Cheryl Splain, reporter for Knox Pages shared an important update on her trip to Sherwood, Oregon. Cheryl is there along with several other reporters and leaders from the Knox County area. She shares the goals and an update on their project called “Intel, Beyond the Chip”. She shares about the conversations and research that they are gathering and the timeline of the project. You can follow the stories at KnoxPages.com Click HERE to hear the full conversation with Cheryl.
On Wednesday, 10/23/24, the United Way of Knox County hosted an exciting community event. They launched their All Kids Bike Initiative – a program that aims to teach every child in Knox County how to ride a bike. This is the pilot year. They are introducing the program across all the Mount Vernon City Elementary schools as well as Centerburg Elementary. They hope to extend the program to every school in Knox County by the 2025-2026 school year.
Click HERE to hear from Halle Krajenski, Program Director about this exciting initiative. We also talked with Patrolmen Benjamin Fike from the Mount Vernon Police Department about bike safety.
To connect with the United Way of Knox County and to donate for the 2024 Campaign – click HERE. Your gift makes a difference! Be sure to scroll down and check out the videos!
For our Friday Favorites this week, The Morning Thing hosts are sharing their favorite Fall Activities. We hope that you can get outside this weekend. Enjoy the weather and have some FUN!
The Church at Chapel Hill is bringing back their Fall Festival for this weekend. You are invited to this fun and FREE family event. Pastor Jon Whisner and Connie Jackson stopped by The Morning Thing to share details of ALL the activities. Click HERE to hear the full conversation.
The event is from 4pm – 7:30pm. The church is located at 7530 Johnstown Road in Mount Vernon. Click HERE to see a complete list of activities.
Knox Public Health has exciting news to share. There is an exciting program for driver’s education – the Drive to Succeed Scholarship Program. Suzanne Dapprich, the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator and Safe Communities Coordinator and Nicole Lybarger, Public Relations Coordinator stopped by WNZR to share about this wonderful program. Click HERE to hear the full conversation.
Knox Public Health has received two grants from the Ohio Department of Public Safety. The first one totaled $15,000 which has been distributed to area youth. Knox County has now received the second phase of the grant – $142,000 to use for the Drive to Succeed Scholarships.
The ladies share the goals of the program and how these scholarships can help families in our community. They also take us through the process for applications and what happens once students are accepted in the program.
Students can apply by reaching out to Suzanne Dapprich at sdrapprich@knoxhealth.com or call 740-392-2200, Ext. 2225. More information is also available at knoxhealth.com
WNZR is honored to partner with Knox Pages on a special project called “Intel – Beyond the Chip”. Knox Pages reporters Cheryl Splain and Grant Richey stopped by the WNZR studios to share about the plan for this reporting. Click HERE for the full conversation or click on the audio box below.
They will take a trip to Sherwood, Oregon to find out how Intel has impacted a community that is similar to Mount Vernon. They shared the scope of the project, their goals and how to stay connected with the reporting. WNZR will be sharing conversations with Cheryl and Grant throughout this process. So keep listening as they gather information that can provide insight as Intel’s move to Ohio becomes a reality. You can follow their stories on KnoxPages.com
The Kiwanis Club of Mount Vernon has kicked off their annual collection – Coats for Kids. Lisa Lloyd shared the exciting news of this year’s collection with Marcy Rinehart on The Morning Thing. Click HERE to hear the full conversation.
The club first started hosting this collection in 1987! This year’s goal is to collect 434 coats. If they reach that goal, they will surpass over 20,000 coats since that first collection.
They are looking for coats in all sizes. There are 30 collection points around Knox County. Gault’s Plaza Cleaners takes care of cleaning all coats. Interchurch Social Services distributes the coats throughout the county. The deadline to donate is 10/31.
Kiwanis Club of Mount Vernon remains dedicated to its mission of improving the lives of children and families. For more information on how you can donate, call Lisa Lloyd at 740-392-3270, ext. 2.
2024 Kiwanis Coats for Kids Collection Points: CENTERBURG Centerburg Elementary: 207 South Preston Street Centerburg Middle/High School: 3782 Columbus Road Park National Bank: 35 West Main Street
DANVILLE Danville Elementary/Middle School: 205 Rambo Street Danville High School: 10 Rambo Street Park National Bank: 4 South Market Street
FREDERICKTOWN Fredericktown Elementary/Middle/High School: 111 Stadium Drive Park National Bank: 137 North Main Street
GAMBIER Gambier Child Care Center (Head Start): 119 Meadow Lane The Peoples Bank: 103 East Wiggin Street Wiggin Street Elementary: 207 East Wiggin Street
HOWARD East Knox Jr./Sr. High School: 23227 Coshocton Road
MOUNT VERNON CES Credit Union: 1215 Yauger Road & 400 West Chestnut Street Gault’s Plaza Cleaners: Kroger Plaza, 855 Coshocton Road Knox County Career Center: 306 Martinsburg Road Knox County Chamber of Commerce: 501 South Main Street Knox County Head Start (Hew Hope Early Education): 11700 Upper Gilchrist Road Knox County Service Center: 117 East High Street Knox Public Health: 11660 Upper Gilchrist Rd Knox Technical Center: 308 Martinsburg Road
Mount Vernon City Schools: – Columbia Elementary: 150 Columbus Road – Dan Emmett Elementary: 108 Mansfield Road – East Elementary: 714 East Vine Street – Mount Vernon High School: 300 Martinsburg Road – Mount Vernon Middle School: 298 Martinsburg Road – Pleasant Street Elementary: 305 East Pleasant Street – Twin Oak Elementary: 8888 Martinsburg Road
Ohio Eastern Start Home: 1451 Gambier Road Park National Bank: 1 South Main & 810 Coshocton Avenue Salvation Army of Mount Vernon: 206 East Ohio Avenue SPI Spot: 400 South Main Street The Peoples Bank: 11423 Upper Gilchrist Road United Way of Knox County: 305 East High Street
WNZR’s Marcy Rinehart attended Media Day at the Knox County Board of Elections. She received a tour and an in-depth look at how our local office is preparing for the upcoming election. Click HERE to hear the full conversation or click on the graphic below.
She talked with Director Jim Blazer about his #1 priority for the upcoming General Election. He wants to give the opportunity for every registered voter to vote in this election and for every voter to know that their vote will count. They talked about the checks and balances that are in place with a bipartisan team.
Jim talks about the different ways that residents can vote in this general election. The deadline for an absentee application by mail is October 29. Early Voting opened up on October 8th for voting at the Board of Elections, 104 East Sugar Street in Mount Vernon. Early voting will close on November 3rd. The office will be closed on 11/4 to prepare for election day. Precincts will open at 7am on Election Day, 11/5 throughout Knox County.
Jim talks about the increase of registered voters as they prepare for the general election. Knox County currently has 43,464 registered voters (as of 10/1/24), but Jim anticipates that number to go over 44,000 by election day. He also anticipates a turnout of 75 – 80% of registered voters for this election. The Knox County Team anticipates the largest turnout in the history of Knox County.
Joe Springer is the new Executive Director of the Winter Sanctuary. He stopped by The Morning Thing to share some exciting news about this wonderful community outreach. Click HERE for the full conversation.
Joe talked about how he made his way to Mount Vernon. He shared his history with the Winter Sanctuary. He has served as Operations Director and Advocate.
Joe also talked about the mission and services of the Winter Sanctuary. The shelter opens November 1st and closes the end of April – this is a seasonal emergency shelter. The Advocacy Program runs year-round.
Joe shared the goals for the Winter Sanctuary for the 2024-2025 season. The biggest goal is to have permanent shelter for the community. They have kicked off a capital campaign for a new location and building. Joe wants the community to know that the Winter Sanctuary is the only emergency shelter in the county. He also wants people to know that the advocacy program operates year-round. He talks about how residents here in Knox County can help them live out their mission. He also shares how people can support their ministry. Joe also shares how we can pray for him and his team at the Winter Sanctuary. They are looking for an Advocate/Volunteer Coordinator and 4 Guest Supervisors to join the team.
The Morning Thing shined the spotlight on the United Way of Knox County on today’s show. We introduced Katie Ellis, the new Executive Director. She talked about what sparked her interest to join the United Way Team and what she has learned since starting the job in May. Click HERE to hear the full conversation.
She also shared an update on the 2024 Day of Caring that happened in September. They had over 60 volunteers that worked at 8 different partner agencies that day.
Katie shared with us about the 2024 United Way Campaign and what she is most excited about for this year. This year’s theme is – We Are Building a Brighter Future for Knox County. The Goal is $1 million dollars.
The United Way is dedicated to improving lives in Knox County. Katie talks about the 4 key areas: education, financial stability, health and community resiliency.
She shared how the donations from the 2024 campaign help the United Way to further their mission. Katie also shared a highlight of the activities coming up on the 2024 campaign schedule and how we can give.
Click HERE to stay up to date with news from the United Way of Knox County and to make your donation.
