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Longtime teacher, avid cyclist fills parks board vacancy – The Daily Reporter

GREENFIELD — John Rihm, the latest member of the Greenfield Parks board, is aware his close friend Kathy Dowling remaining some big sneakers to fill.

Dowling, a beloved member of the Greenfield parks and university boards for the previous 10 yrs, still left vacancies on the boards as effectively as people’s hearts when she passed absent in November pursuing a prolonged disease.

Rihm, a fellow faculty board member, was picked out this month to exchange her on the parks board.

Her successor on the faculty board was anticipated to be introduced at the school board conference on Monday, Jan. 10.

Rihm explained he and Dowling experienced a whole lot in frequent. Both of those labored jointly for decades as educators at Greenfield-Central Superior College, and both shared a lifelong appreciation for aquatics.

Dowling was a longtime swimming and diving coach at the high faculty, and Rihm managed the previous Riley Pool — given that renamed the Kathy Dowling Aquatics Heart — for 25 yrs.

Greenfield-Central university board president Dan Brown reported Rihm’s longtime practical experience working a parks facility built him the great candidate for the parks board, in a spot that is reserved for a Greenfield school board member.

“The best asset you can have is know-how and enthusiasm, and that is what John has and will bring to the parks board,” mentioned Brown.

Parks board president Deby Minimal agrees.

“John will be a terrific asset. His enthusiasm, as was Kathy’s, has been teaching learners, so it is wonderful to have that demographic at the desk,” she mentioned.

Small pointed out that Rihm is an avid bicyclist, and frequent user of the Pennsy Trail.

“He appears to be very community-minded, and is pretty near to what we (at the parks) provide the neighborhood,” she claimed.

Rihm life just a few blocks from Greenfield-Central Higher School, where he taught science for 42 a long time, and used to stroll to university nearly every single day.

He ran for the school board the calendar year he retired, in 2018.

“It was my way to continue on to continue to be included with the school I have been concerned with for so many a long time,” mentioned Rihm, who is serving his 3rd 12 months of a four-calendar year expression.

He started training at Greenfield-Central in 1976, shortly just after graduating from Knightstown Superior School and earning a diploma in secondary education from Indiana State University.

He and his wife, Patricia, elevated their two sons in Greenfield, and they enjoy what the local community has to provide.

“I have been amazed with the do the job our parks section has been undertaking, and the path they’re relocating in, and I’d like to enable see that proceed,” he explained.

Rihm enjoys the fact the parks department is doing the job on expanding the city’s trail system, performing towards one working day connecting all of the city’s parks by trails.

“I’m intrigued in seeing how that goes. I assume it is a definitely nutritious attraction for our community,” he reported.

As an avid trail consumer, he’s been amazed with the career the parks division does in constructing and maintaining existing trails.

“I use the Pennsy fairly a little bit, and I’ve been amazed with how well they hold that trail up,” he mentioned. “If we experienced gotten three feet of snow, I could have gone out there and it would already been thoroughly clean and walkable. The maintenance crew does a superior career.”

Relatively than bringing in a lengthy checklist of his own directives, Rihm mentioned he’s hunting forward to assisting apply the function that’s currently in movement at the parks division.

“I feel Riley Park wants some work, but all those plans are previously being formulated, so I’m looking forward to helping see it by,” he explained.

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