Demolition of Middletown’s Lincoln School on the horizon as city awaits final federal approvals
The fate of Middletown’s former Lincoln School on Central Avenue remains in the hands of the federal government as the proposed demolition project is still under review.
Middletown City Manager Jim Palenick said the city plans to use Community Development Block Grant funding for the demolition after federal approval is received. He said the review has been happening for more than four weeks.
“We still need to do a historical impact study, as there were some objections,” Palenick said.
Demand for flu shots is up in Butler County. Why that’s important during COVID surge
National pharmacies are reporting big increases in the number of flu shots administered, an encouraging sign as Miami Valley health experts stress the need to prevent a widespread influenza outbreak amid a big surge in COVID cases and hospitalizations.
More than 3,000 COVID-19 patients are in Ohio hospitals currently, over 800 more than a week ago, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
“There’s so much COVID in the community, that the hospitals are busier than they’ve ever been,” said Dr. Glen Solomon, professor and chairman of internal medicine and neurology at Wright State University. “Anything that you can do to keep people healthy and keep them out of the need for health care is enormously important right now ... If you have a large number of people sick with COVID and on top of that you have a large number of people sick with influenza, that really strains the health care system tremendously.”
Fairfield looking to help businesses with federal funds: What it’s doing
Small businesses negatively impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic and the state-ordered closures earlier this year are eligible to receive federal CARES Act fund through the city.
Butler County allocated nearly $200,000 to Fairfield for small business grants, and City Council on Monday matched twice that amount, allocating $400,000 of CARES Act funds it received from the federal government.
“We’re envisioning a tiered structure of grants,” said Fairfield Development Services Director Greg Kathman.
House fire in Middletown out, no reports of injuries
A house fire in Middletown has been extinguished and there are no reports of injuries, according to city officials.
Firefighters responded around 10:15 a.m. today to a house fire in the 400 block of Stanley Street, according to Fire Chief Paul Lolli.
Smoke was seen billowing out of the house, he said.
Butler Tech teens earn experience doing landscaping for Monroe Schools office
Nearly three dozen Butler Tech students are finishing up a real-world landscaping project in Monroe and earning valuable job experience at the same time.
The teenage students' latest project is sprucing up the exterior and grounds around the Monroe Board of Education office on Yankee Road.
Mark Anderson, landscape coordinator for the Landscape Design and Construction program for Butler Tech, said the months-long project doubles as an outdoor classroom for the teens as they prepare for careers after graduation.
AND, for an extra sixth story of the day ...
‘Hillbilly Elegy’ is my family’s story. I’m happy it shared my Mamaw with the world.
In 2016, my cousin, who is more like an older brother to me, released a book called “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis.”
“Hillbilly Elegy” made the No. 1 spot on the New York Times Best Sellers list many weeks in a row. Since releasing the book, J.D. Vance has appeared on numerous radio and television talk shows. In collaboration with Netflix, Ron Howard directed and produced a film adaptation of the book to be released on Nov 24. The book is about J.D.'s life, growing up in Middletown and Jackson, Ky., with our grandparents, my namesake, Bonnie, and James Vance, or as J.D. and I called them, Mamaw and Papaw. The book sheds light on the many hardships related to addiction, as J.D. experienced them through his mom’s (my Aunt Bev’s) struggle with it.