Grove City Messenger - September 18th, 2022

PAGE 6 - GROVE CITY MESSENGER - September 18, 2022
Opinion Page
www.columbusmessenger.com
Growth - it is what it is
I’m certain all would agree our area has
seen some incredible growth and change in
recent years. It’s inevitable and we must
all accept and embrace it, if for no other
reason than we have no choice, lest we be
frowned upon and labeled as an out-oftouch
roadblock to the future. As one saying
goes, there is nothing permanent
except change. A less profound modern-day
saying I prefer also sums it up, it is what it
is.
Yes, like it or not, relentless growth and
change is here, and the amount of focus we
continue to see on efforts that keep that
trend moving forward is always in the forefront
and here to stay. You can’t stop it or
get in the way of what’s labeled as
progress, or you’ll literally get run over by
the resulting soaring increase of traffic
we’ve seen. And once you let change move
in, there’s no turning back. It’s a phenomenon
we see going on in countless communities
across the country.
While I’ve never fully understood or
agreed with some of the rationale behind
all the growth impetus, we’re told we must
grow. Admittedly, much of the change has
been good and necessary. So, I’ve come
around and now just try to look the other
way and follow that other saying that tells
me to just roll with the flow, although I still
find myself shaking my head in bewilderment
at some of the latest and greatest
changes and growth announcements.
I wrote about the growth cycle years ago
and pointed out how self-perpetuating it is.
Continuing to relentlessly push it forward
has now almost reached the point of being
an unnatural obsession. We’re told we need
this or that to create more jobs so we can
continue to grow. Communities compete
with others to bring in new jobs, as they try
to secure growth bragging rights, reeling in
big investment by dangling goody packages
that include huge property tax abatements
to entice. There’s a justified place for those,
but too often they’ve become a routine entitlement
expectation of investors and
thrown around like Halloween candy.
The area then sees growth, soon-to-be
Local emergency responders
help to keep a family together
We are writing this letter as a most sincere
thank you to the dedicated firefighters/paramedics
who saved my husband’s
life on March 8.
My husband, Andrew, suffered cardiac
arrest three times and the dedicated team
from Jackson Township Station 204, along
with an assist of two Grove City police officers,
saved his life, getting him to the ER at
Mount Carmel Grove City.
followed by a predictable outcry for even
more growth to financially support all the
new challenging demands and infrastructure
needs each new round of growth
brings with it. It becomes a whirlwind.
What’s that saying, around and around it
goes, where it stops nobody knows?
Along the way there are gains, but I’m
sure we each could come up with our own
list of losses. I sure miss some of the proud
heritage of our football program and the
look of fear we were once able to put into
the eyes of our opponents under the Friday
night lights before our growth explosion
began. Then there are some potential popular
and promising future projects that get
condescending interest and smiles, all eyes
and ears, but then get the patented political
two-step shuffle to the backburner
“until funds become available,” or perhaps
to never be seen again. Meanwhile some
other dubbed projects somehow keep finding
funding to be fast-tracked along. They
will succeed, even if it comes to throwing
good money after bad.
The other day I was walking my skittish
turbo powered dog along one of our once
secondary, now primary, feeder roads from
the south. It was the absolute worst time,
the dreaded commuting hours for schools
and work. Vehicles were lined and backed
up in both directions.
As we trudged along amidst the hubbub
and din of traffic, I began reflecting on how
much the times have changed in our area.
So many of our feeder roads are now routinely
traffic-filled with new housing developments
and businesses springing up further
out of the city in every direction along
with vanishing woodlands, farmlands and
meadows. Growth took off some years ago
and continues to grow by leaps and bounds
in every direction. Some brag about it and
lecture we need to grow more. It is what it
is.
Now past the traffic mess and associated
noise, the dog settled down a bit, and my
mind turned to a disturbing family email I
recently received. It fit right into my
thoughts on change. It’s not just here, it’s
everywhere. The email had news on my
grandparent’s old New England home.
There had been changes, guess we’re to call
it progress. As the saying goes and the
email reinforced, you can never go home
again, everything changes.
The home was built in 1938. My granddad
designed most of it as the personal
touch of features and quality confirmed. If
you sneezed the walls wouldn’t move in
and out or blow off like some of today’s
homes. My grandparents passed some time
ago and the house had to be sold, but it was
built as strong as the memories it generated
and we expected all it to last for many
generations.
With the help of my dad, my granddad
put in a huge stonewall around the boundary
lines and landscaped it with spruce
seedlings all around the property line.
They’d already grown tall and filled-in
magnificently when I embarked on the
planet in 1949.
As a little boy I loved visiting that place,
it generated so many wonderful family and
boyhood memories that are still with me
from each Christmas, Thanksgiving, other
holidays and summer vacations. I’d spend
hours exploring and cruising the yard
amidst the fast growing tall spruces. My
grandmother was an avid bird feeder and I
loved to help her. She gave me my love of
birds. She taught me all about them and
how to identify different species. My
favorite remains the slate gray catbird we
fed raisons to, with its always distinctive
nonstop chattering.
In the warm months I’d walk around the
property on top of the stone veneer covered
stonewall looking for chipmunks to appear
from their homes within the rocks. They
became rather ho-hum about my presence,
and I was so excited when I even got one to
eat out of my hand.
As the dog and I moved along, I began to
smile as my thoughts recalled one funny
incident. My grandparents forgot I was
going to drive over after work and spend
the weekend with them. I told them I’d
probably be a bit late, so they agreed to
Letter to the Editor
The first cardiac arrest occurred in our
living room where the team used the
mechanical CPR machine. With no success,
they used a defibrillator and intravenous
lines to get a heart rhythm. Then using the
incredible CPR machine, they were able to
get his heart working again. I am certain
that the strength of this CPR machine on
my 200-pound husband and the expertise
of the paramedics saved his life, not once,
but three times that night.
The second cardiac arrest occurred in
the ambulance where paramedics managed
Guest Column
Dave Burton
leave the door open.
Well, they forgot I
was coming. The
house was all locked
up and all the lights
off when I arrived.
They’d gone to bed.
Rather than wake
them up, I just got
the hammock out of
the tool shed and tied it up between the big
trees by the shed. I awoke during the night
to find a big raccoon in the hammock with
me, staring me in the eyes. Let’s just say I
abruptly departed the hammock.
On another visit, I took the family dog, a
wirehaired fox terrier with me. I took him
for his bedtime walk along the pitch black,
dark rural street. As we walked, I heard
some rustling in the bushes next to the
roads. I picked up the dog and then
watched as a raccoon and her following kits
came out of the brush. She walked right up
to me, stood on her hind legs and sniffed
my knees, dropped back down and they all
then continued calmly walking away while
the dog and I were not so calmly left trembling.
It was hard enough absorbing the loss
when the house was sold. Now, I had to
digest the email I received. A family member
was on a trip and had driven by and
stopped at the house. Fine, except it wasn’t
there. Seems the new owners recently had
the house razed. A new house now stood on
the lot. Progress, growth, change. Call it
what you want, it’s life and it is what it is.
The house is gone, but the memories will
always be there. You can’t change that.
Dave Burton is a guest columnist for the
Columbus Messenger Newspapers. He
lives in Grove City.
to get a heart rhythm back. He went into
cardiac arrest the third time in the ER
where paramedics and doctors worked to
save his life.
After speaking to one of the nurses at
Mount Carmel who trains in the use of
CPR, she assured me that the CPR
machine is a life-saver. I truly believe that.
I sincerely thank Jackson Township for
purchasing this amazing CPR machine,
which undoubtedly saved my husband’s life
and I’m certain the lives of others as well.
We can’t adequately thank the dedicated
firefighters/paramedics and police officers
who saved my husband’s life. They
remain our heroes and we keep them in our
hearts and prayers. Their families can be
very proud of the work they do and be
aware of the gratitude our entire family
holds for them. Our lives are better
because of them.
Andrew and I were able to celebrate our
45th wedding anniversary in May.
Mary Ellen and Andrew Mazak
Grove City