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PHOTOS OF THE VOA MUSEUM

It is St. Patrick’s Day weekend, the weather will be nice and there is plenty to do in West Chester, as well as Greater Cincinnati.

For things to do in Greater Cincinnati, visit Cincinnati.com’s new Things to Do page. Cincinnati.com also put together a slideshow of ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

When you are not out and about, visit the new video page on WestChesterBuzz.com To view West Chester and Liberty Township related videos, visit westchesterbuzz.com/videos.

All weekend

Spring musical - “Alice in Wonderland” will be performed by 7-8 graders at Plains Junior School in Liberty Township this weekend. Shows will take place in the Plains Junior auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Pre-sale tickets are $10 for preferred seating and $6 for general seating. All tickets are $10 at the door.

Friday

See a local band – The Gamut will be performing from 9:30 p.m. until 1:30 a.m. at the Win, Place or Show located at 9933 Cincinnati-Columbus Road in West Chester. The Gamut plays rock and roll music from the 1970′s to the present. On its website, it says that it performs music made famous by Journey, Boston, Heart, Duffy, Aerosmith, Benatar, AC/DC, Guns & Roses, Bon Jovi, Goo Goo Dolls, Jimmy Eat World, Poison and more.

Saturday

Mother’s Exchange Sale at Lakota West – The Mother’s Exchange Fall Sale and Vendor Event will take place this Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon at Lakota West High School. Approximately 100 local moms will be selling their gently used children’s clothing, furniture, equipment, toys, books, sports equipment, computer and video games, nursery items, maternity and more. Admission into the event costs $1. All sales are cash only.

Explore the VOA Museum – Currently, the unfinished museum off Tylersville Road has been open from 1 to 4 p.m. on the third Saturday of each month since July of 2012. It will be open, again, this Saturday during that same time. As of right now, it consists of exhibits featuring the old relay station; Media Heritage’s Greater Cincinnati Museum of Broadcast History; the Gray History of Wireless Museum; and the West Chester Amateur Radio Association control room. For updates and information on the museum, visit westchesterbuzz.com/tag/voa-museum.

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at West Chester’s Irish Pub – The Dingle House Irish Pub located on Centre Pointe Drive, which is between Union Centre Blvd. and West Chester Road in the heart of West Chester, is having a two-day St. Patrick’s Day celebration. There will be an Irish breakfast from 9 a.m. to noon and Caledonian pipes and drums, plus McGing Irish dancers both Saturday and Sunday.

St. Patty’s party at wine bar – Bella Vino Wine Merchants and Bar, 6064 West Chester Road, is having a St. Patrick’s Day party. Deals include $3 pints of Guinness, Harp, Smithwick’s and Magners, as well as $5 appetizers all day. At 7:30 p.m., there will be music performed by Steve Raszka.

Free ice cream – Bruster’s, 8770 Union Centre Blvd., in West Chester is giving away a free small waffle cone for wearing your PJs. The deal, which will go from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. works for those walking up and for those using the drive-thru window. Bruster’s will also be giving out free doggie sundaes.

Sunday

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at pub – The Dingle House Irish Pub (see Saturday) will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day again. On both Saturday and Sunday the pub will feature live music. For more information, call 513-874-7468.

Posted in: Events, News, Recreational events, School events |

Tags: Tags: Alice in Wonderland, Alice in Wonderland Plains Jr., Alice in Wonderland Plains Junior, Lakota Plains Jr. School, Lakota Plains Junior, Lakota West, Lakota West High School, Mother's exchange sale, Mother's exhange holiday sale, National VOA Museum of Broadcasting, National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting, Plains Jr., Plains Junior, Plains Junior Theater program, shopping, VOA Museum, VOA Museum of Broadcasting, Voice of America Museum

“Alice in Wonderland” will be performed by 7-8 graders at Plains Junior School in Liberty Township this weekend. Shows will take place in the Plains Junior auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday.

“It’s definitely not what people expect to see at the junior high level, and in some cases, even at the high school level,” said Aaron Nunley, a math teacher at Plains Junior who doubles as the school theater program’s technical director. “People are always surprised with the quality, but like any theater program, it is always our intention to put on a good show.”

Pre-sale tickets are $10 for preferred seating and $6 for general seating. All tickets are $10 at the door. Call 513-644-1130 ext. 11063 or email Bernice.payne@lakotaonline.com for more information.

Posted in: Events, School events, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Alice in Wonderland, Alice in Wonderland Plains Jr., Alice in Wonderland Plains Junior, Lakota Plains Jr. School, Lakota Plains Junior, Plains Jr., Plains Junior, Plains Junior Theater program

Brian Garver (on lift, on left), who is the grandson of Bob and Janet Niederman, spearheads the set up for the annual Niederman Family Farm Christmas Walk. The event, which opened for the 12th straight year Nov. 23 did so without one of its founding family members Bob Niederman (parents are Bob and Janet) who passed away midway through the event in December of 2011. Photo taken by Adam Kiefaber Nov. 16, 2012.

To let West Chester and Liberty Township residents catch up with the news that they need to know, WestChesterBuzz.com will list and link to all of last week’s top local stories every Monday.

Niederman Farm’s Christmas Walk shines on - More than 1 million lights were turned on Friday when the Niederman Family Farm 12th annual Christmas Walk opened to the public. But one shining light is missing from this year’s display, which draws thousands of people each year.

Lakota West and Lakota East basketball teams make top 10 - The boys’ and girls’ basketball teams at both Lakota West and Lakota East high schools made The Cincinnati Enquirer’s local coaches’ top 10 poll, which was released last Monday. The Lakota West boys’ program is the highest ranked team among the four, ranking No. 2 in the Division I poll.

WG Kitchen and Bar opens at Bridgewater Falls - Shauna Steigerwald reported for The Cincinnati Enquirer that the WG Kitchen and Bar at Bridgewater Falls Lifestyle Shopping Center in Fairfield Township opened for lunch at 11:30 a.m. last Monday. The 6,300-square-foot restaurant, wine bar and wine shop has a similar look and feel to The Wine Guy Bistro at Rookwood Pavilion.

Volunteers build a house for a 7-year-old’s family as she copes with cancer – Last Tuesday marked a new beginning for 7-year-old Yosselin Villatoro and her family. That’s because Yosselin, her 6-year-old brother, Freddy, and grandparents, Tammy and Keith Randall, moved into a new house built for the family by volunteers. Before they could move in, they were greeted Tuesday evening by 30 to 40 community members, who wanted to reveal the home they built for the family.

Third time stealing from employer gets woman prison - Former Dominion employee Cathleen Schmid of West Chester was sent to prison last week by Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Jerome Metz., Jr., for two years for stealing $214,717 from the company, Kimball Perry reported for The Cincinnati Enquirer. Dominion was the third employer she’s been convicted of stealing from but the first time she went to prison for it.

Butler County agrees to settlement with ex-director - Sheila McLaughlin of The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that the former executive director of Butler County Children Services who got the boot in an immediate reorganization of the embattled agency will be paid through Jan. 18 as part of a settlement with county commissioners.

Lakota class names hospital’s new surgical robot - With the help of a Lakota Plains Junior seventh grade science class, West Chester Hospital has a name for its new surgical robot – S.A.M. (Surgical Assisting Mechanism). Erin Middendorf’s class at Lakota Plains Junior School, which won the “Name the Robot” contest held in collaboration with the hospital and the school district, received a certificate signed by West Chester Hospital chief executive officer Dr. Kevin Joseph and chief operating officer Tom Daskalakis, as well as an iPad 2 for the classroom last Tuesday.

Clerk of Butler County Area Courts to return after retirement - The longtime clerk of Butler County Area Courts will retire this month to come back as a part-timer in February, allowing her to collect her pension as well as a salary, Sheila McLaughlin of The Cincinnati Enquirer reported last week. Butler County commissioners approved the Nov. 30 retirement of Debbie Bolser. She’ll be rehired on Feb. 1. In the interim, deputy clerk Melinda Parsons will fill in for Bolser.

Posted in: Business, Events, News, Recreational events, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Bob Niederman, da Vinci Si surgical robot, da Vinci Si surgical robot West Chester Hospital, Dr. Kevin Joseph, Hopewell Jr. School, Hopewell Junior, Kevin Joseph, Lakota East, Lakota Plains Jr. School, Lakota Plains Junior, Lakota West, Liberty Township Christmas, Niederman Family Farm, Niederman Family Farm Christmas Walk, Niederman Family Farm Liberty Township, Niederman Farm, Niederman Farm Christmas Walk, Niederman Farm Liberty Township, Niederman's Family Farm, STEAM2, West Chester Christmas, West Chester Hospital

With the help of a Lakota Plains Junior seventh grade science class, West Chester Hospital has a name for its new surgical robot – S.A.M. (Surgical Assisting Mechanism).

Erin Middendorf’s class at Lakota Plains Junior School, which won the “Name the Robot” contest held in collaboration with the hospital and the school district, received a certificate signed by West Chester Hospital chief executive officer Dr. Kevin Joseph and chief operating officer Tom Daskalakis, as well as an iPad 2 for the classroom on Tuesday.

After studying the robot, which is known more broadly as the da Vinci Si surgical robot, students were required to work together to come up with a name for the robot and to submit a 100-word essay about their choice.

Finishing in second place was Heidi Adams’ sixth period science class from Hopewell Junior School with their submission of S.T.I.T.C.H., which stands for “Surgical Tiny Incision Tremor Controlled Hand.” As a surprise, West Chester Hospital decided to award them with an iPad 2 as well.

“We cannot thank the West Chester Hospital staff enough for their incredible hospitality and enthusiasm toward our students and staff throughout this entire process,” Lakota’s Superintendent Karen Mantia said. “They have been an outstanding partner and we look forward to more opportunities to expose our students to the fields of robotics and healthcare.

“Our students had the rare opportunity to get some hands-on experience in a high-demand industry and, for some, this experience may have even helped define their career paths.”

Approximately 1,500 seventh grade students in the Lakota district participated in the contest, submitting 58 potential names based on what they learned about robotic surgery.

The top two classes were then selected by hospital leaders and invited to the hospital for a pizza party and tour. During the tour, the children visited the clinical laboratory, pharmacy and even had the opportunity to “test-drive” the surgical robot that they helped name.

“We are excited to partner with the Lakota Local School District on this project, which is just the beginning of what we hope will be a long-lasting collaboration and friendship,” Daskalakis said. “We truly believe that reaching out to kids now and getting them interested in math, science and the medical field will help build the foundation for our next generation of doctors, nurses and other health-related careers.”

Posted in: Business, News, Schools, Student achievements |

Tags: Tags: da Vinci Si surgical robot, da Vinci Si surgical robot West Chester Hospital, Dr. Kevin Joseph, Hopewell Jr. School, Hopewell Junior, Kevin Joseph, Lakota East, Lakota Plains Jr. School, Lakota Plains Junior, Lakota West, STEAM2, West Chester Hospital

Cincinnati Enquirer photographer Tony Jones stopped by a pair of summer camps at Lakota school district schools this week.

>>>PICTURES OF LAKOTA SUMMER CAMP JUNE 2011<<<

The camps in the photo gallery are from the Laffalot summer camp (June 13-17) at Lakota Plains Jr. School in Liberty Township and from Camp Invention (June 13-17) at Freedom Elementary in West Chester.

There are also many other great moments captured on our Flickr photostream. And more West Chester and Liberty Township related photo galleries on our Photos page.

Also, remember to share your photos through the Photos page.

Posted in: Events, School events, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Camp Invention, Freedom Elementary, Laffalot summer camp, Lakota Plains Jr. School, photo gallery, photos