Madison Messenger - February 26th, 2023

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PAGE 2 - MADISON MESSENGER - February 26, 2023 www.madisonmessengernews.com Synthetic field turf planned for LHS ball fields By Kristy Zurbrick Madison Editor Spring can be a soggy season. School softball and baseball teams know this all too well as rain often wreaks havoc on their fields, America’ ica’s s Fa Fa av av vorite Treasure ure e Hunts! 2023 Discount RATES without discount SERVICE It’s no accident more people trust State Farm to insure their cars. Call today. James Peart, Agent 187 W. High Street London, OH 43140 Bus. 740-852-5557 LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR, STATE FARM IS THERE www.jamiepeartinsurance.com Providing Insurance and Financial Services P040004 12/04 State Farm Mutual Automotive Insurance Company (Not in NJ), Bloomington, IL Mar. 25 & 26 Antiques, Collectibles, Jewelry, Vintage, Home Decor, Militaria and more! Nov. 25 & 26 Dec. 16 & 17 leading to cancellation of practices and games. Because the season is short, rescheduling can be tough if not impossible. Last year, bad weather forced the London High School athletics program to cancel a total of 22 games across the boys’ and girls’ varsity and junior varsity schedules. The school district is taking a major step to alleviate these woes for future ball teams. On Feb. 14, the school board approved a contract with Maumee Bay Turf Center to install synthetic field turf at the Ralph Cromwell softball field and the Sonny Wheeler baseball field at the high school. “The turf is expected to significantly decrease weather-related cancellations,” said Dr. Lou Kramer, district superintendent. Construction is slated to start late this summer. The new turf will cover the entire softball field. The baseball field is much larger, covering more space than the football field. To save money, the district has chosen to install field turf on the infield only at the baseball field, along with a five-foot strip around the backside of the infield so infielders won’t have to transition too often between turf and grass. The first pitch at both fields is expected in the spring of 2024. Maumee Bay Turf Center is the company that installed field turf at the high school’s Bowlus Field seven years ago. “Our No. 1 thing is looking at ways to benefit our programs and our students. This is another step,” said Jim Wolverton, athletic director. “When we did the turf project at Bowlus Field, we got a suitable space to play football and soccer. We think we will see the same return on investment for the softball and baseball fields.” The estimated cost of the project is $930,000. In the past, private donations have helped to cover the cost of some athletic complex improvements at London City Schools. This time, the school district is covering the entire cost. “Due to keen fiscal stewardship over the last several years, the district plans to self-fund the project. As such, the project was included as part of the district’s recent five-year (financial) forecast,” Kramer stated. RATES Continued from page 1 “Our No. 1 thing is looking at ways to benefit our programs and our students. This is another step.” Robinson thanked the BPU for the work they have done to create a plan for addressing infrastructure needs. Council member Andy Hitt and council president Henry Comer thanked the public for voicing their concerns and suggestions at city council meetings. Comer said council could not have made the hard decisions without input from the community. “We made some changes and adjustments by listening to some of the objections of the community,” Comer said. Council member Greg Eades mentioned a letter the city received from a resident who opposed the utility rate hikes, saying SWIM Continued from page 1 school club team of the Champaign Family YMCA. Team Champ serves student-athletes from London, Mechanicsburg, West Liberty-Salem, and Graham high schools. The team qualified 10 of its 33 swimmers to districts this year in 13 events, both records “This demonstrates that the district wants to reinvest in its facilities,” he continued. “Because we’ve been mindful of our finances, we’re able to put that back into the facilities without going out (to the community) for an ask.” The benefits the district hopes to see with this project include increased playing time for athletes throughout the year, but especially during the spring competition season. This is good news most notably for junior varsity ball players, as the varsity schedule typically takes priority over the junior varsity schedule when it comes to field use and rescheduling games. Another benefit is more practice space for other sports. The ball fields will be built so that bases and pitching mounds can be removed, making for a flat surface for other sports to use. The newly turfed fields are expected to generate revenue for the school district , as well, through tournaments and facility rentals. Those revenues will go back into supporting upgrades to the district’s athletic facilities. The football/soccer field is a good example. A travel youth soccer team from Hilliard regularly rents the field, resulting in $18,000 in revenue for London City Schools. Besides the removable bases and pitching mounds, the fields are being built to accommodate different base and pitching mound distances. This way a wide range of ages can use the fields, opening the district to additional rental opportunities, as well as helping out local youth programs. “We see numbers in youth sports growing in London. Those programs might run out of space if it keeps going the way it is. The school’s fields can help with that,” Kramer said. “We are very open to helping. We really feel like it can be a community asset, not just for our students but for our (local) youth programs.” London Fast Pitch, a youth softball program, already uses the high school’s fields. The London Area Baseball Council could benefit, too, as could some of the local travel ball clubs, whether for growth reasons, tournament needs, or weather issues, Wolverton said. –Jim Wolverton, athletic director she felt she would have to make a decision between paying her utility bills and voting for the income tax increase for additional funding for the fire and EMS department. The income tax increase for fire/EMS will appear on the May 2 primary election ballot. “I really hope that people don’t feel that they have to make that decision, because we have a fire department. We need to have a fire department, and we know that the problems they have, have been years in the making, and they’re going to need help financially.” for the club. In addition to being the first Aqua Raider to qualify for the state championships, Lotton is also the first state qualifier for Team Champ. The Div. II OHSAA State Swimming and Diving Championships began on Feb. 23 at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton (after the Madison Messenger’s deadline).
www.madisonmessengernews.com February 26, 2023 - MADISON MESSENGER - Page 3 Mt. Sterling seeks candidates for council vacancy By Kristy Zurbrick and registered voters. Letters can be sent to cbricker@mtsterling.org Madison Editor or dropped off at village hall at 1 S. London St., Mount Sterling. For details, call Bricker at (740) 869-2040, ext. 5. Mount Sterling council must fill a vacancy following the resignation of council The remaining council members will review the letters, conduct interviews, and make a selection. If they do not appoint someone within member Rob Longcoy. the 30-day period, the task will go to Mayor Marci Darlington. Longcoy has moved outside of village Longcoy was elected to Mount Sterling council in November limits and, therefore, can no longer serve on 2021. At the time of his resignation, he had served 14.5 months of council. He submitted his resignation on his four-year term. The person appointed to his seat will serve the Feb. 14. Council has 30 days to fill the remainder of the term which expires at the end of 2025. empty seat. “I enjoyed my time on council. I feel we worked very well together Anyone interested in filling the vacancy and accomplished many great things over the past year for the village. Every member is truly passionate about our community,” must submit a letter of interest to Courtney Bricker, council clerk, by 4 p.m. Feb. 28. Interested parties must be village residents Longcoy said. WJ board eyes tech upgrades He points to his work with parks and recreation as his greatest accomplishment while on council. He said he has enjoyed watching Mason Park develop and looks forward to further improvements in the coming months. “I really feel Mason Park could be the jewel of our community,” he said. “Our community’s youth are our future, and having a place like Mason Park is a huge deal to me.” Longcoy moved outside of village limits to a home that fits the needs of his growing family, but he still lives close by. “I will still be involved with the park, Summer Jam, and any other activities that bring our village together and give families and our youth something to do. Our community is often overlooked. These events shine a positive light on our village,” he said. Longcoy thanked everyone who supported him in his time on council and said it was a pleasure to serve his community. If the right opportunity presents itself and his family moves back into the village, he said he “most definitely” would run again for a seat on council. By Linda Dillman Staff Writer Jefferson Local Schools’ ability to prepare, edit and produce school board documents could get easier for district staff and community members interested in following board action and agendas. During the school board’s Feb. 14 meeting, members conducted a video chat presentation with BoardDocs, a software company that works with school districts and other public entities across the nation. According to the Ohio School Boards Association, of which Jefferson Local is a member, “OSBA has teamed up with Board- Docs to offer board management services that give governing bodies turn-key electronic solutions for processing any type of governance document. “BoardDocs has helped nearly 4,000 organizations dramatically reduce costs, increase transparency and reduce the time spent producing board packets by up to 75 percent.” Jefferson Local Superintendent William Mullett said the board plans to discuss the idea of moving to the cloud-based system during their next work session. He said Technology Director Curt Dennis and Treasurer Mark Ingles are spearheading the project. “The board will give consideration to what (BoardDocs) can do,” Mullett said. “It certainly would save time with all the preparation we do, especially my secretary, in getting the board packets ready for a meeting. “Generally, the BoardDocs representatives satisfied our questions during their remote presentation. I know many school districts use them. They’re the most popular in that platform, and I think we’ll eventually move in that direction.” The OSBA reported organizations such as Jefferson Local Schools have the ability to determine which stakeholders–board members, staff and the general public– have access to each document. “Last-minute revisions are easy, and documents can be distributed in just minutes,” stated the school board association. Mullett said the initial service expense in contracting with BoardDocs is approximately $6,000 per year, which he felt would more than balance out the cost of manually producing board documents. madison Sweetheart of an afternoon The Friends of Mount Sterling Public Library hosted their annual Victorian Sweetheart Tea on Feb. 11 at First United Methodist Church, Mount Sterling. More than 80 people, many of whom dressed in Victorian era-inspired clothing and hats, attended.
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Madison Messenger - February 26th, 2023

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