AW Cheerleaders Take 8th Straight State Victory
BY KAREN BERGER — MIRROR REPORTER
Flipping through the air in tucks and layouts, tumbling across the floor in back handsprings, the Anthony Wayne cheerleading team executed moves so quickly and precisely that the audience at the March 5 All-Star game sat transfixed.
The judges in the March 7 Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators state cheerleading and dance championship must have felt the same way. The AW competition team brought home its eighth consecutive OASSA Division I Class AAA Mount state championship – a record in itself, said head coach Michelle Kronmann.
The team captured its first state title in 2003 and has repeated the feat every year since. No other D-I program among the more than 190 in the state or in the 750 combined programs in all divisions has ever won eight state crowns, let alone acquire them in a consecutive string.
Kronmann attributes the team’s success to an ever-increasing level of tumbling.
“In the past eight years, tumbling has become an important part of Anthony Wayne cheerleading and cheerleading in general,” Kronmann said.
Varsity members must be able to perform a back handspring and show an increasing level of tumbling skill – whether they are freshmen or seniors.
While senior Jessica Hertzfeld had seven years of competitive gymnastics before starting cheerleading in sixth grade, others, such as senior Brooke Hampton, began training hard on tumbling later, as the skill requirements increased.
The team trains at Ohio Cheer Academy twice a week, and most girls take additional lessons at OCA or elsewhere, Kronmann said.
Both Jessica and Brooke said the Anthony Wayne team’s record of winning both inspires and challenges them.
“I knew the cheer program was good when I started, but I didn’t realize how good it was until I became involved with it. Once I got into high school, the record of winning was definitely appealing because it felt good to know that I would be a part of it,” Brooke said.
“Each year we want the program to improve. Keeping the streak alive is also a large factor for us in the pressure to win,” Jessica said.
While the cheerleaders from prior years set the standard, this year’s squad members have an edge to win from other squad members, coaches and parents, Jessica said.
“Together all of these people put so much time and work into the program that we really try to make them proud. And we want to build an even stronger program for the upcoming Anthony Wayne cheerleaders that look at our squad as role models,” she added.
Kronmann, a 2000 Anthony Wayne graduate, coached the junior high team for four years and the high school team for the past three. While she is the head coach of the program, she and junior high coach Mariah Plymale co-coach when it comes to competitions.
Training for the March competition begins in early summer – making the season much longer than other sports seasons that might be just a few months, said athletic director Jeff Schwerer.
“Those girls work extremely hard. Our hats go off to the girls and the coaches,” Schwerer said.

Waterville Implements $8.65 Monthly Fee For Garbage Pickup
BY NANCY GAGNET — MIRROR REPORTER
After months of debate, the Waterville Village Council passed the five-year capital budget, which includes an $8.65 monthly refuse collection and recycling fee.
The original budget proposal included a $4.00 per month refuse collection fee; however, council member Tim Guzman proposed increasing that fee to $8.65 – the actual cost the village pays for the service – to be implemented as soon as possible.
The fee would be imposed through February 2011, at which time council would review the tax again, he said.
Council approved the budget with the higher fee by a vote of 5-2 at its meeting on March 8.
Council member John Gouttiere and Mayor Derek Merrin voted against the budget proposal.
The new fee is expected to generate approximately $140,000.
According to village finance director Dale Knepper, village expenditures have outstripped revenue.
Citing skyrocketing costs in dispatch service, health insurance and fuel, coupled with flat income tax revenue, a decline in real estate valuation and interest income, and a decline in state funding, Knepper said that something needed to be done.
“We began discussing revenue enhancements in 2004,” he said.
In addition to a balanced budget, Knepper said it’s important to build and maintain the general fund year-end balance to one average month’s expenditure, which is approximately $240,000 to $270,000.
“A strong general fund balance is important as it relates to our borrowing for debt service because the fund balance can affect the interest rates,” he said. “A lower balance could equate into a higher interest rate. Our current annual note issue carries a 3.5 percent interest rate.”
Guzman proposed the garbage fee as a way to generate revenue for the cash reserve fund.
Charging $8.65 instead of $4.00 monthly would generate approximately $74,800 more in revenue and raise the end-of-year balance to approximately $173,000, Guzman said.
“It doesn’t get us exactly where we need to be, but it gets us closer,” he said.
Knepper agreed.
“It moves the general fund in the right direction towards a balance of $240,000,” he said.
Merrin opposed the new tax.
“I’m strongly opposed to increasing taxes. Raising taxes only encourages more spending and prevents future cost-saving measures from being implemented,” Merrin said. “The trash fee is a sham. Residents already pay for collection through their income and property taxes.”
Tom Titus, chairman of village finance committee, disagreed, saying that income tax and property tax do not cover all village services.
“There is nothing special that allocates income tax and property tax to those services,” he said.
In reality, he said, all revenue in the village has been reduced significantly, and residents will have to begin paying for certain services because the money isn’t there to support them.
“If we use the services, we’re going to have to start paying for them as opposed to sharing all of the costs of village operation based on sources of revenue, because those sources of revenue have been reduced,” he said.
A certified public accountant, Titus was village treasurer from 1980 until 2004 and has been a member of the finance committee since 1978.
While he understands that the garbage tax is a lightning rod issue among residents, he believes significant cuts are also necessary to cover the cost of village operations.
“In order to make a significant impact on reducing the budget there would have to be major cuts in services – we’ve looked at all of the small stuff,” he said.
The budget also includes concessions from employees, including the loss of longevity bonuses and increased health insurance fees.
In January, council voted to shift franchise fees of $69,000 from parks and green space to the general fund, and reallocated income tax revenue from a 75 to 25 percent split between the general and capital funds to an 82 to 18 percent split.

The next meeting of Waterville Village Council is on Monday, March 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Waterville Town Hall, 25 N. Second St.