February 13, 2011
School board considers November levy By SARAH SOLE ThisWeek Community Newspapers
The Delaware city school board is considering an operating levy for the November ballot. During a Feb. 7 joint meeting of the school board and Delaware City Council, schools superintendent Paul Craft said the levy
amount is yet to be decided. District voters approved a 12.8-mill substitute operating levy in 2010. Craft said that issue replaced a 12.9-mill operating levy that expired last month. The 12.8-mill-levy did not increase payments for taxpayers, and did not increase the district’s income. Now the school district anticipates that state budget cuts will
strip as much as $2.5-million in state funds from the school district’s budget next year. As a result, the district expects to have The school district anticipates that state budget cuts will a $1.4-million deficit at the end strip as much as $2.5-million in state funds from the school of fiscal year 2012. district’s budget next year. As a result, the district expects School board president Ted to have a $1.4-million deficit at the end of fiscal year 2012. Backus told ThisWeek that board members will discuss the levy expenses by $1.4-million to balat their Feb. 22 meeting, and sion in April. Craft said the district will cut ance next year’s budget. probably will make a final deci-
A closer look
Weather HEART HEALTH doesn’t slow YMCA construction ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By SARAH SOLE ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Eric George/ThisWeek
Eleven-year-old Teddy Haller, a fifth-grader at Willis Intermediate School, participates in the Jump Rope for Heart event Tuesday, Feb. 8. For more photos, see page A3.
See WEATHER DOESN’T, page A2
Willis to receive renovations in June By SARAH SOLE ThisWeek Community Newspapers
The roof over the second-floor classrooms at the Willis Intermediate School has held up since 1950 without requiring any extensive maintenance. Now, however, the roof is leaking. On June 16, Tremco Inc. will start renovating that part of the roof at the West William Street school. Delaware City Schools will pay Tremco $182,203 to replace the roof section. Work will begin June 16, the first Monday after school concludes, and should end by Aug. 14, said Larry Davis, director of facilities and transportation for Delaware City Schools.
The building’s two-story section is between the three-story sections that face William and Winter streets. The roof was leaking so badly in one area that the school was forced to shut down a classroom, Davis said. Between November and December, Delaware City Schools paid $8,851 to put what Davis describes as a “rubber membrane” over two areas in preparation for winter weather. The membrane stopped the leaking, but it’s only a temporary fix, Davis said. This construction is part of a continuing renovation effort for Willis. Last year, work was done on the gymnasium roof
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and a portion of roof on the east side of the building, Davis said. The district will seek bids for a project that would convert an old woodshop into two small classrooms. Construction would start June 13 and would end Aug. 12. The bidding deadline is March 23. “We want that as a summer project,” said Paul Craft, superintendent. Each room would have about 750 square feet and would house about 30 students each, Craft said. The extra space, however, would only nearly match the growth Craft anticipates for next year. “It just kind of keeps us treading water,” Craft said.
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See SCHOOL, page A2
Big Walnut Historical Society gets new president
By SARAH SOLE The winter weather hasn’t stopped construction of the YMCA Community Center. Motorists on Houk Road can see steel roof trusses erected over what will be the main pool area. “Despite the weather, work is still going on,” said city spokesman Lee Yoakum. Most of the exterior shell of the 75,000square-foot community center is complete, Yoakum said. Once workers A closer enclose the largest section look of the building, Once workers enclose which will the largest section of house the pool, the building, which will their focus will house the pool, their shift to finishfocus will shift to fining interior ishing interior walls walls and inand installing heating, stalling heating, plumbing and electrical plumbing and utilities. Construction electrical utilibegan in June 2010. ties. ConstrucThe project was made tion began in possible by a partnerJune 2010, and ship with the city of Yoakum anticDelaware, YMCA of ipates the cenCentral Ohio, and the ter will be open Ohio National Guard. for programming in the fall. The project was made possible by a partnership with the city of Delaware,YMCA of Central Ohio, and the Ohio National Guard. The city of Delaware is funding the construction of the community center, estimated at about $16-million. City voters in 2008 approved a 0.15-percent income tax increase to pay for the YMCA. The issue raised the income tax from 1.4 to 1.55 percent. Construction of an adjoining training facility for the Ohio National Guard could start as early as fall 2012, Yoakum said, and will be funded by state and federal defense dollars. The city’s most recent armory was built in 1950 and still stands on William Street. The National Guard decided that site was outdated, Yoakum said The construction of the YMCA will allow the city to enhance recreation and community services,Yoakum said. “It really is the culmination of decades of planning and work,” he said. In addition to the partnership between
About half of that amount would be realized by not replacing retiring or resigning personnel, Craft said. Other cuts would include reduced spending on learning materials and computers. “We need to do a good job of informing the public,” Craft said.
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A new backyard herb garden and more programs for children are some of the items that Janet MacKenzie has on her agenda as the new president of the Big Walnut Historical Society. “We’re moving ahead so quickly,” MacKenzie said. MacKenzie succeeded president Polly Horn in January. Horn, who served as president since 1997, will continue to serve as curator of the Myers Inn Museum on the Sunbury square. MacKenzie joined the Big Walnut Historical Society about 15 years ago as a new Sunbury resident, and the experience helped her get to know others in the community. “Everyone needs to get involved in their community,” she said. MacKenzie was elected to the society’s board of trustees in 1997. She helped organize Tours of Homes and Gardens and the museum gift shop, and also served as executive director of the trustees. She had previously been involved with the Worthington Historical Society. She also had the chance to put in some labor during the renovation of the Myers Inn Museum. “There was a great deal to be done,” MacKenzie said. “We had some adventures. We had lots of laughs.” MacKenzie said one of her main goals is to redefine the society’s identity in the community. Many new people are joining the society, and the teas and lunches the society offers have become popular within the community, MacKenzie said. Outreach continues to be a main part of her job. A reconstruction project on the property also will be completed this summer. A granary donated to the museum by Sunbury residents and society members Bill and Sue Comisford was moved from its location on Blaney Road, just north of Sunbury, and reconstructed piece by piece. The granary, which MacKenzie said served as a barn originally, is about the size of a large garage and was built in the 1840s. It will serve as a livery and a blacksmith’s area. While the society educates school groups about local history, MacKenzie said she has been discussing targeting a younger audience. “We certainly will be offering programs for children,” she said. Horn also expressed the need for the society to broaden its base to include younger members and to help make downtown Sunbury viable. Society events could contribute. They bring “a group of people into the town that would otherwise not come,” Horn said. Horn said the society has continued to grow, especially since the Myers Inn Museum opened in 2008. Since then, more people have come to visit and attend meetings, Horn said. “It also gives us a place to put our local history,” she said. The Myers Inn Museum is open from noon to 3 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays and from 10 to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.
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