On Saturday mornings Gary DeFosse, 82, visits his local YMCA. Three times a week he swims or lifts, and he presently serves as a lifeguard. “The Y doesn’t have as many lifeguards as they need, so I volunteered,” he said. “They said my age doesn’t matter if I can complete …

By M.D. Pitman St. Michael School in Ripley is one of the best-kept secrets in Brown and Adams Counties, but its secret is beginning to spread. The school has nearly doubled its student enrollment in the past three school years, going from around 60 students to 116 this school year, …

As with most towns along the Ohio before the river was harnessed by reservoirs to control high waters, floods often forced residents to seek the high ground. The early history of St. Michael Parish in the Brown County river town of Ripley was affected by high waters, too. “In 1840, …