March 3, 2011
County program akin to local initiative Senior Services Roundtable official reaches out to long-range planning committee By GARY SEMAN JR. ThisWeek Community Newspapers A group of German Village residents hoping to establish an aging-in-place program have been offered some help. Fran Ryan, co-founder and acting chairwoman of the Senior Services Roundtable, a countywide senior-services initiative, has reached out to the long-range planning committee in Ger-
man Village, which is in the initial stages of forming a group called Village Connections. Ryan, a German Village resident, said her program, founded two-and-a-half years ago through the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging, provides a variety of services — from transportation to pet care — for seniors. She said the proposal is a win-win for the German Village group, which wants
to provide many of those same amenities through Village Connections. The good news for Village Connections, Ryan said, is that it can remain an independent group while working from a list of providers already helping Senior Services Roundtable, a sort of informational clearinghouse of service providers. “If they’re part of us, they’d get all the advantages,” she said.
Carolyn McCall, who chairs the longrange planning committee for the German Village Society, said that while she’s not familiar with Ryan’s organization, it sounds interesting. “We’re certainly looking forward to learning from her group and sharing what our ideas are and collaborating in the future,” McCall said. The Senior Services Roundtable works with a multitude of agencies, including
employment services, Columbus Public Health, senior centers, food pantries and Meals on Wheels. One is Volunteer Connections, a webbased volunteer group. Founder Brenda Doner said she has a base of 500 volunteers, who help with everything from pet-food drives to delivering meals at churches. See SENIOR SERVICES, page A2
Community farm
MARDI GRAS AT THE GERMANIA Expert’s visit could cultivate more local gardeners By GARY SEMAN JR. ThisWeek Community Newspaper Residents interested in a plot in the German Village Community Farm are encouraged to attend a March 7 event at the Livingston United Methodist Church, 200 E. Livingston Ave. At 7 p.m. Monday, master gardener Joanne Dole will speak about the basics of creating a vegetable garden. The session is free and open to the public. Also at the meeting, farm coordinators will consider awarding space to people who are seeking plots. Elspeth Willoughby, who helps organize the farm, said there would be a few openings this year. There are 18 plots, each measuring 4 feet by 4 feet, and two dedicated solely for tomatoes at the farm, which is in its second year. A fee of $25 covers the cost of the water, fencing and other items, she said. Gardeners who use the farm, located on the grounds of the church, must donate a portion of their yield to the Livingston United Methodist Church’s food pantry and the Charitable Pharmacy of Central Ohio, also based out of the church building. Dole said she would provide an essential checklist for those looking to establish a garden. The first planting of the season is usually in April. “There’s a lot to learn in gardening if you want to be successful,” said Dole, who is with the Franklin County master gardener program, run See GARDENERS, page A2
By Lorrie Cecil/ThisWeek
Vera Motika and Doris Corbett enjoy a dance during the Columbus Germania club’s Mardi Gras party Feb. 26. The event, held at the Brewery District club, featured dancing, costumes and the crowning of a Mardi Gras prince and princess.
Police boost enforcement at scrap yards By GARY SEMAN JR. ThisWeek Community Newspapers Columbus police have stepped up efforts to catch thieves of copper and air-conditioners by staking out scrap yards in the city. Lt. Michael Woods, who is in charge of property crimes with the Columbus Division of Police, said the property-recovery unit and communityresponse teams are spot-checking the 15 or so scrap yards in the city limits.
Although only two weeks old, the program has reported some success, as several air-conditioning units have been recovered and officers questioned four individuals suspected of stealing the merchandise, Woods said. Those suspects were not charged, so their names were not immediately available. “It’s a very good turnaround,” Woods said. “It’s a combination of the community-response teams working with detectives who are a little more familiar with what they’re looking for.” He said increased presence and intermittent vis-
its should send a message to crooks that officers are actively pursuing the crimes. Helping police in their quest is a web-based search engine that notifies law enforcement when something is scrapped and who is dropping it off, Woods said. Per state law, scrap yards are required to document information about every transaction, such as the time and date, and name of the person dropping off the material. See SCRAP YARDS, page A2
Coalition for a Nonviolent Columbus accepting grant applications By GARY SEMAN JR. ThisWeek Community Newspapers The Coalition for a Nonviolent Columbus is accepting grant applications from neighborhood groups looking to improve the quality of life in their communities. The coalition, recently formed by Mayor Michael B. Coleman, has $40,000 available for initiatives involving public safety, neighborhood
improvement or education and outreach. Programs can include graffiti cleanup, block watches and crime-prevention activities. Applications will be accepted through March 31. Amanda Ford, spokeswoman for the Columbus Department of Public Safety, said the 25-member coalition would review grant applications in April and then make its final recommendations so the various community groups can
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launch their initiatives by summer. Individuals cannot apply. The applications must come from such groups as civic associations, block-watch grouaps, small nonprofits and faithbased organizations. Each group would receive a maximum of $1,000. “I think a lot of neighborhood groups want to do good things for their communities but don’t have the money,” Ford said. “And that’s the goal: All of these little things will make a differ-
ence in their neighborhood.” Jerry Glick, who is involved in many safety initiatives in German Village, said he will encourage the German Village Society to apply for a grant. Glick organizes a monthly police luncheon with Columbus police officers at the Meeting Haus. Last year, the community held a safety day, in which law-enforcement officials were on hand to give advice to residents on a wide range of topics.
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Additional money could come in handy in a neighborhood that always tries to keep up on crime prevention, Glick said. “I think that’s a great possibility,” he said. For the complete grant application and final report form, visit mayor.columbus.gov/initiatives.aspx?id=40225&menu_id=528. gseman@thisweeknews.com www.ThisWeekNews.com
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