Groveport Messenger - February 25th, 2024

PAGE 8 - GROVEPORT MESSENGER - February 25, 2024
Council considers pay raise
By Rick Palsgrove
Groveport Editor
Groveport City Council members are reviewing information
regarding whether they should get a pay raise, but they have several
months before they must make a decision on the issue.
According to the Groveport City Charter, salaries for elected
officials can be adopted no later than July 1 of each odd numbered
year and are effective for two years beginning Jan. 1 of the even
numbered year immediately following the adoption of legislation
establishing the salaries.
So in this case council has until July 1, 2025 to decide on the
issue.
According to Groveport Law Director Kevin Shannon, the July
1 deadline in the odd numbered year also allows time for a citizen
referendum, should one arise, on the issue.
In 2018, council members, as well as the mayor, received their
first pay raises in 25 years as council’s annual salary rose from
$3,000 to $6,000 and the mayor’s annual salary increased from
$18,250 to $26,000.
This current round of potential salary increase discussions
does not include the mayor’s salary.
The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission’s 2023 Annual
Salary and Fringe Benefit Survey indicates there is a range in
annual salaries for city council members in Central Ohio.
According to this survey, here are the annual salaries for some
area city councils: Canal Winchester, $6,592; Obetz, $6,998;
Bexley, $6,360; Dublin, $11,250; Grove City, $11,000; Gahanna,
9,600; Lancaster, $9,500; Pataskala, $5,071; Reynoldsburg,
$8,657; Sunbury, $8,800; Whitehall, $6,000; Worthington, $7,920.
Council President Ed Dildine said council members will review
a summary of council salary information from the Central Ohio
area compiled by Council Clerk Mindy Kay. He said council will
discuss the proposed council salary increases in the city’s budget
discussions this fall.
Ever since Netflix announced that more
romantic comedies would be coming to its
platform back in 2018, the streaming company
has churned out more than a dozen
original movies and acquired roughly the
same amount from traditional movie studios
who were unwilling to take a risk by
giving their romantic comedy the theatrical
treatment.
For the most part, the romantic comedies
on the stream have made little impact
on the general public or the subscriber
base. The few that have managed to
become instant favorites — “Always Be My
Maybe,” “The Kissing Booth,” “To All the
Boys I’ve Loved Before,” and “Set It Up” —
have accomplished that feat due to the
charm of its stars, without which a romantic
comedy has little hope of success.
“Players,” the latest original feature in
this genre to be released on the streaming
platform, leans heavily on the charisma of
its primary cast, led by Gina Rodriguez and
Damon Wayans Jr. With their megawatt
smiles, puppy dog eyes, and sunny presence,
the duo manages to take this somewhat
middling movie that feels as if it
belongs in the bin of the early 2000s and
transforms it into something watchable, if
not downright almost enjoyable.
While I do not believe it will be considered
an instant classic like the aforementioned
films, it does have some appeal
because of the two
leads who look as if
they are having a great
time with the material
and each other.
In the film that was
released on Valentine’s
Day, Rodriguez plays
Mack, a local sports
reporter who has
spent the last decade
with a serious affliction
— a strong aversion
to committed relationships. To celebrate
her stance on the single life, she regularly
gathers at sports dives with her
small group of guy friends — Adam
(Wayans Jr.); Brannagan (Augustus Prew);
and Little (Joel Courtney) — and comes up
with elaborate schemes to get strangers
into the sack and out of the apartment a
few hours later.
On the surface, it appears that all is
going well for Mack but sad music cues as
she looks at lovey-dovey couples and the
wistful glances she shares with Adam hints
to the audience that things are not always
what they seem.
While at the office of the unrealistic
newspaper one morning, she meets Nick
Russel (Tom Ellis), an acclaimed war correspondent
who is in town to pick up some
awards and do research for an upcoming
book. Taken by his beauty, his accent, and
his reputation as a “serious journalist,” she
immediately wants to run a scheme to get
him interested enough in her so they can
share a night together. Naturally, when
she is at his swanky downtown apartment
that is adorned with pictures of his parents,
honorifics, and dishes that match, she
is instantly smitten and wants more than
just one night together.
“I want a drawer to put stuff in at his
place,” she tells her friends who are utterly
perplexed and a bit repulsed by her desire
for a genuine relationship. But because
they love her and want her to be happy,
they help her come up with a scheme called
“The Moneyball” to snag the man of her
dreams. This involves a bit of light stalking
to collect data on his likes and dislikes; his
morning, afternoon, and evening routine;
and the kind of women he is attracted to.
Once all the information has been gathered,
it is analyzed via pie charts and
graphs and dissected in a way that will
offer Mack the best odds to make Nick see
that she could be the woman of his dreams
too.
Although the scheme may come across
as a 10 on the creep scale, it is set up by
screenwriter Whit Anderson and director
www.columbusmessenger.com
Characters bring some life to romantic comedy
The Reel Deal
Groveport Police news
According to the Groveport Police:
•At a basketball game in early January at
Groveport Madison High School, an adult woman was
charged with disorderly conduct after she told the ticket
taker that the school’s weapon detection system did
not work and she had brought a gun into the school.
She was later confronted by school officials in the presence
of a police officer and she admitted she did not
bring a gun into the school but had a keychain that
looked like a gun.
•On Jan. 16, numerous windows were broken on
vehicles in the city’s warehouse district. The suspect
was driving a stolen vehicle and allegedly stole numerous
credit cards from the victims’ vehicles. Police identified
the suspect as a 40-year-old female from
Columbus and warrants were issued for her arrest.
•On Jan. 30, Groveport Police detectives assisted
school resource officers and a patrol officer regarding
an 18-year-old Columbus male who brought a loaded
gun to Groveport Madison High School. The .40 caliber
Glock was loaded with 16 rounds of ammunition. The
suspect was slated into jail for illegal conveyance of a
firearm on school grounds, a fifth degree felony.
Food Pantry says “thanks”
In a letter to the Groveport Police Department
dated Jan. 26, the Greater Groveport Food Pantry
thanked the police department for its donation of 70
boxes of food, $160 in gift certificates, and $45 in cash
raised during the police’s annual “Cram the Cruiser”
food drive last October.
“We are thrilled that your food drive was so successful
and we really appreciate your commitment to our
community and helping those in need,” wrote Rebecca
Soles, food pantry director.
Dedra
Cordle
Groveport history films
Two documentary films on the history of Groveport,
produced by the Groveport Heritage Society and
Midnet Media, are now available for viewing online on
YouTube.
The films are: “Groveport: A Town and Its People”
and “The Story of John S. Rarey and Cruiser.”
Groveport Heritage Museum
The Groveport Heritage Museum contains photographs,
artifacts, and documents about Groveport’s
history. The museum is located in Groveport Town
Hall, 648 Main St., and is open during Groveport Town
Hall’s operating hours. Call 614-836-3333.
Groveport city council
Groveport City Council holds its regular meetings
at 6:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays of the
month. Council holds its committee of the whole meeting
on the third Monday each month at 5:30 p.m.
Meetings are held in the municipal building, 655
Blacklick St., Groveport.
School board meetings
The Groveport Madison Board of Education meets
the second and fourth Wednesday of the month at 7
p.m. at the District Service Center, 4400 Marketing
Place, Suite B, Groveport. The board may also schedule
special meetings, as needed.
Groveport Garden Club
The Groveport Garden Club is looking for gardeners!
For meeting and activity information contact groveportgardenclub@gmail.com
or find them on Facebook.
Trish Sie like a zippy heist film. It’s a sharp
and winking at the audience stylistic choice
and it infuses the story with a bit of
intrigue as the film works its way through
to the most reliable trope of the romantic
comedy: That the real Mr. Right was in
front of our clueless heroine all along.
Although there are some miscues in the
movie — the dialogue is a real issue as it
often comes across as a bit flat and outdated
at times — “Players” has a watchable
quality to it, due in large part to the affable
nature of the characters and how they are
portrayed by the equally affable leads and
secondary characters.
You get the sense that the actors are
having fun with their roles and with the
challenge of making their characters not
come across as sleazy as they could have
been. I imagine the cast spent a few weeks
of pre-filming together bonding over how to
make their characters likeable and endearing
to the audience, coming up with the
“loveable rogue” angles that have worked
in all genres of films throughout time.
Overall, their preparation was a success
and their on-screen fake friendship and offscreen
chemistry worked to make this a
romantic comedy that is batting just above
average.
Grade: B-
Dedra Cordle is a Messenger staff writer
and columnist.