Canal Winchester - August 22nd, 2021

More documents

Recommendations

Info

PAGE 8 - MESSENGER - August 22, 2021 www.columbusmessenger.com CW’s Hometown Day celebration set for Sept. 4 Traditional Labor Day weekend festival hopes to return next year By Linda Dillman Staff Writer Labor Day is always a cause for celebration in Canal Winchester, but with COVID- 19 concerns still on the mind of festival organizers, the annual three-day festival shifts this year to a smaller, single day, endof-summer special occasion on Sept. 4. Hometown Day features music, midway food, children’s inflatables, and the introduction of the Canal Winchester Queen and her court at noon on a main stage in the Stradley Park greenspace, followed by a Lemonade Social from 12:30-2:30 p.m. in the historic Interurban Station. The celebration kicks off at 10:30 a.m. with a parade that will follow the traditional Labor Day parade route. The Canal Winchester Steel Band plays from 12:30-2:30 p.m. in the Stradley Park gazebo, followed by Franke and Ranke featuring Frank Harrison, Sr. from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Mr. E entertains children at the main stage from 2:30-4:40 p.m. and The Usual Suspects and Repeat Offenders wind up Hometown Day from 7-10 p.m. The weekly Farmer’s Market takes place at the historical complex at North High and Oak streets from 9 a.m. to noon where an old-fashioned ice cream social will be held from 1-3 p.m. Entertainment includes an art wall and face painting from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Stradley greenspace and Joy Unspeakable, a living statue, performs throughout the festival from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Why the one-day event? Mayor Mike Ebert said the idea was in the back of the of the minds of the Labor Day Festival Committee as far back as January, when COVID issues were not improving and seemed to be getting worse. “The annual Labor Day Festival draws between 30,000 and 40,000 visitors over the three-day weekend, with kids rides, a car show, beer tent and nearly continuous stage entertainment, all of which bring people in close proximity with each other,” said Ebert. “That is something we wanted to avoid as we do not want the festival to potentially become a super spreader of COVID to our community. We thought limiting the number of days and events within a festival would help curb that.” In addition to not wanting to be the cause of a pandemic outbreak, Ebert said availability of entertainment also played a big part in the decision. He said that most “We wanted to do something for our hometown, hence the name Hometown Day, just to give people a fun activity away from home.” - Mayor Mike Ebert widely known musicians were not committing to anything in the first four months of the year for 2021 concerts. Those who did were demanding a 50 percent non-refundable deposit, money the Labor Day committee did not think was a smart move and making it less affordable for future festivals. “Additionally, several musicians we were considering for 2021 had canceled concerts in 2020 at various locations and they decided to fulfill 2020 commitments this year, making it even more difficult to get the entertainers we were looking for,” said Ebert. “After a lot of discussion and heartbreak for us as organizers, it became apparent what we had to do–once again cancel the 100th Labor Day Festival, the one festival we have all been working so hard towards for the last several years. It is as disheartening to us as organizers as it is to those who come to enjoy our festivals, yet we still receive criticism for making the right call.” In opting for a single day event, the Labor Day Committee felt it had to do something in Canal Winchester for residents, even it was a smaller gathering. “We wanted to do something for our hometown, hence the name Hometown Day, just to give people a fun activity away from home,” said Ebert. According to Ebert, as small as the event is, it still requires a great deal of money and planning–from street closures, obtaining food vendors, parade participants, entertainment, to kid’s activities and much more. He said food vendors often shy away from one-day events for multi-day events where they can make more money. “We decided to not charge any vendor for space for this event, in order to get them here for our attendees,” Ebert said. “The committee will be losing out on several thousand dollars by doing this, but we wanted to make it enjoyable for those looking for some of their favorite Labor Day foods. In response to this, most, if not all of our Labor Day committee members have pitched in financially with donations to help make up for the loss of vendor fees. It’s not always about the work we do to make events happen, but the things we go above and beyond on that are often unspoken, and we do it every year.” Eviction support The Franklin County Commissioners approved two contracts to support families facing eviction due to the ongoing pandemic. The Franklin County Municipal Court recently said that it would not enforce a new CDC eviction moratorium, and many families are in danger of losing their homes due to the pandemic and economy. The new supports include $624,000 in additional funding to the Legal Aid Society of Columbus and $550,000 for Community Mediation Services of Central Ohio. “The effects of this pandemic will be felt for many years to come,” said board of commissioners president Kevin Boyce. “It would be a grave mistake to allow families who lost their livelihoods due to the pandemic also lose their homes, and would only prolong our community’s recovery.” The commissioners have long supported the Legal Aid Society of Columbus, and this contract adds to the county’s annual funding amount. The additional money will allow Legal Aid to hire three new full-time attorneys to work with families that are struggling to pay the rent. These new lawyers can assure that our residents’ legal rights are protected, represent them in the court system, and negotiate with lawyers and landlords. As many as 1,500 low-income families are expected to be helped with this new funding over the coming year. “Many of our neighbors are living on the edge, hurt by the pandemic through no fault of their own. We want to help every struggling tenant to work out a way to pay their rent so that they can stay in their homes and so that their landlords are also made whole,” said commissioner John O’Grady Community Mediation Services of Central Ohio (CMS) is also a long-time partner which the commissioners annually fund in order to provide tenant/landlord mediation and other eviction prevention services. The increased funding will allow CMS to serve an additional 600 families. Since beginning to work with Franklin County eviction clients, CMS has seen that 90 percent are able to avoid eviction or successfully relocate to alternate stable housing. “There are many families who are barely surviving this pandemic, some being only one flat tire away from being unhoused,” said commissioner Erica Crawley. “With that, we know that families and especially children are unable to thrive and do well in school without a safe and stable place to live. We are pleased to be able to answer the call to help our neighbors find ways to stay in their homes with legal representation and mediation services.” Each year, the commissioners allocate about $23.5 million to affordable housing and other housing supports. During the pandemic, they’ve increased that investment by more than $8 million to help vulnerable families stay in their homes, and resources are still available via the commissioners’ Emergency Rental Assistance Program and the Impact Hope Fund.
www.columbusmessenger.com Canal Winchester Library Branch The Canal Winchester Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, 115 Franklin St., is located in the rear portion of the former school at 100 Washington St. For information visit www.columbuslibrary.org or call 614-645-2275. Wagnalls Memorial Library Wagnalls Memorial Library is located at 150 E. Columbus St., Lithopolis. For information call (614) 837-4765 or visit www.wagnalls.org. MASKS Continued from page 1 The three-year-old experienced a yearlong litany of testing, treatment, blood draws, ultrasounds, CAT scans and MRIs. Parent Tom Harker said he strongly disapproved of the current policy and acknowledged that a universal mask policy would make things easier for everyone. “I feel like we’ve been given the choice to potentially send our child to an unsafe environment,” said Harker. “My family is looking to enroll in an online program this year which really hurts all of us. We want our kid to go back to (public) school. I just don’t see how it’s a good choice right now. I know there are many concerned parents. I know you’re doing your best, but I think the current choice is misguided.” Eastland-Fairfield opens engineering tech center Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools opened its newest building, the Engineering Technologies Center, on the Eastland Career Center campus in Groveport, 4465 S. Hamilton Road, on Aug. 18. According to Ryan Gasser, Eastland- Fairfield coordinator of communications and marketing, “Eastland-Fairfield is continuing its commitment to providing students with opportunities and resources to prepare for their futures. This building represents the latest commitment from EFCTS to provide those resources to students in the preengineering, welding and aviation programs. This building also will serve as the future home of Eastland-Fairfield’s Mechatronics program, a multidisciplinary field of engineering that includes a combination of mechanical engineering, electric/electronic engineering, control engineering, and computer engineering.” Census population data According to the 2020 United States Census, since 2010, the population of the city of Canal Winchester grew 28 percent to 9,107; the city of Groveport has grew 12 percent to 6,009; and the village of Obetz grew 21 percent to 5,489, which means Obetz has surpassed the 5,000 population threshhold to reach city status. 9/11 Remembrance A remembrance of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States will be observed on the 20th anniversary of the attacks on Sept. 11 at Motts Military Museum, 5075 S. Hamilton Road, Groveport, at 8:45 a.m. Third Thursday The city of Groveport will host Third Thursday, a summer festival series featuring music, food trucks, vendors, and more. The last Third Thursday will take place on Sept. 16 with the “Fall Kickoff!” with hay rides, photo backdrop, and free mini-pumpkins. Third Thursday hours are 5-7:30 p.m. at Cruiser Park, 4677 Bixby Road. For information contact jreeves@groveport.org. GriefShare group Groveport United Methodist Church, 512 Main St., will sponsor a GriefShare group starting Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. Register online at https://www.griefshare.org/leaderzone/my/g roups/136866. For information contact groveportgriefsharegroup@gmail.com or call 614-836-5968. Farmers Market The Groveport Farmers’ Market will be held on Tuesdays through Sept. 14 from 4- 7 p.m. at Groveport Madison Middle School Central, 751 Main St. August 22, 2021 - MESSENGER - PAGE 9 Southeast Library The Southeast Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library is located at 3980 S. Hamilton Road, Groveport. For information visit For information visit www.columbuslibrary.org or call 614-645-2275. CW Farmers Market The Canal Winchester Farmers’ Market will operate on Saturdays through Sept. 25 from 9 a.m. to noon. For information visit www.thecwfm.com. Moses-Mouser Eye Care Dr. Joshua Morris is an Optometrist who grew up in Bellville, Ohio. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Akron, where he graduated magna cum laude with honors. Dr. Morris attended The Ohio State University College of Optometry and graduated cum laude with honors to receive his Doctor of Optometry Degree in May 2019. After completing his studies, he was awarded the “Primary Vision Care Clinical Excellence Award”, in 2019. Dr. Morris is a member of the American Optometric Association, the Ohio Optometric Association, and The Ohio State Alumni Association. He is excited to practice full scope optometry, diagnosing and treating a variety of ocular disorders and diseases in patients of all ages, but has a special interest in contact lenses and ocular disease. On a personal note, Dr. Morris and his wife Tess, enjoy spending time with their family, friends, and their Bernese Mountain dog Maverick, cheering on The Ohio State Buckeyes, trying new foods, and exploring Columbus breweries. Q: What are floaters and what causes them? A: Floaters are small dark shapes that move across your vision. They can appear as dots, threads, squiggly lines, or even like cobwebs. Most floaters are caused by normal changes in the eye. As you age, small strands of vitreous (gel-like fluid that fills your eye) can clump together and cast a shadow on your retina (the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye). Those shadows appear as floaters that drift across your vision. You may notice floaters more when you look at a bright background, like a computer screen or a blue sky. Q: How often should someone with new floaters get an eye exam? A: Someone experiencing new floaters, a large increase in the number of floaters, or flashing lights should see an eye care professional immediately. Sometimes floaters have a more serious cause, including: infection, injury, inflammation, bleeding, retinal tear or retinal detachment. Someone with a few stable floaters should see an eye care professional at least once a year for a comprehensive dilated eye exam. Schedule your comprehensive eye exam today with Dr. Morris 1600 Gateway Circle, Grove City, OH 43123 614-963-3820
Page 1 and 2: Messenger Canal Winchester August 2
Page 3 and 4: www.columbusmessenger.com MORPC upd
Page 5 and 6: www.columbusmessenger.com Red Cross
Page 7: www.columbusmessenger.com August 22
Page 11 and 12: www.columbusmessenger.com Celebrati
Page 13 and 14: www.columbusmessenger.com August 22
Page 15 and 16: www.columbusmessenger.com xCome & G

Canal Winchester - August 22nd, 2021

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?