When it comes to tapping in with the creative muses, some call it an exercise, some a challenge, and some a job. Sometimes all that is required is the right environment.

Launched in 2014 by village resident Jonathan Platt, Story Chain’s mission is to give inmates in area correctional facilities the opportunity to read children’s books aloud to their own kids — albeit from some distance, and from behind bars.

The band’s name holds special significance, connecting its trio of members — Tamir Hargana, Naizal Hargana and Brent Roman — to their music’s roots in Mongolian culture, for which horses are central figures in history, mythology and, naturally, its folk music.

Ultimately — with a 2–1 vote — the three-member board approved a resolution to set aside $127,419 from its general fund to be used “for the exclusive purpose to fund [the trustees’] commitment to partner with the Tecumseh Land Trust to acquire conservation easements on all or part of the township parcels referred to as the [Welch] Farm.’”

During an often fraught two-hour special meeting Tuesday, April 29 — which was attended by about two dozen local residents — the Miami Township Trustees discussed at length both the possibility and the fiscal feasibility of funding conservation easements for local farmland preservation nonprofit Tecumseh Land Trust.

If passed, Issue 2 would amend the Ohio Constitution to allow the state to issue bonds or other obligations to finance or assist in public infrastructure projects at the local level — including here in Yellow Springs.