March 20, 2011
Details awaited on state budget cuts By SARAH SOLE and BONNIE BUTCHER ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Local government, school and library officials say they are waiting to see details of cuts in state funding included in Gov. John Kasich’s two-year state budget. Ohio has an $8-billion budget deficit. The budget proposal would reduce from
$665-million this year to $339-million budget.” in 2013 money received by local govHe said city council will hold a speernments, school districts and health- cial meeting March 21. The meeting was care providers, among others. scheduled “knowing there would be cuts to the local government fund, and there City of Delaware will be some kind of impact. “We really don’t know what the full “We hope to have some better underimpact will be,” said Delaware city standing of the numbers Monday night. spokesman Lee Yoakum. “The House With that information, council and our and Senate will still have to get an op- finance committee will see what steps portunity to work on and approve the are needed going forward, and if that
would include having to amend our 2011 is a small portion of the county's overbudget,” Yoakum said. all funding. He said the county had initially anticipated a local government Delaware County fund of $1.1-million. In preparing for Delaware County commissioner Den- budget cuts, the county has to either renis Stapleton and administrator Tim duce services or increase revenue, he Hansley briefly addressed the budget said. While Hansley was confident that cuts during a Delaware County Cham- 2012’s budget wouldn't require any major ber of Commerce function on March 17. changes, he said that he would be Hansley said the $2.2-million the county receives in local government funds See DETAILS, page A2
Delaware chooses new fire station site
GREEN THUMBS FAIR
By SARAH SOLE ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Eric George/ThisWeek
Delaware County Master Gardeners Donna Meyer, Marti Wickham, John Ewing and Sherry Bacastow, shown here at Oakland Nursery, are preparing for the Delaware County Master Gardeners Association’s 11th annual Green Thumbs Gardeners’ Fair to be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 26, at Olentangy Liberty High School, 3584 Home Road. See story, page A10.
Sunbury plans park improvements By SARAH SOLE ThisWeek Community Newspapers
The village of Sunbury is working with the Big Walnut Youth Athletic Association to renovate J.R. Smith Park on East Cherry Street. Sunbury will provide about $22,585 out of its general fund for construction materials. Council on March 17 approved that the final total not exceed $24,000. FM Earth, a landscaping and excavation company in Sunbury, has agreed to do construction at no cost. Sunbury recently received $1.3-
million in income tax from a Powerball jackpot winner. The money went into its general fund. The project would slightly shift the park’s football field 20 to 30 feet southwest. A driveway currently cuts across the southeast corner of the field. FM Earth will install a drainage system, excavate the parking area and seed and fertilize the field. The project also would create a gravel parking lot of about 27 spaces. About 15 or 20 parking spaces would be created in other areas. Council members on March 17 decided to make the lot 27 spaces
instead of the originally planned 43. The decrease would mean a materials savings of $7,000 to $8,000, said council member Tommy Hatfield. Council members said parking has been a problem at the park, where people usually park on the grass. “It just looks like a war zone down there,” said council member David Linnabary. Residents living near the park have built fences around their yards to prevent people from parking on their property, he said. Hatfield described how the
$22,585 worth of materials would be used. He also described other possible projects. In the future, council could consider paving the gravel lots. A wall on the north side of the Lion’s Club building, between the building and the parking lot, also was targeted for repairs. Village administrator Dave Martin said the wall probably is leaning about two-and-a-half feet from top to bottom. Landscaping also was discussed. Martin said these projects could cost up to an See SUNBURY COUNCIL, page A6
Delaware City Council has taken the first steps in selecting a location for a new fire station. Council on March 14 entered into an agreement with Mitchell Family Investments LLC that allows for the purchase of about 1.6 acres at the northwest corner of Lexington Boulevard and West Central Avenue. The $225,000 purchase would be contingent upon whether inspections and an environmental study show the A closer look location is favorable. Funding for The city has $1.2-million in the new station its fire impact fee fund, said would come Delaware community affairs from fire im- coordinator Lee Yoakum. pact fees the The city will use those city collects funds to pay for the properfrom develop- ty, testing and any cleanup. ers of new res- The remaining balance of idential and about $900,000 would go c o m m e r c i a l toward construction costs, property. and the rest would be paid The city has for with fire levy funds. $1.2-million in its fire impact fee fund, said Delaware community affairs coordinator Lee Yoakum. The city will use those funds to pay for the property, testing and any cleanup. The remaining balance of about $900,000 would go toward construction costs, and the rest would be paid for with fire levy funds. The city has 45 days to complete inspections and an environmental study. The city will pay Burgess & Niple, an engineering and architectural firm headquartered in Columbus, $20,570 to inspect, test and prepare an environmental report. If any contamination is found, an environmental cleanup is estimated to cost $17,000 to $25,000. Yoakum said the city has spent several months searching for a site for the fire station. Including purchase, study and cleanup, the cost would still be under the property’s appraised value of $300,000. “It’s in the location where our fire data shows the greatest need,” Yoakum said. Construction See SITE, page A2
OWU adds $5M to End of an era renovate Stuyvesant Cason retires as ThisWeek executive editor By SARAH SOLE ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Ohio Wesleyan University is now $5-million closer to renovating Stuyvesant Hall. The university announced March 17 that it received $5-million from anonymous donors, which puts the available renovation funds at $10-million. The estimated cost for renovations is $15million. OWU has received $3.3-million in donations for the renovation from several OWU alumni since Jan. 1. The university also will use a 2009 donation of more than $1-million from the estate of
Alice Klund Levy, who was an OWU class of 1932 alumna, for the project. Including other smaller contributions, that puts the total renovation donations at $10-million, said Cole Hatcher, media and communications director. While a specific construction timetable has not yet been set, the university estimates construction would take about a year to complete. “We would like to do this as soon as possible,” Hatcher said. Stuyvesant Hall is one of the campus’ six residence halls. The project would add a fourth floor to the right and left wings of the building, which are three stories
By JEFF DONAHUE ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Friday, March 18, marked the end of an era at ThisWeek Community Newspapers. That afternoon, vice president and executive editor Ben Cason shut down his computer, gathered his cell phone and coat and quietly strolled out of the newsroom the way he has every week since 1993. However, come Monday morning, for the first time in 18 years, he won’t be leading a newsroom discussion on politics or the NCAA basketball tournament. Cason announced his retirement to ThisWeek staffers March 11, concluding a career that spanned the height of the Watergate era as an editor at The Washington
Post to building one of the nation’s most respected community newspaper organizations. Under Cason’s leadership, ThisWeek Community Newspapers have won hundreds Ben Cason of state, regional and national awards for journalistic excellence. More importantly, general manager Stephen Zonars said, Cason won the loyalty of hundreds of thousands of central Ohio readers. “Ben has been the heartbeat of ThisWeek Community Newspapers for 18 years, and his contributions are immeasurable,” Zonars said. “On his watch, the readership of our
papers has grown by more than 200,000 people, which may be the most honest reflection of how valuable the public finds our coverage, which is the product of Ben’s leadership in the newsroom.” Zonars said Cason’s legacy is the team of journalists he has assembled at ThisWeek. “We are indebted to Ben for attracting bright and passionate reporters and editors who share his love of community news and sports, and to Ben’s high personal standards for quality, objective and, above all, accurate reporting,” he said. “No one checks more facts than Ben. Ben’s legacy will be that his brand of journalism will live on through our staff because Ben See END OF AN ERA:, page A7
See OWU ADDS, page A6
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