Joe Lyons •
May 18, 2023
A portion of County Road 775 in Green Township will be closed Wednesday, May 24th through Thursday, May 25th for a culvert replacement.
The road will be closed between County Road 2175 and County Road 2256. More specifically between House # 2278 and House # 2267.
It is anticipated that the road will reopen on Thursday, May 25th.
Joe Lyons •
May 17, 2023
Matthew 25 Outreach Center distribution of fresh, nutritious fruits and veggies is coming to Ashland this Saturday – May 20th from 10 am to 1:00 pm at Luray Lanes (we’ll be outside in the parking lot).
Joe Lyons •
May 17, 2023
Ashland Regional Ballet (ARB) and Opus II Dance Studio will once again collaborate to bring the 41st Annual Spring Dance Concert to the stage at Archer Auditorium on Saturday May 20th at 7:30 pm and Sunday May 21st at 2:30pm. Dancers ranging in ages from 5 years through adult and hailing primarily from the Ashland/Mansfield/Wooster area will perform in this traditional event. The performance showcases the entire student body of Opus II Dance Studio in a variety of dances designed to be great family entertainment at family friendly prices.
Each year Ashland Regional Ballet presents a special ballet production as part of this end of the school year celebration. This year’s featured ballet is Coppelia Act 3, choreography re-setting by ARB Artistic Director Sarah Cyders. They will also present “Dream Ballet” with Choreography by ARB Founder Hellie and School Director Ann Marie Benshoff-Todd . The students of Opus II Dance Studio will present the ballet “La Boutique”.
ARB Senior dancers featured in Coppelia are Gisella Blake of Ashland who will portray Dawn, with fellow Ashlander, Emma Schaefer as Lady Vienna; and Mikayla Jarvis of Wooster as Evening Prayer. Other dancers in prominent roles are the “Friends” Mira Bechtol, Adley Grabowski, Tara Tavalaee, and Allie Wentworth or Ashland and Megan Harrigan of Nova. The “Waltzers” will be portrayed by Haylee Cromer, Teagan Kime, Lilly Lehman, Samantha Metz, Lyla Metzger, Valerie Raubenolt, Elise Sabourin, and Audrey Smith. The “Villagers will be portrayed by ARB Company members Aliya Beasley, Sami Crist, Mary Hamilton, Jackalyn Metz, Lucy Ronk, Madelyn Shenberger and studio dancers Leo Mancha, Milo McDonald, Asher Robbins, and Nathaniel Studer. Also, of note is Skylynn Heichel of Ashland, who will appear in our contemporary pieces. Professional guests Brian Murphy, and ARB Alumnus Christina Lindhout will portray Franz and Swanilda.
The first portion of the program presents a wide array of contemporary dance styles including Tap, Jazz & Modern Dance. Benshoff-Todd mentions “One of the most exciting parts of this show is seeing how much our dancers have grown this year. It shows the promise of a bright long lasting future for the studio.” Choreography is by Schussler, and ARB Alumni Kimberly Cadley-Mach, Cyders and Benshoff-Todd. Schussler notes, “This has been a wonderful school year, full of good dancing and lessons well-learned. The Opus and ARB dancers are eager to show-off their accomplishments. It seems impossible that our school has been in dancing now for 41 years! We are very proud of everything our dancers have accomplished.”
Performances are open to the public and are reserved seating. Tickets are available at ashlandregionalballet.com/ticket-information. For more information contact Ashland Regional Ballet at annmarieofopusarb@gmail.com, or visit www.AshlandRegionalBallet.org.
Joe Lyons •
May 14, 2023
Joe Lyons •
May 13, 2023
Featured speaker at the City of Ashland Memorial Day service at Ashland Cemetery May 29 is Colonel (ret.) Christopher E. Keller, a native of Somerville, Ohio. He joined the Ohio National Guard in March 1985 as an enlisted Soldier. Upon completing Officer Candidate School, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Ohio National Guard in June 1989. He returned to active duty in August 1994 as a Captain in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps. He retired at the end of September 2022 after 37 years of military service that includes deployments during Operations Desert Shield/Storm, Joint Guard/Forge and Enduring Freedom.
Master of Ceremonies will be E. Wayne Risner and vocalist will be Melanie Miller, singing the national anthem and God Bless America. Chaplain will be Jerry Shearer. Flower representatives from the area veterans organizations will place bouquets of flowers at the monument during the service.
The parade will kick off at 10 a.m. and will proceed down Union Street to Main Street and disband at Ashland Cemetery, where the service will immediately begin. Parade lineup begins at 9 a.m. on Fourth Street.
Parade marshals will be the Ashland Veterans Honor Guard. The Ashland Veterans Honor Guard is comprised of volunteers from the Veterans Organizations in Ashland. They participate in many parades, events and ceremonies. The most common service they provide is at funerals of fellow veterans, where they perform and fold and present an American flag to the next of kin, perform a 21-gun salute and play “Taps.” They will be honored during the service at Ashland Cemetery.
The entry process for the parade is now open for residents, churches, businesses and organizations that would like to participate. Every person/group in the parade should focus on patriotism.
The parade has always been about recognizing all the men and women that have served in the United States Armed Forces. Memorial Day is a holiday for honoring and mourning the military personnel who have died while served in the Armed Forces.
Parade rules are as follows: No candy throwing or handing out candy to the spectators; floats and vehicles must be patriotically decorated and display the American flag; no political or controversial groups, organizations or advertising will be permitted; no “for sale” signs allowed on any vehicle in the parade. The parade committee reserves all rights to reject any proposed entry.
Those interested in being in the parade is asked to contact Mary Ann Dull at 419-651-0156 (leave message or text) or email at alamadlady54@yahoo.com. Deadline is May 23.
Flags at Ashland County Memorial Park will be placed May 22 and Ashland Cemetery May 24, both at 5 p.m. Flags will be taken down at Ashland County Memorial Park June 17 at noon and Ashland Cemetery June 21 at 5 p.m. Volunteers are need to help.
***Photo’s From Previous Years***
Joe Lyons •
May 12, 2023
Update with Mayor Matt Miller 5-12-2023
This Month’s Topics
Update Claremont Ave.
Update Eagle Gas Station
Rate increase for Sanitation
Rate increase for Electric Aggregation Program .069
Summer Paving Program
Wastewater Treatment Plant Work
Brookside Pool / Putt Putt Golf Opening
Movie Theater Update
I would like to give a huge shout-out to Bill Harris Dealerships for sponsoring the monthly updates with Ashland Mayor, Matt Miller.
Joe Lyons •
May 11, 2023
A portion of County Road 1575 in Montgomery Township will be closed Monday, May 15th through Friday, June 16th for a bridge replacement.
The road will be closed between Township Road 655 and Township Road 1500. More specifically between House # 1508 and House # 1523.
It is anticipated that the road will reopen on Friday, June 16th.
Joe Lyons •
May 11, 2023
The 2023 spring semester and commencement have come and gone, but the Ashland University Campus Store is as busy as ever, according to Amanda Brown, director of the campus store.
Normally a quieter time of year for the store, its Eagle Custom Design screen-printing machine is running red-hot—or more like purple-and-gold hot—ever since an AU T-shirt was spotted being worn by a character on the hit Apple TV+ show “Ted Lasso.”
When viewers noticed journalist Trent Crimm, played by veteran actor James Lance, sporting a familiar-looking AU T-shirt under his blazer during the seventh episode of season three, released April 26, Brown’s phone started blowing up. A fan of the show, Brown quickly verified with her own eyes that what they were seeing was indeed an authentic AU T-shirt and sprang into action.
Staff at the store replicated the design, Brown added the shirt to its online store, ashlandbookstore.com, with the slogan “as seen on Ted Lasso” and the orders started rolling in from eager students, faculty and alumni. Once all of the supplies were on hand May 1, the printing and shipping commenced. Now, it’s just a matter of keeping up with all of the requests.
In less than two weeks’ time, the AU Campus Store has processed more than 500 orders and shipped the T-shirts all across the United States and even one to New Zealand. They haven’t quite reached all 50 states yet, but it may just be a matter of time. They have been sent to Alaska and Hawaii, as well as Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Oregon, Utah and throughout the eastern and southern parts of the country.
“I’m excited we’ve been able to jump on it. Within an hour of knowing about it, we were up and running. And, the following Monday online purchases started and they haven’t stopped since then,” said Brown, who holds two degrees from AU – a bachelor’s in accounting and an MBA in project management.
The shirt was originally designed in May 2017 by Jill Hiltner, a 27-year employee of AU and current assistant manager of the campus store. Two hundred eighty-eight were printed for Summer Orientation that year for new students and their families and they sold out.
Little did Hiltner know that her design would catch the eye of a London-based costume designer six years later. Brown reached out to Jacky Levy, the show’s costume designer, who revealed she found the shirt at a vintage shop on Brick Lane in London and simply “loved the color and everything about it for Trent Crimm’s wardrobe. It just seemed to suit his style so well.”
Hiltner remains unfazed by her 15 minutes of fame. In fact, she has not yet seen the show, (other than the clips with her designed shirt in it), but does plan to start watching it soon. She is simply grateful to have helped generate some buzz for a place that she loves.
“I think it’s great for the university. That’s the main thing,” she said.
Brown agrees and added that she can even envision Trent Crimm having graduated from AU’s journalism and digital media program.
“It’s cool to see (the shirt) represented by someone in a skilled trade. Trent is very eloquent and wrote for The Independent, a prestigious newspaper. I could see it in the character’s backstory that he could’ve studied journalism here,” said Brown.
Brown also thinks it is appropriate for the AU shirt to have landed on a feel-good show, such as “Ted Lasso.”
“They discuss real issues, but in a light-hearted way. When I think of Ted Lasso, I think of those popular posters with inspirational quotes from elementary school. They address struggles in a way that is very relatable. And, it’s really funny,” she said.
“Ted Lasso,” starring Jason Sudeikis as an American football coach leading a British soccer team, has won 11 Emmy® awards, including for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2021 and 2022.
Joe Lyons •
May 11, 2023
Tri-County Educational Service Center, that serves Ashland, Holmes, and Wayne Counties, led a field trip with Ashland’s group, at two of the Ashland County Parks, Byers Woods, a 215-acre park, at 675 County Road 1754, and Tom Kruse Wildlife Conservation Park, at the intersection of State Route 60, and County Road 1754.
Enjoy the video
Joe Lyons •
May 10, 2023
ASHLAND, Ohio – Ashland University and the Coburn Art Gallery are hosting “Digital Dots,” a creative and intensive one-week summer art camp for young artists (ages 8-12). It will be held June 19-23 from 9 a.m. to noon each day.
Students will explore art and technology through the lens of various media, including stop motion animation, printmaking, photography, digital art, video and ceramics. They will also develop cultural appreciation and aesthetic awareness by learning different art forms, as well as developing their own talent for self-expression.
The fee for “Digital Dots” is $90 per child. All art materials are provided plus a handcrafted t-shirt. Enrollment is limited, thus registration and payment are required in advance.
For more information or to register, email cpetry@ashland.edu.