BRYAN TIMES 2004

 

Independent presidential candidate "Average Joe" Schriner and his family were in Williams County Friday and Saturday as part of his current Ohio Tour.

 

While in Bryan, Mr. Schriner, who is from Bluffton, Ohio, talked with Rachel Byroads, 18, from Bryan's Grace Community Church. Ms. Byroaqds told the candidate she has been on mission trips to Zanesville, Ohio, and Corbin, Ky., in recent years to help with construction work crews fixing up low income homes.

 

"Ms. Byroads is a wonderful example, we believe, of a youth who has their priorities in the right order," said Mr. Schriner. "That is, instead of being focused on herself first, her faith has her focused on others.

 

Mr. Schriner also met with Ms. Byroads' mother, Kay Byroads, who works at Bryan's "Clothing by Grace," an outreach of Grace Community Church.

 

He said Mrs. Byroads told him a rather unique feature of the ministry is the excess clothing, instead of being thrown away, is sent to Third World countries.

 

On another Third World front, Mr. Schriner also praised Bryan's Wesley United Methodist Church for its part in a seven-year partnership with the North Katanga Conference in Africa in order to bring more help to that region. "This is the type of 'globalization' we'd like to see more of," said Mr. Schriner.

 

While in Montpelier, Mr. Schriner drove his "average Joe" van in the Bean Days Parade, and met with Mayor Steve Yagelski and Laura Gray, village council member, regarding the Crime Stoppers program being initiated in Montpelier.

 

The candidate is currently engaged in a year-long tour of the Buckeye State. He also ran for president during Campaign 2000, with he and his family campaigning in all 48 states in the Continental U.S. over 19 months.

 

Mr. Schriner said he and his wife, Liz, are running as "concerned parents." Their concerns, they say, are about mounting levels of violence, sex and drugs in our current society.

 

"Ms. Byroads is a wonderful example, we believe, of a youth who has their priorities in the right order," said Mr. Schriner. "That is, instead of being focused on herself first, her faith has her focused on others."

 

Also while in the area, the candidate's wife attended the "Storytelling Techniques" seminar as part of Ohio Chautauqua in Archbold Friday. Mrs. Schriner noted seminar presenter Karen Vuranch said modern television and cinema leave little to the imagination. Conversely, Ms. Vuranch said storytelling engages a child's imagination, getting them to picture scenes, perceive character personalities, and so on.

 

Consequetly, Ms. Vuranch said being regularly exposed to storytelling can enhance creative thought and other cognitive processes in children.

 

"Not only is TV diminishing creative thought in youth, it is orienting them, more and more, to increased levels of violence, sex, drug use..." said Mr. Schriner. "It is a patently false assumption to think TV in the year 2002 is harmless to youth, or for that matter, adults." Mr. Schriner is continuing his tour of Northwest Ohio with stops in Port Clinton, Sandusky, Put-in-Bay and Kelley's Island this week.

 

A Bowling Green State University graduate, Mr. Schriner was formerly a reporter with the Sandusky Register.