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 The Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall passes through downtown Wapakoneta Wednesday, September 1. Staff photo/William Laney By CARLA MEYER
Staff Writer
For 45 minutes, the roar of motorcycles could be heard passing under an American flag hanging from two ladder trucks. For 45 minutes, area residents gathered in the shadow of the Auglaize County Courthouse and Wapakoneta Fire Station waved and clapped as motorcyclists rode by.
The smiles and waves turned into clapping and cheers as the Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall passed down Willipie Street on its way to Custenborder Field in Sidney where it was greeted by a field of American flags.
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4 W-G residents seek 2 BOE seats |
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Monday, 02 November 2009 |
By WILLIAM LANEY
Managing Editor
Four Waynesfield-Goshen School District residents — one incumbent and three newcomers — are seeking the two seats available on the district’s Board of Education. They will learn Tuesday which ones are likely to be sitting around the board table for January’s meeting. The vote is to be certified later in November.
The four running for office are incumbent Mark Chiles and newcomers John Cron, David Pepple and Jeff Schultz. Incumbent Susan Miller decided against running for her seat.
Chiles, 54, said he would like to continue working on a few changes started at the schools.
“I am running because there are still a few things that I would like to see through such as the school getting its higher curriculum aligned and the state test scores up,” said Chiles, who graduated from Waynesfield-Goshen High School. “I would like to see some things changed around, such as a different way of teaching the kids, so that everybody is teaching the same way.”
He said one of the most problematic issues is state funding of education.
“The biggest thing hitting all the schools right now is in regard to the state budget,” Chiles said. “The state can’t even tell us what they are giving us right now, if they are giving us more money or are they going to be taking money away from us.
“The biggest thing is determining what the state budget will be and how it will affect state funding of the schools,” he said.
Chiles, who works at Plasti-Pak Packaging in Jackson Center, lives across the county line in Logan County with his wife, Jeanette and sons, Braden and Nathaniel.
During his past term, Chiles said he and his fellow board members have made some progress.
“We’ve got the curriculum realigned along the lines of the state core that they came out with,” Chiles said. “I am proud of the new school and we hope that saves us money.”
Pepple, who teaches with the Perry Local School system, said he intends to use his experience in the classroom to help with making decisions facing board members in the board room.
Pepple, 33, who graduated from Waynesfield-Goshen High School in 1994, lives in the district with his wife, Melissa, and their two sons, Will and Leo, and daughter, Kendall.
“I decided to run for school board because basically my children are going to grow up here and I have a vested interest in seeing the school and the community grow and improve,” Pepple said. “Having an education background, I felt it gave me a unique perspective for some of the issues that come before a school board.”
Pepple has taught the past 11 years in high school and worked five years as an assistant athletic director. During the past 10 years, he has coached track and boys and girls basketball.
He also has been a part of contract negotiations three times.
After graduating from Waynesfield-Goshen High School, he earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Bowling Green State University and a master’s degree in administration from the University of Dayton.
Pepple said one of the major issues facing school board members is meeting the challenges created by the recent rough economic times.
“The idea, right now, is that with the tough economic times that we have to be wise with how we spend the money,” Pepple said. “We need to be fiscally responsible and make our dollars count the best way that we can.”
He said he has no concerns about the open enrollment numbers attending Waynesfield-Goshen and the numbers speak well of a “great school.”
“If kids want to come to Waynesfield-Goshen, I think we can offer them a great opportunity,” Pepple said.
Schultz, 45, graduated from Waynesfield-Goshen Schools and earned an associate’s degree in accounting from Lima Technical College, now James A. Rhodes State College. He also attended The Ohio State University.
He and his wife, Rhonda, have a daughter, Alyssa, and two boys, Seth and Taylor.
Their children attend or attended Waynesfield-Goshen Schools. Alyssa Schultz graduated and is taking classes at The Ohio State University in Lima.
Schultz said the main reason he is running is to give back to his community and to help the school district by calling upon his 22 years of business experience.
“The main reason I am running is to give back to the community where I grew up,” said Schultz, who is a volunteer on the Wayne Township Volunteer Fire Department and helps coach midget football. “Another important reason is my business experience and background, having been in business for 22 years and having been involved with purchasing, budgeting, contract negotiations — with that experience and wanting to give back I think I can help the school district, especially with what is coming up with state budget cuts.”
He said one of the most pressing issues facing school board members is the uncertainty of state funding.
“I think for any school district, including Waynesfield-Goshen, is the state funding cuts that are being discussed,” Schultz said. “Also for Waynesfield-Goshen, I think it is the academic side of school and dealing with and meeting the state proficiency tests.”
He also would like to improve on the communication between school board members and the school administration and the residents in the district.
“I would be responsive and receptive to the community and listen to what everybody has to say,” Schultz said. “As part of the school board, I think it is important to communicate with people of the Waynesfield-Goshen community — communication is a big part of serving as a school board member.”
He is a member of the Sons of the Legion.
Calls seeking comment from John Cron were not returned.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 03 November 2009 )
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