April 17, 2025 The Beacon • 17
Community garden will be planted soon at Hopewell
By Jen Jones The Beacon
A community garden will soon be planted at Hopewell School by students at the school and adults with disabilities in the community.
Shannon Shontz, from Hopewell School, said she attended the Ohio Association of County Board’ s conference in December and was in a session called complex and developmental health challenges in children.“ It was a great session and my two big takeaways were that many kids have a sedentary lifestyle and so many have unhealthy diets.”
Shontz said the class shared information about kids being on screens and indoors much of the time.“ They don’ t feel good, leading to obesity and it’ s a revolving circle. Sunlight creates vitamin D which gives us melatonin which helps us sleep. So many of our students that don’ t sleep at night don’ t get outside much, so
Come join the annual Big Coshocton Clean-Up
United Way of Coshocton County invites community members to participate in the 21st annual Big Coshocton Clean-Up on Saturday, April 26. This annual event brings together local residents, businesses, and organizations to help keep Coshocton clean and beautiful.
The event will kick off with registration at 8:30 a. m. at the court square gazebo, with clean-up activities running until 11:30 a. m. Volunteers will receive their assigned clean-up areas at registration.
Participants can enjoy complimentary donuts, bottled water, and garbage bags provided by event sponsors. The first 50 volunteers to sign up will receive a free event t-shirt as a token of appreciation.
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A community garden will soon be planted at Hopewell School by students at the school and adults with disabilities in the community.
we are making it a point to get the students outside as much as possible.”
She said the school is concerned about the diets of their students so healthier snacks, along with fresh fruits and vegetables, will be purchased.
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Volunteers will meet on the court square at 8:30 a. m. Saturday, April 26 to help cleanup Coshocton.
“ We also talked about how it is expensive for families to eat healthy. After some discussion, we decided to plant a garden. As discussions continued, we decided to make it an entire county board project.”
Planting the garden will
In addition to the community-wide clean-up, a special collection effort will be held:
— Kimble’ s will sponsor a container at the fairgrounds( near the Alder Street entrance) to accept old furniture.
— The Boy Scouts will also be collecting old appliances for proper disposal and recycling.
United Way encourages individuals, families, businesses, and civic groups to participate in this meaningful event.
For information, contact the United Way of Coshocton County at 740-622- 4567.
BF-160328 become a learning experience for the students at the school.“ We plan to plant vegetables and it be open to any of our families that we( CCBDD) serve,” Shontz said.“ The garden will be outside of the playground, close to the school. The area has a sidewalk right next to it and we are going to have raised beds as well. That way, people in wheelchairs can participate as well.”
Brittany Coon, with the Coshocton County Board of DD, said,“ We are hoping to create an opportunity for our students and day programs to come together to learn about planting, maintaining and growing a garden. They are planning to offer the fruits and vegetables for anyone in the community to harvest for free.”
CCBDD Superintendent Steve Oster said they are excited to create a community garden that brings together students and staff.“ This hands-on project will teach children about nature, responsibility and the importance of working together. Our garden will not only provide fresh produce, but also serve as a space for learning, creativity and connection. We look forward to watching it grow and thrive with the care of our school community.”
When the plants are ready to be harvested, any family who is served by the Coshocton County Board of DD is welcome to come and pick some fresh vegetables.
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