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Progress needed on water issues By Kelly J. Kaczala Press News Editor kkaczala@presspublications.com
March for life
Knights of Columbus Council 14344, River East Mother Teresa, coordinated the fundraising and installation of a “Memorial to All Unborn Children” at St. Ignatius Church, Oregon. Bottom left, Father Mark Herzog offers a blessing at the memorial. Bottom right, marchers lay flowers at the memorial. (Press photos by Ken Grosjean)
Zoning vote delayed for St. Kateri By Kelly J. Kaczala Press News Editor kkaczala@presspublications.com The Oregon Planning Commission on Jan. 19 agreed to continue discussion on a request to change zoning on 15 acres of land owned by St. Kateri Catholic Academy and Cardinal Stritch Catholic High School, which plans to develop athletic fields at the site at 1055 South Coy and 3521 Pickle Roads. The commission met last month to discuss changing zoning from R-2 Single Family Residential to P-Park Land Zoning. Some neighbors whose properties abut the land have expressed concerns that the athletic fields will create noise, additional traffic and safety problems in their community. About 60 people attended the meeting, which lasted nearly three hours. The late George Tschann in 2011 donated the land to St. Kateri Catholic Academy
and Cardinal Stritch Catholic High School. The property was lined with 2,000 trees, mostly gum, oak, and maple, all planted by Tschann. Last September, St. Kateri removed most of the trees on the property, an area bounded by Coy, Pickle, Schmidlin and Worden roads The property, currently zoned R-2, fits with a more dense type of residential zoning, according to James Gilmore, commissioner of building and zoning. Changing the zoning to Park Land allows for outdoor recreational uses, including playgrounds, play fields, swimming pools, golf courses, boating areas, fishing sites, camping sites, parks and community centers. Fr. Eric Schild, president of Cardinal Stritch and St. Kateri Catholic Academy, said the property is needed because the school is landlocked and out of usable space. Plans for the property include the development of practice fields, a baseball and softball diamond, he said. These
plans have been shared with the neighbors through multiple mailings. Low traffic Fr. Schild said that Kateri opted to stick with low traffic sports like baseball and softball in addition to practice fields, which produce minimal student traffic. The majority of events will take place between 3-7 p.m. on weekdays with no immediate plans to install lighting or hold late night events. They also purchased a house on Coy Road to give access to the 15 acres of land rather than disrupt neighbors by trying to use paper streets that are considered inadequate for regular traffic. Planning Commission member Rick Orovitz asked if there was going to be a chain link fence around the entire property. Fr. Schild said a fence was not in the master plan at this time, but it is something
State Rep. Michael Sheehy (D-Oregon), urged President Obama to appoint a clean water expert to replace Susan Hedman as the EPA Region 5 administrator following Hedman’s resignation in the wake of the Flint, Michigan water crisis. “The recent water crises in Ohio and Michigan that have threatened the health and lives of our citizens are entirely unacceptable,” said Sheehy last week. “Here in the Great Lakes region, we need an EPA administrator committed to protecting and maintaining our clean water resources and the people that rely on them.” Sheehy said it should be someone “who is knowledgeable enough and willing to take a closer look at what scientists are finding in Flint, and here in the Western Lake Erie Basin.” Flint residents have been under siege since 2014 due to high levels of lead found in their drinking water, which was drawn from the Flint River. The city, which switched from the Detroit water system to the Flint River as a drinking water source to cut costs, reconnected to the Detroit water system last year after it was determined that the corrosive river water was drawing lead from aging pipes. The city’s drinking water was contaminated with lead while under the control of a state appointed emergency manager in April of 2014. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder recently declared a state of emergency in Flint due to the lead in the drinking water. In August 2014, Toledo issued a tap water ban for three days to communities that consume city water after high levels of a toxin created by harmful algal blooms, was detected in water samples taken from the Collins Park water treatment plant on the East Side. At high levels, microcystin can cause abnormal liver function in humans and animals. “We have seen first hand in Toledo the dire consequences of contaminated drinkContinued on page 5
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However the solution involves a delicate balancing act... Steve Arndt See page 9
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