Westside Messenger - February 26th, 2023

PAGE 4 - WESTSIDE MESSENGER - February 26, 2023
Dave Dobos
STATE REPRESENTATIVE
We Settle
into the
Work
The Ohio House of Representatives conducts
the bulk of its work through its committee structure.
The House Rules and Reference Committee
refers each introduced bill to one of 28
legislative committees for hearings and discussion.
In these smaller groups, bills are researched
and dissected. Proponents and
opponents provide information, justification
and/or opposition to each proposal. Should a
bill garner sufficient support, it gets approved
by the committee for consideration by the
entire House. If it is approved by the House, it is
sent to the Senate, where it undergoes a similar
process.
The Senate can approve a bill, alter it, or deny it.
A collective “no” vote kills the proposal. An
altered bill goes back to the House for reconsideration.
An approved bill is sent to the Governor
for his signature. He can sign it, let it become
law without his signature, or veto it. His veto
also kills the bill, unless three-fifths of the members
of both the House and Senate vote to override
his veto.
I serve on five committees: the Higher Education
Committee, of which I serve as vice chair
and which considers bills pertaining to Ohio’s
colleges and universities, the Finance Subcommittee
for Primary and Secondary Education,
the Economic and Workforce Development
Committee, the Technology and Innovation
Committee, and the Insurance Committee. By
the time you read this, all the committees on
which I served will have met, many multiple
times.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Jason Stephens, has announced legislative priorities
for the House during this General Assembly,
based on his conversations with our
collective members. The overall theme is “Come
to Ohio, Stay in Ohio.” Our priorities will revolve
around three main themes: growing our economy,
protecting our families, and educating our
communities. He has outlined 12 proposed
pieces of legislation that, if enacted, will help reinforce
these themes. For example, to help grow
Ohio’s economy, the legislature will consider
proposals to lower state income tax rates, spur
economic development with a portion of the
one-time money that appears to be available in
this biennium budget, increase the supply of affordable
housing via tax incentives to developers
and first-time home buyers, and assure that
state government funds are invested where
they will show the greatest return.
I will write more about these priority bills and
their progress through the legislative process in
future communications with you.
(Dave Dobos represents the 10th District in the
Ohio House of Representatives, which consists
of parts of West, Southwest, and South Columbus,
Grove City, and Urbancrest. He reports regularly
on his activities in this position and his
campaign has paid for this communication with
you.)
Paid Advertisement
By Dedra Cordle
Staff Writer
A multi-year project that aims to make lasting improvements to
one of the largest properties within the South-Western City
Schools District will soon come to a close.
At its meeting on Feb. 13, the board of education unanimously
approved an item for action that allowed the district to come to
terms with a local construction company for the third and final
phase of the transportation lot improvement project.
Under the terms of the contract, the district will pay the
Columbus-based Strawser Paving Company $471,300 to remove
old asphalt paving from under the bus parking spaces and replace
it with roller compacted concrete for extra durability.
“This will alleviate buses sinking into the asphalt,” said Evan
Debo, the district’s executive director of communications, in an
LIST YOUR
PALM SUNDAY, GOOD FRIDAY AND
EASTER WEEK SERVICES
ON OUR EASTER CHURCH PAGE
in The Westside or Grove City Messenger
The page will print in our March 26th issue
The deadline for the Easter Church Page is
Friday, March 17th at 5:00 pm.
Call or email Kathy
for More Information
614-272-5422
or
kathy@
columbusmessenger.com
Grace Ministries
464 Rathmell Rd., Columbus, OH 43137
Visit us at www.graceministries.org
Easter Sunday, March 27th
Sunrise Communion Service - 7:00 am
Easter Service - 10:30 am
Easter Egg Hunt immediately following 10:30 service
with over 5,000 eggs and prizes
www.columbusmessenger.com
Art exhibit features work from Galloway resident
The first exhibit of the year at the London Arts Center will
showcase the work of Ken Madden. The exhibit runs Feb. 16
through March 19.
A native of Belfast, Northern Ireland, Madden moved to the
United States in 1971. He has lived in the Galloway area for the
past 47 years. Recently retired, he spent most of his career working
as a designer.
When it comes to art, Madden is self-taught with the exception
of one year of study at the Columbus College of Art & Design. He
said he draws to confront the manmade confusion in life.
“In my art, I seek peace, tranquility, and shelter from the
storm,” he said. “The purpose of my work is to express feelings and
emotions that are shrouded by darkness. For me, words are never
enough. Reality cannot justify the things I see, so I create my own
fictional reality.”
“Fictional Reality” is the title of Madden’s show. The exhibit
will feature approximately 30 pieces, most of which Madden completed
in the past five years. He works primarily in graphite and
charcoal but also creates works using watercolors, pastels, oil pastels,
acrylics, and other media. This marks the first time he has
shown his personal artwork publically.
The London Arts Center is located at 121 E. First St., London.
Regular gallery hours are: Thursday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2
p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Open studio hours take place 4
to 7 p.m. Tuesdays.
SAMPLE
Artwork by Ken Madden
Final repairs planned at transportation lot
email explaining the scope of the project.
In addition to that payment, the district will also pay $47,000
for owner’s contingency for unforeseen items and/or owner
requested changes during the construction process.
The final phase of the transportation lot improvement project
will take place over the summer when the district’s fleet of more
than 200 buses sit idle.
The first phase of the project to make improvements to the 13-
acre lot on Southwest Boulevard was completed in 2021 and the
second phase was completed in the following year. District officials
said the project had to be broken down into multiple phases
because of the scope of the project and the logistics of relocating
hundreds of buses.
The need for the paving project was addressed at a board of
education meeting in 2020 when employees with the transportation
department began to notice fissures growing underneath the
asphalt. The district has spent more than $935,000 to address
these issues in its first and second phase of the transportation lot
improvement project.
In related news, the board of education also approved a contract
with Final Floor Inc., a flooring contractor based out of Sugar
Grove, Ohio, to replace the gymnasium flooring at Grove City High
School in the (estimated) amount of $205,856. The board said this
measure was needed as the flooring was extensively damaged
when a water line burst at the school over winter break.
District officials said the work to replace the wooden floor will
begin at the conclusion of the winter sports season.
In other news, the district has approved its summer school calendar
for high school students. Summer school will take place
from June 7 through June 30 (there will be no school on June 19)
and the instruction hours will be held from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The district will not provide transportation during the summer
session and there will be no fee assessed to the students.
Central Crossing and Grove City High School students will
attend classes at Central Crossing, whereas Franklin Heights students
and Westland students will attend classes at their respective
schools. All students taking health or physical education will
attend Central Crossing.
The end of course exams will take place on June 26, 27, 28, 29;
Each high school will test their own students.
Graduation is scheduled for Aug. 17 at 6 p.m. at Westland High
School.