Getting Out of Mowing The Lawn

Many of you reading this post have been the designed lawn mower in your household at some time. Wouldn't you think that the brilliance that landed a man on the moon could figure out how to get a machine that will automatically mow the lawn? And living in the hotbed of inventions that we call the Miami Valley, couldn't someone here do that?

You bet!

Over the last weekend, there was a unique competition held at Wright State. Well, perhaps "unique" isn't the best choice of words because this same competition was held here last year as well. The Institute of Navigation (ION) held its fourth annual Autonomous Lawnmower Competition. Each of the eight competing teams engineered a lawn mower to work without human intervention until the lawn is mowed. The mowers used differential global positioning system techniques as well as lasers and sonar for guidance. Talk about using technology to solve practical, daily living problems!

The competition consisted of two phases. The static phase required the mower to cover a rectangular patch of lawn. The dynamic phase required the mower to trim an L shaped lawn while avoiding a moving obstacle. For safety reasons, the mover can't move faster than six miles per hour. Teams represented Ecole de Technologie Superieure in Quebec, Florida State University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Miami University, Ohio University (last year's winner), University of Evansville, University of Minnesota in Duluth, and our own Wright State University.

Last year, WSU came in third place, but this year, they WON! In addition to a hefty cash award, the 11-member team advised by Dr. Kuldip Rattan, a WSU professor of electrical and computer engineering, also gets to present its mower at the ION Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) conference, assorted press coverage, and a competition video will be distributed to companies in the industry. Talk about a great resume addition for the lucky engineering students!

Maybe we will see a robotic lawn mover in our lives that rivals anything that George Jetson could have purchased (if he had a lawn, that is) and we will all thank WSU alumni for their contributions.

The Old Fairborn Theatre Holds Many Fond Memories

As Fairborn is my home town I was pleased to see the interest in the old Fairborn Theatre which holds many fond memories from my youth. The best were probably Summer Downtown Fairborn Days where all the kids were dropped off for Wednesday afternoon movies while the Mom's went shopping downtown.

If you clipped a coupon from the Fairborn Daily Herald you got in for a dime, and could get a box of popcorn and a fountain drink for 25 cents. In the days before everybody having air conditioning that alone made it special, but the monster movies, The 3 Stooges, Abbott and Costello, "B" and "C" -Sci-Fi, and cartoons were a blast. Also, numbers written on the bottom of the popcorn boxes which would be drawn for prizes and on occasion the ushers would dress up in monster costumes and run up and down the aisles.

Two things:

1) perhaps a recreations of those summer afternoons would be a big money maker....even if you had it in the evening anytime of year. I know I'd round up some kids to bring ;)

2) I heard that you may be selling off the old theatre seats and my boss was very interested in that. (OK, I am too LOL)

You can reach me by reply, or during the day at xxx-xxxx ext xxx here at the factory in Dayton.

Best regards.....

Alan Schierenbeck,
Fairborn Baker Class of ''75

eFairborn.com

Skyhawk Marching Band Winning Season (so far)

The Skyhawk Marching Band of Fairborn High School is having an outstanding season.

On Saturday, September 9th, the band earned second place in the Piqua Invitational of the Mid-States Band Association.


On Saturday, September 30th, the band won the Group IV division of the Third Annual Wildcat Spectacular Tournament of Bands hosted by Arundel High School in Gambrills, Maryland, and swept the competition by earning the highest score of the day and receiving the awards for Best Brass, Best Guard, and Best Percussion. This win was especially sweet for the band's director, Ed Nagel, who used to live in Severna Park, Maryland.

Later that day, the band also won first place, overall high score, and Best Guard at Glen Burnie's Tournament of Bands.

This weekend, they are hosting their annual Fairborn Festival of Bands at Baker Middle School, sanctioned by Mid-States Band Association (MSBA).

Posted on eFairborn.com

Local Filmmakers Shine

Sunday night, I had the opportunity to see a the premier of the movie Doris and Balls: Behind Enemy Mimes at the Regal Hollywood 20 by the Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek. It was awesome. I laughed the whole way through it.

The creative team behind the movie are recent Fairborn High School grads Jimmy Barker, Sean Cruser, Micah Kemplin, and Miles Vanderkolk. This team has been working together for two years on short films and have won several awards at film festivals, including the Sundog regional film festival (grades 8-12) in Yellow Springs. They won first place in the Falcon Film Festival for freshman at Bowling Green State University with their film Freshman Life: A Filmmaker's Perspective which tells the story of festival winners and Jimmy was honored as Best Actor.

The second installment of the Doris and Balls franchise, the movie weaves the story of two veteran detectives named Doris and Balls and their fight against a mime who has joined forces with F.E.T.U.S., a terrorist group that has captured a nuclear weapon they intend to launch against the United States from Canada. Doris and Balls get fired from their jobs when a mission results in a fatality, and their personal lives unravel while the bad guys gather strength and launch their plan. When it seems that no one else can save the United States, their former boss invites them back to save the country. Full of action sequences, lots of laughs, some silliness, and more than a handful of double entendres, sexual innudendos, and brief partial nudity, this unrated film will please anyone who appreciates low brow humor along the lines of There's Something About Mary, The Wedding Crashers, or Meet the Fockers.

The biggest surprise for me was the musical number, a rendition of Sounds of Silence that mimicked the harmonies of Simon and Garfunkel. It was well done, especially within the context of a comedy.

I went to film because I have a family member who was involved on both sides of the camera and I wanted to see what he had been doing all summer. Having written two unsold screenplays myself, I went with an appreciation of the scope of effort required to make a full length film, and with respect for these kids for their passion. I was surprised by both the production quality and the on-camera talents, especially from the legion of volunteers, friends and family members who invested themselves in the project. In short, it was much better than I expected, and is quite an accomplishment for this young filmmaking team. I know we haven't heard the last from them.

There are trailers and other pieces of video available on various sources, including YouTube and Zanga. The Fairborn Daily Herald ran an article about the show last week.

FHS '86 Grad Gets Reality Show

If you have watched more than 10 minutes of any show on Bravo in the last month, you have seen a promo for Work Out, Bravo's newest reality show and the first fitness reality show. They highlight Jackie Warner (formerly Waddell), a blond, hard bodied trainer with a Hollywood A-list clientele and her own fitness business in Beverly Hills, Sky Sport and Spa. You may have heard the great reviews for the show from nearly everyone, including the Chicago Tribune, New York Times, and Variety, with only a few cautions from Common Sense Media. You may also have heard that she's a lesbian, a power lesbian at that, and that she appeared on Ellen.

But did you know that she's from Fairborn? Or that her mom still lives here? Today's Dayton Daily News spills the beans on that.

She talked in an interview about how she couldn't come out as a lesbian in the 80s in Fairborn High School, and that made me think. That's almost 10 years after I graduated from PHHS, and while I knew a couple of my friends were gay, it wasn't public. I wonder if things are different in our schools today. In an upcoming episode, her mom visits and apparently mom doesn't approve of Jackie's lifestyle based on her conservative religious beliefs.

It's always exciting to see someone in your immediate neighborhood make it big, and Jackie has certainly put Fairborn on the map differently than any one before her. I wonder if the Fairborn City Schools will be placing her in the Hall of Fame along with other grads who have made a big mark on the world after leaving us.

I've just programmed my DVR to catch the rest of the season to see this local girl make a big splash.

Anyone out there remember Jackie? Anyone still in touch with her?

Our City Schools

I have lived in Fairborn all of my life and I am the third generation of my family to attend the Fairborn City Schools. My grandmother attended Bath Consolidated School (Central School) before and after the merger of Osborn and Fairfield and my mother is a 1973 graduate from Park Hills High School now known as Fairborn High School. I always figured that when I have children and it is time for them to start Kindergarten that they too would go to Five Points until 7th grade at which time I would find an alternative to the Fairborn City Schools.

A couple years ago the school board decided that to conserve money they would combine all of the elementary schools and close down Black Lane and Wright Elementary. I understand that this caused a problem when deciding how to incorporate the students from these schools into the remaining elementary schools. However why did the school board find it necessary to completely change the names of the schools and which grades are taught in each building. I think that having Kindergarten through 6th grade in the same school building offers a social atmosphere that helps children understand how to interact with other children of different ages. Not to mention the safe feeling many children and parents have when a younger sibling starts Pre-School, Kindergarten or 1st grade knowing that an older sibling is in the same building and sometimes either walking or riding home on the bus together. The way the schools are set up right now children from the same family in grades pre-school through 6th grade are separated between 3 different buildings. Pre-School and Kindergarten through 3rd grade is at Fairborn Primary in the Five Points building, 4th and 5th grade is at Fairborn Intermediate in the South-Palmer building on Maple Ave and 6th grade is being taught at the East elementary building now known as the Baker Middle School, East Wing. According to the Fairborn Daily Herald next year Wright Elementary will be opened up for 8 all-day Kindergarten classes which will cost parents $185 per month while pre-school and the ½ day Kindergarten classes will continue to be held at Five Points. If anyone can make since of this I would like to hear his or her reasoning. I am sure that the school board has a good excuse but I do not see how separating yet another grade is a good idea or how re-opening a building for 8 classes is worth the money they saved by closing the same school a couple of years ago.

I want to know why the Fairborn City Schools are insisting on keeping the schools split up the way they are now. How will children know how to relate to older/younger children or know what it is like to be in a school with their siblings and neighbors without having to switch schools at 4th, 6th, 7th and 9th grades? I still remember how nervous all of us were to go to Baker in 7th grade and then to the High School in 9th and now this is an experience children will have every couple years. I do not see how the inconvenience this has caused most parents is still worth the money saved. Is there anyone that sees the benefits of having the elementary schools teach Kindergarten through 6th in the same building? One benefit is that many parents want to take their 5-6 year olds to school during their first year. However, while parents used to do this at 5 different schools now they all have to squeeze in at one. I constantly get stuck in traffic around Fairborn Primary School (Five Points) because of this. It happens at 9am, 12pm and 3pm and there have been times I was stuck in the line of traffic trying to pull into the school parking lot well after 9am. So this inconvenience is not just for traffic or parents but is also causing students to be late and teachers to have to wait to start class. Giving families back the luxury of having all of their pre-teen children at the same school could help solve this problem. Two families from different parts of Fairborn would take their children to different schools the way they used to instead of having to drop their children off at the same school because their grade. Parents would not have to drop their 6th, 4th and 2nd grader off at different schools at different times. Teachers would have less trouble during certain events because they would have assistance from older students. For example, right now at Fairborn Primary there would be a limited number of adults to control approximately 1,500 children under the age of 10 in the event of an emergency.

While the whole country is being asked to conserve fuel, students that go to the Fairborn City Schools that could walk to school now have to either ride the bus or be driven by parents because they attend a school on the other side of town. In the past there would be a bus to bring home high school students around 2:30 followed by another from Baker around 2:45 and then a bus from the nearest elementary school after 3pm. Not too long ago I was stopped by two busses less than a block apart, one from Baker and one from Fairborn Intermediate (4th & 5th). The bus from Fairborn Intermediate would normally run after 3pm as a bus full of elementary school students grades Kindergarten through 6th. This is an added trip that is only necessary because of the changes in the schools.

Maybe people will read this and think it is just another rant about a successful change made by the school district. I hope more people see it as an attempt to expose the problems created by a school district that was desperate to inconvenience our city enough to pass a tax levy. If parents and residents make the school board aware of their feelings we might be able to change how things are now.

Congrats to Dr. Rajeev Venkayya

In April, Rajeev Venkayya (Fairborn, '85) was appointed as a special assistant to President Bush for biodefense. In his job, he will help to plan our country's strategy for addressing the potential bird flu pandemic and other disease threats. He reports to Frances Townsend, the Senior Advisor for Homeland Security, and advises Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta.

After graduating as the class valedictorian, Rajeev graduated from Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. He also worked and taught at University of California, San Francisco, and is still on the faculty while working at the White House.

The Dayton Daily News interviewed Rajeev, and posted their Q&A session. He was also interviewed for an in-depth article about the pandemic flu risks for The Economist magazine last year.

Crossing the Tracks

I grew up on the north side of town, next to East Elementary, and in the shadow of Fairborn/Baker High School (now Baker Junior High). I watched the teenagers walk past my house on their way to school, and saw them hovering around the high school before sporting events, social events, and the annual Homecoming bonfire (one of my favorite events). I would hear the marching band practice at the end of every summer. I grew up waiting for my turn to take part in these things.

But fate had other plans for me. In the summer between 7th and 8th grade, my parents moved us across town. I suddenly found myself as one of "them" -- the Hee Hos -- the enemy. It was about the worst thing I could imagine happening to my nearly idyllic childhood. I held a grudge the entire time I attended PHHS, unwilling to accept my new school and geography, and unable to recapture the world I had longed for and lost. I was active in the marching band (HEE HO!) but it wasn't the band I thought I would be in.

I was in the school on the "wrong side" of the tracks.

I want to point out, though, that Rona Hills is also on the wrong side of the tracks!

Some of my best memories from my time on the north side of town revolved around taking unauthorized trips to Rona Hills the back way. There was a path through a huge field that I believe was part of the cement plant. The path started across the tracks along Dayton Drive just past the fieldhouse (Dayton Dr. and Jefferson St.) and ended up at Spangler Road. In the days before I-675, you only had to cross another field to end up on Roehner Drive, and the edge of Rona Hills.

If my parents had any idea of the places I traveled by foot and by bike during those years, I'd still be on restriction.