New royalty crowned at 2021 Richland County Junior Fair:
‘Steeler Nation:’ College class leads to award-winning music video for Mansfield man:
Native Son: Mansfield’s Missing Mound:
Open Source: Can I use a band-powered speargun to fish in Ohio?:
Christie Irene Mills:
You’re listening to Source Daily: A new daily news podcast for Richland County. Join us Monday through Friday to stay up to date with what’s happening in North Central Ohio. We’ll be sharing a closer look at one of our top stories, along with other news, local history, memorials, answers to your questions, and more.
Today – The newest royals in the succession of the Richland County Junior Fair assumed their titles on Sunday evening at the John Hartz Building.
Madison Parks of Richland County Round-Up 4-H and Shelby FFA was crowned the 2021 Richland County Junior Fair Queen, while Evan Stuart of Crestview FFA was crowned King.
Their crowns were awarded by 2020 Queen Natalie Snyder and King Cory Myers.
The Junior Fair Queen and King are considered fair ambassadors. That means they’ll mentor the younger generations, help out with this year’s fair activities, and travel to other county fairs in Ohio.
Parks is a recent graduate of Shelby High School. She’s currently attending The Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute, majoring in graphic design and minoring in agricultural communications. She started with the junior fair program eight years ago, showing hogs.
We spoke to Dr. Judy Villard Overocker, the 4-H Extension Educator, who said that Parks has such a love for children. She’s one of the camp counselors, and she teaches kids from juvenile traffic court. Parks also has a passion for helping other people.
Stuart is a junior at Crestview High School, and first got involved with the Richland County Fair in 2010. He enjoys the familiarity of the fair, and the kind faces he sees every year. He works extra time in the office and is very dedicated.
Overocker also told us that last year’s pageant and coronation took place outdoors because of COVID-19 restrictions. And besides youth shows, no other events were allowed at the fair… but this year, they’ve gotten back to normal. She joked that being indoors again with air conditioning is certainly nice.
But Overocker noted that the spirit of this program has never wavered. And to her, it feels more like home now because they’re back in the regular facility.
First runners-up were Caroline Tilton of Muddy Creek Clovers 4-H and Clear Fork FFA, and Carson Abbott of Ring Raiders 4-H and Shelby FFA.
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Now, some local history…
In 1886 JC Woley approached Henry Hedges downtown and asked if he could dig a hole on some land that Hedges inherited on the east end of First Street down by the tracks.
Hedges said he didn’t mind. He figured it was an archaeological probe. But Woley wasn’t looking for Native American relics or prehistoric bones, he was digging for gold.
Why? A strange tale was circulating Mansfield’s north end in various bars, saloons and drinking establishments. A story of some rich guy who got paranoid about banks and buried his wealth.
Somehow word leaked out and reached the ears of a nosy reporter for the Mansfield Herald. He found Woley with a pickaxe and broke the news. Poor Woley came back the next morning to work on his dig only to discover it no longer existed. The mound was gone—shoveled to oblivion and flattened.
You can read more about this story and see pictures at richlandsource.com.
Next, we’re answering a question from our readers and listeners like you…
Today’s question? Can you use a band-powered speargun to fish in Ohio?
It’s not a question often asked of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. But a Richland Source reader asked, so we pursued an answer.
The best answer is a qualified yes, but only for forage fish, according to Jamey Emmert, communications specialist for the ODNR Division of Wildlife.
According to the Ohio Administrative Code, it’s lawful to take only forage fish while skin diving with a snorkel or while scuba diving in any water owned or controlled by the division of wildlife or in any other water area where skin or scuba diving is lawful.
Still, it’s always best to check first. Forage fish are sheepshead, carp, grass carp, silver carp, black carp, big-head carp, quillback, suckers, bowfin, gar, buffalo, gizzard shad, and goldfish.
Is there something you’ve always wondered about Richland County that you’d like us to investigate? Check out richlandsource.com and click “Talk to Us”. Here, you can ask us anything and we’ll go out and find the answers.
Now, we’d like to take a moment to highlight Daniel Roemer. What started as a college film class assignment, turned into an international-award winning music video.
Over the weekend, “Steeler Nation” won the award for Best Comedy Music Video at the Munich Music Video Awards. It’s also been selected as a finalist in the NewFilmmakers New York Film Festival.
All of which came as a pleasant surprise for the filmmaker. 41-year-old Roemer said he certainly didn’t plan on it becoming anything major.
It’s just the latest hit for Roemer, an “overnight” sensation who spent a decade and a half working in the film industry in Los Angeles after graduating from Mansfield Christian High School.
Roemer had about three months to get the video done. He enlisted local friends under the umbrella of his Zero Gravity Media company and went to work.
Even while creating “Steeler Nation,” Roemer has continued work on his passion project, a feature-length film, called “Chaser,” which is also shot locally.
Check out the full story and the video at richlandsource.com!
Next, From Knox Pages The Loudonville Village Youth Building, which first opened in 1955, was built entirely by volunteers.
Now, a local Eagle Scout candidate is following the building’s history and renovating it through the same means — with volunteer labor and supplies.
17 year old Loudonville scout, Camden Stanton, has decided to renovate the youth building for his Eagle Scout service project.
Through the Eagle Project, youth in Boy Scouts of America are challenged to demonstrate leadership while also completing a project that benefits their community.
And while the Eagle Project is a requirement to achieve the top rank, Stanton views the project as a moral obligation on his part. The Loudonville community regularly donates funding and space to Stanton’s troop. Stanton says he’s simply returning the favor.
He plans to make changes both inside and outside the building.
On the main level, he’ll sand and refinish the floor as well as replace window screens. In the basement, he plans to repaint the walls and potentially replace the ceiling tiles.
Stanton hopes to complete these renovations by the end of August or early September.
And he won’t be completing these changes entirely on his own. Other Scouts, friends, family and community members will be helping him, and he is continuously looking for additional volunteers.
Finally, we’d like to take a moment to remember Christie Irene Mills of Mansfield, who passed away unexpectedly on August 5th.
Christie was born in 1977 in Mansfield. She was talented, full of love, and had a heart of gold. Christie always saw the good in others. She never met a stranger and could light up a room with her spark. Nana was a cherished role that Christie held in life, and one she greatly loved and found much joy in. Christie even knew sign language and did it for the singing at church. She also wrote poetry, and loved to collect retro items, Elvis and Marilyn Monroe memorabilia.
Christie is survived by her husband, Ralph, her children, her granddaughter, her step daughters, her step son, her step granddaughter, her brother, her mother and step father, and numerous step brothers, step sisters, and cousins.
Thank you for taking a moment with us to remember and celebrate Christie’s life.
Thanks for listening, join us again tomorrow!
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