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February 3, 2011

Ward: Salt supplies ‘in good shape’ By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers Despite no respite from winter weather in recent weeks, Reynoldsburg streets superintendent Larry Ward says the city was able to obtain a good supply of rock salt at a lesser cost than last year. Service director Jim Miller confirmed there is plenty of salt to get through the winter and noted the Reynoldsburg post office recently sent a letter thanking the city for keeping the streets clear.

Ward said since the first of the year, about 1,700 tons of road salt have been purchased. Reynoldsburg had about 2,000 tons on hand as of last week, he said. Last summer, city council authorized Mayor Brad McCloud to enter into a contract with American Rock Salt to purchase salt for $58.98 per ton, $2.61 per ton lower than last year’s cost. Reynoldsburg has been participating in the Southwest Ohio Purchasers for Government, a consortium of about 87

entities, which allows them to find salt at a lower cost. At the beginning of December, former safety service director Pam Boratyn said the city had about 1,000 tons of salt in its bins but because of above-average snowfall during the first half of that month, about half the supply had been used and more needed to be ordered. “At the end of last winter, we had about 1,000 tons,” Ward said. “Normally, that covers us for November and December, and with that, we usually don’t

have any problems. But the first two weeks of December was real snowy and we used quite a bit, so we got extra money to make sure we did not run out before we got the new budget.” On Dec. 20, city council appropriated $30,000 to purchase 500 tons more salt before the end of the year to make sure Reynoldsburg didn’t run out during the holidays, Ward said. He said the city’s 2011 budget allows the purchase of 3,000 tons and with what’s already been purchased this year,

residents need not worry about streets being treated, he said. The city currently uses eight trucks to salt the roads in Reynoldsburg. Ward said the main arterial streets are hit first before the residential areas are treated. “A couple of times, we didn’t get all of the residential areas done because it kept snowing and we had to go back to the arterials again before we finished up the residential areas,” he said. See SALT SUPPLIES, page A4

Thieves target cars in Coronado Woods area By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers

By Lorrie Cecil/ThisWeek

Linda Winters is selling Hunters Florist, which she has owned since 1990, so she can retire. The new owner is Barth Cotner, who owns Cotner Funeral Home across East Main Street from the flower shop.

Florist sells business after 20 years By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers After 20 years serving the community, Linda Winters is selling Hunters Florist in old Reynoldsburg and retiring to North Carolina, where she plans to be married. The new owner, however, is Barth Cotner, who owns Cotner Funeral Home across East Main Street from the flower shop. Winters was born and raised in Groveport. She earned a degree in interior design from Ohio University in 1971 and moved to Colorado Springs, where she worked for several years until she decided to return to central Ohio after a divorce. She moved to Reynoldsburg in 1989, but said she thought working as an interior designer wouldn’t be enough for her to support herself, so in 1990, she bought Hunters Florist. “It had been around since 1986, started by a woman named Sandy Hunter,” Winters said of t he business. “I decided it was the thing to do, and so I bought it and just kept the same name. “Floral arranging was something that I did

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To me, this story is not about me or the funeral home. It’s about Linda being a good member of the Reynoldsburg community and having a really good business and trying to give back.

BARTH COTNER owner of Cotner Funeral Home

a little bit out in Colorado for some of my customers, so I decided I would like to do that,” she said. Winters said the business, which has four employees, has been successful despite the recent economy. “We do funerals, weddings, parties, every day, and we deliver all over the city of Columbus, and in Pataskala, Groveport, Pickerington, Dublin, all over the area,” Winters said.

Cotner took ownership of the business in January and Winters said she will stay on until May, when she officially retires and will move to North Carolina and be married. “I’m getting to the age to retire and with Barth, everything seemed to fall into place and it all worked out,” she said. Cotner said Winters has been an asset to the community over the years and he regards her as a part of his family because he’s known her for so long. “Betty and Bill, Barth’s mom and dad, were like my second mother and dad, so he‘s kind of like a little brother to me,” Winters said. “We’ve developed quite a nice relationship and us being across the street from the funeral home makes a great opportunity for him because flowers are a big part of his business.” Cotner said he plans to keep the flower shop operating as it has been, with the same name and employees. “It’s always been very nice to have the business just across the street,” he said. “We’ve had a great relationship with Linda and she See FLORIST, page A3

Reynoldsburg police are investigating a series of recent car break-ins that occurred mainly in the Coronado Woods Condominium complex off Waggoner Road. According to police reports, 13 cars have been broken into. Police Lt. Jim O’Neill said most of the incidents took place overnight between Jan. 22 and 23. “They were all in fairly concentrated areas,” he said. “At this point, it appears there was definitely a pattern and we’re treating them like they’re all related. “Whether or not we’ll be able to localize it or if these people drove in from out of town and pulled this off … only time will tell,” he said. In most of the break-ins, a passenger side or driver’s side window was smashed out and items were stolen from inside the vehicle. In a couple of incidents, no items were taken, but in most cases, owners reported a variety of things were stolen, including cameras, GPS systems, car stereos and an infant’s clothing worth $220. O’Neill said thieves targeted an area that is fairly secluded “It was in the middle of the night when there are not a lot of eyes out there that can pick up on activity,” he said. “What I don’t think we found was a vehicle that was broken into where they had to work a significant amount to get what they were after. They didn‘t rummage through trunks or break open locked gloveboxes.” He said residents need to be aware that these types of crimes are happening and they need to be sure not to leave expensive items in their cars overnight. “Don’t leave your GPS suctioned to your windshield or your laptop or purse on the front seat of the car,” O’Neill said. “Don’t make yourselves easy bait for these people. They’re not known to be hard workers — that’s the reason that they’ve turned to a life of crime, so if it’s harder for them to break in to your car than somebody else’s, they’re just going to move on.” Part of the process of investigating such incidents is to track stolen items through the police department’s LEADS Online system, O’Neill said. The LEADS Online system allows police to take serial numbers of items and see where they might have been sold, he said. “With the serial numbers, we can also start going to secondhand stores and pawn shops and start looking to see where these people are unloading them,” O’Neill said. “Obviously, if they steal three iPods and See THIEVES, page A2

Organizers preparing for 46th annual Tomato Festival By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers Although Reynoldsburg’s 46th annual tomato festival is not until August, organizers are already beginning prepartions and are in search of volunteers. Mary Hudson, president of Reynoldsburg Tomato Festivals Inc., said the first planning meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, in city council chambers at the municipal building, 7232 E. Main St.

Additional meetings will be held on the fourth Thursday of each month up until the festival. She said anyone interested in volunteering is welcome to attend. “Some of the committees, like the entertainment committee, need to begin planning now so we can line up who will perform at the festival this year,” Hudson said. “In the past, we’ve had as many 30 show up at the meetings, but we want the public to know that they are welcome and we always need more peo-

ple because we usually end up using about 150 volunteers,” she said. Other important committees include the games committee, grounds committee and sponsorship and publicity committees, Hudson said. She said sponsorship is important because traditionally, the two-day festival costs close to $20,000 to put on; currently, she said, there might be approximately one-fourth of that amount in the coffers. The Feb. 24 meeting will include a recap of last year’s Tomato Festi-

val. In addition, committees will be organized and board members will be chosen for this year’s event. “We’ll give the financial report from last year, we’ll discuss some of the pros and cons from last year’s festival and things we can improve or might want to change,” Hudson said. “And anybody who is new that’s there can help decide which committees they would like to work on.” Hudson said the 2011 Tomato Fes-

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Mary Hudson, president of Reynoldsburg Tomato Festivals Inc., said the first planning meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, in city council chambers at the municipal building, 7232 E. Main St. Additional meetings will be held on the fourth Thursday of each month up until the festival in August. She said anyone interested in volunteering is welcome.

See TOMATO FESTIVAL, page A2