Tag Archives: Columbus Dispatch

Two Canal Winchester churches celebrate 175 years, shared ‘David’ name

The Columbus Dispatch 9/18/2014

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/09/18/canal-winchester-churches-hit-175.html

The congregations of two Canal Winchester churches celebrating their joint 175th anniversaries this year can’t escape the name David.

David’s United Church of Christ, where the Rev. David Long-Higgins is a pastor, and David Evangelical Lutheran Church, led by the Rev. Dave Westphal, were started in 1839 by a young couple who moved to the area from Pennsylvania.

“John and Elizabeth Dietz were Lutheran and German Reform, respectively, and may have left Pennsylvania to come to Canal Winchester due to their interfaith marriage,” Long-Higgins said.

“In their log cabin, which was located just off of what is now Dietz Drive, the family gathered a congregation of people from both of those similar traditions, and they’d go back and forth between the two for their Sunday services.”

The Dietz family provided the space and invited traveling ministers to preach, Westphal said. Services rotated between the traditions, “which are close, but still different strains,” he said.

In 1840, the two congregations built their original building on Washington Street, where they spent 44 years worshipping together. Then, when they chose to split in the late 1800s, each congregation built its own church.

David’s United Church of Christ, then called David’s Reformed Church, relocated to its present building at 80 W. Columbus St., while David Evangelical Lutheran Church built what is now Peace Lutheran Church at 28 Elm St.

Neither pastor could say why each congregation included David in its name, but they believe it may have been related to the name of the owner of the Washington Street land.

As far as both know, Long-Higgins and Westphal are the first men named David to lead the congregations.

In the 1960s, the congregation of David Evangelical Lutheran saw a need to address early-childhood education in the area and built an education center on Groveport Road; the entire church eventually moved to its current location at 300 Groveport Rd.

Community service and progressive ideals are long-held traditions in both congregations, Long-Higgins said. Projects included addressing educational needs and, until a couple of years ago, hosting the Canal Winchester Food Pantry and Human Services organization, and developing senior housing.

“In 1975, there was a question raised about whether we had people going hungry in the village,” he said. “Some people assumed the answer was no until we pursued it and found we had a need.

“Then in the 1980s, we asked the question about a need for senior housing, and initially, people said we didn’t have that need either, but we found that we actually did.”

This year, David’s United Church of Christ recognized how diverse the community has become and, said Long-Higgins, sought another pastor to reflect this new reality.

For the past eight months, the Rev. Celestine Brooks, an African-American pastor from Philadelphia, has served the congregation.

“This congregation has a rich history of progressive activity, and they took a bold move in calling me,” Brooks said.

Westphal said the deep connection among traditions, congregations and families in the two churches has led to a deep connection with the community and a desire to be involved.

When the congregations thought about how to celebrate their 175 years, the community was at the top of the list. In August, they hosted a Family Fun Day that included activities for children, the Ohio Village Muffins baseball players, food, music and basketball and softball games.

“We had Mayor (Michael) Ebert out to throw the first pitch of our 1890s-style softball game,” Westphal said. “It was a lot of fun,” with a few hundred people turning out despite rainy weather.

Both congregations are planning special services for October, the month the original Dietz church formed.

On Oct. 19, David’s United Church of Christ will dedicate its Sunday services to looking back at the church’s history and envisioning its future.

A week later, on Oct. 26, David Evangelical Lutheran will host a special Reformation Day service and a meal.

“This is no longer just about our two churches,” Long-Higgins said. “All of the churches in Canal Winchester deserve to celebrate what we accomplish together. No one congregation can do it all, nor should one hope to.

“We see this coming together as a community as a broad expression of our caring, and that spirit of working together is part of all of our churches’ DNA.”

Canal Winchester council OKs Panera’s drive-through window

Columbus Dispatch 06/05/2014

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/06/05/thisweek05-gdesoqpa-1.html

Final plans for a new Panera Bread Bakery & Cafe will be presented on Monday to the Canal Winchester Planning and Zoning Commission.

Covelli Enterprises, Panera’s largest franchisee, wants to build the new restaurant in the Waterloo Crossing shopping center, next to Chipotle. In April, the planning commission denied a conditional-use permit for a drive-through window, citing concerns about vehicles stacking up in the lane, then rushing to exit the lot near a pedestrian crosswalk.

The Canal Winchester City Council overruled that decision in May and agreed to allow the drive-through. Covelli spokesman Allen Ryan said that feature is important because it represents about a 16 percent increase in sales, or about $12,000 a week. But Ryan said during peak traffic times, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., that’s just about 27 cars an hour.

Construction on the restaurant could begin this summer.

— Andrew Miller

Lack of bids delays start of Town Center project

This Week CW 08/08/2013

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2013/08/05/lack-of-bids-delays-start-of-town-center-project.html

A lack of construction bids has delayed the groundbreaking for a new shopping and parking complex in downtown Groveport.

City officials are in the process of releasing a new bid request after the first attempt resulted in only one bid for a total cost of $1,043,326.

The city engineer originally estimated the project cost at $865,000.

“I’m sorry to report that the bid opening for this project was unsuccessful,” City Administrator Marsha Hall said. “Of the eight plans sold, we only received one bid.

“We are contacting the other contractors to determine why they didn’t bid, and then we will meet with the business owner to figure out a new plan of action,” she said.

According to Hall, city officials believe that altering the schedule to shift parts of the work from this fall to next spring, as well as finding a different solution for materials sourcing, should result in a successful second round of bidding.

“We’ve met with the engineers and are preparing a new schedule with what might be done in the fall versus the spring, as well as looking at some fill-dirt issues,” Hall said.

The Town Center project was approved in April as a public-private partnership with developer Rick Foreman, who wants to open his third Ace Hardware as the anchor tenant in the development.

Originally, Foreman hoped to break ground by July 1 on the Ace Hardware building, but the unsuccessful bid for site preparation and a development construction contractor has pushed that back. The city still hopes to meet the original goal of completing the development next spring.

In the meantime, Groveport City Council continues to pass legislation related to the project in anticipation of beginning work soon. At the July 22 council meeting, an easement was granted to American Electric Power to complete the relocation of electric service for the site.

Once the development is finished, it will include public parking, a 10,000-square-foot Ace Hardware store and a 7,200-square-foot, multitenant, mixed-use building that city officials estimate could bring 50 new jobs to Groveport.

Canal Winchester council rejects Ohio Mulch proposal for retail outlet

Columbus Dispatch 12/01/2011

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/12/02/canal-winchester-rejects-ohio-mulch-retail-outlet.html

Ohio Mulch’s plan to redevelop and move into a vacant Wendy’s restaurant on Winchester-Cemetery Road hit a snag last week when the Canal Winchester City Council refused to go along with a planning commission decision that favored the company’s proposal.

Thirty residents signed an appeal of the planning-commission decision, citing concerns about possible excessive odors, noise and truck traffic and fears that the retail business would be a fire hazard.

Company officials say that many of the residents’ complaints were about a larger business in Groveport that processes mulch, something that Ohio Mulch would not do at the Canal Winchester location.

Weber said Ohio Mulch hasn’t given up on the Wendy’s site but is looking at other options.