Springfield resident starts homemade syrup project
A Springfield man has started tapping maple trees on his property in order to make his own syrup and become more self-sustainable.
Jesse Crawford has added 10 taps to his five maple trees on his property along High Street in Springfield. He said he began looking into how to tap the trees about a year ago.
“I’m lucky enough to be blessed with some wonderful trees on the property and I think as a family, over the last year or so, we have become more interested in living more self-sustainably and we thought making our own maple syrup would be a great introduction into that lifestyle,” Crawford said.
Crawford said he researched how to tap and make syrup over the last couple of months before tapping his first tree this week.
Making syrup takes time, he said, and he started boiling about 10 gallons of sap this week, which requires about eight hours of boiling.
“And it takes about 40 to 50 gallons to get a gallon of syrup,” Crawford said.
Crawford said the experience so far has been “fun” and he has every intention of continuing to do it.
“My two little girls are helping me out. They think I’m a little crazy but I hope to show them when we get a final product that they will be really impressed and kind of buy into what God has blessed us with these beautiful trees,” Crawford said.
A theology teacher at Bishop Ready High School on Columbus’ Hilltop neighborhood has been placed on administrative leave after saying during a virtual class Wednesday that it’s disputed whether George Floyd could breathe while a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck May 25. Deborah DelPrince, who has been a teacher at the Catholic high school since 1999, responded on camera during a virtual class to a student’s screen showing LeBron James wearing a shirt that says “I can’t breathe” in reference to Floyd’s death: “That’s not necessarily true, but it perpetuates a myth against police.”
The Catholic Diocese of Columbus released a statement Thursday saying a Bishop Ready instructor “made unsupported personal assertions and opinions” during a virtual class on Wednesday.
“These comments, contrary to school and diocesan guidelines, reflected extremely poor judgment and, upon learning of this incident, the instructor was immediately placed on administrative leave pending a detailed investigation,” the statement said. In the video, after DelPrince makes the initial comment about Floyd’s death, a student can be heard saying, “I’m sorry, did you just say it’s disputed that George Floyd couldn’t breathe?”
DelPrince said, “Yes, it is disputed.”
The student asked, “By who?” DelPrince replied, “the tape.”
“Did the medical examiner … I’m sorry, never mind ’cause I’m going to say something that’s going to get me in trouble,” the student said.
The video ends with DelPrince saying “OK,” with a smile on her face.
Cellphone video of the incident shows Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes — even after Floyd lost consciousness — and for more than a minute after paramedics arrived at the scene.
Chauvin and three other officers at the scene were fired by Minneapolis police.
On May 29, Hennepin County Prosecuting Attorney Mike Freeman announced third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges against Chauvin. A more-serious charge of second-degree murder was filed against Chauvin on June 3, when the three other former officers were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.