March 3, 2011
Pickerington Road
County eyes repairs to local bridge By NATE ELLIS ThisWeek Community Newspapers The Fairfield County Engineer’s Office will oversee repairs to the Pickerington Road bridge. On Feb. 22, Fairfield County commissioners unanimously awarded a $98,585 contract to Cambridge, Ohiobased U.S. Bridge to rehabilitate the bridge. The work will include removing the bridge’s superstructure — the por-
tion of the span that vehicles travel. A beginning date for the project has not been established, but county officials said once it starts, the bridge will be closed for up to 50 days this spring or summer. “We’re taking off the superstructure and rehabbing that, and we’re also rehabbing the abutments,” said Jeff Baird, Fairfield County chief deputy engineer. “The superstructure is going to be strengthened to allow for larger load limits.” The Pickerington Road bridge is lo-
cated in Bloom Township, just south of the Pickerington Road-Hummel Road intersection. It’s approximately one-half mile south of the border with Violet Township, and it crosses a branch of Walnut Creek. Baird said the bridge hasn’t deteriorated significantly, but is in need of maintenance due to natural wear and tear from the elements and the 1,219 vehicles that, on average, cross it daily. Funding for the U.S. Bridge contract,
as well as additional, currently unknown costs the county will incur to repair the bridge abutments will come from the county’s road and bridges fund and its share of the state motor vehicle tax. “It’s just the natural order of things that have led to the need to repair it,” Baird said. “We’re responsible for maintaining all the bridges on county and township roads, as well as most of the bridges in municipalities in the county.
“The idea is to get things before they get so bad that you have to close it down for good or lower the load rating,” he said. The contract with U.S. Bridge requires the company to pay liquidated damages to the county if the project isn’t completed by Sept. 17. “It’s going to be done this construction season,” Baird said. nellis@thisweeknews.com www.ThisWeekNews.com
Doug Barr
MARTIN SETS RECORD Assistant fire chief remembered as a leader and friend By NATE ELLIS ThisWeek Community Newspapers Violet Township firefighters and the community at large this week were mourning the unexpected loss of Assistant Fire Chief Douglas “Doug” Ray Barr, who died Sunday, Feb. 27. Barr was 51. He died at Fairfield Medical Center a day after experiencing complications from an unknown illness. According to Violet Township Fire Battalion Chief Jim Paxton, Barr was at work and seemingly fine on Friday, Feb. 25, but came down with flulike symptoms sometime the following day before passing. Doug Barr “There was no indication there was anything wrong,” Paxton said. “Every indication was there wasn’t a sniffle, not a cough. “He just died due to complications from this illness. It was very rapid.” As of ThisWeek’s press time on Tuesday, the Violet Township trustees had canceled their scheduled Wednesday meeting because of Barr’s death. Visitation was slated for Wednesday, from 2 to 8 p.m. at Halteman Fett & Dyer Funeral Home, 436 N. Broad St., Lancaster. The funeral service was scheduled for 10 a.m. on Thursday at Faith Memorial Church, 2610 W. Fair Ave., Lancaster. Barr, a lifelong resident of the Pleasantville area, is survived by two children, a granddaughter and “loving family and friends,” Paxton said. “You could not find a better person,” said Paxton, who worked closely with Barr throughout their careers. “He loved people, he loved kids and he was very gentle for as big as he was. See ASSISTANT FIRE CHIEF, page A2
By Adam Cairns/ThisWeek
Pickerington High School Central’s Maddie Martin (right) is all smiles after winning the 100-yard butterfly in the Division I state swimming and diving championships on Feb. 25 at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton. Martin won in a state-meet record 53.34 seconds to repeat as state champion, as Upper Arlington’s Claire Van Fossen (left) was runner-up in 56.69.
Checks being stolen from mailboxes Several incidents were in Haaf Farms subdivision in Violet Township By NATE ELLIS ThisWeek Community Newspapers The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office is advising area residents to change some bill-paying habits after a number of checks were stolen from Violet Township mailboxes. Since the latter part of 2010 and the outset of this year, the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office has received approximately 10 reports of checks
being removed from Violet Township residents’ outgoing mail. The thefts have become particularly problematic because the culprits are finding ways to either cash the checks or produce counterfeit checks using local residents’ personal information, sheriff’s officials said. “There’s a group going around taking checks out of mailboxes and they alter them to make them look like the checks are theirs,” Sgt. Mar-
ian Devault said. “They can alter it to look really good, really authentic, and then they use the routing numbers and other information to make a check out to someone else and cash it. “They also are taking the checks and going to stores to buy high-dollar items that they either keep, sell or return for cash.” Several of the reported thefts have come from See STOLEN CHECKS, page A6
Pickerington will offer community gardens for third year By NATE ELLIS ThisWeek Community Newspapers For the third straight year, the city of Pickerington will offer an urban gardening opportunity to local green thumbs. In spring 2009, Pickerington joined the growing number of urban communities in central Ohio and across the na-
tion that set aside a portion of public land for community gardens. The trend will continue this year, as past community gardeners began registering on Feb. 28 to secure their own 20-foot or 40-foot plots on the east side of the city along state Route 256, about a quarter-mile from Pickerington’s water tower.
Newcomers interested in entering the urban gardening fray will be able to register for garden plots beginning March 7. They can do so by calling the Pickerington Parks and Recreation Department at (614) 833-2211. “We’ve got 57 plots this year, which is about 11 more than we had last year,” said Don Ross, Pickerington recreation
coordinator. “We’re trying to have the entire area turned over and ready for them to work on it by the end of March.” The gardens will be open from the end of March until Oct. 31, Ross said. A 20-foot plot can be rented for $20 for Pickerington residents, or $25 for nonresidents. Larger, 40-foot plots can be rented for $40 for city residents and
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$50 for nonresidents. Once an individual rents a garden plot, the rest is up to them. They have free rein to cultivate any legal plants, fruits and vegetables, but they also are responsible for weeding, watering and other site maintenance.
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