Metro 06/09/14

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The Ku Klux Klan in Wood Co County

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Zoning issue on agenda this Monday

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Parking buses Graham said plans call for the southern part of the parcel, if the zoning request is approved, to be used for parking repaired or new buses “while they are waiting to be delivered to the customers.” Approximately 150-200 vehicles would be parked on the parcel, he added. The northern part of the parcel already is used in that way. Donald Petroff, former Oregon mayor and municipal court judge who lives on South Stadium Road, said he was not in fa-

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Paralysis by analysis is a type of procrastination disguised as prudence. Bryan Golden See page 10

The bridge is closed to both vehicles and pedestrian traffic and will remain so for 19 months through September 2015. (Press photo by Ken Grosjean)

ODOT engineer says

19-month rehab “had to be done” By J. Patrick Eaken Press News Editor sports@presspublications.com When engineers scoped out the 74-year-old Anthony Wayne Bridge in preparation for its $28 million rehabilitation, they found plenty of decay and support-issues. They also knew there was one other problem — nobody builds bridges like this anymore. After Toledoans passed a $28 million bond issue in 1928, the 3,215 span, nicknamed the “High Level Bridge,” opened in 1931. “It is a very unique and historical structure here in Toledo,” said Ohio Department of Transportation District 2 public information officer Theresa Pollick. “I mean, it’s a landmark. People recognize and associate downtown Toledo with the Anthony Wayne Bridge, so it’s very important that No. 1, we preserve its’ historical integrity, and No. 2, the safety of this bridge for the traveling public and all involved.” The bridge was not only noteworthy because of its engineering, but it also incorporated the largest girder in the world at the time — one that was 154-feet long, 12feet high and weighed 83 tons. The bridge’s main span is 785 feet, its length 3,215 feet and its towers rise some 200 feet above the water. The two main cables consist of 3,534

It is a very unique and historical structure here in Toledo. I mean, it’s a landmark.

Oregon Council on Monday will continue a public hearing for a zoning change application on Navarre Avenue. Noel Graham, on behalf of property owner Donna J. Graham, applied for a zoning change to C-2 Commercial from R-1 Low Density Residential at 5464 Navarre Avenue. The hearing was opened at the May 27 council meeting, but was continued to Monday’s meeting due to opposition from some residents living near the property. The Planning Commission on April 15 unanimously recommended approval of the zoning request. Currently, the property has split zoning, according to James Gilmore, commissioner of building and zoning. The northern part of the parcel is zoned C-2, the southern part of the parcel is zoned R-1. There are the same split zoning designations to the west and east. “It currently complies with our 20/25 Master Plan, which deems this area to be commercially zoned,” Gilmore said at the hearing in May. The current use of the property is for the recondition and storage of buses for the Transportation Equipment Sales Corp. (TESCO), a national bus distributor owned by Noel Graham and headquartered in Oregon. TESCO is fronted on Navarre Avenue while the back portion of the parcel faces the relocated Stadium Road. Bud Graham, president of TESCO, said the zoning change will “enhance our ability to conduct business in the city.”

wires compressed and wrapped to a diameter of 13 inches. “This is an older, suspension span bridge that was built back in 1930, ’31 — same as the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisco, but we don’t build structures like this anymore,” said Ohio Department of Transportation project engineer Dave Geckle. “When they built this thing back in the 1930s, they basically used small parts that are all riveted together, so we are able to purchase pieces and parts to fix the pieces that we need in standard sizes that we are able to put back in the structure to make it work. “Just in the last four or five six years,

it has deteriorated significantly, so we have to get in there now to do the work, get it fixed back up so it will last a lot longer.” It deteriorated so much that Pollick confirmed that without rehabilitation, the bridge likely would have been closed permanently. “It’s because of the way that this bridge was built in the early 30s, and it has not had a major rehabilitation or a closure in all of that time,” Pollick said. “So, if you look at the timeframe, the lifespan of this bridge, it is so important that we do the work for the safety of this bridge, and ultimately for the historical nature of this bridge. The State of Ohio does realize that it is important to this community, and we do realize that, sure, it is a delay.” Shut the bridge down So, on March 17, 2014, at 7 a.m., the bridge was closed to both vehicles and pedestrian traffic and will remain so for 19 months through September 2015 for its rehabilitation. ODOT awarded the $28.7 million project to the E.S. Wagner Company of Oregon. Work includes re-decking the bridge, replacing the existing truss end spans, rehabilitation of the existing substructures, new street lighting and rebuilding the sidewalks, railings and fence. Following

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