Welcome to the Oakwood Register

September 26, 2006 - Volume 15, Number 39

a Winkler Company publication

Also featuring photos from our monthly supplement...

A Tudor Thoroughbred on Thruston

Soccer Jacks 1st in Miami Valley; 4th in state

On the cold evening of Sept. 19 the Oakwood Soccer Jacks went to Brookville to play the Division III Blue Devils, ranked eighth in Miami Valley. After five minutes, Addison Wille scored a header off the dangerous long throw of John Harman. After one more minute, Josh Curley made a long through pass to Scott Casebere, who raced down the right side and fired a powerful shot at the Brookville goalie who spilled the ball. Jesse Sellers, in front of the goal, to popped it in. A rapid series of passes from Tristan Schnader to Casebere to John Loftus, who had the assist, set up a Wille goal. But riding a 3-0 lead, Oakwood relaxed, allowing Brookville two consecutive counterattacking goals. Fortunately for Oakwood, with five minutes in the half, Casebere scored off a quick weave after a short pass from Wille giving Oakwood the halftime lead 4-2. In the first half, Oakwood outshot Brookville 17-3, but Brookville scored on 2 of is 3 shots.

The second half began as Brookville dominated with three consecutive corner kicks well defended by goalie Colin Pierce. Wille again assisted a Casebere goal from the left side into the right side netting. Thereafter, Nicolo Vezzoso came off the bench to add freshness to the attack and draw Brookville fouls, one earning a yellow card for dangerous play. In an encore of his last visit to Mack Hummon field, the Brookville coach again got a yellow card for dissent. Brookville did score once more for a final of 5-3, another win for the Jacks who outshot their opponents 33-13. Of note was the tireless hustle of Casebere and Loftus and the 5 second half saves by Colin Pierce, one an excellent punch clearance during a collision with a Brookville player.

On Sept. 20, the Jacks hosted undefeated Division III Waynesville, ranked 10th in Miami Valley. The Jacks midfield and offense came out strong with intense control and passing sequences of breathtaking speed in the midfield and attack amongst Scott Casebere, Tristan Schnader, Jessie Sellers, John Loftus, and Brian Telek. Oakwood created many chances in the box to score, but bad luck dogged them as they slipped several times in front of the net.

Nevertheless, Oakwood’s pressure on the Waynesville defense forced them to boom the ball upfield out of panic and desperation. Finally, at 31 minutes Wille scored off a throw in from Sellers. Four minutes later with Oakwood’s onslaught unrelenting, the Waynesville goalkeeper tried to bat away a corner kick by Bob Fecher, but instead he knocked it into his own goal for a score of 2-0 Oakwood. One minute later Waynesville, desperate to get on the scoreboard, unleashed a shot from 35 to 40 yards out catching goalie Pierce off his line; however, Piece made a tremendous leaping save, getting a glove on the ball.

The second half saw Waynesville come out stronger with better control, but still booming the ball. Oakwood made several defensive mistakes but Waynesville failed to capitalize and could not score. Waynesville striker Ben Liles, with 12 goals already on the campaign, was unable to do anything against the Oakwood defense and ended the day with a yellow card for his frustration. After 26 minutes Fecher launched a free kick from near half field, and Casebere headed the redirect into the netting from the six-yard box. In the final minutes of the game Mike Neal had several screaming runs down the right side and set up five high quality shots by the offense, including a free kick by Schnader to Casebere in the box, volleyed just high and over the frame. Waynesville’s only score came on a free kick, 30 yards out.

Overall, it was Oakwood’s dominate midfield performance of Schnader, Sellers, Loftus, Neal and Brian Telek, and substitutes Vezzoso and Andrew Morris who allowed Oakwood to dominate with control and possession, feeding the offense which outshot Waynesville 35-13 on the day. Oakwood won 3-1 and is still undefeated with a record of 9-0-1 and a winning percentage of 0.950, now ranked fourth in the state and first in the Miami Valley in the latest Coaches Poll. Oakwood plays Milton-Union at home on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 7:15 p.m. They play Bellbrook at home on Thursday, Sept. 28 at 5:30 pm.

Oakwood Centre ribbon cutting Oct. 5

The Oakwood Centre, Oakwood’s newest shopping addition located at 2500 Far Hills Ave. will open officially on Thursday, Oct. 5. when Oakwood Mayor Judy Cook cuts the ribbon in celebration of its opening. Four stores make up this new complex: Whispers Home, a new store conceived by Judy Wyatt of Whispers, featuring bedding and table linens; From Inside Out, owned by Leslie Dixon, with furniture and accessories for inside and outside the home; and The Pink Daisy and Chico’s both featuring women’s clothing.

The ribbon cutting will take place at 9:40 a.m.

Oakwood schools awarded two financial awards

The Oakwood City School District has been awarded two prestigious national awards for Excellence in Financial Reporting for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Fiscal Year 2005. The Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO) and the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) have both awarded their highest honors upon the Oakwood City School District.

The Association of School Business Officials and the Government Finance Officers Association have both awarded independently a Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting, which is the highest form of recognition in school reporting, to the Oakwood City School District for Fiscal Year 2005. This award has gained the distinction of being a prestigious national award recognized by: Accounting Professionals; Bond Counsel; Underwriters; Securities Analysts; Bond Rating Agencies; Educational, Teacher and Citizen Groups; and Federal and State Agencies. This is the ninth consecutive year that Oakwood City Schools have received these awards.

“The Oakwood City Schools have always been committed to assure taxpayer accountability and full financial disclosure of the operations of the school district. These national awards are recognition for this financial accountability,” said Kevin S. Philo, Treasurer of the Oakwood City Schools. Mr. Philo continued with, “To compile this report, we have to undergo a vigorous audit every year by the State Auditor’s Office and receive the best opinion possible on our financial reports, even though, by law, because of our size, we are only required to be audited every other year. We invite this close scrutiny to achieve this goal and to maintain financial accountability and credibility.”

Library .94 mill replacement levy on May 2007 ballot

At its Sept. 18 meeting, the Board of Trustees of Wright Memorial Public Library passed a resolution to begin the process of placing a five-year .94 mill replacement levy on the ballot for Oakwood voters in the May 2007 election.

The library currently has a .94 mill levy that expires at the end of 2007. Funds from passage of the replacement levy would be available to the library starting in January of 2008.

The existing .94 mill levy provides $227,000 each year, about thirteen percent of the library’s annual operating budget. The replacement levy, which keeps the same millage and is based on updated property valuations, would produce $291,000 each year for five years. Passage of a replacement levy would allow the library to keep up with inflation and maintain its current services.

Library Board president Judy Thompson said that the Board of Trustees considered many factors, including input from its Advisory Council and results of the community survey, when making the decision for a replacement levy. “The board wants to assure that the library continues to provide value to the community - value in the quality of life in Oakwood, value in providing excellent materials and services, and value for dollars spent.”

In other business, the Board heard a report about the library’s programs and services for teachers and students in the Oakwood Schools. Offerings include assignment alerts, classroom collections, book discussions, library materials on reserve for research projects, and special projects such as an annual Literacy Night.

The next library board meeting will be on Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. in the meeting room. Meetings are open and the public is invited to attend.

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