January 20, 2011
Memorial scholarship fund gets boost By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers A Reynoldsburg High School scholarship fund has received a $100,000 bequest from the estate of a city resident. Emil McVeigh, who died Dec. 9 at age 90, left the money to Patricia McVeigh Memorial Academic Scholarship Fund, which he established in honor of his wife after her death. Patricia McVeigh was a guidance counselor at Reynoldsburg High School
from 1970 to 1986. She died of cancer in 1987 at age 58. After her death, her husband established the $750 yearly scholarship award in her name to be given to an eligible RHS graduating senior, based on academic achievement. Emil was a Reynoldsburg resident and continued to contribute to the scholarship fund each year. After his death it was discovered he had set aside $100,000 in his will to be given to the scholarship fund.
Bill Hilyard, a cousin of Emil’s and executor of the McVeigh estate, said Emil left the money to the scholarship fund because both he and his wife loved to help students. “He wanted to perpetuate his wife’s name who was an outstanding faculty member and guidance counselor at the school and he loved helping students and providing opportunities for students to succeed,” Hilyard said. “I believe he felt that this was one of the ways that he might be able to do that,
and we‘re thrilled my cousin has set up this bequest. Students at Reynoldsburg High School will benefit for years and years to come from their generosity,” he said. RHS guidance counselor Amy Gengo said students eligible for the Patricia McVeigh Memorial Academic Scholarship award must have a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher. They also must write a 250-word essay on why they feel they are qualified for the scholarship and must include their career goals.
She said she was “blown away” by news of the contribution. “It gives me goose bumps,” she said. “ In my several different times I had conversations with Emil, you could just see the love that he had for his wife. This was his last wish, to keep the scholarship alive for a very, very long time. “He loved his wife very much and he used to call the high school kids ’their kids,’” she said. See SCHOLARSHIP FUND, page A2
Reynoldsburg schools
New website fulfills plan for improved communication By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Photos by Tim Revell/ThisWeek
HONORING DR. KING (Above) Those attending a ceremony in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. at Reynoldsburg City Hall Jan. 17 raised up their hands during one of the segments of the program. (Left) Four-year-old McKenna Nixt holds hands with her mother, Kim Nixt, before the start of the ceremony. (Right) Cortez Harris, a 2008 graduate of Reynoldsburg High School, offered a poetic tribute to King during the ceremony. Harris attends Ohio State University and is pursuing a degree in social work.
RCA planning third annual fundraiser Spaghetti dinner and silent auction scheduled for Jan. 22 By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers The Reynoldsburg Community Association will host its third annual all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner from 4-8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22, in the Messiah Lutheran Church fellowship hall, 1200 Waggoner Road. RCA vice president Mary Hudson said proceeds will go toward funding this year’s Fourth of July parade and community Halloween party. This year’s event also marks the first time it has been scheduled in January.
“We have usually had it in November but were running into conflicts with Ohio State football,” Hudson said. “Now we’re doing it on a Saturday in January when everybody wants to eat a nice, warm spaghetti dinner.” The all-you-can eat menu includes homemade spaghetti, salad, desserts and beverages, and bread donated by the Texas Roadhouse restaurant. No alcohol is served. Along with door prizes being handed out, entertainment for the evening will feature a variety of live music performed by students from the 88 Keys Music Studio.
Hudson said those attending will be able to bid on items during a silent auction, including gift cards, food, needlepoint creations and a handmade quilt, to name a few. She said the past two fundraisers were huge successes, drawing a couple of hundred people during the course of the evening. “It’s a night to come and have a nice spaghetti dinner out and great entertainment, and you’re helping support community events such as the Fourth of July parade and the See RCA, page A6
Everest Academy
Charter school exhibiting some success By DAVID S. OWEN Reynoldsburg. Besides offering ThisWeek Community Newspapers career-focused electives, one of its main goals is to help students The 18 students who recently who are credit-deficient or who passed the Ohio Graduation Tests need help in academic coursework are proof that the Reynoldsburg so they can graduate. Conversion Community School Gillum said the 18 students who Everest Academy is meeting one recently passed did so as a result of its main goals, according to of taking the academy’s OGT academy superintendent Doug preparation course. Gillum. The academy is similar to a The charter school is now in the charter school and is funded by middle of its first full year in the state with no tuition cost to
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students. It employs a staff of three teachers and is housed in a portion of what was formerly Graham Road Elementary School at 1555 Graham Road. Gillum said RCCS Everest Academy is chartered as a high school dropout-prevention and recovery high school. It is totally funded by the Ohio Department of Education, which provides roughly $5,500 per year for every student enrolled, money
that is used for the school’s daily operations, he said. Enrollment at the academy currently is 82, up from 64 at the beginning of the year. Gillum said anyone age 16 to 21 is eligible to enroll at any time during the year by contacting the school for an interview and submitting an application. Students are required to take
The Reynoldsburg school district launched a redesigned website this week in a step toward meeting Superintendent Steve Dackin’s plan to improve communications with the community. Dackin told the Reynoldsburg Board of Education in November the idea was to put together a plan that ensures the district will be able to engage parents in two-way communication and to provide a way to use information from those interactions to improve the district. In addition, Dackin said the timing is right for the plan because by the time current renovations and construction of two new schools are completed, the district will include 12 buildings. He said he hopes that the redesigned website will improve overall communication among buildings and parents. District spokesperson Tricia Moore said the goals for the new website are to ncrease the community’s understanding of the schools’ values, successes and goals; increase understanding by the board, staff and administration about the community’s perceptions of the district; and how to overcome any obstacles. Additional goals include providing an avenue for continuing two-way communication between the school district and the community, and to enhance the overall image of Reynoldsburg schools. The website’s address will remain the same: www.reyn.org. However, Moore said the redesign includes new features and a reorganization of content, such as a more user-friendly school calendar and the ability to sign up for e-mail newsletters. There are also separate parent and student sections that group together content that is of interest to each and makes it easier for people to find more useful resources. Registration on the website is required in order to receive these features, Moore said. See NEW WEBSITE, page A2
Two victims released after carbon monoxide poisoning Two of the three surviving victims of carbon monoxide poisoning were released from local hospitals last week. Gary Collins, 10, was released from Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Richard “Rick” Furniss Jr., 30, was released from Ohio State University Medical Center on Jan. 12. Furniss’ father, Richard Furniss Sr., remained in OSU Medical Center at ThisWeek’s press time on Tuesday. Angela Collins, 29, Gary Collins’ mother, was killed by lethal levels of carbon monoxide inside a house at 1122 Gibson Road, Reynoldsburg, on Jan. 10. Authorities have said a faulty furnace was to blame. — David S. Owen
See CHARTER, page A6 Nemo, who was rescued from a hoarding situation, is up for adoption from the Ohio SPCA. To see a video of Nemo and Scamp, another cat looking for a home, log on to www.ThisWeekNews. com. For more information on Nemo, visit ohiospca.org.
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