Tag Archives: In Print

Residents hope to see playground on vacant lot

ThisWeek CW 09/10/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/09/04/residents-hope-to-see-playground-on-vacant-lot.html

Two residents of the Founder’s Bend neighborhood askedGroveport officials last month to consider establishing a playground on a vacant lot in the development.

“We have a vacant lot between 4329 and 4348 Landmark Road and we were wondering if it would be possible to have you put in a playground in there, because right now, our kids have to go all the way to Three Creeks for any playground equipment or a basketball court,” said James Chilton, Founder’s Bend Homeowners Association president.

According to Chilton, representatives from Rockford Homes — the developer of Founder’s Bend — had said the company would build a playground on the lot when the development was still being marketed, “but as you know, they’ve left us with a few things hanging.”

Chilton and other neighborhood residents approached the city in June to help negotiate an agreement with the Indiana & Ohio Railway to cap licensing fees associated with a sewer line easement.

The agreement, originally between Rockford Homes and the railroad, was signed over from Rockford Homes to the homeowners association under a contract clause, leaving the association on the hook for an annual 5-percent increase that was already nearing $4,000 for the next renewal period.

The city negotiated a capped, fixed agreement similar to its $1,400 annual agreement with the railroad for another utility easement.

City Administrator Marsha Hall said it appears that Rockford transferred the abandoned Landmark Road lot to the city.

“So it is ours, but we’ll need to go through our options based on how much room we have to work with,” Hall said.

According to the Franklin County Auditor’s Office GIS information, the lot has been combined with a 5-acre parcel the city owns adjacent to the neighborhood.

Finance Director Jeff Green said he believes the city staff could come up with some ideas for the property. He said it might be possible to add some of the project cost to Groveport’s 2016 annual budget, if council approves.

“There are lots of grants available through the playground equipment companies as well,” Hall said. “We’ve done that before and we might be able to get some funding that way.”

Football for Food drive supports local pantry

ThisWeek CW 09/10/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/09/04/football-for-food-drive-supports-local-pantry.html

With the changing of the seasons, the Canal Winchester Community Food Pantry is making some changes and kicking off the annual Football for Food fall campaign.

Last year’s effort brought in more than 11,000 items that Canal Winchester Human Services Administrator Penny Miller said helped keep the pantry shelves stocked until the holiday contributions came in.

The Football for Food fall food drive will begin once again with a Pizza for Food competition starting Monday, Sept. 14. All students from kindergarten through high school are asked to consider bringing in donations of food and household items.

On Thursday, Sept. 17, a food parade will be set up for students attending Indian Trail and Winchester Trail elementary schools, followed by a final collection of food at the middle school and high school on Friday, Sept. 18. The classes that collect the most donations in each building will be rewarded with a pizza party.

The Football for Food campaign will culminate at the Sept. 18 CWHS football game vs. Westerville. Fans who bring a food or household item to donate at the game will be admitted free.

Attendees without food donations will be required to buy a ticket for the game, with a portion of the proceeds to be shared with the pantry. Anyone wishing to make a tax-deductible cash donation should make checks payable to Canal Winchester Human Services.

“The food pantry statistics confirm that hunger instability continues to be an issue in our community,” Miller said. “We currently have more than 1,300 clients and the Feeding our Future program served over 250 students during the last school year. Collectively, more than 109,000 meals were distributed to our hungry neighbors in the last fiscal year, which ended June 30.”

 

Distribution hours

Miller said Community Food Pantry distribution days changed permanently this month to Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We believe this change will be of benefit not only for the clients but will also help the organization minimize operating expenses and be more efficient with staff hours,” she said. “As a nonprofit that relies on charitable contributions to survive, it is very important to pinch pennies and watch the bottom line, and that is what we do continuously.”

Food pantry distribution hours will continue to be from 1 to 3 p.m., with later hours from 4 to 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month.

In preparation for the busy fall and winter months, Miller said Kate Fox is now on board as a program coordinator to help oversee scheduling for the pantry and senior transportation programs.

“Kate had been one of our trustees and comes with a wonderful connection to the students and families of our school district where she recently retired,” Miller said. “She was also one of the Feeding our Future coordinators on the school side of the program, so working together was already a relationship we enjoyed.”

In addition to Canal Winchester, the food pantry also serves Lithopolis and underserved areas of Fairfield County in the Bloom Carroll school district.

The Canal Winchester Community Food Pantry is available by appointment only; to schedule call 614-834-4700.

Additional information about supporting any of the programs administered by Canal Winchester Human Services is available by emailing penny.cwhs@gmail.com, or by calling 614-834-4700.

Sims Ditch upgrades alleviating drainage issues

ThisWeek CW 09/10/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/09/04/madison-township-sims-ditch-upgrades-alleviating-drainage-issues.html

Franklin County crews anticipate finishing upgrades to the Sims Ditch this fall that should help alleviate some drainage issues for Madison Township’s Harriet neighborhood.

Project representative Jim Ramsey from the Franklin County Engineer’s Office updated township trustees about the project in August.

Sims Ditch is a drainage culvert that extends from the southeast corner of the Harriet neighborhood south to Georges Creek, near where the Rager Road rail crossing meets the creek.

“We have divided this up into three sections, with section one running from Georges Creek up to about where it crosses Rager Road, then section two running from a little northwest of Rager Road up to Sims Road, and the third section being from Sims Road north to Harriet,” Ramsey said.

“Last year, we replaced section one with 30-inch pipe that empties into Georges Creek. This year, we replaced all of section three and now we’re going to go into section two and just do repairs and maintenance to the tiles as necessary there.”

The county is paying for the work, according to Ramsey and township Administrator Susan Brobst. The total cost is about $300,000, with approximately $180,000 spent in 2014 and $120,000 spent this year.

Ramsey said there had been total collapses in some sections which were replaced. Those collapses created mud blockages that resulted in backflow into residences and severe ponding in the Harriet neighborhood.

“These drainage tiles were originally sized for agricultural needs, which is why it was OK to have some ponding,” he said.

“I believe there will still be some drainage issues even with the improvements, because the 100-year floodplain shows that near Georges Creek, there is the potential for serious flooding that we haven’t ever experienced.”

However, he said, there are no funds available to tackle work necessary to completely alleviate the 100-year-flood risk.

“That much backflow could surface flow all the way to the Harriet neighborhood and that’s way more costly than we can handle as a project, so residents might consider adding a backflow preventer,” Ramsey said. “If they do that, they’ll need to know those require routine maintenance.”

Harriet resident Sharon Whitten said she and her neighbors were thankful for the work that has been done, which she said has already been an improvement.

“We do appreciate all the work you’ve done,” Whitten said.

City setting up for 95th Labor Day Festival

ThisWeek CW 9-3-2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/08/31/activities-planned-sept–5-7-city-setting-up-for-95th-labor-day-festival.html

Canal Winchester will celebrate its 95th Labor Day Festival this year with the help of longtime educator Beverly Downing, who will be the grand marshal of this year’s Labor Day parade.

Downing is retired from the Canal Winchester school district where she worked as a teacher and then as principal at Canal Winchester Elementary School.

“Each year, the Labor Day Committee nominates and votes for deserving candidates to be the parade grand marshal,” Mayor Michael Ebert said. “This year’s final choice was Beverly Downing, an educator influential in the lives of Canal Winchester children for many years. The Canal Winchester Labor Day committee recognizes her for her remarkable contributions to the community.”

Hours for the Canal Winchester Labor Day Festival will be 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, and Sunday, Sept. 6, and 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 7.

Rides and midway games will operate from noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday. Jeff Wyler Chevrolet will sponsor free rides from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Saturday’s activities will start with the Peggy Wood Scholarship Pageant at 11 a.m. in the Oley Speaks Auditorium.

A children-only parade will step off from the district Education Center, 100 Washington St., at 11:30 a.m., leading participants downtown for the official opening of the festival at noon on the main Diley Ridge Medical Center Stage, which will be set up on South High Street in front of Huntington Bank.

Saturday afternoon entertainment at the Stradley Park stage will feature music by the Winchester Steel Co. and Second Chance. Evening entertainment on the Diley Ridge main stage will include performances by Braden Stover at 5 p.m. and Bon Journey at 8 p.m.

Registration for the annual car show begins at 9 a.m. Sunday and costs $12 per vehicle. A trophy presentation will take place on the main stage at 4 p.m.

Sunday’s main stage entertainment includes 3-Cat Day at 5 p.m., followed by Hotel California at 8 p.m.

Monday’s activities will feature Canal Winchester’s 95th annual Labor Day parade at 1 p.m., sponsored by Waste Management.

Main stage entertainment will begin at 11 a.m. with the Cornerstone Gospel Quartet, followed by performances from All 4 Him at noon, and Willie Phoenix & The Soul Underground at 4 p.m.

In addition to children’s activities, midway rides and street vendors, a quilt show will be available for viewing each day at the Frances Steube Community Center, 22 S. Trine St.

The Kingy’s hospitality tent near Stradley Park will be open to visitors age 21 and older.

“The Canal Winchester Labor Day Festival is a family event,” Ebert said. “I always look forward to the entertainment we are able to attract to our Labor Day Festival — seems we never have a problem filling any vacancies.

“Also I’d like to remind people if they plan to attend Friday or Saturday evening concerts, they might want to bring along a lawn chair. Seating will be available but we are expecting huge crowds both nights if the weather holds out.”

Destination Canal Winchester Executive Director Bruce Jarvis said that after a very successful Ribs and Blues Festival, the Labor Day Festival will be a spotlight event for the city.

“I can say that the Labor Day Festival brings out families seeking affordable fun and entertainment from all over the area,” Jarvis said. “This event has been making fond memories for generations and is a hallmark of growing up here. My kids are grown now with kids of their own — and so it all starts over again for the next wave. That’s tradition.”

 

New intervention programs focus on reading skills

ThisWeek CW 9-3-2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/08/31/groveport-madison-schools-new-intervention-programs-focus-on-reading-skills.html

The Groveport Madison school district has started to implement a new program approved last year aimed at strengthening student achievement in all core curriculum work through improved reading skills.

For the past two years, more than half the district’s third-graders failed to meet reading proficiency benchmarks during the state’s fall testing period, spurring Superintendent Bruce Hoover to ask the school board for more early intervention tools.

The school board approved the Response to Intervention program last spring as a districtwide elementary school initiative that, according to district documents, will focus efforts “on reviewing students’ academic needs based on test results and resource gaps.”

The RTI program is a multiyear school improvement initiative with a total budget of $1.4 million.

Director of School Improvement Monique Hamilton said it will establish a three-tier system of baselining and intervention, phased in over this school year and next school year at all six elementary buildings.

“The new reading resource that we have begun to implement this school year focuses on strengthening our core curriculum,” Hamilton said. “The resource will serve as an extra tool for staff members to utilize when teaching students the phonetics of reading. That will give students a strong foundation so that by third grade, their reading comprehension will be at a level that allows them to read to learn.”

Besides the state of Ohio MAP testing that assesses students three times a year, the district also will use the Reading Horizons and Read 180 programs, which will provide more frequent assessments, according to Hamilton.

“The RTI Tier 1 addresses classroom instruction and will be offered to all students (using the Reading Horizons program),” she said. “Tier 2 is geared to students who need more intensive intervention. Students participating in this program will be part of the Read 180 program.

“Both programs will allow teachers to more frequently check for student understanding,” Hamilton said. “Armed with that information, our teachers will be able to modify and personalize lessons so that students are receiving the individualized attention they need to become strong readers.”

Tier 3 will be implemented during the 2016-17 school year using a resource called Lexia. According to district information, Lexia is a more intensive intervention program beyond the Reading Horizons and Read 180 programs and is designed to focus on comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, phonetics and phonemic awareness.

“I’m excited about this initiative because it allows us to provide personalized educational services to our kids,” Hoover said. “It’s an opportunity for all children to make growth gains.”

Asbury Elementary School first-grade teacher Marie Scearce said she is excited about how the program will expand on her current efforts.

“This program fits 100-percent with what I do with my first-graders,” she said. “I’m excited to use this program and expand my students’ reading, writing, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension knowledge.”