James J. Waldfogle, 73, of Bethel, died Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009. He was born March 1, 1936. Mass of Christian burial was held Aug. 14, at St. Mary Church in Bethel. Interment at St. Joseph Cemetery.

Robert L. West, 72, died Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009. Mr. West retired from Ford Motor Company after 37 years of service. He was a veteran of the Korean War and a member of the New Harmony 435 F&AM Lodge.

Local author Denise Gwen was signing her newest book at the Riverside Coffee Mill in Batavia on Friday, Aug. 14. Gwen, who has been writing for more than 20 years, was celebrating the release of her newest book, House of Wacks, on Aug. 14. The book is her first young adult romance novel and tells the story about a young girl’s summer job and first love.

Batavia Township will dedicate a Veterans Memorial Plaza Nov. 11, Veterans Day, on property adjacent to the Batavia Township Community Center. The memorial will include a Humvee, an American flag, plaques, and benches.

The Batavia Local School District Board of Education has voted to place a 4.2 mill levy to build a new elementary school on the Nov. 3 ballot. The board voted 4-0 Wednesday, Aug. 12 to place the measure on the ballot.

When MI Homes of Cincinnati requested a zoning change from Union Township officials for two subdivisions they met with a number of disgruntled residents. A public hearing was held on Tuesday, Aug. 11 to discuss the proposed changes which include modifying the existing plan to include single family, first-time home buyer homes in an effort to finish the project in Shayler Ridge.

Clermont County Commissioners have approved a resolution to authorize financing for the purchase of the former Ford Transmission plant in Batavia. The approval paves the way for the Ohio Department of Economic Development to issue $6.125 million Ohio Enterprise Bond Fund bonds to finance the acquisition and renovation of the 1.8 million square foot building located on 230 acres in Batavia Township.

Students new to the United States always have a difficult time assimilating into a different culture and learning in a classroom where everyone speaks a language foreign to them. Not only is it difficult for the students, but mainstream teachers are met with a big challenge as they do their best to overcome language barriers to teach these new students.

The Village of Williamsburg will soon have two operational water towers. The water tower located on North 8th Street on the west side of the village has been off-line waiting for crews to raise the tower to the same height as the Wildcat Tower on the east side of town.

Senior citizens, as well as many others in Clermont County and throughout Ohio, lost an advocate Sunday, Aug. 16 with the death of Helen Lois Brown Dale. She was instrumental in getting funding for senior services through tax levies and was the founder of Clermont County Senior Services. Dale, 91, a resident of Milford, was working as an administrator in Clermont County offices in 1967 when she had the idea to get senior services funded through a county-wide tax levy.