airwave band at north park
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7/28/2019 Airwave Band at North Park
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NICOLE EHRHARDT
OtherWords.org
I am a physician and my
husband works in finance. I
work early hours and he trav-
elsfor work. With two sons un-
der the age of 6 and busy
schedules, we needed flexible
chi ldcare and found this in
the au pair program.
After phone calls, emails,
and exchanged photos of our
mutual families with a South
American stranger,we wel-
comed our firs t au pair into
our home in 2009. Both par-
ties were nervous but excited.
Weve now hadtwo Colom-bian au pairs live with us in our
Washington, DC home over
t he pa st f ou r ye ar s. T he se
young women have enriched
our l ives by tak ing lov ing,
thought fu l care o f our two
sons andbringing their culture
intoour home.Theyve taught
ourkidsSpanish, and they eat
dinner with us most of the
time. Theyre like members
of our extended family.
Thats why Im so glad the
immigration reform bill now
pending in the Senate would
protect au pairs against human
traff icking and abusive re-
cruitmentpractices before they
even arrive. It would require
that workers receive informa-
tion about the termsand con-
d it ions o f a job be fo re they
leave their country and bar
r ec ru it er s f ro m c ha rg in g
prospective au pairs fees. It
a lso mandates that recruit-
ment agencies be registeredas
such.
These common-sense and
humanitarianprovisions would
protect vulnerable young peo-
ple (mostly women) seeking
both cultural and work experi-
e nce i n ou r coun tr y. W ho
could object? Apparently, the
au pair lobby does.
T he pr ac ti ce of h av in g
young women care for children
in theirhomes, whilehavinga
foreign exchange experience,
began in Europe after World
War II. Here, it only took off
in 1986, during another bout of
immigration reform.
Aupairs livewithhost fam-
ilies, improve their English,
and lea rn about the Uni ted
States. They provide up to 45
hours per week of childcare
and enroll in classes. By law,
employers must pay them ex-
a ctly $195 .75 per week
well below minimumwage
and provide room and board.Host families also initially
pay placement agencies over
$7,000 in fees. We were told
that this covers travel, v isa
processing, and a program
fee. But one of our au pairs
recently told us she paid close
to $1,000 dollars for her own
visaand another$1,000dollars
directlyto a service just to be
considered in the applicant
pool.
It looks like our au pair
paid $2,000 to work in our
home. That s a big bi ll for a
y ou ng p er so n f ro m S ou th
America and, unfortunately,
appears to be a common
arrangement.
I also have concerns about
the specialized visas involved.
Neither our family nor our au
pair was init ially info rmed
that the visa doesnt allow au
pairs to travel freelyoutside the
UnitedStates if they spendtwo
years here. (A second year is
opt ional ). This kept ou r au
pairs from visiting their fam-
ilies for over a year.
Finally, au pairs do receive
basic health and dental insur-
ance, butit falls short of whats
required given their wages.
For example, when ourau pair
gota bill that topped $800 for
her wisdom teeth extraction,
our family helped shoulder
the cost.
The major au pair placement
and recruitment companies
seem to fear that their bottom
lines would suffer under the
pending legislat ion. Instead,
they shouldapplaud this effort
to guarantee better conditions
for the workers they recruit and
improved services to the fam-
il ies who hos t and em pl oy
them.
The Senatebill would make
it c lear that recruiters cant
charge au pairs fees to come to
the United Statesto work. Of-ten, young womenand menre-
cruited into the au pair pro-
gram cantafford to pay these
fees and, bylaw, they earn very
little when they arrive. They
shouldnt accrue large debts
just for the chance to work in
the United States.
These fees shouldbe borne
by the families benefiting from
their services. Its increasing-
ly clear tha t theres a lot at
stake.This change might, for
example, help prevent atroci-
ties like those exposed when
Illinois pimp Alex Campbell
wassentencedto lifein prison
forrapingand abusing women
who had been cut looseby the
Au Pair in America agency.
Asan aupairmom, I know
thisprogram is deeplyflawed.
I want the immigra tion re-
form law to make it more
transparent and fair for every-
one while doing more to pre-
vent human trafficking. I ap-
plaud the provisions in theSenates version of the bill.
D r. Ni col e E hr hardt i s a
practicing endocrinologist in
Norther n Virginia and volun-
tee rs a t the Arl ington Free
Clinic. She lives in Washing-
ton , DC with her husband,
two children, and au
pair. Distr ibuted via Other-
Words. OtherWords.org
4 Thursday, June 20, 2013 Springboro Sun
OPINIONCongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
- The First Amendment to the United States Constitution
1836 West Park Square, Xenia, OH 45385 - 937-294-7000
www.SpringboroSun.com
. .ong
To contact the Springboro Suncall the extensions or
numbers listed below.
TREVOR COLLINS
Group Publisher, Ext. 101
DOUG SKINNER
Editor, Ext. 155
BILL DUFFIELD
Managing Editor, Ext. 135
LINDA SKINNER
Business Manager,Ext. 157
ADVERTISING POLICYNo responsibility is assumed by the publisher for
omission or errors occurring in advertisements, but
correction will be made in the next issue following
when attention is directed to them. We reserve the right
to edit, cancel or decline any advertisement without
notice.JOYCE KIRBY
Advertising, Ext. 173
TAMMY TOOTLE
Classified Advertising Director
866-212-7355 or 937-372-4444 press 2
CIRCULATION CUSTOMER SERVICECirculation department hours 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday.Call 937-294-7000.
Home delivery
Year - $40, 26 Weeks - $2413 Weeks EZ Pay - $10
*EZ Pay is automatic withdraw from
credit or debit card. Minimum of 3 months.
Yearly mail out of county - $50Yearly online only - $20Monthly online - $3
Community News Group of Dayton,a division of Civitas Media, LLC
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved
Published every Thursday 52 weeks a year.
Periodicals postage paid at Dayton, Ohio. Postmaster:
Send address changes to Xenia Gazette, 1836 W. Park
Square, Xenia, Ohio 45385.
The publisher shall not be liable for damages out of
errors in advertisements beyond the amount paid for
space actually occupied by that portion of the advertise-
ment in which the error occurs, and there shall be no lia-
bility for non-insertion of any advertisement beyond the
amount paid in advance for such advertisement.
This newspaper is environmentally
friendly. It is printed in recycled fibers
and soy-based inks, with the excep-
tion of some supplements.
Airwave Band at North ParkTheAirwave Band live at North Park next
Tuesday at 7 p.m. If youre not familiar with
Airwave, read on and love whats coming.Their featured vocalists are Dixie Karas,
who sings Aretha, Whitney, Beyonce, Lady
Gaga and more.
Keenan West, hes your guy for Marvin
Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, the
Black Eyed Peas,MaroonFive.
And the final vocalist is Jon Aiken, who
does Elvis,Van Morrison, the Stones, Huey
Lewis, Springsteen andJohn Mayer.
Areyouready forall this? NO!How about
if they throw in some Frank, Ella, Louis,
Diana Krall, Harry Connick, Michael Buble
and Nora Jones. Will that make you happy?
Yes!
Airwave has appeared since 1999 at Jeff
Rubys Restaurant in downtown Cincy andat
Carol and Johnnys in Montgomery since
2000. They also appear at the HollywoodCasino and have done hundreds of private
andcorporate events over theyears.
Dont miss the first concert of the 2013
concertseason at NorthPark. Its going to be
gi-normous. Come early for good seating,
bring a chair,your picnicbasket, andrefresh-
ments. The Rotary Club will have the park
refreshment stand open at 6:30 p.m. A 15-
minute break will occur between 8-8:15 to
give everyone a chance to stretch their legs,
grab a soda, snack, hit the restrooms and get
ready for thesecond half. Dancingis permit-
ted and encouraged in front of the stage so
make sure you wear your dancing shoes.
TheAirwave Band,youre gonna love em.
To learn more visit their website
www.airwaveband.com Ill be your emcee
for the concert season and am looking for-
ward to meeting you on Tuesday nights for
some awesome music.What does all this
cost?Absolutely nothing, the concert is free.
This news just in fromSpringboroPantherHead Coach Ryan Wilhite. He and his staff
will be hosting their 2013 Springboro foot-
ballCamp of Champions thissummerand
have decided to again split the players into
twosessions due to increasing numbers. The
youth camp, for players entering grades one
through six, will hold its camp June 24-27.
Times will be 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.Again this
year, a separate juniorhighcamp (whichwill
include freshmen) willbe held on July 15-18
for players entering grades seven through
nine.The time will be 6-8 in the evening.An
official Springboro Football Camp of
Champions t-shirt will be provided to each
camperon thelast day of thecamp.Popsicles
are also given to each camper at the end of
eachsession.Walk-upregistrationis availablebutpre-registrationis encouraged.For further
information, please e-mail Jennifer Wilhite
@ [email protected] Can you
believe football season is justaroundthe cor-
ner. Hike!
Im hard at work putting together the
July/August edition of Springboro 45066.
Last Thursday, we taped a segment with
Springboros own Rocker Ashley Martin
and her band. Ashley has been appearing all
over the countrywiththe band,knocking out
a new album recently with some awesome
songs. She and the band sat down with me
and chatted a bit about where shes been,
where shes going andhow much everyoneis
enjoying it.Weve even got some video from
one ofhershowsin Georgiathat will bein the
45066show.Dont missAshley unpluggedinthe next 45066edition starting in July.
If you missed the Memorial Day parade
and service orwere part ofit and wantto see
how well youdid orhow theparade lookedto
everyone else, tune it in on the following
dates on Time Warner Cable channel six in
the Dayton South Viewing area: Monday,
June 24 at 7 p.m.; Wednesday, June 26 at 9
p.m. andSaturday, June 29at 11a.m.Youcan
also watch it anytime online at
www.mvcc.net thenclickonArchivedVideo,
then click on Springboro, then click on
Memorial Day Parade you can see it 24/7.
Hey, summers here lets get busy and
enjoy everyminute wecan.C U at the pool.
MERGE WRIGHT
By Don Wr
ight
Times
Columnist
I remember getting more than one paddling as a youngster grow-
ing up in Memphis for doing exactly whats in the headlines today; I
was eavesdropping on our party line.
Now I realize I have to explain to over half of you what I mean by
party line. Landline phones, which were once anchored to a wall,
were often shared by several
households. Your number would
have a distinctive ring and the
others on that shared line would
be a little different. Id very gently
try to pick up the phone and
cover the mouthpiece so I could
listen in. Somehow my patents
always found out. Today thats a
federal crime and shocks folks who hear about it.
How am I supposed to feel, as a conservative, when I hear aboutVerizon compiling phone logs, the NSA doing much the same and
emails being screened by ISPs? I dont know how Im supposed to
feel but I can tell you I am not surprised or angry in the least!
Anybody who believes, in this age of technology that changes at a
pace that would make our heads spin, you actually enjoy privacy is
fooling themselves, or nave; or both. My family does 90% of its
Christmas shopping on line. I cant tell you the last time I was at a
teller window at a bank. Its all done with a click of the mouse now. I
have no idea what a stamp costs these days since all my mail is e-
mail. Our home repairs, doctor visits and auto fixes are all set up on
line.
Im very aware that if there are IT geeks who can shut down
banks, power grids and even governments via Internet hacking my
information is there for the taking. And it likely has been. That
anchored phone I used to listen in on is now in my shirt pocket and
can call globally, act as a GPS and really acts as a computer. Yes, that
same technology that allows me to appear smart when Kathy asks
me, as were watching a golf tournament on a Sunday afternoon,how many points Tiger leads by in the FedEx Cup race; and I tell her
in two seconds, could also wipe us out just as fast. Ive accepted that
its the new normal. I dont like it, but it is reality and I accept it.
So am I surprised to know Uncle Sam and/or big business is
watching who I talk to or what Im doing? Id be surprised if I found
out they werent snooping. I didnt say I liked it. I just said I accept it.
So how do I guard myself? I keep hard copy records of anything that
I might need to verify something I did or had. I dont call anybody
Id be ashamed or afraid to say I talked with and my emails are writ-
ten in such a manner that I wouldnt care who saw them. I live the
life I should be living anyway since I dont want anybody to think
otherwise.
So is technology keeping me on the straight and narrow? I dont
know for sure but my guess is Sister Michael Elaine, my 8th grade
teacher, is probably smiling down on me wishing she had this tech-
nology to keep me straight in school rather than having to use that
paddle on me after class almost daily. Know what? I wish the same
thing!
No privacy?
Get used to it!
Mike
Scinto
Timescolumnist
Summer is here. But, if you own a pool,
now may be the time to get it checked out
before the summer heat sets in. Before you
schedule an appointment, your Better
Business Bureau offers tips of what to
look for when hiring a pool service com-
pany.
In 2012, your BBB recorded 416
inquiries locally about pool service com-
panies. However, about 167,000 inquiries
and more than 600 complaints were filed
nationally with your BBB against compa-nies in this industry in 2012.
A pool service company covers a vari-
ety of services and it varies from company
to company. Pool service companies offer
services such as, opening and closing your
pool, vacuuming, brushing the sides of the
pool, balancing the water chemistry, emp-
tying skimmer baskets among other jobs
depending on the size and extra equipment
on your pool.
Your Better Business Bureau offers tips
for finding a trustworthy swimming pool
contrac-
tor:
Shop around and compare. Get several
bids detailing the work to be done, materi-
als needed, cost and payment terms.
Get recommendations from friends
and family. If theyre pleased with their
contractors, most likely youll be too.
Find out if the company is a member
of an association like the Association of
Pool & Spa Professionals (APSP). These
associations help contractors know the lat-
est trends in equipment, which in turn
means they can make you aware of new
products and possible rebates.
Consider reputation, years of service
and services provided, as well as cost.
Be sure contractors are appropriately
licensed and insured.
Review warranty coverage. Make sure
you understand coverage terms and condi-
tions.
Watch out for companies offering
quick solutions or using misleading state-
ments, high pressure or scare tactics.
Dont be afraid to say no or get a sec-
ond opinion if large repairs are recom-
mended.
Remember, there are several factors ofhow much it will cost you to get your pool
serviced or repaired. If you have a large
pool, you may be charged more for chemi-
cals and man hours. The kind of equip-
ment your pool has can also determine
cost.
You can always contact your BBB for a
list of BBB Accredited swimming pool
service and repair companies and reviews
on ones youre considering.
Visit www.bbb.org or call (937) 222-
5825 or (800) 776-5301.
BBB offers tips when searchingfor pool service company
John
North
DaytonBBB
Showing caregivers we care
Yes, Margaret Thatcheris dead, but her wisdom
lives on (we hope)
A few weeks ago Rich Tompkins, a friend from way back who
splits time between Florida and here, sent me some clippings from
British newspapers following Margaret Thatchers death in April. He
received them from friends in the UK and thought they might be
interesting to an elderly American journalist.
Yes, indeed. The clips were mostly standard post-mortem remem-
brances, although some reflected the unforgiving spirit over some of
her policies even though she left
office and political leadership in
1990. Her tenure from 1979 until
then and the struggle to bring
Britain back from the brink of
socialist disaster created some bit-
ter enemies. Coal miners, whose
strike she broke, celebrated her
death as did some other unions,notably the Fleet Street print unions whose power was broken when
she helped bring modern journalism to London.
The British have some habits that are still a bit alien to our eyes.
Young socialists parading with headlines shouting Rejoice!
Rejoice! at the death or holding up crude signs with even more vul-
gar sentiments are not in our do not speak ill of the dead tradition.
(It is still customary here, isnt it?)
But most of the comments were positive and the state funeral
came off well even though our president, vice president and secre-
tary of state were too busy to attend. There were touching tributes in
a collection of letters published by the Daily Telegraph. One, a doc-
tor, who was just five when Thatcher assumed office, said I strug-
gle to find a person outside my family who has so shaped my life.
She dragged the country from the shores of oblivion and forged a
Great Britain, a debt we can never repay. The venom expelled by
some of her opponents since her death only reinforces how right she
was.
The details of what the Iron Lady (so dubbed by Moscow) meant
to us and the world are in the history books a vigorous foreign pol-
icy that helped free Eastern Europe, defended the sheep farmers of
the Falkland Islands, freed nationalized industries to compete in
world markets, and constantly reinforced cultural values that todays
progressives sniff at as just conservatism,.
In her visits to the U.S. she celebrated how our founders built on
the British foundation, saying in a speech at Hillsdale College in
2002 that the faith of Americas founders affirmed the sanctity of
each individual. Every human life man or women, child or adult,
commoner or aristocrat, rich or poor was equal in the eyes of the
Lord. It also affirmed the responsibility of each individual. And she
added
But we in the West must also acknowledge our debt to other cul-
tures. In the pre-Christian era, for example, the ancient philosophers
like Plato and Aristotle had much to contribute to our understanding
of such concepts as truth, goodness and virtue .Yet it is doubtful
whether truth, goodness and virtue founded on reason alone would
have endured as they did in the West, where they were based upon a
Biblical ethic.Yet 15 years ago this greengrocers daughter who finished life as
Baroness Thatcher, said something especially appropriate about our
political situation today. Socialists and statists, she said, often
begin by finding injustices and wanting to remove them. But they go
on to the notion that only state ownership and state regulation can
solve such problems. You can only believe that by ignoring the les-
sons of history, the lessons of politics and the lessons of economics.
After the experience of this century [the 20th] and the testimony of
Eastern Europe, intellectual irresponsibility on this scale is also
moral irresponsibility.
William
Wild
TimesColumnist