On April 25, 2019 the Knox County Chamber of Commerce held the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Harmony Playground, the new fully inclusive playground in Mount Vernon. Harmony Playground has been a wonderful collaborative project with the Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Crossfit 1808, the Knox County Health Department Creating Healthy Communities and many other wonderful team members that brought together this amazing playground for all families in Knox County and beyond.

Carol Grubaugh, with the Chamber of Commerce led the ceremony and we heard wonderful remarks from Katie Fiorilli, Crossfit 1808 & Caroline’s Classic; Tami Ruhl, Knox County Health Department Creating Healthy Communities; Steve Oster, Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities; and Mayor Dick Mavis, City of Mount Vernon. Thank you to Jamie and Levi Sanders for cutting the ribbon!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this project a reality, and thank you to everyone who came out to the ribbon cutting ceremony!

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Generous donors who made this project a reality are:

Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities

The Ariel Foundation

Diversified Products & Services

Richard & Arline Landers Foundation

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Crossfit 1808 Caroline’s Classic

United Way of Knox County

Kiwanis Club of Mount Vernon

The Energy Cooperative Operation Round Up Foundation, Inc.

The Ramser Family

Licking/Knox Goodwill Industries, Inc.

Knox County Health Department Creating Healthy Communities

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Women United

First-Knox National Bank, Division of Park National Bank

Elks Care, Elks Share - Mount Vernon Elks #140

Celestine Watkins

Siemens Energy Systems, Inc.

Mount Vernon Rotary Foundation

City of Mount Vernon

Knox County Foundation

Foundation Parks Conservancy

Concepts in Community Living, Inc.

Margo de Camp

Steve Oster

Kim & Pam Rose

Ian & Charlotte Watson

Creative Foundations, Inc.

Gordy & Fran Yance

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Delta Kappa Gamma of Knox County

Knox Community Hospital

Chip & Katie Wilson

Marc & Jen Odenweller

Geotechnical Consultants, Inc.

The Marlow Family

Deb Romas & Associates

Dr. Robert & Patricia Ronk

Riverside Recovery Services - Where Recovery Brings Hope

Amy Albery

Elena N. Brechler

Craig Black - Tricia Moore - Andrew & Anna Breen

Team “Neverquit” - AFC

Adam Daniels - Ben Durbin - Natalee Johnson - Trista Butler

Brock M. Evans

Lara K. Farmer

Built By Unity

Hanna Ford

Matthew Gibson

The Hickman Family

John & Kristin Hofferberth

Matthew Kelling

Always Forward CrossFit

Tara Lamb

Alex Lambert

Melissa Leonard

Ron & Natalie Lucas & Family

Dan & Rebekah Mullins

Emily Nussbaum

Alicia Olson

Evan Palmer

Kathy Patton

Chad & Tami Ruhl

Holden Richards

The Ruffner Family

In Memory of Dorothy “Dottie” Marchal

Megan West

Neal Bell - Justin Satin - Loriann Fuhrer - Kris Whiting

Nichole Williams

“N8” Woodford

Dick & Peggy Mavis

Flappers Bar & Grille - Norm & Erron Porter - Steve Oster

Benjamin Peter Ollis

Lucy Peterson

Barbara Jordan

Anonymous

Easterseals Central & Southeast Ohio

ViaQuest, Inc.

Gantt Homes Inc. & The HIVE

Teresa Bemiller

Joe & Miranda Conkle

Nick & Katie Fiorilli

Rhonda & Chuck Gherman

Steve & Kathy Greenich

Mike & Karen Hagans

Jaclynn Mahle

Joe & Sally Nelson

Donald & Nancy Omahan

Friends of Kelly Shoemaker

In Memory of Ashton Cordray

Moms of Mount Vernon Giving Back

We love getting to watch creativity and imagination take over as people come together to build amazing creations at Lego Club. On 3/14 we had a great turn out and had some pretty stellar pieces made! The theme was “Sandwiches, Burgers, Subs & More!” (a theme that was submitted by a kiddo!! Great thinking!) and the pieces that were created were extraordinary!

If you have a great idea for a theme, feel free to email it to Brody Boggs (bboggs@knoxdd.com) and he’ll try to add it to the calendar!

For the past 5 years the Knox County Board of DD has hosted their "Imagine The Possibilities" 5k and 1 Mile event!  This  year we partnered with #FeedTheVERN to help feed hungry children in Mount Vernon.  

Thank you to all of our sponsors, volunteers and participants who came out to help support our event!

For the past five years the Knox County Board of Developmental Disabilities has thrown our annual "Summerfest" to celebrate summer, sun and have fun!  Each year carries a different theme and activities- this year we celebrated with many different organizations across our county!  We love being able to partner and collaborate with so many amazing organizations to help with inclusion and break down barriers for the people and families in our program!

It was wonderful watching everyone interact with the various booths set up from community partners and having conversations by asking unique and thoughtful questions to all of the first responders that came to support our event!  Thank you to everyone who helped make last week so successful!

Thank you to all of the organizations that helped bring such fun to our day!  Knox County Sheriff, Mount Vernon Police Department, Fredericktown Police Department, Mount Vernon Fire/EMS, Danville Police Department, Lashley Training Center, Knox County Health Department, Mount Vernon Street Department, YMCA, Knox Community Hospital, Ohio State University Extension, Center for Disability Services, Easter Seals, ODOT, Help Me Grow & Early Intervention, Knox Area Transit, Prosecutor's Office, Ariel-Foundation Park

When you first meet Daniel, the first thing you notice is his soulful eyes and passion for sharing his story.  Due to nerve damage from surgery, Daniel is legally blind.  He wears an eye patch over his right eye most days because the light causes his eye to become sore from trying to focus.  Daniel also struggles with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Anxiety. 

He attributes his passion for music in helping him deal with his emotions and overcome adversities.  He studied and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Kenyon College. He is classically trained in piano and keyboard and since graduating college he mostly composes melodies and rhythms on his computer using MuseScore, a program that helps him write.  He has recently learned about Braille Music and is learning more about transcribing music into Braille through a program on his computer.  Daniel sometimes finds it difficult to write music in ways that most other composers write. He stated that most composers sketch music out on paper, but he cannot do that.  Instead he types it in Braille.  He is hopeful that once he is fluent in Braille it will help him be able to learn more languages.

“Writing music is just something I need to do”

— Daniel

"Writing music is just something I need to do," said Daniel.  It helps him deal with his emotions, "some styles can help you focus or calm down." When he is writing, he feels like it helps him focus on the emotion he is trying to work through; whether that is a romantic feeling, sadness, anxiety. Daniel also really enjoys singing in choir with his church and singing every year for the Messiah at Mount Vernon Nazarene University.

When Daniel isn't writing music or singing, he enjoys working at Kenyon College assisting with website maintenance and maintaining servers for Biology experiments.  His hours vary depending on the needs of the students and he appreciates the flexibility he has with his job.  He feels that his Master's Degree in Applied Statistics from Rochester Institute of Technology helps him with the experiments and maintaining them well.  

He enjoys reading about technology and learning about the different devices that are out there that can help people.  He feels statistical thinking methods play into determining what devices can help meet different needs.  He enjoys helping Kenyon students who have accessibility needs by scanning in materials to help them learn easier.

Daniel appreciates any help he can get; whether it's from a device, his parents, his church family at First Church of God, Kenyon College or from support staff who occasionally help him clean his apartment.  He has been evaluated for adaptive equipment for people who have difficulty with their vision.  He has a magnifier, sock blocks (help him keep pairs of socks together), Braille display on his computer, and a computer screen reader.  All of these devices help him live independently in his own apartment, create music and work.

If he could give advice to anyone who is struggling, it would be "be more proactive in seeking help."

Knox DD has partnered with the Knox County Health Department, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Ohio State University Extension, Chef Ev and local providers to bring education and opportunities to people in our program to learn more about living healthy.  Our journey started with educating direct care staff and individuals on portion sizes, healthy meal options and how to cook healthy meals in their own kitchens!  The next phase to our Healthy Living journey is providing opportunities to exercise.  Individuals from all day programs in Knox County have partnered with Mount Vernon Nazarene University Athletic Department to learn how to play basketball, soccer, use treadmills, exercise balls, stationary bikes among other exercises! 

"We love getting to do normal things- go to the movies, the zoo.  We do totally typical things!" -Laura Sanders, mother to the beautiful and wonderful Elli and Levi, siblings who were both born with Down Syndrome!