Middletown Ohio Blog

Many local volunteers will soon be coming together to participate in this year’s “Prepare Affair”, a combined effort which will assist Middletown’s senior and disabled homeowners in preparing their homes for winter. The Community Revitalization Department of the City of Middletown andPWC, People Working Cooperatively, have combined efforts in order to aid residents in need.  Approximately 28 local citizens will receive help from volunteers who will be providing services such as leaf raking, cleaning yard debris, clearing gutters, installing storm windows and various other “winterizing” projects.

The City of Middletown’s Community Revitalization Department is responsible for assisting residents and businesses in following the laws and ordinances of the city pertaining to maintaining properties, safe construction, reclamation of brownfields and quality-of-life assets of the community. Doug Adkins is the Community Revitalization Department Director. Annette Accurso, the department’s Housing Code Specialist, has been involved with the Prepare Affair event for the past several years and is the crew leader for the city’s volunteers.  More information about the Community Revitalization Department is available at www.cityofmiddletown.org or contact this department at   (513) 425-7939.

People Working Cooperatively is a non-profit organization which assists low-income, elderly, and disabled homeowners by providing professional, critical home repairs, weatherization, modification, and maintenance services to help residents stay safely in their homes. PWC, now in its 36th year, started with two men working from a garage in Covington, Kentucky with a small volunteer team, helping 43 low-income homeowners during its first year. It now has provided more than 200,000 services to clients and has a group of more than 120 licensed, professionally trained members and personnel. PWC now has more than 5,000 volunteers, making it one of the largest volunteer groups in this region. Community members are invited to join the cause by participating in a number of volunteer opportunities including Prepare Affair held each November.

NOVEMBER 12th is the date of the event; a rain date is set for the following Saturday.
Volunteers  are still needed! You can register for the event and find out more about PWC and future volunteer opportunities by visiting the PWC website at www.pwchomerepairs.org/prepareaffair. If you would like to register as a crew leader for a group, the registration deadline is October 28th. If you would like to register as a volunteer and are not part of a group, choose Annette Accurso – City of Middletown under the Crew Leader drop down option and register by  October 31st.

Volunteering is a wonderful way to get involved!  Volunteers give back to the community and at the same time help those in need .  Register today to become a part of this wonderful opportunity to help area residents in need prepare for the cold winter months ahead. Every helping hand is greatly appreciated!

Have More Questions?
PWC’s volunteer department can be reached at (513) 351-7921
People Working Cooperatively, Inc.
4612 Paddock Rd.

 Sources: www.cityofmiddletown.org 

www.pwchomerepairs.org/prepareaffair

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Everyone in Middletown knows you can go to Jack’s Aquarium and Pets to see the cute little puppies in the back of the store. That will not be the case! As of last week, many local Jack’s Aquarium and Pets stores announced that they have stopped selling puppies. Instead, they will begin working with rescue organizations and pet shelters to promote adoptions from those types of agencies. Jack’s hopes this will inspire a trend for other local pet stores to stop selling puppies in stores and start working with adoption centers around the community.

Obviously pet stores make profits from selling preferred breeds of dogs, yet the Middletown Jack’s Pets chose to cut that out of their facilities entirely this past week. After an investigation by the Humane Society in 2008 discovered that the majority of all puppies sold to pet stores are bred in substandard puppy mills, many stores, like Jack’s, have since been trying to source responsibly. Puppy mills are factory-sized, commercial dog breeding facilities that mass-produce puppies to sell. They breed so many dogs that they cannot pay attention to each individual puppy’s needs. This leads to serious neglect, disease, overcrowding, and overall terrible conditions for the animals. The facilities breed the puppies solely for a profit, regardless of the animal’s well-being while they are at the facility. These mills sell to pet stores around the United States, leaving animals in adoption shelters and from local breeders at the bottom of a new pet-buyer’s list.

The treatment and conditions the puppies at these mills have to endure is heart-breaking. ASPCA is pushing for all pet stores to move toward the end of puppy sales in their stores and are urging customers to boycott all the products from stores that continue to sell dogs and cats from puppy mills. Senior director of the ASPCA campaign, Cori Menkin, said, “The risk is just too high that you’re supporting a puppy mill,” and pushes for the boycotts. The mills leave animal shelters in the dust and overpopulation of dogs is leading to the deaths of those who do not make the cut.

Though most Jack’s Aquarium pet stores claim their puppies always come from reliable, local breeders, they do not want to take a chance and risk supporting any of the 4,000 puppy mills across the country. The only way they can be sure they are not doing so is by cutting out their cat and dog sales entirely and focusing more on the sale of products rather than companion animals. Their new plan on selling cats and dogs to their customers will be to offer in-store pet adoptions from animal shelters around the area.

Animal Friends Humane Society always has plenty of dogs up for adoption. This is a non-profit organization that can always use a helping hand. Animal Friends Humane Society is located on Princeton Road in Hamilton. This facility will be positively and highly affected by the decision of many pet stores to rely on them for their adoption services. October is Adopt-a-Shelter Dog Month with discounts on any adoptions.

 Click the Animal Friends Humane Society link below to check out some of the pets up for adoption this month!

http://66.177.197.74/index.cfm?page=home

 ASPCA- http://aspca.org/

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 There is something highly contagious spreading through the Middletown Middie community. It is 12^th man fever! So, who is the 12^th man? As you may know, there are only 11 players from each team on the field at a time. The 12^th man is the teammate who helps the team in ways that the players on the field cannot do for themselves. It is the fan! The Middie fans are playing a huge role in supporting their team this year, encouraging the players and cheering them on for a win. 12th man T-shirts, signs, and the enthusiastic spirit of the 12^thman can be seen and felt everywhere on a Friday night during a Middies football game.In the MHS section of the stands, the 12^th man is like a sea of purple and white enthusiasm carrying the Middie players on to victory and giving the rival team an unwelcoming feeling. The cheering fans create a strong competitive vibe for the team, making the players excited and helping them get their adrenaline pumping for the big game.

The term “12^th man” originated back in 1922 when Texas A&M was playing Centre College. A&M was on their way to defeating a team that was defending the national champion in the first post-season game. Unfortunately, A&M had so many players injured in the first half of the game that Coach D. X. Bible was worried there would not be enough team members to finish the last half. In his panic, he called out to the stands to a former football player E. King Gill, who left the team to play basketball. He willingly agreed and ran out to the sidelines, ready to go in if another player became injured.

A&M came out on top in the end, and Gill was the only man still standing on the sidelines. Gill later said, “I wish I could say that I went in and ran for the winning touchdown, but I did not. I simply stood by in case my team needed me.” Though he never actually got to play, his eager attitude to help out the team was the beginning of the 12^th man concept which has carried on for decades since.

Mark Kerns, the Middletown High School teacher who leads the 12^th man program, said “there’s a feeling fans experience every football Friday night that you can’t get anywhere else. When the team wins, it’s like you win, too. You’re part of the team.” He believes that the 12^th man is a huge part of the football team and wants to see everyone around him in the purple 12^th man shirt that represents the Middletown football team. The T-shirts are available to purchase on the link below, and some coaches have agreed to give a portion of the T-shirt sale’s profits to the American Cancer Society.

The Middies have started their season off with a 3 and 0 winning streak. First with a close win against Huber Heights 32-31, a 29-21 win over Troy and the latest game played was another win with a score of 21-14 against Winton Woods. With this good-luck streak, the Middies have an optimistic outlook for the rest of the season! Be sure to catch the Middies next game and get in on the 12^th man action when they go up against the Oak Hills Highlanders in Cincinnati. You can support the Middies at Barnitz Stadium at any of their upcoming home games as well.

•  To purchase a 12th man T-shirt, click here!

http://api.prepsportswear.com/product/us/New_York/Middletown/Middletown-High-School-Middies/Hanes-Men-s-T-Shirt.aspx?productid=53&schoolid=47263&utm_source=vn&utm_campaign=&utm_medium=&utm_term=Middie+Football%2c289&utm_content=

Sources: http:www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/12th-man-t-shirts-ready-for-high-school-football-fans-1245071.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12th_man_(football)

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