Busing In the Financial Crosshairs

Students make their way to their busses at the end of the day at Lancaster High School on Tuesday, January 31. A reduction in student district busing is on a list of proposed budget reductions for the Lancaster School District, which are tied to the outcome of the upcoming levy. {Note: The levy was defeated and the community now waits to see, where exactly, the budget cuts will come from}. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

Flags Flying

I knew that I wanted the sun to shine through the center flag. But, no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get rid of the light poles and other background distractions without losing the silhouettes of the other color guard members.

Senior Cassie Weinzierl, co-captain of the Pickerington High School North Color Guard, leads her squad in practice on Thursday, January 26, as they prepare for a round of five Winter Guard International competitions. If the team does well through the first four competitions, they will go to the Winter Guard International Championships in Dayton in April. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

Eismon Stands Trial for Abuse of a 2-Year-Old

Robert L. Eismon reenters the courtroom after a short recess in his trial on Tuesday, January 24. Eismon is accused of raping a 2-year-old girl. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

Detective Scott Jones of the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office unveils a mattress that was used in an alleged case of sexual abuse of a 2-year-old girl on the first day of Robert L. Eismon's trial on Tuesday, January 24. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)Dr. Wendy Stevens of Children's Hospital in Columbus testifies for the prosecution during the trial of Robert L. Eismon on Tuesday, January 24. Eismon is accused of raping a 2-year-old girl. Stevens was the physician on call at Children's and tended to the victim when she arrived at the hospital on the day of the alleged attack. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

Robert L. Eismon wipes away tears as his wife testifies in his trial on Tuesday, January 24. Eismon is accused of raping a 2-year-old girl. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

Robert L. Eismon waves to his wife as Fairfield County Sheriff's Deputy Shane Skeen escorts Eismon from the courtroom on Wednesday, January 25. Robert Eismon was found guilty of gross sexual imposition and kidnapping a 2-year-old girl. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

Parsley Under Pressure

Rev. Rod Parsley of World Harvest Church prepares to deliver a response to the recent complaint that his church used its position to improperly step into the political arena. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

Winter Thaw (Again)

After a day that actually resembled winter on Wednesday, the sun broke through the clouds Thursday, bringing with it warmer temperatures to melt away the ice and snow. The erratic weather patterns are forecasted to keep high temperatures in the 40's and 50's through the weekend with a chance of rain showers today and Saturday. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

Rearranging the Baltimore Library

Outreach Manager Becky Schaade, 28, of the Lancaster branch of the Fairfield County District Library, works with members of the various library branches to rearrange books, shelving and work stations in the Baltimore branch on Tuesday, January 17. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

Barn Movers

Kevin Kangas, 41, pries a section of roofing material off of a timber frame barn on Tuesday, January 10. The 165-year-old barn, which is located on State Route 37 across the street from Fisher Catholic High School, is being disassembled at its original location and rebuilt at Smeck Historical Farm near Baltimore. Smeck Farm is a property of the Fairfield County Historical Parks Commission. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

There are more buildings succumbing to the toll of time and weather in Fairfield County than David Fey can possibly save.
As the director of the Fairfield County Historical Parks Commission, Fey says his department, like many others, is at the mercy of low funding.
So when retired doctor Henry Hood approached Fey about a donation of a timber frame barn for the Smeck Historical Farm, Fey was pleased to say the least.
“Henry Hood has been a supporter for years,” Fey said. “This is above and beyond what we could have asked for.”
Not only did Hood donate the structure, which is currently located across the street from Fisher Catholic High School on State Route 37, he is also funding the operation of disassembling the building and transporting it to Smeck Historical Farm near Baltimore.
Fey estimated the barn is worth $575,000 and the disassembly and moving of the structure will cost about $65,000.
Hood said he values the work the Historical Parks Commission does.
“The work of the commission, to build a park system that is functional to teach the people of Fairfield County, is a great thing,” Hood said.
The barn has a keystone with the inscription “Fettr 1841.” Thomas Fetter built the 165-year-old structure. Fetters Run Creek is named after Fetter.
Contractor Kevin Kangas, 41, of Shaw & Holter Inc., said after more than a century and a half, the structure is still sound and sturdy.
Kangas said the roof has been replaced and repaired often enough to keep excess moisture from the frame of the building.
The process of bringing down the barn starts with taking off the roof and walls and tagging all of the interior pieces of wood and the stone foundation.
Once the pieces are marked, they will be taken apart and moved out to Smeck Historical Farm.
“The important thing is to mark these correctly,” Kangas said. No two pieces are cut the same, so all of the pieces have to go back together exactly as they were before.
Fay said he plans to have the foundation stones reset at Smeck Historical Farm as soon as possible, but the rebuilding of the barn will have to wait until more funding comes in.
“Rebuilding the barn as it is will cost about $100,000,” Fey said. “But to make it a functional building again will probably cost twice that amount.”
Fey said he hopes to start fundraising for the project soon. (Story Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

Seen through an opening on the east side of a timber frame barn, Bill Kennedy, 38, pulls a beam down from the roof of the structure on Tuesday, January 10. The 165-year-old barn, which is located on State Route 37 across the street from Fisher Catholic High School, is being disassembled at its original location and rebuilt at Smeck Historical Farm near Baltimore. Smeck Farm is a property of the Fairfield County Historical Parks Commission. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

Plethora of Portraits

As this post illustrates, I had a ton of portrait assignments in January. These are about half of the portraits that I shot. While I try to tell as much of a story as possible with a portrait, I prefer to shoot the person or people in the act of doing what the story is about rather than something staged.
However, this time of year has us bombarded with tab assignments where there is seldom time on the reporter’s or the editor’s plates to set up the photo assignments early enough to get those kinds of choice moments.
When you have a lot of these in a row, what do you do to keep from getting into a stale formula.

Charles and Kaye Kempton laugh together while posing for a portrait in their home on Wednesday, January 11. The couple says that faith in Jesus Christ and unconditional love has kept them together through the trials in their lives. The largest battle that the couple face is Kaye's deteriorating physical health due to the affects of Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. Charles has added the role of caregiver to his husbandly duties as he tends to Kaye's needs. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

Fairfield Union Local School District Board President Jim Bope discusses the district's income tax levy during an interview at his office in Rushville on Thursday, January 19. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

Reverend Rebeka Maples has found a comfortable fit at the Thurston United Methodist Church. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

Fairfield Union juniors Rodney Tharp (left) and Kasey McCurdy have had an impressive wrestling season. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

Portrait of local athlete Greg Connell, one of a very few local high schoolers that still compete in multiple sports instead of only specializing in one. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

Patrol Officer Jeff Devereaux, a 15-year member of the Lancaster Police Department, is this year's recipient of the Brett Markwood Award. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

Sandy Boyer, literature coordinator at Tallmadge Elementary School, poses for a portrait at the school on Friday, January 27. Boyer, who makes multiple trips to Honduras each year to do mission work, is the recipient of this year's director's Award from the Red Cross. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

Dr. Mark Weedy reflects on his past experiences that have prepared him to replace retiring superintendent Ross Dunlap at the Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical Schools. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

Remembering Deputy Collins

A photo of Fairfield County Sheriff's Deputy Ethan Collins is positioned behind a black rope in a memorial display on Thursday, January 5. Collins was killed in a crash on State Route 188 in Hocking Township while responding to a call on Wednesday. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)
Deputy TJ Strawn, of the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office, wears a black band across his shield on Thursday, January 5, as a tribute to his fallen friend and fellow officer Ethan Collins. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)
A decal with the unit number of fallen Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Ethan Collins has been affixed to all of the sheriff's cruisers in the county in memory of Collins. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)
Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Gary West pauses while discussing his friend, Deputy Ethan Collins, who was killed in a crash on State Route 188 in Hocking Township on Wednesday. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)

Back to School

South Elementary student Rianna Brehm, 6, lets her glasses hang down at her chin while listening to directions from her teacher Jackie Geil, on Tuesday, January 3. Brehm, and the other students in Geil's afternoon kindergarten class found their seating arrangements had been changed for the second half of the school year, but, as the lessons started, they were shown that everything else would continue as it had before they left for winter break in December. South principal Jeromy Sheets said that the most common thing he notices about students after any vacation is that they seem exhausted on the first day. He adds that their energy soon returns as they get used to waking up early and going through the daily routine again. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)
Jackie Geil, a kindergarten teacher at South Elementary School, goes over a lesson in verb usage with her afternoon class on Tuesday, January 3. Tuesday was the first day back to class for the students after winter break. (Copyright Ken Ritchie/Eagle-Gazette)