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A supplement to The Press Newspapers August 20, 2018
RESS August 20, 2018
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Stritch • Cardinal Stritch • Clay • Gibsonburg • Oak • Clay Harbor • Eastwood • Lake • Waite • Eastwood • Genoa • Northwood • Woo Cover photo: Clay's dmore Genoa • football team enters Ted Federici Field (Press file photo by Russ Lytle/Facebook.com/ at Clay Memorial Stadium RussLytle/RHP) • Gibsonburg • Lake A supplement to • Northwood pers Newspa Press The • Oak Harbor December 4, 2017 • Waite Jacob Plantz Cover photo: Genoa junior guard by Russ Lytle) • Woodmore p ((Press file photo
Football preview See Second Section M
Oregon looks for ideas for downtown development Oregon will be seeking requests for proposals for downtown development. City council last year passed a resolution in support of designating a zoning overlay as the first step in creating a downtown area that contains retail, residential, an entertainment district, and open green space along Navarre Avenue. The overlay district covers three areas bordered by Isaac Streets Drive, Navarre Avenue, Coy Road, Dustin Road, and Pickle Road, an area that totals 167 acres. “We are in the final stages of property acquisition,” City Administrator Mike Beazley said at a council meeting on Monday. The city has acquired 30 acres of property from Navarre Avenue to Pickle Road, and property south of Dustin Road, including the former WOHO radio site on Pickle Road, in an effort to attract a developer. The area will likely be mixed use residential and retail. “We had a good meeting with Mercy St. Charles Hospital about their partnership. So we’re looking for ideas. We’re going to listen. This is an important, once every few generations opportunity for Oregon. We’re going to get it right,” he said. The hospital owns some land in the area. “They emphasized that they want to help make sure the properties they own get developed in ways that are consistent with our plans,” Beazley told The Press after the meeting. “We’ve been working with them. We’ll see what develops over time.” Kmart Beazley said the 30 acres behind the WOHO site is under contract for acquisition. The city is also in the process of finalizing an agreement with the former Kmart on Navarre. “We’re in the final stages of going through some of the details of our agreement in acquiring the former Kmart site. It’s not under contract yet, but we’re in the final stages of that. We’ve reached an agreement with the parties, but going through some final technicalities,” he said. Last November, it was announced by Sears Holding Corp. that Kmart, which had
Q uote
of The Week
If Ireland, a country known for its religious and political conservatism, can make this commitment to climate justice, anyone can.
Celia Bottger See page 7
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So many developers are really interested in Oregon and what we have to offer.
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By Kelly J. Kaczala News Editor kkaczala@presspublications.com
a presence in the city for decades at 2830 Navarre Ave., would close. Gateway Beazley called the former Kmart site an “important gateway to Oregon.” “It’s one of the first things people see when they cross Wheeling Street. It’s an important piece of development for Oregon and for our future. We’re wrapping those things up,” he said. “We’re at the stage now where we’re looking at talking to developers, seeing what ideas they have, understanding what kind of demand there is for restaurants, residential, commercial, and retail,” he said. “In the initial stages, we’ll be leasing it. Long term, it will be an acquisition. Our expectations are that the building will be torn down by the current owners before we take possession.” Beazley asked council for ideas of what kind of development they would like to see in the area. “I’m talking to council members and people in the community about what they’re interested in. Ultimately, it will be driven by what the market is looking for in the area. We’re excited about turning opportunity into real action,” he said. “We could see anything from a blend of medical office and retail and restaurants, but also some residential opportunities as well.”
Stop the bleed
Mercy Health-St. Charles President Craig Albers speaks at the Stop the Bleed program held at Clay High School. Behind him is student Nikolas McNeal who was instrumental in bringing the Stop the Bleed kits to Clay. Bottom photo, teachers Rob Parmelee, Culinary Arts, and Joe Carstensen, Environmental Science, along with others, receive the kits. See story on page 12. (Press photos by Ken Grosjean)
Modern development The goal of the overlay district is to make it easier for the city to welcome modern development, said Beazley. Continued on page 2
FirstEnergy
One more step to closing nuclear plants By Larry Limpf News Editor news@presspublications.com Saying it’s a necessary but unwelcome step, FirstEnergy Solutions last week filed its plans with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for retraining fuel handlers as part of the process for deactivating the company’s three nuclear power plants. Earlier this year, the company announced it planned to deactivate the Davis-
Besse Nuclear Power Station by May 2020. The Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Perry, Ohio is scheduled to be deactivated by May 2021 and units 1 and 2 of the Beaver Valley Power Station in Shippingport, Pa. are to be deactivated by May 2021 and October 2021 respectively. As required under the decommissioning process, FirstEnergy Solutions submitted its Certified Fuel Handler Training and Retraining Program Wednesday to the NRC. Don Moul, FES president and chief
nuclear officer, said the submission “… is a necessary milestone for us but not a welcome one. Our nuclear plants provide important environmental, economic and fuel-diversity benefits to our region, but we cannot continue to operate them without state-level policy relief in Ohio and Pennsylvania or immediate and significant market reforms that provide meaningful compensation for the unique attributes nuContinued on page 2