On Feb. 1 a group of community singers gathered to learn Beverly Logan’s original 1978 work, “Great Groundhog Day.” We did our best with the eight verses, sung as solos, duets, quartets and, ultimately, an octet.

Lyrics:

Eleemosynary focuses on three generations of strong and independent women, a grandmother, mother and daughter, who are attempting to navigate the disappointments between them, as well as understand the gifts that one generation passes on to the next. The matriarch, Dorothea (played by Nowik) is an eccentric who is estranged from her daughter, Artemis, a brilliant scientist. Dorothea has been raising Echo, the daughter of Artemis, and the girl attempts to bring her mother and grandmother together at a spelling bee, in which she’s a contestant.

Performances are Feb. 3, 4, 9, and 10 at 8 p.m. at the UD Boll Theater at the Kennedy Union. There is also a performance at 7 p.m. on Feb. 5. Tickets are priced at $10, and $7 for students.

“I wish every mother could take her daughter to see it,” Nowik said in a recent interview, although she also believes that, while the play focuses on the three female characters, “I don’t think it’s only a woman’s play. I think it’s bigger than that.”

For more information about the UD performnces, contact the box office at 229-2545.

See the Feb. 2 Yellow Springs News for a more detailed story.

“We’re growing. Our capacity is expanding,” said Joanne Caputo, the new arts and cultural manager of the YSAC. “We’re in the fifth year of our expanded effort to promote all arts in the community.”

The topic was discussion only, with no action taken.

Specifically, the group asked to use the second-floor arts room at John Bryan Community Center as the Arts Council office during business hours. The need is immediate because a recent grant from the Morgan Family Foundation is funding Caputo’s new part-time administrative position, and the group also has an Antioch Student intern funded by a Miller Grant working part time. And at the end of this month, the group’s lease is up for its Oten Gallery location on Xenia Avenue, where it has rented space since 2010.

During the discussion Council member Gerry Simms questioned why the Arts Council, but not other groups, would receive rent-free space from the Village.

“I’m concerned that this is taking space out for one segment of the community without considering others,” he said.

Most Council members expressed support for the Arts Council, which in recent years sponsored the Yellow Springs Experience and Summer in the Springs, events that bring visitors to town.

There is also a precedent for the YSAC using the space, according to Caputo, because until 2008 the group used the Bryan Center arts room space free of charge.

The group is continuing to look for a new gallery space, according to Caputo in an interview last week, and several locations, including the old Dolbeer’s Cleaners, are being considered.

During the Jan. 17 discussion, Council members discussed how well-used the Bryan Center arts room is, and whether there is a better option available for YSAC office space. Cundiff and Caputo were to look at a currently unused third-floor office space.

Caputo also requested Village government support for the YSAC’s application for a National Endowment for the Arts “Our Town” federal grant. Council members expressed support, and asked Village staff to prepare a resolution.

In other Council business:

• Council approved 4–1 the sale of Village-owned land for $1 to the owners of MillWorks, who had requested the transfer of a strip of property adjacent to the bike path and the MillWorks facility so that they could upgrade the building’s loading docks. In conjunction with the transfer, Council approved 3–2 the first reading of an ordinance that authorizes the payment of $2,300 from the Village Revolving Economic Development Fund to the Greene County bike path Trail Maintenance Fund to cover the MillWorks land transfer.

Council President Judith Hempfling and Gerry Simms voted against the ordinance.

Council had discussed the MillWorks request at an earlier meeting, but at that time it wasn’t clear that even though the Village owns the land in question, which is part of the bike path right-of-way, that the Village is obligated to pay the Trail Maintenance Fund an amount equal to the value of the land, according to Village Manager Mark Cundiff. And Village staff was also not clear that the MillWorks owners expected the land to be transfered at no cost, following the precedent of a earlier Village land transfer of another strip of bike path right-of-way to Peach’s Grill last year.

According to a memo to Council from Cundiff, the $2,300 figure was the value of the land near MillWorks, $1,700, plus the value of the Peach’s land, $600, since when the Peach’s deal took place, the Village was unaware that it needed to compensate the Trail Maintenance Fund.

While the majority of Council members stated they supported the action because it would benefit economic development in Yellow Springs, Hempfling said that while she had initially supported the MillWorks request, “I don’t think it’s the Village’s responsibility to pay for the land if a fee needs to be paid.”

• Council unanimously approved the second reading amending the membership and quorum requirements for the Economic Sustainability Commission. The action reduced the required number of group members to seven from nine, so that the group could more efficiently do business.

• Council approved a resolution authorizing dues paid to the Northern Miami Valley Local Government Association, and the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission.

• Council performed its second review of the Village Special Revenue Funds and Enterprise Funds. Council will consider the first reading of the 2012 Village budget at its next meeting.

Lottie was born Nov. 20, 1921 in West Spring Creek, Pa. She was the fourth of the 10 children of Gary B. and Marian S. Bennett, all of whom graduated from Corry High School in Pennsylvania. She was a faithful wife, mother, sister, daughter, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend. She married Russell Wayne Hopkins in 1942 and had three daughters, Connie Hopkins Howe Ham and Donna Jean Hopkins of Yellow Springs, and Wilma Hopkins Spaulding, (James), of McKean, Pa. She married Neil Lindsey of North East, Pa. in 1972. She was a member of the North East Christian Missionary and Alliance Church until moving to Edinboro in 1998, following the death of her husband, Neil. She was a faithful member of First Baptist Church of Edinboro from that time on, actively involving herself in the Ladies Missionary Group and Ladies Sunday School Class, where she is remembered as feisty and opinionated. She was a loving and doting grandmother and great-grandmother, a wonderful cook and homemaker.

Lottie was preceded in death by sisters Marie Bennett Crum (Edward), Iona Bennett Bennick (James), Marian Bennett Payne (William), Barbara Bennett Sherwood (Louis), brothers Bernard and Allen Bennett, (Audrey) and grandson, Kyle Spaulding. She is survived by sisters Lillian Bennett Marsh (Fred) of Corry, Pa., Alice Bennett Buserello (Joseph) of Hilton Head, S.C. and Shirley Bennett Carroll of Rockville, Md. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Sarah Howe Radliff (Kym) of Charlotte, N.C., James Spaulding, IV (Amy) and Nicholas Spaulding (Sarah) of Philadelphia, Stephanie Spaulding Dinger (Jason) of Richmond, Va., Edward Martin Howe (Mumbi) of Pittsburgh, Pa., Amy Elizabeth Howe of Edinboro, Pa. and Carly Spaulding of McKean, Pa. She had 17 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. She will be very much missed.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the First Baptist Church of Edinboro, 12472 Edinboro Rd., Edinboro, PA 16412.

During her long life, Betty worked at home as a wife and mother, at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, and as a volunteer at All Saints Episcopal Church in Cincinnati. In recent years, she rarely missed watching Jeopardy, finishing the advanced crossword puzzle (in pen) and giving her opinion on topics in the news and in her family. Betty was a strong and amazing woman who will be greatly missed.

Betty is survived by her children Margaret Ballenger (Jeffrey), T. Michael Hall (Joann), Mark Hall (Becky), Patty Yates (Dave), Peggy Sanchez (Dan), Michael Ost (Paula), Julie Hornsby (Tony) and Elizabeth Berger (Rick). She is also survived by many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and friends. She was preceded in death by daughter Sheila Howell and by husbands Tom Hall and Tom Ost.

A celebration of Betty’s life will be held on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 1 p.m. at All Saints Episcopal Church in Cincinnati. Memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Cincinnati at P.O. Box 633579, Cincinnati, OH 45263-3579 or to All Saints Episcopal Church at 6301 Parkman Place, Cincinnati, OH 45213.

In November, the family moved to Yellow Springs, where they now live on King Street. Jaye and Kelly help each other get through the day, but they are stunned and heartbroken.

“It’s so sudden,” Jaye said in a recent interview. “You’re out with the kids on a family excursion and suddenly, because a driver isn’t paying attention, your child dies. It’s a nightmare, and we have to learn the horrifying truth again every day.”

Jaye and Kelly have, besides their son, one reason to keep moving forward. They hope to change local and state laws so that other families don’t suffer the same tragedy. Specially, they want to raise awareness about the need for laws banning the use of cell phones while driving.

“I’ll dedicate as much of my life as I can bringing attention to this problem, with the hopes of eradicating it,” Jaye said.

The driver of the car that hit the family in August, a 22-year-old woman, is believed to have been on a cell phone, as well as exceeding the speed limit, at the time of the accident. And it’s likely that she was, the Drummonds believe, as she hit them with extreme force and did not appear to have put on her brakes, according to state highway patrol officers at the scene. Springfield prosecutors are pursuing a criminal case against the driver, with a charge of vehicular manslaughter and vehicular homicide.

While the Drummonds are gratified that this one driver, at least, may be brought to justice, that action doesn’t change the larger problem, which is that countless people are driving while talking on cell phones or texting.

“I see people going up and down our street talking on their phones all the time,” Kelly Drummond, a nurse practitioner, said.

There is growing awareness in the country about the dangers of texting while driving, and most states — although not Ohio — have laws banning this activity. But there’s far less awareness about the dangers of driving while talking on the cell phone. While some states have passed laws banning the use of handheld cell phones while driving, those laws give the mistaken impression that it’s safe to drive while using hands-free devices. According to a 2010 report by the National Safety Council, or NSC, it is not.

“Cell phone driving has become a serious public health threat,” the report states, estimating that more than one in four motor vehicle accidents involve cell phone use. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that at any given time about 11 percent of all drivers are using cell phones, according to the report.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 3-to-34-year-olds in this country, and one of three top causes of death throughout a person’s lifetime, the report states. In the past 15 years, more than 650,000 Americans lost their lives in car accidents. The NSC report estimates that 25 percent of all crashes in 2008 involved cell phone use. Using this figure, the death rate linked to cellphone use while driving would be equivalent to the lives lost if one jet with 90 passengers crashed approximately every three days per year during that time.

And many more Americans suffer injuries. In 2008 alone, 2.2 million Americans were injured in car accidents.

“To reduce this toll, prevention must focus on the top factors associated with crashes,” the report states, identifying cell phone use along with alcohol and speeding as the leading factors. Some risk factors involved in using cell phones while driving are obvious, such as attention taken away from the road while dialing. But other risk factors are not. According to the NSC report, response times by cell phone users are slowed because people are not actually capable of “multi-tasking,” doing two things, such as talking and driving, at once. Rather, our human brains handle tasks sequentially, switching from one to another. This switching involves a series of steps that ultimately can lead to an overload of information, so that some information is shut out. One effect of this switching is slower response times, and another is the brain ignoring some visual information. Consequently, when on the cell phone even those drivers looking straight out the window are not seeing all the visual information that non-cell phone users see, because their brains simply can’t process it.

“Drivers talking on hands-free cell phones are more likely to not see both high and low relevant objects, showing a lack of ability to allocate attention to the most important information,” the study reads. “They miss visual cues critical to safety and navigation. They tend to miss exits, go through red lights and stop signs and miss important navigational signage.”

The NSC study, a compilation of 30 studies across cultures that examine the effects of driving while talking on a cell phone, comes to the conclusion that “the risk of crashing when engaged in a hands-free phone conversation is about four times greater than when not using a phone while driving.”

Ohio remains one of 10 states with no ban on texting while driving, and one of 13 states with no laws banning cell phone use. Last June the Ohio House passed a law banning texting while driving, which has since gone to the Senate Highways and Transportation Committee, which heard testimony on the bill in November, without taking action. However, a similar bill died in the Senate a year ago.

While the state so far has taken no action on distracted driving laws, some Ohio municipalities have. In December, the city of Kettering banned text messaging while driving, as have Toledo, Columbus, Zanesville and Delaware, among others.

The Drummonds hope to start their campaign to make driving safer in Yellow Springs.

“Why wait for the state to take action? Kelly Drummond said. “We think Yellow Springs is forward-thinking enough.”

Making clear the risks of driving while distracted by cell phone use and texting is especially important now, since those activities are so much a part of life for countless young people, making it likely that more and more people will drive distracted as those young people age, Jaye Drummond said. It’s critical that young and old alike become more aware of the dangers of driving while distracted, and local and state bans are a significant way to do so.

“We need the laws to express community disapproval,” he said.

Nothing can bring back Lauren Drummond, who her parents describe as a “magical spirit” who loved dancing and singing, and on the day she died was thrilled to be starting Mills Lawn School in 11 days. But with the “Lauren’s Law” they hope to bring about in Yellow Springs, and ultimately in Ohio, they hope to help others avoid their devastating loss.

To all drivers, Jaye Drummond says, “Please pay attention to the road at all times. Consider the lives of others, if not your own.”

• Council Meeting
Mon., Feb. 6, 7 p.m.

• Library Commission
Tues., Feb. 7, 7 p.m.
Meeting at the Library

• Environmental Commission
Thurs., Feb. 9, 7 p.m.
Meeting Rooms A and B

Meetings are held in Council Chambers unless otherwise noted.

The meetings are wheelchair accessible. Any person requiring a disability accommodation should contact the Village Clerk’s Office at 767-9126 or clerk {at} yso(.)com.

For the first time all season, the Yellow Springs High School girls varsity basketball team has a winning record after taking down three teams this week. The Bulldogs improved to 8–7 overall (.533) after starting out just 1–5 (.167). They have now won four straight games in the Metro Buckeye Conference, where they currently hold third place.

Belmont was the first victim of the Bulldogs, who won 35–27. After a slow start, the team pulled away in the third quarter to seal the victory. Center Kennedy Harshaw dominated the boards, with 11 rebounds, and also led scoring for her team, with 14 points. Angela Allen added six points and 11 rebounds, Maryah Martin had seven points, and Brianna Ayers contributed three steals.

Later in the week, YSHS lit up the scoreboard against Middletown Christian, 50–27. Angela Allen turned in a dominant double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Maryah Martin had 14 points, four steals and five assists. Martin is currently eighth in the Dayton area in assists, averaging 4.6 per game. Kara Edwards and Kennedy Harshaw chipped in 6 points each.

Meanwhile, the team’s defense soundly shut out the Eagles. Coach Tim Barga praised the team’s improving defense, singling out the efforts of Keturah Fulton, Ayers, and Martin.

Finally, the Bulldogs hung on to defeat Troy Christian in a close one, 33–29, to improve to 5–3 in the conference.

Revenge sweet for boys hoops

The Yellow Springs boys basketball team regained some pride on Friday as they cruised to a 64–59 victory over visiting Middletown Christian just two weeks after falling to them in a devastating overtime loss.

Despite a 25-point Bulldog lead and 46-point performance from YSHS forward Roland Newsome, YSHS lost 93–89 in overtime to Middletown Christian on Jan. 13. This time it was all Bulldogs. The home team, in front of a packed house, charged out to a 31–18 halftime lead on a last second basket by Liam Weigand.

But a 20-point third quarter by Middletown Christian cut the Bulldogs lead to eight and with just three minutes remaining in the contest, the visitors had gone ahead by three. Then, with one minute left, Jared Scarfpin knocked down a three-pointer to put his team up by two, Cole Edwards put in back-to-back free throws and Newsome added another three pointer to seal the victory.

Robbie Jones played his strongest game of the year, finishing with 17 points. Newsome added 16 points and nine rebounds. Newsome is the Dayton area’s fourth leading rebounder this season, averaging 11.3 per game. Edwards brought down a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds and Greg Felder Jr. and Antone Truss had eight point each.

Unfortunately, the Bulldogs couldn’t carry their momentum into the following night’s contest against Bradford. They fell in yet another close game, 52–48. The teams were tied at 29 at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs couldn’t keep their opponents off the scoreboard, giving up 23 points in the final quarter of play.

Only four Bulldogs scored on the night. Newsome had the bulk of the team’s points, with 26, Greg Felder Jr. contributed 18 and Edwards and Jones each put in two points. Felder Jr., who is ninth in the area in blocks, with 1.8 per game, added another one during the match. The team is now 4–10 on the season (3–4 in conference play).

See more photos from the Middletown Christian game at ysnews.com.

Swimmers win MBC titles

Bulldog swimmers won multiple titles at the Metro Buckeye Conference Championships as they continue to improve in preparation for the end-of-year run up to states.

Erika Chick won the 200-yard freestyle in 2:03.06 and the 100-yard freestyle in 55.83. Elizabeth Malone took first in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:16.31 and also won the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:00.32.

The 200-yard freestyle team (Chick, Malone, Zoey McKinley and Rachel Meyer) had a season-fast time of 2:02.94 and came in second in the conference. They also finished the 200-yard medley relay in third place with a time of 2:13.98.

Meyer finished in third in the 500-yard freestyle (7:06.69) and swam the 50-yard freestyle in 33.45. McKinley’s 100-yard breaststroke, in 1:42.27, was good for fifth place. She also swam the 50-yard freestyle in 36.65.

Connor Gravely-Novello came in seventh place in the boys competition with a 33.71 in the 50-yard freestyle. Ashley Merritt swam the 100-yard freestyle in 1:41.00 and Emma Romohr finished the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 37.36.

With strong performances this season, Chick and Malone are on swimming honor rolls in the Dayton and Springfield areas. For the Springfield area, out of eight total individual events, they are number one in three events and among the top three in six events.

McKinney girls fail to finish

Disappointment continues for the McKinney seventh- and eighth- grade basketball team, which lost another close game last week. The combined team lost to Middletown Christian, 28–24, as Elizabeth Smith had 22 points and Julie Roberts added two. Together, they are 0–5.

The seventh-grade team stepped up to defeat Troy Christian 29–20 in a rematch with a team that beat them in double overtime earlier in the season. Their record is now 2–4. Smith had 27 of the team’s points and Roberts had two. But the eighth grade team couldn’t follow suit, losing 43–17 to Troy Christian to fall to 0–6. Smith scored most of the team’s 15 points, all during the fourth quarter, and Ashley Longshaw added two.

8th grade wins in double OT

The eighth-grade boys basketball team won in double overtime this week to keep an unblemished conference record. They are now 10–0 in the MBC.

At Troy Christian, Rodman Allen hit back-to-back three pointers at the end of regulation to send the game to overtime. Isaiah Taylor was also clutch from behind the arc, scoring two three-pointers in the third quarter to give the Bulldogs a five-point advantage going into the final stretch. In the second overtime, the Bulldogs pulled ahead, winning 40–37. Allen finished with 18, Taylor had 11, Kaner Butler had 5 points and J.T. Clark and Ethan Dewine scored two each.

Earlier in the week they put away Middletown Christian, 59–26. Scoring for the Bulldogs were Allen (16), Taylor (11), Clark (10), Dewine (6), Butler (8), Perry (4), Taran Pergram (2) and Oluka Okia (2).

7th grade hoops digs deep

The seventh-grade boys basketball team took down Middletown Christian this week, 36–19, in a great example of team play. Hayden Orme controlled the tempo of the game by calmly setting up the offense while knocking down open jumpers when left alone. He finished with 10 points. Center Joe Plumar dominated the paint, scoring the Bulldogs’ first nine points of the game. Akeem Truss put pressure on the Middletown Christian guards by penetrating the lane and finishing at the rim. He added 15 points for the night.

The Bulldogs were strong off the bench as well. Guards C.J Johnson and Landon Rhoads put pressure on defense while being aggressive on offensive. Landon Rhoads knocked down an open jumper to keep the Bulldogs momentum going into the fourth quarter. And backup center Jordan White collected six rebounds off the bench.

The weekend of February 10–12, near Valentine’s Day, will feature rock music, dancing, peace protests, wedding vow renewals, couple’s yoga, environmental action, valentine craft-making, a chocolate crawl, a lecture on same-sex marriage and more.

With ties to the 1967 Human “Be-In” in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s 1969 “Bed-In,” the Love-In is still very Yellow Springs, according to organizers Joanne Caputo and Megan Miller of the Arts Council.

“We’re bringing back the love-in but with Yellow Springs’ meaning,” said Caputo. Fittingly, the idea for a love-in came to Caputo during a meditation in December. It wasn’t long before the Yellow Springs Experience — a collaboration of local arts groups, non-profits and businesses always looking for new ways to bring tourists to town to shop, learn and recreate — came on board.

On the Valentine’s Day theme, 23 downtown shops are taking part in the “Tour de Chocolat” on Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. Shoppers can pick up free samples, sale items or special offerings of chocolate and cocoa-laced products at participating businesses, which will hang a heart in their window. Dino’s will brew a new mocha drink; La Llama Place will have Peruvian chocolates on hand; a chocolate stout will be on tap at Peach’s and Current Cuisine will bake chicken mole enchiladas.

There will be many “date opportunities” for couples to celebrate that holiday weekend. Parents can drop off their kids at a valentine-making craft night at the Yellow Springs High School cafeteria, on Friday from 6:30 to 9 p.m. before venturing out on the town kid-free. One place they could head is the Spirited Goat Café for an Espresso Date Night with dessert and coffee, from 7 to 9 p.m. For health-conscious pairs, couples workshops on Thai-Yoga massage on Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. at Inner Light Yoga and Wellness and yoga at Yoga Springs Studio on Sunday from 3 to 6 p.m. are being offered.

Married couples can renew their wedding vows at a fireside ceremony at Ye Olde Trail Tavern on Saturday at 11 a.m. Jannirose Fennimore will officiate. The first 20 couples to reserve their $20 spot will get champagne for the toast, a copy of a group photo and an optional Valentine’s lunch at the Tavern.

And because gay couples can’t get married in Ohio, Caputo wanted to organize a talk on the status of same-sex marriage in the state. Ed Mullen, the executive director of Equality Ohio, will speak to the issue on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Emporium.

Throw backs to the Love-In’s 1960s predecessors are sprinkled throughout the event, especially the music, peace and activism. While Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead performed at San Francisco’s Be-In, the Yellow Springs Love-In will have its own, a sampling of 1960s and 1970s music — “the best music there ever was,” in Caputo’s words.

Peach’s Grill is hosting a ’60s and ’70s music dance party, on Friday from 5 to 7 p.m., along with its regular Friday and Saturday night shows. The local rock ‘n’ roll revival band “The Hoppers” will play at the Emporium’s Friday night Wine Tasting — with covers such as “Double Shot (of My Baby’s Love)” by the Swingin’ Medallions.

To involve and appeal to the youth — who played a big part in 1960s counterculture events — the Experience enlisted a group of Antioch College students for a rocking musical performance and jam session at the Glen Helen Building Auditorium on Saturday from 7 to 9 p.m.

According to Antioch College student and event organizer Megan Miller, a “good chunk” of the college’s 34 students, along with some teachers, will bring their guitars, keyboards and other instruments (someone found a cowbell, Miller reported). And because several students happen to have Star Wars costumes (including a Wookie suit and Han Solo pants), the students may perform as the “Star Wars Troubadours,” or some similar name, Miller said.

Harkening back to John and Yoko’s honeymoon Bed-In to promote world peace, there will be a variety of peace-themed activities during the Love-In. While John and Yoko sang “Give Peace a Chance” from bed, the village’s peace activists take to the streets weekly with signs and chants against wars abroad, economic inequality and more. Their demonstration, always open to any peace-loving person, will take place Saturday from noon to 1 p.m.

John and Yoko will make an appearance at the Love-In too, in the form of two re-enactors. The “John and Yoko” memorial Love-In will be staged in the second floor above The Winds Cafe on Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m. Also during that time and place, peaceniks are invited to speak at an open mic on peace and love. Scheduled speakers include a representative from the Yellow Springs Quaker Meeting and the Dayton Peace Museum.

Environmental activists can love the earth by gathering at the Eco-Mental store on Sunday at 11 a.m. to sign a petition urging Ohio Gov. John Kasich to put a moratorium on fracking, a controversial drilling technique used in natural gas extraction.

In the spirit of love, Village Artisans is hosting a “Mysteries of the Heart,” art show with 30 artists who created works in various media to complete the phrase, “The heart is…” The show runs through Feb. 24 with an artist reception on Friday, Feb. 10, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Dress is “nothing near formal wear,” Caputo said. Blue jeans and bellbottoms are part of the dress code, while tie-dyed T-shirts and flowers in your hair are optional, according to a brochure. And when Love-In participants have “been there and done that,” they can buy the T-shirt. Basho will be screen-printing A Love-In commemorative T-shirt on Friday and Saturday and selling it for just $10.

The whole event is sealed with a kiss or, more precisely, “The Kiss,” a public performance piece first organized by the Jafa Girls in 2008. They’re hoping to get 80 couples to kiss at 3:27 p.m. on Saturday at one of 80 kissing stations throughout town (designated by a pair of large red lips). Those participating should arrive at the First Presbyterian Church at 2:45 p.m. to get assigned to a kissing station and can kiss whomever, or whatever, they want, including mates, animals, teddy bears, their children or anything else, according to Caputo.

Though villagers might be tempted to have their own “Love-In” in bed on Valentine’s Day weekend, Caputo encouraged them to venture out for a few activities. And she hopes the event will draw from the region both “the hippies” and “the hip” to Yellow Springs, which, to her, always felt like the “Haight Ashbury of Ohio,” she said.

Yellow Springs Schools is accepting quotes for Lawn Mowing for 2012, for 3 site locations of Yellow Springs High School, Mills Lawn Elementary and the Yellow Springs Board Office.

Specifications for Mowing Proposals are available at the Board Office at 201 S. Walnut St. Yellow Springs, OH 45387. Please contact Susan Griffith at (937) 767-7381, sgriffith {at} ysschools(.)org
Submission deadline for Proposals is February 10, 2012.