News and Information from Violet Township

Food for Thought

By Fire Chief Mike Little

Five years ago, Assistant Chief Jim Paxton wrote an article titled Food for Thought for the same edition of this magazine. The theme for this edition is food, as it was for that edition five years ago. The impetus behind his article was recent, tragic events in central Ohio, most notably the loss of Columbus Police Officer Steven Smith in a senseless tragedy. The drive behind this article is threefold: 1. The state of affairs of our country. 2. The hope for the future related to our current teens. 3. My grandchildren (currently I have four).

Starting with No. 1, our country is at a crossroads. This is not the America I remember as a kid growing up in Circleville. Maybe I was too naïve to fully understand all the dynamics of what was happening when I was a child. Who knows? My recollection is of times that, while sometimes difficult, our country always seemed to find a way to come together. Strength overcame weakness, right prevailed over wrong and communities worked together for the betterment of all.

Today, something is missing. Our leadership (elected officials at state and national levels) seem to have forgotten why and how they got there. There is less patience amongst individuals. Fighting, arguing and dissent are the order of the day instead of talking, compromising and finding solutions to benefit all. How did we get here? I am not sure, but I have a few suggestions as to how we can make it better: • Showing respect for others and their opinions. • Working together to benefit all of mankind. • Help others and do what is right. • Be honest and truthful. • Take responsibility for your actions. • Lastly, in the words of Retired

Phoenix (AZ) Fire Chief Al Brunacini,

“BE NICE.”

If the first section got you down, this section should give you hope. I had the opportunity to interview a number of high school seniors-to-be in April 2021. These students had applied for a program through the local career center to attain their Firefighter 1 & 2 certification during their senior year of high school.

For those who do not know, getting this certification is one of the steps to becoming a professional firefighter in Ohio. I, along with my fellow interviewers, were impressed by many of these young men and women. I wish I was as squared away at the age of 17 as were some of these kids. These kids entered the room with confidence, had résumés, shook our hands and made eye contact. They answered questions and participated in discussions with the panel. Some of their goals in life included: • A career that provides satisfaction and happiness while working. • Ability to have and support a family in the future. • Help others and make a difference in people’s lives. • To do something good for someone every day. How refreshing it was to meet and speak to these students and future leaders. I truly feel good about our future if some of these students meet or exceed their goals in life. They will become productive members of society and difference makers for others.

Lastly, I now have grandchildren ranging in age from 7 months to 11 years old. I am not sure how time has flown by so quickly from raising my children. I can say, without doubt, grandchildren are much easier. That said, I am concerned for their future. I hope their parents continue to teach them to be nice. I hope my wife and I are able to impress upon them the importance of respect for others and how a kind word can make someone’s day. I hope they grow up to be positive and productive members of society. Looking at them now, I can see the innocence we all once had as children. They are inquisitive, smart, fun, happy and carefree. How nice would it be for us as adults to enjoy those qualities again?

This is my “food for thought” in 2021. I will close with two items. First, be nice! Second, your Violet Township Fire Department continues to be here for you every day. Our goal is to serve and protect you. My job as the fire chief is to make sure the department meets that goal each day. As always, if you have any questions, please call us at 614837-4123, and remember we are your “Friends for Life.”

Wigwam Community Gardens Open

By Audri Wilde

Community gardens are coming to Violet Township’s Wigwam Event Center this summer and adults and children alike are welcome to come and participate. With the support of Township Trustee Melissa Wilde and the Pickerington Area Resource Coalition (PARC), six community members have come together to facilitate and construct a space where Violet Township residents can experience what it means to be a part of an inclusive community while growing their own food. The Wigwam Community Gardens officially opened May 1.

The garden organizers, Lizzy Nelson, Ursula Watts, Brandon Lester, Sarah Kruse, Nadine Hunter and Yolanda Owens, who you can read more about on page 12, all share a goal of creating an all-organic gardening space in the township. Together with the help of passionate volunteers and donations from sponsors, this project has been made possible.

Pickerington currently has a community garden located off of Reynoldsburg Baltimore Road Northwest, however, the Wigwam Community Garden organizers hope to provide a more community-building feel and educational opportunities with this new space.

“This is 100 percent community led,” says Yolanda Owens. “We are a growing community, we need an additional communal space.”

Gardeners will have soil and onsite water provided to them, as well as compost and rain barrels, which were sponsored by Violet Township Democrats, but the rest of the work is up to them. There will also be a garden library, which was sponsored by realtor Michelle McTeague, where gardeners can take and leave extra seeds, plants and supplies and borrow tools.

The chemical-free growing space will have 18 12x4 raised gardening beds, some of which are subdivided. Wheelchairaccessible beds will also be on-site, as well as a children’s garden, sponsored by Township Trustee Melissa Wilde. The beds will be available to rent during the growing season, from May 1 to Oct. 31, and will be assigned to those interested.

Events will also be held at the gardens to make the space an area where people can build relationships with the people they grow food alongside. Yolanda Owens says she hopes to possibly host food and growing demonstrations, food trucks and even small concerts.

Brandon Lester, who is involved with the project and is also a master gardener, will lead educational workshops for both adults and children who are looking to learn more about gardening and dive deeper into the world of agriculture.

“The community garden is a great way for gardeners of all levels to come together and share knowledge. Being a beginner gardener myself, I have learned a great deal in the few months I’ve been involved,” says Ursula Watts.

Those involved with the garden also hope that they will be able to give back to the community through growing. A volunteer gardening space, which was sponsored by Lowe’s, will be reserved in the garden. The food grown in this space will be donated to local organizations to be used to reduce food insecurity in the township. Gardeners will also be encouraged, but not required, to donate excess produce from their personal plots.

There are also plans to donate flowers and other plants to local senior living facilities for residents to have and care for.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to be working with such a knowledgeable group of people, and helping to bring their vision to life. I’ve been learning so much myself, and I’m excited to share that with others in our community. What I’m most inspired by is how our community is coming together to make Violet Township a better place,” says Sarah Kruse.

During the garden’s first building stages, volunteers of all backgrounds and ages came out to help.

“We definitely need a more inclusive, like-minded community, and we also need a space for people to gather and do positive things for the earth,” says Lizzy Nelson.

The volunteers who participated in building the beds have created exactly that type of space, bringing happy attitudes and smiles from both adults and children, and are excited for the gardens to get started.

Everyone who came to participate was eager to stick their hands in the dirt and get to work.

One of the volunteers, Nadine Hunter’s daughter, Eloise Radabaugh, age 6, says, “I got involved because my mom said there would be other kids there, and I’m excited to help people have more food, and us have more food! I made lots of new friends shoveling dirt and I can’t wait to go see them again!”

The team hopes to see even more people excited to come connect to food and their community come May.

Those who are interested in getting connected can find more information by emailing WigwamCommunityGardens@ gmail.com or by following the Wigwam Community Gardens Facebook page.

The Birds and the Bees of Sweet Corn

By Carrie Brown, Fairfield Soil and Water Conservation District

strand of silk. Once recognized, it tunnels its way down through the thread to finally unite and fertilize the await-

Many would agree that ing female flower. This entire few scenes in Fairfield process can take several County speak “summer” as hours to complete, and upon the seas of green pre- achievement the silky threads sented by fields of growing almost immediately begin to corn. In fact, nearly 60,000 dry up. The small, underdeacres of land in our county veloped kernels you often are dedicated in any given find towards the end of an year to growing this peculiar ear of corn are the result of grass species. For refer- flowers that were unsuccessence, Violet Township is a ful in engaging male suitors bit under 27,000 acres. Pollen-producing tassels arise from the Sweet corn silks emerge from the to venture down their tubes

Known in the botanical top of the sweet corn plant in July. sheathed female flowers below. of silk, thus are not successworld by its scientific name, fully pollinated. Zea mays, corn comes in a multitude Meanwhile, a few feet below await So, the next time you smell that of varieties. A favorite of many is sweet the female components needed for wondrously bright, musky odor emerging corn, the satisfying, crisp summer treat procreation. Not yet developed into the from a neighboring sweet corn field, you’ll that even managed to get a festival kernel-lined ears we are familiar with, know that love is, indeed, in the air. named after it. Most of us have memo- hundreds of minuscule flowers are ries of shucking corn in preparation for dinnertime, painstakingly removing hundreds of pesky silks. What purpose do aligned on small, sheathed cobs, jutting upward toward their male counterparts. Each of these tiny female flowers have How to Reach Us these threads serve, anyway? It turns out, a pretty important one! Let’s take moment to examine “the birds and the bees” of this valuable plant. the ability to develop into a kernel of corn… but only if a grain of pollen can find its way to it! The process is further complicated Violet Township Administrative Offices 10190 Blacklick-Eastern Rd.

Corn is typically planted in large by the fact that these female flowers and Pickerington, OH 43147 monocultures. Each year in July the their cobs are enveloped by a husk and 614-575-5556 www.violet.oh.us careful observer will notice the emergence of yellow plumes reaching for the sky from the very top of the plant. Known to most as corn tasseling, these completely sheltered from the world, thus not allowing the pollen to make direct contact. Instead, each female flower sends out a single, sticky strand of silk with the Violet Township Fire Stations Phone 614-837-4123 Fire Chief: Michael Little golden strands mark the commence- purpose of securing a floating grain of #592: 8700 Refugee Rd. ment of corn reproduction. Each tassel corn pollen, much the same as casting a #591: 21 Lockville Rd. houses a plethora of pollen grains, fishing line from the bank of a pond. It is #593: 2365 Taylor Park Dr. between 14 million and 18 million, resembling a fine yellow powder that is easily dispersed by the wind. These no coincidence that these silky strands emerge on the very same day the tassel is set to release its powdery pollen. Violet Township Service Center Phone: 614-382-5979 grains contain the male corn genes, half The story only gets stranger when 490 Center St. of what is needed for a new corn kernel. a grain of pollen aligns with the tip of a Pickerington, OH 43147