was the perfect place to bring the competition back to life.

Houck stated that the rules for this competition were drawn up based on other competitions sanctioned by the International Chili Society. They hope that as this competition gains momentum it will become a sanctioned event.

“To bring in the really big chilli heads,” said Houck with a laugh.

All proceeds from entrance fees and sales of Taste tickets go to CASA of Madison and Clark Counties. Houck said they had several “worthy” charities. CASA fell to the top, however.

“Because of her work with foster children, that’s a real need,” said Houck.

The competition still has plenty of room for other competitors. Anyone wishing to attend can obtain information from the Community Trust Bank at 128 West Main Street # 1493 in Richmond. Houck said people are also welcome to contact him at 624-4613.

The event begins for those who do not attend on October 6th at 12 noon during the Millstone Festival.

RICHMOND, Virginia – University of Richmond graduate Lina Tori Jan is producing a purpose-built podcast. Her podcast Chai wa Dastan (which translates as tea and fairy tales) is dedicated to the stories of immigrants and refugee women from Afghanistan.

“I don’t think the story of an immigrant or refugee is ever a story of victimization, but rather a story of empowerment,” she said.

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Jan grew up in Kabul, Afghanistan.

During her high school years, she and her family fled to the United States.

“My family was one of the families who got on the C-17 and left the country,” she said. “Many [my relatives] traumatized, including my own nieces and nephews who were five and three years old. [They] saw people being shot near her during this evacuation. “

When her family was relocated to the United States, they needed not only food, shelter, and other necessities, but also a community – a safe place to tell stories of their struggles and triumphs.

“It has been difficult to find a sense of community in this new host country that you are in. But I think the pandemic has now created more barriers,” she said.

Tori Jan started projects to connect other Afghan women before the pandemic, but COVID isolation forced her to put those connections online.

Hence – the podcast.

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“You hear the stories that no one ever wants to leave home when they have the opportunity to stay,” she said. “But in the midst of all of this, it just shows the resilience, the courage of these women, the journey they take to draw their families.”

Resilience and courage are two words that describe Tori Jan.

From leaving Afghanistan to graduating from the University of Richmond to completing a Masters at the University of Oxford, she takes pride in her accomplishments.

“These are just things that may be normal in this country, but it’s not very easy for someone from my background,” she said.

In recognition of her work, Tori Jan recently received a US $ 10,000 grant from Projects for Peace to support her podcast.

During the New Richmond Exempted Village School District Education Committee meeting on September 20, 2021 on September 20, 2021, numerous supporters from the local LGBTQ + student community and New Richmond Pride spoke in the comment section of the meeting.

Members of the New Richmond Exempted Village School District Board of Education are pictured during their session on September 20, 2021.

From Megan Alley
Sun reporter

The New Richmond Exempted Village School District is cracking down on rainbows, symbols of unity and solidarity for the LGBTQ + community, at its middle school.

On September 22nd, Lily, the principal of New Richmond Middle School, emailed this message to the middle school staff: “I have to give you an instruction that we must all obey from this moment on. We are in a politically charged time with many, many issues. As educators, we are instructed to take a neutral stance on everything and try to keep our focus on academics. In it I instruct you to remove everything from your rooms that has rainbows on it. We have had ongoing complaints so we need to be careful about compliance. If you have any questions, my door is always open. ”

The email came after the September 20th meeting of the NREVSD Board of Education that saw a host of supporters from the local LGBTQ + student community and New Richmond Pride – a nonprofit with a mission to provide a space for the LGBTQ + community to share their Celebrating Identity and Fighting Community Deterioration and Prejudice and Defending Human Rights – spoke during the commentary portion of the session and asked the board to allow the further use of:

– Rainbow stickers indicating that the teacher and / or the classroom is a safe person / place to talk to / about LGBTQ + issues.

– Using and providing forms that allow students to indicate their preferred gender identity, pronouns and names to use during school.

On September 24th, New Richmond Pride distributed a press release saying that New Richmond Middle School had now become a target of anti-LGBTQ + sentiments.

The press release went on to say: “Within the last month, the NREVSD school committee has removed two LGBTQ + support measures from the school and has now requested the removal of all rainbow images from the classrooms.”

New Richmond Pride said it is working with the community to further resolve the issues within the NRMS and the NREVSD School Board.

On September 24th, Kristin Bennett, president of the NREVSD Board of Education, sent a letter to members of New Richmond Pride.

It said, “On behalf of the New Richmond Board of Education, I thank you for your sincere interest in the health and well-being of our students, and I want to address some of the points you made in your letter to the board. Regarding your concerns raised at the board meeting on Monday regarding the rainbow stickers, the board has heard your concern and wants you to know that the district is a priority, that our classrooms are a safe place for all students. We don’t want a student to feel marginalized or disenfranchised. At the beginning of each school year, students are informed of the resources available to them, including those related to academic and social / emotional health, and how and where to access those resources. The Board also heard concerns about the implementation of the recently drawn up Gender Student Support Plan. The GSS plan is used by administrators to identify the resources students will need. The board now has more clarity and we see value in further implementation and the superintendent will work with our builders to continue the implementation. As I am sure you know, the regulations implementing Title IX are enforced by the Department of Civil Rights of the United States Department of Education and prohibit discrimination, exclusion, denial, restriction, or segregation based on sex. The intent of Title IX is to end gender discrimination in all areas of education. The district complies with Title IX and recently added an anonymous online bullying reporting system that allows students and their families to report incidents of bullying or harassment. These messages are immediately visible to the district and building administration and can be processed promptly. To clarify: As the director of our middle school, Mr. Lilly is committed to the welfare of all students and is expected to follow and implement the board guidelines. This is by no means a building-specific problem. We strive to provide an inclusive, safe, and healthy culture for all of our students in all of our buildings. Please note that the district is committed to supporting all of our students’ academic and social / emotional needs. To better support the social / emotional wellbeing of all of our students, we have added seven mental health advisors to our team in recent years. As the board of directors, we are committed to ensuring that all of our students and employees know that there are people in this district who care for them, support them and want to provide the help they need. No student support programs have been eliminated. In fact, they have been increased and improved. Thank you again for your commitment. Please feel free to contact Superintendent Tracey Miller if you have any questions or would like further discussion. You can also reach me at the district office 513-553-2616 or by email at bennett_k@nrschools.org. ”

In an email interview with The Clermont Sun on Sept. 27, New Richmond Pride public relations director Kylie Phillips said the rainbow stickers and forms were distributed early in the school year.

Phillips explained: “The middle school went through a professional (diversity) education and got the idea from there. The stickers were optional for teachers. About a month and a half / months into the school year, they were told to copy them off and not use the information on the forms. ”

Phillips also said the removal of the specific stickers indicating that a teacher can safely speak on LGBTQ + topics has been removed and that the form use was made prior to the September 22nd Education Committee meeting.

“After the meeting, the board instructed them to remove ANY rainbow images from the classrooms,” added Phillips.

In a September 28 statement to The Clermont Sun, NREVSD Superintendent Tracey Miller said, “As a district, we strive to provide a safe and inclusive environment for all of our students.”

He also stated that the forms were re-created earlier this school year “to help our principals, counselors and mental health staff work with students and we will continue to implement them”.

When asked about the origins of the rainbow stickers and instructions to remove them, Miller said, “Classrooms should always be neutral so no student will feel disconnected” and that it is “nothing new” in politics at all. ”

RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Ohio – In 2010 the city had amassed a $ 10.8 million general bond issue, and two years later Richmond Heights did not look much better financially than it did in 2013 with the possibility of one Deficits of $ 750,000 to $ 1 million.

However, things have turned significantly in recent years, when Assistant Finance Director Tom DiLellio made it clear when he stepped on the lectern during the city council’s meeting on Tuesday (Sept. 28) night and told those gathered, “The city is enviable “. to be debt free from December 1st of this year.

“We have Millage that was basically top-up (from money the city received) in our debt service that we now have available to fully pay for our Police Pension and Fire Pension Funds that we financed in the past finance transfers from the general fund or the fire rescue fund. So it’s good to be out of debt. “

In addition to paying pension funds without transfers, Mayor David Roche said the debt reduction process in recent years has allowed the city to apply for and receive more capital improvement grants, as many of those grants require appropriate funding that the city has was once unable to pay.

Roche, who became mayor in the fall of 2014 after a period of unrest that included former mayor Miesha Headen, said it has been working to reduce debt for several years. He said an example of what reduced debt can do is soon to be seen at the city-owned Kiwanis Lodge in Richmond Heights Community Park.

“We have received about $ 700.00 in grants for the Kiwanis Lodge over the past four or five years,” he said. The grants enabled a new terrace and deck as well as a renovated basement, which now includes new floors and toilets, which, together with a new generator, allow the lodge to be used as an emergency shelter.

In addition, several windows have replaced a massive wall in order to open up the room on the first floor with light and to reveal the view of the inner courtyard. The first floor has been painted, with new flooring and lighting, and five 75-inch TVs.

On Tuesday, the council approved a motion to allow Roche to purchase up to $ 10,000 worth of new chairs for the building that serves as the city’s main meeting place and rental space.

The Community Partnership on Aging held their Monday lunches for seniors there, and Roche said the city had booked rental dates at the lodge from November.

“We were also able to pay off the $ 4 million debt we owed our police station (now 20 years old) and the $ 1 million improvements we made to the fire station,” said Roche. The town hall’s 10-year debt, which was completed in 2007, has long been paid off.

The new deck and deck at Richmond Heights Kiwanis Lodge.

Roche, who served as council president before becoming mayor, said debt repayment was made more difficult because “about 85-90 percent of the budget is used for labor, leaving the other 10-15 percent for capital projects – road programs and other things. It’s a pretty complex thing.

“Basically, after paying the 85-90 percent of the workforce, the money we were able to spend was eaten up with interest and principal payments.” To pay all the bills, money is often transferred from one household fund to another. “Money flowed from one (fund to another), but it wasn’t new money.”

That is why the administration and the council have been economical with their expenses for several years.

“I’ve worked a lot to get our finances in order,” said Roche, who has decided not to run for re-election, which means that his tenure as mayor ends on December 31, a lot of money-related debt .

The city now controls Borally’s former buildings

Roche said the city had acquired the former party centers Villa di Borally and Casa di Borally, 27227 Chardon Road, from Cuyahoga County Land Bank for a small amount.

The site was last on the news in 2018 when Ron Hudson, the owner of Mr. McGooz ‘Canna Products, attempted to get government approval to sell medicinal cannabis from the former Villa di Borally building. The permit was not granted and the building has been vacant since then. Roche said the buildings were now posted on the town’s country bank.

Roche did not want to comment on the city’s plans for the buildings other than to say, “They are being held back for future economic development.” The buildings were foreclosed so that the district’s land bank bought them.

Two policemen sworn in

Roche sworn in two new police officers during the city council meeting on Tuesday. They were the first two “lateral” employees of the Richmond Heights Police Department, meaning they left other police departments to work for the RHPD.

Sworn in were Victoria Goins, who joins the RHPD from the Cleveland Clinic Police Department, and Craig Beese, who previously served with the East Cleveland Police Department. RHPD boss Thomas Wetzel said the department will have to hire two more officials in the coming months to fill vacancies.

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The AUD took an important step towards the city of Richmond after the Richmond Community Schools Board of Education recently approved an agreement between the district and the city.

On September 27, the school board passed a resolution to authorize the sale of approximately 1.4 acres of surplus property, which includes the Roosevelt Civic Auditorium and an adjacent bus garage. The resolution also states that the board previously authorized Superintendent Brian Walmsley to make efforts to market the excess property for sale.

The Roosevelt Civic Auditorium, also known as AUD, is a 13,000-square-foot, two-story building.

Treasurer Danielle Sutton made the resolution authorizing the superintendent to enter into a purchase agreement on behalf of the district. The order also empowered Walmsley to make efforts to complete the sale of the excess property under the terms of the purchase agreement and to sign a deed and any related documents that the county as the seller would require upon completion.

“While the superintendent has submitted to the Education Committee a sales contract negotiated between the superintendent and the City of Richmond, with terms and conditions for the sale of the excess property, the board of directors, after reviewing the terms of the sales contract, does so” You hereby authorize the superintendent to execute the sales contract on behalf of the district and make efforts to complete the sale of the excess property under the terms of the purchase agreement, ”Sutton said.

Walmsley and District Attorney John Bartley negotiated the sale of the Roosevelt Civic Auditorium and the adjacent bus garage to the City of Richmond within the parameters set by the board.

The district accepted a proposal from the city on June 3.

The purchase agreement states that the bus garage lot is 0.531 acres south of Division Road, west of Main Street, at 35620 Division Road. It also lists that the Roosevelt Civic Auditorium is 0.871 acres west of Main Street, south of Division Road, at 68931 Main St.

Richmond City Mayor Tim Rix said Sept. 29 that the city council would have to vote on the agreement and expected it to be presented on Oct. 4. The city is interested in restoration.

“Certain parts of the building need renovation to make it a very proud building in the community, so to speak,” said Rix.

The AUD was built in the 1930s under President Franklin Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration to create jobs during the Great Depression. The building has served several purposes over time, including school administration offices, a high school wrestling practice facility, and a youth theater.

The facility had become a financial problem for the school district due to internal and structural problems. The purchase price listed in the agreement is $ 1 payable on the closing date and is subject to restrictions. The restriction set out in the agreement states that if the city sells some or all of the properties within 10 years from the date of closure, the city will pay the district half of the net proceeds from the property sale.

Rix said the city leased the building for $ 1 a year in the ’60s and’ 70s, but in that case the building will have to repair a total of about $ 300,000, which would exceed the building’s current value. Rix anticipated repairs could be gradual over time, but to begin restoration the city will need to replace the roof of the AUD and re-grout the tiles.

“We have just received standard pricing from some of our contractors we have hired in the past. Right now we’re looking for $ 170,000 to replace the roof and re-grout all of the tiles, ”said Rix.

Rix also said funding for these renovations is expected to come from dollars from the Tax Increment Finance Authority (TIFA). The city’s interest in the AUD has to do with bringing it back as a hub of activity for the community and making the iconic building available for many types of uses in a local atmosphere, Rix said.

“We want to bring back some of what we had in the past. It’s a great place to hold events for both teenagers and adults. We’re really looking forward to the Leisure Department running it and I hope we can put together a Friends of AUD group to help run it, oversee it, come up with ideas on what we can do there, and the AUD to help survive I think there is a great need in the community for that, ”said Rix.

The agreement also provides that the district will contract and transfer the property to the city and the city as of the deadline, free of mortgages and liens, subject to a limitation on a monthly lease held by Dominion Church. The AUD is rented from Dominion Church under a contract with the district. Rix said the district currently has a contract with the church through November 30, which the city would honor.

“We want to sit down with the Church. We will be in touch with them as soon as possible and talk to them about what the future might hold for their uses, ”said Rix.

The agreement states that the city will have 120 days from the Effective Date to complete the property due diligence, which will include inspections of buildings on the property.
Also on September 27, the Richmond Community Schools Board of Education:

• Heard a report from Walmsley regarding the recently revised plan for returning to the study plan. Like last year, district officials are reaching out to families when their children are in close contact with positive COVID-19 cases. The superintendent said the primary adjustments concerned the quarantine, suggesting that families who choose to quarantine must commit to the entire quarantine period. The revision provided more clarity for families as positive COVID-19 cases had occurred in the district this year, Walmsley said.

“We will do whatever we have to do. And that is the position I have taken in the contact tracing that the decision at that moment is left to the families. We can encourage them, you know, but in the end it is their choice. Just like wearing masks in schools is their choice and so on. Just to be clear, you know, there have been a couple of questions that when a family decides to go into quarantine, we ask them to follow quarantine guidelines, “Walmsley said.

He reported the district had seen about 14 positive cases of COVID-19 from the start of school through September 27, which equates to a little less than 90 students who were considered close contacts. Of this group, around 10% chose quarantine.

• Approved the Superintendent’s recommendation for the STEAM curriculum for grades K-5 as presented to the Board on September 13th and as described in the Board package documentation.

Nicole Tuttle is a freelance reporter for the MediaNews Group.