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Jan. 6, 2011

School levy expected in the new year By KATE HETRICK ThisWeek Community Newspapers Superintendent Jeffrey Weaver, looking at the new year, anticipates asking the Upper Arlington Board of Education this spring to put a levy on the November ballot. “Our last operating levy was in November 2007, and for almost 20 years the district has been on the ballot every three years,” he said. “We felt that, one, given the current economic climate and, two, the fact that we’ve managed our

money well over the last three years, we were able to delay going on the ballot this November (2010).” Weaver said the district receives little money from the state. Jeffrey “If state funds get Weaver cut, that affects us proportionally less, but that places a heavier burden on our local taxpayers,” he said. “People in Upper Arlington are very

A closer look In November 2007, voters approved a combined levy of 4.2mills operating and 2-mills permanent improvement.

demanding, and I mean that in a good sense,” Weaver said. “They want good programs, good services, for their children and for the community.” In order to maintain the status quo

and potentially add new programming and services, the district needs to go back to the community for new funds, he said. It’s too early to determine the exact size and scope of the levy, Weaver said, but he will be working with treasurer Andrew Geistfeld to “fine tune” the district’s financial needs this month. “The actual decision itself won’t be until March or April,” he said. “We really want to know what we’ll be getting from the state.” In November 2007, voters approved a combined levy of 4.2-mills operating

and 2-mills permanent improvement. Weaver said he anticipates this year’s levy will be a continuing levy of “somewhere north of 4.2-mills.” “How far north remains to be seen,” he said. If passed, the levy will begin generating revenue in January 2012. Failure to pass the levy could impact personnel, Weaver said. “In the last five to eight years, our district has been very good at watching our utilities, insurance costs, supplies, maSee LEVY, page A5

Wall of Honor nominations are due Jan. 14

BATTLING BEAR

By GARY BUDZAK

uaoh.net) that lists the person’s ac-

ThisWeek Community Newspapers complishments.

By Tim Norman/ThisWeek

Upper Arlington High School’s Patrick O’Neill, wrestling at 140 lbs., took third place in his weight class Dec. 29 at the Bishop Ready Winter Classic. He is shown here trying to take down West High School’s Santiego Farias. See Sports, page B1.

Some of them were nationally or internationally known, but others were community legends: Governors, doctors, developers, coaches, clergy, educators and volunteers are among those who have bronze plaques gracing Upper Arlington’s “Wall of Honor” in the plaza of the Municipal Services Center. You still have until Jan. 14 to nominate a person who could be the next member of the Wall of Honor. That person must be a deceased resident who was outstanding in their walk of life or had “a reputation that brings honor to the community, or personal commitment and service to the community, or had a lasting impact for the good of the community.” Anyone can make the nomination, but a nomination form needs to be filled out (it is available through the Living in UA section of the city website at www.

Jake Will, chairman of the Wall of Honor, said the week after nominations are due, he and a committee will go through the current nominations, as well as nominations going back as far as five years. People can be re-nominated after the five years if they weren’t chosen. “We go over every application very carefully,” Will said. “We’ve got a couple of real outstanding candidates this year, and I’m very happy one of them is going to be chosen. Every year, it’s a hard decision, but the ones we’ve had have been outstanding candidates.” The Wall of Honor began in 1990 as a joint project between the UA Historical Society and the city of Upper Arlington. “They inducted seven people the first year, including the two men who founded Upper Arlington, the Thompson brothers,” said See NOMINATIONS, page A2

Arlington’s Concourse Gallery lists varied shows for 2011 By GARY BUDZAK ThisWeek Community Newspapers Upper Arlington’s Municipal Services Center does double duty as an arts space, thanks to its Concourse Gallery. “It’s one of the wonderful things about the gallery, but also one of the challenges in that it’s not a gallery destination space exclusively,” said Lynette Santoro-Au, the city’s arts manager. “I could be coming in here to pay a ticket, or to get a permit to put an extension on my house, and I’m going to be walking through a gallery. “So I might not normally go to a gallery, but now I’m encountering it just because I’m doing business with the city,” she said. “On the other hand,

it’s a wonderful gallery space for those who come here specifically to see the work that we offer.” Since 1972, the lobby-like space (3,500 square feet) of the gallery has shown local, national and international two- and three-dimensional exhibits. “The space is a juried space, and so we do a call for entries and post information on our website about applying for the shows,” Santoro-Au said. “We book about two years out, so we already know the shows for 2011 and 2012. We have submissions all throughout the year, but our visual arts committee reviews them quarterly.” Santoro-Au said the exhibits range from accessible general interest displays of photographs or quilts to chal-

lenging installations. Sometimes, they’ll pair up works by different artists on exhibits like “Rock Paper Scissors.” “Generally speaking, we try to help the viewer by including gallery guides, discussion prompts and artists statements so that the viewer could read that and understand what the artist’s intention was,” Santoro-Au said. Currently on view at the Concourse Gallery is “Art, Documentary, and Propaganda in Wartime China: The Photography of Sha Fei,” which opened yesterday (Jan. 5) and continues through Jan. 26. There will be a free reception Monday, Jan. 10, from 5 to 7 p.m. Sha Fei (1912-1950) was one of See GALLERY, page A3 A photo of Chinese people with arms as they organize by Sha Fei.

AEP’s Lane Avenue project is topic of Jan. 10 meeting The city of Upper Arlington will host an informational public meeting relating to the upcoming Lane Avenue construction project initiated by American Electric Power (AEP) at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 10, at the Municipal Services Center, 3600 Tremont Road. AEP will install underground utility lines along the entire stretch of Lane Avenue within Upper Arlington’s borders. The project

is expected to begin in mid-January. It is hoped that one lane of traffic in each direction can be maintained for the majority of the project. Representatives of the city and its project management firm, CT Consultants, along with members of AEP and its construction team will be on hand to provide an overview of the project and what residents can expect, as well as to answer questions and so-

licit input relative to any issues that may not have been taken into consideration prior to the project’s start. Once the project is under way, updates will be provided regularly via the city’s website, at www.uaoh.net, Twitter and Facebook, among other outreach efforts. Those with questions about the project may call the city’s engineering division at 583-5360.

Upper Arlington businesses report strong holiday season By ANDREW MILLER ThisWeek Community Newspapers

Arlington businesses made Santa’s nice list this Christmas. Thanks to news articles and marketing programs that highlight gift items from local retailers, such as the Upper Arlington Area Chamber of Commerce’s Top 100 Gift Ideas, several local businesses reported crowded stores and better sales figures this holiday season over previous years,

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n’t have any direct customer feedback from the chamber’s Top 100 Gift Ideas but said she was excited about the program “When the chamber announced the program I was very excited about the idea and was one of the first retailers to jump on board,” she said. “The program was a great no-cost promotion. If they do it again next year I’d like to be a part of it.” See HOLIDAY, page A5

City picking up trees during January