May 19, 2011
Third Street improvement plans
GVS project gains support from city By GARY SEMAN JR. ThisWeek Community Newspapers The German Village Society has taken a significant step forward in its desire to improve South Third Street. Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman has signed a letter of cooperation and agreement with the society, an important step in securing funds for the project, said Brian Santin, president of the GVS board of trustees and chair of its streetscape committee, which has been spearheading the development plans.
“In order for anybody to be willing to provide funds for us to do this work, they need to be assured the city is on board and will support this going forward,” Santin said. According to the agreement, the mayor and Columbus Department of Public Service will sign off on all appropriate applications for funding that the GVS pursues and agree to administer successful grants and other financial contributions. Also, the city has agreed to provide available demographic and engineering
reviews that might be required for any applications. The agreement, however, does not commit the city to any money for the South Third Street project, estimated to cost in the area of $12 million. The GVS has yet to choose the final design, which could take another eight to 12 months, Santin said. Coleman believes the agreement is important for the process to move ahead, said his spokesman, Dan Williamson. “German Village is one of the neighborhoods that make Columbus great,”
Williamson said. “We have a long history of partnership with German Village and support its efforts, as well as those of other neighborhoods, to continually maintain and improve the quality of their infrastructure for their residents.” Planning for improvements to South Third Street has been nearly three years in the making. With the help of Kinzelman Kline Gossman, an architectural firm, local officials have identified several scenarios that they believe would help the look and functionality of the
neighborhood’s most visible commercial corridor. Suggested improvements include new sidewalks, decorative planters, signage and lampposts and redevelopment of the gateway at Third Street and Livingston Avenue. Burying the utility lines, or perhaps moving them, also is an option. Finding revenue streams could be difficult, professional planners have told the GVS, as corporate donations, as well as federal funds, are at a premium. See THIRD STREET, page A2
Merion Village resident
BARGAIN HUNTERS
Obert earns induction into senior citizens hall of fame By GARY SEMAN JR. ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Chris Parker/ThisWeek
People hunt for bargains during the Village Valuables yard sale in German Village on May 14.
Actors’ Theatre of Columbus
Swashbuckling tale opens summer season By GARY SEMAN JR. ThisWeek Community Newspapers “The Scarlet Pimpernel” will kick off Actors’Theatre of Columbus’30th summer season in Schiller Park. It’s a tale that includes daring action, romance and idealism — not to mention some lively swordplay, said John S. Kuhn, artistic director of the German Village-based theater troupe. “It’s really a story about the lengths someone will go to defend an ideal,” Kuhn said. All shows will be held at 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, May 26 through June 26, at Schiller Park. A special matinee performance will be held at 2 p.m. June 26 to coincide with German Village Haus und Garten Tour.
Admission is free but donations will be sought during intermission. The play is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Baroness Emmuska Orczy and is set in Paris during the French Revolution. The play centers on the daring exploits of the Pimpernel, the leader of an English secret society intent on rescuing French aristocrats from daily executions during the Reign of Terror. Unbeknownst to a select few, including his wife, Marguerite (Beth Josephsen-Simon), Sir Percy Blakeney (Travis Horseman) is the masked, swashbuckling marauder. After they become estranged over a dispute, Marguerite is blackmailed See ACTORS’ THEATRE, page A2
Beth Josephsen-Simon, playing Marguerite Blakeney, embraces Todd Covert, playing her brother, Armand St. Just, in the Actors’ Theatre of Columbus’ production of “The Scarlet Pimpernel.”
Even if Patricia Obert isn’t one to toot her own horn, someone else did. Obert, a Merion Village resident, recently was inducted to the Central Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame. When she heard she was being nominated, she asked to not be considered. “I kind of chafe at this award,” she said. “I don’t feel I do more than anyone else. I don’t do it to get rewards.” Julia Nack, who works for the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging, disagreed. She said Obert’s volunteer work, particularly with Patricia Obert the Volunteer Guardian Program, earned her a well-deserved place in the hall of fame. “She’s a wonderful person,” said Nack, who nominated Obert twice for induction. “For the most part, these folks are private people, independent people and they’re not in it for the glory.” Obert, 80, looks at volunteering with a sense of modesty. “I just feel that you need that give back what you’ve received,” she said. “And when you have gifts from God, you need to use them.” Joining the Volunteer Guardian Program in 2002, Obert became a court-appointed guardian to two individuals. She completed a variety of tasks for the two, who were entirely alone before she entered their lives, the agency said. Obert, who visited them weekly, advocated for improvements in their care and kept a careful eye on their care and medical needs, according to the agency. The two individuals have since died. Because of an accident in 2010, Obert was no longer able to participate in the Volunteer Guardian Program. Obert, born Patricia Ruffin, was raised in Decatur, Ill. She moved to Columbus at 17 and graduated from East High School in 1948. She married Ernest Obert in 1953. She worked various jobs throughout the years, retiring from Quality Meats in 1995. See OBERT, page A2
Rally for Reilly
Residents organize fundraiser for injured toddler with local roots By GARY SEMAN JR. ThisWeek Community Newspapers Community members are stepping up to help a 2-year-old boy badly injured in an accident. Local artists, musicians, restaurateurs and friends are participating in Rally for Reilly, a fundraiser for Reilly Gall, who was seriously injured in January in southern Colorado.
Reilly is the son of Sean Gall, a former German Village resident and 1998 graduate of Bishop Ready High School, and Ashley Doyle. Gall is the son of Tim and Sue Gall, owners of the Hey Hey Bar and Grill in Schumacher Place. The event will be held from noon to 8 p.m. May 22 at the Columbus Maennerchor, 966 S. High St. Admission is free but donations will be
accepted. Live music, a live auction, a silent auction,a raffle and games will be part of the lineup. Food and beverages will be available at a cost. Sue Gall, who also is general manager of the Maennerchor, said support from the community has been strong ever since the accident happened. “People are amazing,” she said. “It just gives you a whole new perspec-
tive on what community is all about.” Speaking from his home in Moffat, Colo., Sean Gall said the accident occurred Jan. 27 when Doyle drove with Reilly in an all-terrain vehicle, or ATV, to feed yaks on the family farm. When she got out of the four-wheeler, Reilly wriggled out of his seatbelt and climbed into the dri-
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Rally for Reilly will be held from noon to 8 p.m. May 22 at the Columbus Maennerchor, 966 S. High St. Admission is free but donations are accepted. Live music, a live auction, a silent auction, a raffle and games will be part of the lineup.
See RALLY FOR REILLY, page A2
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