On today’s program...
Emily McCord reports on Unmanned Aerial Systems. UAS, was the focus of an informational meeting Wednesday in Xenia. Ohio has partnered with Indiana and applied to become one of six national centers for unmanned systems and Congressman Mike Turner with the Dayton Development Coalition held the meeting to build awareness about what UAS could bring to Ohio.
Wayne Baker tells us that A recent U.S. Census Bureau report shows one in three children nationwide grow up in a fatherless home. A local organization in Clark County helps local men become better fathers. The organization has just received a new grant that will help the group called Urban Light Ministries serve more people.
WYSO Economics reporter Lewis Wallace reports that U.S. Senator Rob Portman met with farmers in the Dayton area Wednesday to talk about the farm bill. The bill, which is up for renewal, subsidizes both agribusiness and food stamps.
In the program, we also take you to a rally held on Saturday to protest possible U.S. military action in Syria.
And we'll visit a garden that’s helping adults with disabilities become more independent. United Rehabilitation Services’ of Greater Dayton (URS) has a mission - to enhance the quality of life for Infants, children and adults with disabilities. Currently, they’re serving more than 400 people with Cerebral Palsy, Down syndrome, Muscular Dystrophy, Autism, Alzheimer’s, and many other special needs.
One of the ways URS is helping their clients is through its gardening program. The garden offers occupational and physical therapy for the adults who want to get involved, and where advanced technologies play a large part in the assistance of those with special needs, the garden is a simpler, more natural therapy.
Bobbette Flunk, or Bobby as the clients call her, is a master gardener. She’s been with URS as a volunteer since she taught her first class in 2004.
Bobby shows me the garden, which runs along the side of the building. Clients in the activity room can look out the windows and see the garden at anytime.
There’s sitting area that’s wheel chair accessible, and Bobby says they’ve taken extra care to make sure that what’s grown in the garden is edible – like herbs and day lilies.
The garden is full of flowers and most of the vegetables go into the kitchen and so URS clients are doing what many consumers aren’t doing – growing the food they eat.
Bobby is the type of volunteer that organizations like URS strive to find. She's dedicated and cares deeply about the work that she’s doing. Work that she says isn’t work. And as we head out to see the lasagna garden Bobby tells me why this is important to her.
In 2008 Bobby and the clients she works with recieved the Volunteer Project Excellence Award from Ohio State University Extension. URS has also awarded Bobbette the Berry Distinguished Service Award for her dedication.
The garden at URS is funded largely by the organization's Rubber Duck Regatta event. It's one of their biggest annual fundraisers. This year 15,000 ducks will 'race' down the Great Miami River. The event will take place at RiverScape MetroPark on Saturday, September 21st.
Finally, on WYSO Weekend, we'll talk to Dr. Kent Youngman with the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Clark, Greene and Madison Counties, about the Crises Intervention Team Training for police officers in those counties.
