February 27, 2011
New West Side park about a year away By CARLA SMITH ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Westland Area residents expressed excitement Feb. 22 to hear that soccer fields and walking paths will be coming to a brand new community park near them. About 40 residents turned out for a public forum
held that night at the Westland Library to ask questions and get their first glimpse of plans for the park. It will be located on 11 acres at the corner of Alton Darby Creek Road and West Broad Street. Maureen Lorenz, of the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, said it is anticipated that construction of the new community park will begin either in late April or early May. Bids for the
$250,000 project were expected to be opened on Thursday. Phase one of the park will feature 51 parking spaces, a quarter-mile walking loop that leads to two athletic fields and a playground. There will also be plenty of active space for walking dogs, flying kites and having picnics, Lorenz said. Most of those attending the public meeting said
they were excited about having new park space. One resident, however, said the Westland area needs more than just a community park. “This is a nice start, but in no way sufficient to what I need around here,” resident and youth soccer coach Bill Rains said. “It has been hard for our
Grove City
See NEW PARK A YEAR AWAY, page A2
Specialty cupcakes answer baker’s dilemma
State audits cited increased theft risk By PAUL COMSTOCK ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By GARY BUDZAK
Letters from the state auditor’s office, issued after routine audits of Grove City between 2001 and 2004, warned the city three times that its record-keeping and practices could increase the risk of theft or fraud. Those letters predate the city’s latest problems with unpaid federal income withholding taxes. In December, representatives of the Internal Revenue Service said the city owed $685,905. More debt to the IRS was found soon afterward. City police investigating the unpaid taxes said they have found evidence of theft. ThisWeek has obtained management letters sent by the state auditor to the city for the fiscal years 2001-02, 2002-03 and 200304. The 2001-02 letter said the city had a “significant listing” of budget items and written checks that remained “long standing.” That situation “may allow for errors, irregularities and fraud to occur without the timely detection of management,” the letter said. The 2002-03 letter also cited a “significant listing” of “long standing” items. That situation, the letter said, “could lead to misstated bank or book balances or theft ...” The 2003-04 letter said 7 percent of park and recreation department receipts were not deposited on the first business day following receipt, as required. “This weakness increases the risk that cash could be stolen or lost,” the letter said. The management letter for 2004-05 lists
A piece of bacon tops some of the mini-cupcakes made by Scarlett Kilzer. “It tastes like breakfast,” Kilzer said. “We put maple syrup in our frosting, batter and cinnamon to make it taste like a really yummy pancake, and then add the bacon and the nuts on top.” Other cupcake flavors resemble Zingers, Oreos, Orange Creamsicles, Caramel Macchiatos, Boston Banana Cream Pies and cookie dough. “We had decided we weren’t going to do regular-flavored cupcakes,” Kilzer said. “I love to cook, so we incorporated different spices and different flavor combinations. We’re working on a curry chocolate. The new flavors don’t come out unless we’re all in agreement that it’s the perfect flavor for the spice.” Kilzer is the owner, founder and baker for Cupcake Yum.Yum, a Hilliard-based business specializing in creative cupcakes and other confections. Cupcake Yum.Yum got its name from Kilzer’s dad, Doug Grassel, who is the guitarist of the Ohio Express, a bubblegum band out of Mansfield that once graced the pop charts with such infectious hits as “Chewy Chewy” and “Yummy Yummy Yummy” (“I’ve got love in my tummy,” rhymes the latter song). “He’s still playing,” Kilzer said. “He’s in Germany right now and they’re touring in Europe…. They are still around, but he’s the only original within the
ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Tim Norman/ThisWeek
Scarlett Kilzer is the owner, founder and baker for Cupcake Yum.Yum. She is holding a tray of her mini-cupcakes at Kitamu Coffee, 3221 Hilliard-Rome Road.
See SPECIALTY, page A2
See STATE AUDIT, page A3
Area’s new pet food pantry lends a helping paw By LISA AURAND ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Patty Crawford doesn’t want to see families forced to give up pets because of the bad economy. She has created a pet food pantry, following up on an idea she had last fall. “I heard on the news about peo-
ple having to abandon their pets and people having to return their pets” because of financial trouble, said Crawford, who has a 13year-old shih tzu named Fergie. “I thought, ‘Why doesn’t someone have a pet pantry?’ and then I thought, ‘Why don’t I do a pet pantry?’” Crawford said. “It’s just tragic to hear on the news about the recession. Today
your pet is like your family and you hate to see something like that have to happen, so hopefully this will help.” Crawford turned to her husband, John Crawford, who owns John Crawford Radiator Services. He offered a corner of the radiator shop to house the pantry. “We had a spare room in the shop,” she said.
DIRECTORY
With the help of her husband and a friend, Kimmy Bird, Crawford worked on setting up the pantry as a nonprofit organization and building up a stock of pet food. So far, all donations are from local individuals. “I’ve been waiting on our 501c3 status,” Crawford said. “I need the community support to help me. We’re going to try to Bonnie is up for adoption at All Tails ‘R’ Waggin in Pataskala. Her brother recently found a home but she is still waiting. To see a video of Bonnie, visit www.ThisWeekNews. com. For more information on adopting Bonnie, visit alltails.com or call (740) 927-0555.
News: (740) 888-6100 editorial@thisweeknews.com Sports: (740) 888-6054 sports@thisweeknews.com Retail ads: (740) 888-6027 kdurst@thisweeknews.com Classified: (740) 888-5003 classified@thisweeknews.com Customer Service: 1-888-837-4342
feed all the animals we can feed for people who are in need.” Anyone in the area who has lost a job or is in other financial hardship is welcome to apply for up to three months of pet food assistance. Applicants must be at least 18 years old, show ID and sign a form releasing the pantry from liability if their pets get sick.
“To qualify, you must have lost your job or be unemployed or just be someone that’s having difficulties right now,” Crawford said. “This is what we call temporary food assistance. We’ll feed (the pets) for about three months and that should give them enough time to get back on their feet.” See PET FOOD, page A2
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