What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

I remember being asked that question in kindergarten, and the majority of little girls chose either “nurse” or “teacher” while the little boys chose “policeman” or “fireman.”

Later, during the junior high years, we were taken through vigorous testing to determine which innate talents we held that would best complement our desire to be anything we wanted to be, from an architect or an astronaut to a zookeeper or a zoologist.

In the 1980s, our economy was becoming more and more service-based. Manufacturing was no longer the powerful segment of our economy, and we watched jobs in that sector leave during the following decade. There were many reasons for this, including the percep- tion of manufacturing as being menial or dirty; the workplace environment driving workers to unionize and demand better wages, benefits and safer work areas; the increase in cost of doing business driving the search for alternatives; international agreements; the list goes on.

Between then and now, we have seen an increase in foreign direct investment in the United States, improved work environments, increased wages and benefits, innovative concepts to streamline processes, cutting-edge technologies utilized to reduce costs and the like, thus producing a resurgence of a manufacturing economy. And this ain’t your grandfather’s manufacturing plant. Manufacturing today is largely computer-driven, cleaner and much safer than it ever was.

Violet Township Says, “Thank You!”

The drug and electronic collection and paper shredding event held April 28 at the Violet Township Service Center netted almost 36 pounds of pills, 41 pounds of sharps and 48 pounds of liquids.

Through a sponsorship by Diley Ridge Medical Center, Shred-It was on site to shred 4,200 pounds of paper, saving the equivalent of 21 trees. And 4,418 pounds of computers, monitors, televisions, cell phones, stereo equipment, printers and other miscellaneous electronic equip- ment was collected at the event.

Our community has once again stepped up and taken a proactive approach toward protecting our environment. The event is important because it provides a way to dispose of materials that would negatively impact the environment if flushed down the toilet or sent to the landfill without first removing certain components.

If you have items you wish to dispose of with no questions asked and missed this event, do not worry. The township and our partners, Fairfield County Soil and Water Conservation and Fairfield County Sheriff Department, are planning another collection event this fall. Please watch the Township pages in Pickerington Magazine for notice of the event when the date is finalized.

Thank you again, concerned residents, for making this event a successful one.

So, what do you want to be when you grow up? The opportunities are boundless, and you are only limited by your imagination.

How to Reach Us

Violet Township Administrative Offices

12970 Rustic Dr. Pickerington, OH 43147 614-575-5556 www.violet.oh.us

Violet Township Fire Stations

Phone 614-837-4123

Fire Chief: John Eisel

#592: 8700 Refugee Rd.

#591: 21 Lockville Rd. #593: 2365 Taylor Park Dr. (behind hhgregg)

Violet Township Service Center

Phone: 614-382-5979

490 Center St.

Pickerington, OH 43147

By Greg Butcher, P.E.