Hamilton 4th of July parade route extended, activities added
Credit: E.L. Hubbard
Credit: E.L. Hubbard
Hamilton’s Fourth of July Committee has made a few adjustments for this year’s festivities, including a slightly longer parade and making sure people have something to do from 10 a.m. until the fireworks 12 hours later.
Troy Schwable, the chair of the Fourth of July Committee, said the parade will cross the High-Main Bridge for the first time in a long time, and it will be barely over 2 miles, about 0.15 miles longer than 2021.
That’s not the only adjustment in the parade route. The parade will cross Ohio 4 instead of coming down the state route. The annual parade steps off at 10 a.m. from the Butler County Fairgrounds and proceeds to F Street across the Great Miami River.
Storm damages force Greenwood Cemetery to close part of historic side
The historic section of the Greenwood Cemetery will remain closed until the fallen trees and limbs can be cleared.
Cemetery General Manager Dan Peters called the tree damage “huge.”
Winds of up to 70 miles per hour swept through southwest Ohio on Monday, which left tens of thousands of homes and businesses without power, some for days. The storms toppled and broke trees. Peters said the significant damage to the cemetery’s trees has created a general unsafe condition, thus resulting in the closure of the historic side of the cemetery.
Hueston Woods State Park opens new nature center
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Hueston Woods State Park celebrated the grand opening of its new nature center with a ribbon cutting, tree planting, natural wildlife activities, refreshments and more on Wednesday.
The new nature center hosts a variety of hands-on displays including how to read the age of a tree, a bird viewing area, fossil hunting, animals native to Hueston Woods and more. The naturalists, who operate the center, also provide programs throughout the week that are free for the public.
“Our focus was getting people comfortable with their surroundings, so say they take a hike here or they went paddling on the lake, anything around them they would have a basic understanding and feel very safe out in nature,” Kathryn Conner, Hueston Woods park manager, said.
Butler County Children Services celebrates graduates for their perseverance
Foster children face uphill battles every day of their lives so when they win one like graduating high school, trade schools or college Butler County Children Services celebrates them in a big way.
Last week BCCS had its annual graduation party to honor a dozen students who beat the odds, nine graduated from high school, one from college and two earned their certificates at trade schools. Abby Sexton, independent living and emancipation coordinator, always says it is her favorite day on the job and it is remarkable because most kids don’t get that far.
“Not only have they battled all of the stuff that goes with coming into foster care, whether it’s abuse, maltreatment, delinquency issues, mental health issues they also had to battle going into a pandemic,” Sexton said. “Then coming out of a pandemic and trying to function in this new normal that we all seem to have to navigate through. I just think it’s pretty phenomenal they all stayed, they pushed through and they persevered, despite any obstacle that was thrown at them, they finished.”
New trial date set for man indicted for teen’s 2018 shooting death
A fall trial date has been set for a Hamilton man in the 2018 shooting death of a 16-year-old girl after a continuance and the hiring of a new attorney.
Markeylnd Townsend, 23, was indicted in April 2021 for murder and felonious assault stemming from a July 2018 incident in Fairfield Twp. He is accused of firing a weapon into a car full of people driven by Sydney Garcia-Tovar, 16, of Hamilton, who died of a gunshot wound.
Passenger Joseph Goolsby, 21, also was shot, and recovered from his injuries.
AND, for an extra sixth story of the day ...
PHOTOS: New Nature Center opens at Hueston Woods State Park
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
A red eared slider turtle swims in an aquarium the new nature center at Hueston Woods State Park. The new building features interactive displays, aquariums with fish and reptiles, a pollinator habitat and more. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF