Eastside Messenger - June 28th, 2020

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PAGE 2 - EASTSIDE MESSENGER - June 28, 2020 Lung Cancer? Asbestos exposure in industrial, construction, manufacturing jobs, or the military may be the cause. Family in the home were also exposed. Call 1-866-795-3684 or email cancer@breakinginjurynews.com. $30 billion is set aside for asbestos victims with cancer. Valuable settlement monies may not require filing a lawsuit. Support Your Local Restaurants Please Go to our website and click on: Local Dining The Corner Bar & Grill Kingy’s Pizza TAT Ristorante www.columbusmessenger.com www.columbusmessenger.com State guidance needed on schools By Linda Dillman Staff Writer With two months to go before the start of the 2020- 21 school year, Canal Winchester Schools Superintendent James Sotlar does not know what education will look like at the end of August. “We’re exploring all kinds of options,” Sotlar said, “but we’re awaiting guidance from the governor on what we plan on doing next year. Hopefully, my goal is that we come back under a very traditional type setting. I can’t tell you more than that right now because we’re waiting on guidance.” Just how long it takes for state guidance to filter down to the local level is unknown, so the district is preparing as best it can for a variety of options, including a duel online/in-class option. “We’re working on alternate plans along the lines of possibly a hybrid system,” said Sotlar. “We’ve got three to four different things we’re working on. We’re just waiting to hear from the governor and the state for guidelines, whether they’re recommendations or requirements.” Sotlar said a consideration to include in the mix is busing–seating distancing and route changes if bus capacity is cut and schools operate on a schedule unlike the past. “There are still a lot of unknowns out there,” Sotlar said, before asking for patience from families and the community. “As soon as we get guidance from the state, we’ll get something out there to everyone within a short period of time. I do know Aug. 31 will be our start date for kids unless something comes out and we’re told otherwise. My personal opinion is our kids need to be in school, but we have to deal with COVID and it’s not going away.” He said there is also a financial aspect, in addition to the academic side of education, to consider in the time of a pandemic. With a hybrid system of education, buses would bring children to school at different times, which could increase the number of bus trips. “There are a lot of factors that will go into the decision,” said Sotlar. “Fortunately for us, we don’t start until Aug. 31, so we have a little more time to work on a plan.” While the district awaits direction from the state, the pandemic is having an unanticipated impact on school finances in cuts in state revenue, but also lower fuel and insurance costs. Treasurer Nick Roberts reported May was the first month the district lost half its state foundation revenue. “They cut one of two foundation payments, so we lost a couple hundred thousand,” said Roberts. Overall, revenue for the period was up, albeit around one percent. Supply and material costs were down–mainly due to the decrease in fuel use and supply purchases. “We spend about $35,000 a month in bus fuel, so we’ve saved most of that,” said Roberts. In looking at health insurance, Roberts said that three months ago he was looking at a negative cash balance in the fund, but as of June 15, there was $265,000 to the good. “Which is amazing,” said Roberts. “There’s been a drastic decline in claims, but they’re still up year-overyear. As far as the impact COVID-19 response has on tax revenue, Robers said he will have more information when the first income tax settlement is received. “The state revenue is not as bad as they anticipated,” said Roberts. “In my treasurer’s circle, we don’t expect to be cut by the state any more than earlier this year. It’s looking more positive.” God Bless Everyone & Stay Safe at Home Malek & Malek ATTORNEYS AT LAW WORK INJURIES WORKERS’ COMPENSATION SAFETY VIOLATIONS WRONGFUL DEATH PERSONAL INJURY SLIP & FALL INJURY DOG BITE INJURY Douglas, Ed, Jim and Kip Malek Ben Churchhill “Hablamos Español” FREE Initial Consultation www.maleklawfirm.com 614-444-7440 1227 S. High St., Columbus, OH 43206 Be a Part of Our Local Worship Guide Our upcoming Worship Guide is geared toward celebrating faith and helping readers connect with religious resources in our community. Make sure these readers know how you can help with a presence in this very special section distributed to more than 18,000 households in the East area. The cost is $20 per issue. (must run two twice) Contact us today to secure your spot in Worship Guide. 614.272.5422 • kathy@columbusmessenger.com A Special Section From columbus CW’s Music in the Park The city of Canal Winchester invites you to enjoy a free summer concert, Music in the Park, on July 17 from 6-9 p.m. at Stradley Park (adjacent to the city’s municipal building at 36 S. High St.). The event features classic rock favorites performed by the Gas Pump Jockeys and a classic car show sponsored by C-Town Cruisers. Car show registration is free, however, space is limited to 50 vehicles (registration will be open from 5-6 p.m. the evening of the event). Car Show awards will include People’s Choice, Mayor’s Choice, Band’s Choice, and Sponsor’s Choice. COVID-19 note: Unlike outdoor concerts in previous years, concessions and hands-on children’s activities will not be offered. Attendees are encouraged to bring a picnic and a lawn chair and to follow recommended social distancing protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Visit www.canalwinchesterohio.gov or call 614-834-9915 for information. Capital Improvement Plan Copies of the 2020-24 Lithopolis Village Capital Improvement Plan are available fo viewing at the Lithopolis Village Office, 11820 Lithopolis Road, NW, Lithopolis.
www.columbusmessenger.com June 28, 2020 - EASTSIDE MESSENGER - PAGE 3 CW Town Hall meeting addresses racism issues By Linda Dillman Staff Writer An informal Canal Winchester City Council and community discussion on June 23 was dominated by a topic spreading across the state, nation and world–racism. Council members socially distanced themselves at Town Hall and residents, including Jenna Acklin, who talked about her daughter’s negative interaction with a neighbor after the girl chalked Black Lives Matter on the street in front of her home, spoke from the Frances Steube Community Center. “My daughter Mira asked why people were protesting,” Acklin said. “She asked if she could chalk Black Lives Matter.” As Mira created her artwork, Acklin said a neighbor came out of her house screaming at the young girl before calling law enforcement. The mother said sheriff’s deputies pulled up and told the woman it was “just chalk.” By Rick Palsgrove Eastside Editor Those who drive U.S. Route 33 on a daily basis know traffic congestion on that highway is a common, often frustrating, occurrence. Now, another study is being planned to research what to do about the traffic problems and safety issues on U.S. Route 33 in southeastern Franklin County. Ohio Department of Transportation Public Information Officer for Central Ohio Breanna Badanes said the last study of this stretch of U.S. Route 33 was done in 2004 and there have been various improvements to the roadway since then. She said this new study will review U.S. Route 33 from State Route 104 east to Pickerington Road. Badanes said the study, which is expected to be released by April 2021, will include safety and improvements recommendations for the U.S. Route 33 corridor and interchanges. The study will evaluate safety issues, traffic volume, traffic congestion, capacity, interchanges, ramps, and traffic counts. “We are still seeing crash patterns and traffic congestion on this stretch of U.S. 33,” said Badanes. She said interchanges that could be looked at for potential updates and modifications include U.S. 33 at: I-270; at Hamilton Road; at Gender Road; at Bixby Road; and at Hill/Diley. Badanes said “nothing is out of the question” for consideration for improvements. “Everything will be looked at,” she said, including things like interchange redesigns, widening U.S. 33, and smaller cost effective ideas such as ramp metering and smart lanes during peak travel times. Groveport City Engineer Steve Farst said, “They’ve been studying this corridor for the last 20 years. The Hamilton Road interchange is an old style cloverleaf configuration. It’s possible ODOT could consider some radical and different changes there, like constructing flyovers.” “Proposed improvements like that would be exciting,” said Groveport City “This story has gone viral,” said Acklin. “It is now time for Canal Winchester to come together and say racism will not be tolerated in this town. The Canal Winchester of today is exclusionary and unwelcoming to new members of the community and there is too much racism.” Councilman Bob Clark said he was sorry for what happened to her and her daughter and hopefully things can get turned around. “It’s sad we have people like this in our community,” added Councilman Patrick Lynch. Acklin wants to organize a chalk activity with children as a response to the situation. “You don’t need to feel bad for my daughter,” said Acklin. “She is a strong young woman. My pain is white privilege.” Christopher Burton said his daughter gave him the courage to speak during the town hall meeting about what happened on June 19 at the Acklins. “My daughter runs up to me and said a little girl needs support. She doesn’t look like us and needs our help,” said Burton. “I don’t want anyone to look at us as a victim, but I want to look at it (chalking incident) as a positive when the community came together. I feel like we have to work together to know people as a whole. Just because you’ve had a bad experience with a white person or a black person, doesn’t mean you have to become that person. I want us all to work on being better people.” According to Amanda Lemke–the city’s public information officer–her office is spearheading initiatives in furthering communications with the community, such as a quarterly roundtable with partner agencies and local civic groups, along with a health action team formed in 2018. “The Community Health Action Team program has taken on the topic of confronting racism in our community,” said Study to research safety and congestion on U.S. 33 “We are still seeing crash patterns and traffic congestion on this stretch of U.S. 33.” - Breanna Badanes Ohio Department of Transportation Public Information Officer for Central Ohio Councilman Chad Grashel. Citing concerns about frequent traffic back-ups and accidents at the Hamilton Road/U.S. 33 interchange, Groveport City Councilman Ed Dildine said, “That interchange is just not safe. It needs an overhaul.” ODOT recently completed a project that widened U.S. Route 33 in both directions between Hamilton Road and I-270 creating three travel lanes for both east and westbound travel on U.S. 33. The project also widened bridges over Big Walnut Creek. Noise walls were constructed with one 15-foot high noise wall on the outside shoulder of U.S. 33 eastbound between the Big Walnut Creek bridge and west of Hamilton Road and a 19-foot high noise wall on the right-of-way fence along U.S. 33 westbound east of the Hamilton Road interchange. Repairs were also made to the Gender Road bridge over U.S. 33. This $14 million project was completed in late 2019. Its purpose was to improve travel and safety on U.S. 33 between I-270 and Hamilton Road and to decrease congestion. Winchester Dental Call us today to schedule an appointment. Winchester Square Shopping Center 614.834.1834 Ladan Pourmoghadam D.D.S. Lemke. “We hosted a very productive meeting June 17, with participation from many concerned community members, and have since reached out to CW schools to co-sponsor community education related to Discovering Implicit Bias.” Lemke said participants were asked to submit suggestions for programming related to engaging the community in positive ways. Submissions will be reviewed for topics for further examination. The group, in partnership with Franklin County Public Health, meets monthly to discuss issues related to public health. The next CHAT meeting is scheduled for July 10. For information, contact Lemke at 614- 837-8276. Now offering our 'Smile Plan' to our non-insured patients Look Great Feel Great Sleep Great Providing Gentle, Caring Dentistry In a Comfortable Setting. Accepting New Patients Most Insurances Accepted
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Eastside Messenger - June 28th, 2020

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