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RESS October 8, 2018
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Serving More Than h 33 33,000 000 H Homes & B Businesses i iin 4 C Counties ti
• Cardinal Stritch • Clay • Eastwood • Genoa • Gibsonburg • Lake • Northwood • Oak Harbor • Waite • Woodmore
Success on the links See Sports A supplement to The Press Newspapers December 4, 2017
Jacob Plantz Cover photo: Genoa junior guard by Russ Lytle) p ((Press file photo
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Oregon
Education is key to recycling By Kelly J. Kaczala News Editor Kkpresspublications.com
Contamination Waste Management accepts some recyclable materials. Other items are processed by a third party, according to Beazley. “There’s less demand for the stuff we are putting in front of our houses,” he said. “And we are putting the stuff out in poor condition. It’s contaminated - I may have too much pizza sauce on the cardboard. And the world doesn’t want some of my paper, even it’s perfectly clean. Those are Continued on page 4
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of The Week
Too much coverage today seems breathless, biased and overheated. Dennis Hetzel See page 6
Last market
The Rollin’ Food and Farmers Market held its last market of the season on Navarre Ave., Oregon. Top left, Francis Urbina and Mary Garcia are introduced to Kerala, a vegetable from India, from Prakesh Thombre. Bottom left, ten year old Ethan Ackerman pours a raspberry drink for a customer. Top right, Narisara Donaldson, age 7, and Raquel Colon get into the Trick or Treat theme of the autumn market. (Press photos by Ken Grosjean)
Northwood says:
Weeds in Lake Twp. hurt mall development By Kelly J. Kaczala and Larry Limpf Northwood Councilmember Dan Mikolajczyk is not happy with Lake Township when it comes to taking care of lots with overgrown weeds in the surrounding area of the former Woodville Mall, where Northwood is trying to attract new commercial and residential development. “Northwood has invested more than $2.3 million to clean up - and hopefully revitalize - the old Woodville Mall location,” said Mikolajczyk. “We have high hopes of investors wanting to bring in new businesses to this location and maybe creating a new multi-use and extended downtown area for Northwood. If this occurs, the city, as well as Lake Township, would gain some possible new business ventures.” But he said tall weeds, unkempt lots and abandoned buildings in Lake Township near the mall property are chasing away development. “We’re trying to clean the mall property over here. It’s going to be hard to get something reasonable in there that’s going to please everybody, but it doesn’t help if there is high grass,” said Mikolajczyk.
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Why is the township not worried, or not willing to be a good neighbor to Northwood as to taking care of this blighted area?
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The Public Utilities and Environmental Committee in Oregon recently met to discuss options to its recycling program. Last month, city council heard Mayor Mike Seferian, City Administrator Mike Beazley and Public Service Director Paul Roman talk about rising costs to recycle. China will no longer accept most recycling materials from the U.S. due to contamination, which has narrowed the market for recycled materials. As a result, costs could increase up to $11,000 more per month for the city to continue its recycling program with Waste Management. The city has two years left of a five year contract with Waste Management. The contract includes unlimited garbage pickup. There is a separate cost for the recycling program. “Our current costs are about $12 per household per month,” Roman said at the committee meeting. “We’ll probably go out to bid for this five year contract likely next summer.” Waste Management has made a request for a 14 percent increase in the unit price, or $1.72 more per household per month, said Roman. “We like recycling,” said Beazley. “There is unfortunately less recycling going on than many of us who are avid recyclers think there is. Something we think we’re recycling is ending up in landfills. That’s part of the challenge.”
“Nobody is going to want to move into our town with high grass either in Northwood or Lake Township. Right now, at the intersection of State Rte. 579 and State Rte. 51, a gas station and mini-strip mall area abut the Woodville Mall property that we are trying to clean up to be attractive to potential developers. Several of these Lake Township properties have overgrown grass problems that are not being addressed by township officials,” he said. The former Food Town building on St.
Rte. 51 is surrounded by overgrown grass and weeds, he said, as well as long term parking of semis in the lot. He added that the structure itself is unsafe because of a decayed roof. “Our city attorney and Northwood Mayor Ed Schimmel have had talks with the township about the tall grass issues as well as the condition of these buildings, and the city’s concern over what this picture presents to a possible developer looking for an area to invest in that the city and the township would both benefit. Why is the township not worried, or not willing to be a good neighbor to Northwood as to taking care of this blighted area? It is very frustrating,” Mikolajczyk said. Northwood City Administrator Bob Anderson confirmed that the city and township have had discussions about the issue. “We’ve been talking with them to form some kind of joint economic development district. We have been unsuccessful about that in the past,” said Anderson. “We are trying to develop the former mall property, and across the street it doesn’t look too good. But they are our neighbors and I’m Continued on page 2
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