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PHOTOS: Rock-n-roll school is in session at the Barrow

9/26/2023

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The Barrow's Applefest show is ready to rock.

Literally.
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There are kids playing real instruments and rocking out in this production of "School of Rock."
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The show opens Friday at 7:30 p.m. and runs Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m and the follow week they have a special Thursday night show October 5, Friday , Oct . 6 and Saturday, Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m.
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This is tech week so they have a lot to work out yet, but come Friday lights will go up and this group of folks will tell us a story about giving your kids an opportunity to be who they are and respect that they might know something we, as adults either don't know, or have forgotten.
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"School of Rock," might be farcical, but it hammers home the idea that youth have something to say.
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And talent lies in many forms.
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And if we're not too full of our conventions and listen... we might realize there is something deep in every one of us that, given a chance, can shine. And the beauty of this message, in this show, is that the adults also can re-learn this lesson that they suppressed.
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The folks in this show have been working for months, especially the lead role of Dewey, played by Randy Moorehead, and the young musicians who will be an actual band playing their own instruments.
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And singers... there are more than 20 singers in this show and the kids are also knocking this out of the park with powerful choruses and solos.
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Moorehead might not be Jack Black, but he is Dewey in this production as he works seamlessly with the kids and his own guitars to bring this character a unique breath. 
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Moorhead said it was the role he always wanted to play and it shows. His kid bandmates will also likely blow you away realizing how young they are, yet still rocking out with a professional sound. And if we didn't emphasize this enough, - it is actually the kids playing the instruments and singing.
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And the music is good too.

More photos: ​https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p871245906
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A lot more than just football in this Route 8 rivalry

9/17/2023

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A rivalry is fun. In 145 meeting since the late 1800s Oil City holds a slight edge over the Knights, mostly due to the last 30 years where the Oilers have won 24 times. Prior to that Franklin held a bit of the advantage.

But that's just on the field and though there is a lot of rivalry among the fans, the cheers, bands and more importantly, who can raise more money for the Kirkland Cancer Foundation.

But even more than that going on, there are families with friends on both sides and there is the care for each other as members of the same community. Other than playing against each other there is a great deal of rooting for the other.

​So when number 44, Hayden Wilson could be seen walking along the sideline, it isn't a stretch that everyone who knew that the young man the young man was life-flighted from a game a week prior was happy to see him there.

Or when Franklin head coach Matt Turk wanted to take a photo with Oil City seniors like Henry Milford, it shows the community family of the rivalry. “I’ve been fighting them for four years," the coach joked. "I tried trading for (Milford), but they wouldn't have it."
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Sports, if thought of as means to bring people together, can be a powerful tool of growth. Yes sometimes we let the  desire to win 
permeate the vessel,
but, if we look objectively at how it can truly bring us face to face, we can see it is truly good.

​Saturday many things were happening beyond the game, and if you look closely you can see every week it is the same.
​

We just need to check our ego and preconceptions at the gate.
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And look at the whole picture.
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Please see more photos at ​https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p250189774
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'Your heartbeat will always live here inside of us'

9/1/2023

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"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelo
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"Ronnie did her best to change the part of the world that God put her in," said Jeff Corbett, the long-time sound technician who Ronnie Beith relied on heavily over the last decade and a half.

Ronnie Beith was the Franklin events coordinator, the person who put the community's stamp on everything she touched. She created a legacy of events and entertainment small towns the size of Franklin don't usually get. Thursday night through a tribute concert at Bandstand Park, the community thanked and remembered Ronnie for, not just everything she did, but how she made them feel.

Franklin lost its greatest champion this past winter when Ronnie just couldn't battle her failing body anymore. After a heart issue a few years back she continued to work tirelessly function on only about 30% of her heart. However 30% of Ronnie Beith's heart was still four times the size of most.

Hundreds of people turned out for a concert by performers from one of Ronnie's favorite events - the annual Taste of Talent vocal competition. (Disclaimer every event was one of Ronnie's favorites. They were all like her children.)

Along with a song, most performers shared something about how Ronnie had touched their lives through her words or her actions. Had Ronnie been there, she would've deflected humbly. Then she would have put her hands to her heart and just loved that people came to honor her by sharing their talents once again to a park full of community members that she likely knew most by name.  Likely helped in some way or another. 100s of them. 
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There weren't too many people who loved music more Ronnie. And there likely wasn't anyone who championed local talent to reach beyond themselves to succeed as much as she did. She would do anything she could to help.

​That's why there were tears... lots of tears. All night long.
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The show opened with a flashmob style performance of the Franklin All-star cheerleaders followed by the organizers Nathaniel Licht, Tammi Dahl-Matthews and Rachael Mellor singing "Amazing Grace," one of Ronnie's favorite gospel songs.
Then Joey Lillard told about the song he sang years ago during a Taste of Talent competition. He remembered Ronnie gushing over his choice to sing Elton John's "Your Song."  She told him how that song was important to her and her husband Bill.

As Lillard told this story lumps were already forming in the throats of audience members.

​Joni Zacherl then delivered a powerful performance, worthy of another Taste of Talent championship, of " Someone to Watch over Me." She told the crowd that despite the theme of the song being about romance, the title was fitting with Ronnie still looking over us.

These two performers were prime examples of Ronnie's legacy. Past Taste of Talent winners still out there delivering to the community in big ways. 
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Hunter Cook just came out to play for Ronnie. He admitted he hadn't played in about two years, but wanted to sing a Ronnie favorite - John Denver's "Country Roads." He then got the whole crowd to sing along with him. Something that, if you had watched Ronnie over the years, you'd see her singing right along too.
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Tyler Carson credited Ronnie for giving him the confidence to become an artist. He and Kaylene Dunkle performed a powerful duet of "All I Ask of You."

Then the tears really started flowing when Taste of Talent veteran Tim Craver took the stage.

Soon after Ronnie's death Craver took pen to paper to honor Ronnie by reworking the words of Elton John's "Candle in the Wind." He was encouraged to perform his version for the tribute concert crowd. "Goodbye Franklin's Rose" set the tone for the rest of the words, some Taupin/John, some Craver.
"...​You called out to our city
And you brought us together again... 
And your heartbeat will always live here
, 
​Inside of us who love you still... 
All our words cannot express
, 
The joy you brought us through the years... 
Goodbye, Franklin’s Rose

May you ever grow in our hearts... 
From a city lost without your soul
, 
Who miss the wings of your compassion, 
More than you will ever know.... 
Your candle’s burned out long before
, 
​Your legend ever will."

Probably no other words expressed the evening better than "And your heartbeat will always live here, inside of us."
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Ashleigh Bennett performed an original song. First she told a story about Ronnie encouraging her to perform that would likely help her win the Taste of Talent and that original songs aren't familiar to the voting audience and often don't result in votes.
Bennett said she decided to perform her own composition, titled "Reflections," anyway. Ronnie approached her afterwards giving her a hug and thanking her for not listening to her prior advice. She was then one of Ashleigh's biggest fans. "Thanks for believing in me Ronnie," Bennett said.
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Chris Miller brought up a band including Licht and Rachel Mellor to sing "Heaven." He told the crowd after intruding everyone, "Ronnie would’ve loved seeing us all collaborating on this."
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Ruth Herrick, a recent Taste of Talent participant who came back to singing after losing her husband, was a
recent favorite of Ronnie's and the feeling was mutual. She said how she, like many others, met Ronnie and loved her immediately. "She is, was and always will be the wind beneath my wings," 
After she performed the Bette Midler classic "Wind Beneath my Wings," the crowd gave her a round of applause. "I love you Ronnie," she said.
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Past Taste champion, Ian Best, like almost every other performer, had a story that involved a Ronnie hug. His rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" moved Ronnie who made sure he knew that. He picked that song to sing at the tribute in part because of that, but also because the lyrics reflect someone who is always there for you. "Ronnie was the constant for all of us, for the entire community. Ronnie was the constant for everything around here."
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Licht then performed the gospel number "There was Jesus" that Ronnie loved with Joe Thompson and  Anna Lehnortt. "She loved without restriction," Licht said. "She greeted everyone like family. She treated everyone like her own children... I hope you leave here tonight with that love in your heart."
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Another past champion Randy Moorehead brought back a story about his performance of Bette Midler's "The Rose" where he passed out roses to important people in the crowd saving the last one for Ronnie. He chose to sing that song again, this time holding one rose that he eventually placed on an empty chair positioned where Ronnie always sat.

​Mellor later said she was holding herself together pretty well up to that point. A lot of tears were shed at that moment.
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The second Taste of Talent winner Kevin Downing, along with his current singing partner Brianna Erdman, sang "The Prayer." Licht described as one of the most popular Taste of Talent songs over the years.
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Closing out the evening, the long-time sound guru Corbett strapped on his guitar and was joined by a band including his son Tony, lifelong friend Nelson Porter, and Licht.
Corbett talked about his 15 years working with Ronnie. "All of Ronnie’s ideas and dreams... It’s been a privilege." ​
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They chose to sing an Eric Clapton tune called "If I Could Change the World." Corbett said the world is a big place and that the best we can hope to do is change the part of where we live, and that's something that was Ronnie.

At the end of the concert, all past performers from Taste of talent were invited up on stage for a "We are the World"-style rendition of "Lean on Me." 

Mellor said the last words of the night to cap the whole tribute off... "We love you Ronnie."
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Editor's note: This story was edited from the original. We inadvertently left out the YMCA cheerleaders in our initial post. Our apologies. 
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