July 10, 2011
November ballot
Sunbury to put utility aggregation to vote By SARAH SOLE ThisWeek Community Newspapers Sunbury residents on Nov. 8 will vote whether to establish aggregate gas and electric programs in the village. Sunbury Village Council on July 6 voted to put the aggregate services on the ballot. By approving both ballot issues, voters would give the village permission to seek alternate natural gas and
electricity suppliers for village customers. Village officalsspoke with Fred Holmes, director of municipal aggregation at Volunteer Energy Services Inc., at the June 2 council meeting. Volunteer Energy, based in Pickerington, provides natural gas to Fredericktown, Pickerington, Albany, Gallipolis, Pomeroy, Barnesville, Warsaw, Bethesda, St. Clairsville, Bridgeport and Cadiz. If voters approve the aggregation, a
City plans streetsweeping review
usage plan with terms and conditions of service would be formulated. Two public hearings would be held and an application would be filed with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, which would issue gas and electric certificates to the village. During council’s meeting, George Owens of Arbor Drive asked the village to make sure residents could opt out of the program. “Nobody is going to tell
me who to buy my gas and electric from,” he said. Holmes told Owens he would have the opportunity to opt out. Volunteer Energy would send letters to residents, giving them 21 days to opt out of Volunteer Energy’s program. While there is no cost to opt out of a natural gas program during the 21 days, Holmes previously said he would have to look into whether there would be a penalty
for opting out after the 21st day. Council also discussed bid specifications being prepared for a new building at the village’s wastewater treatment plant on Southview Drive. Council member David Linnabary told ThisWeek the building would address restrictions the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has made on phosSee SUNBURY, page A2
FOURTH OF JULY PARADE
By SARAH SOLE ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Facing a possible $25,000 shortage, the city of Delaware is examining whether it wants to trim its street-sweeping program. In previous years, the city contracted out spring and fall street sweeping and used an in-house street sweeper and city staff for extra events and emergencies, said public works director Tim Browning. While the spring and fall sweeping came out of storm sewer funds, the in-house sweeping came out of the general fund. After the street sweeper was retired, the city opted to contract out the extra sweeping for the first time this year. Spring and fall cleaning of the entire community will consume the vast majority of the $65,000 budgeted for 2011, Browning said. The city’s extra street-sweeping events consist of cleaning for community events, plus sweeping the downtown and sweeping debris after any emergencies. Browning said the city does about two emergency sweeps per year on average. This year, rain and wind brought down trees and gravel in roadways. While street sweepers are expensive to maintain, “they’re nice to have, especially for emergency events,” Browning said. He said city staffing levels have been slightly reduced, making it harder to commit to an in-house street-sweeping program. At the moment, Browning said, the best choice is to contract out services. The city has seven laborers and one supervisor in its street maintenance division. Browning said the primary function of street sweeping is to keep debris out of storm sewers and waterways. “I don’t think our existing program by any means is excessive,” he said. At its July 5 meeting, the city’s public works committee looked at the services already provided to see where cost-saving improvements could be made, said committee chair Chris Jones. “We don’t want to disrupt anything that See STREET SWEEPING, page A2
By Chris Parker/ThisWeek
Members of the Delaware County Air Force Junior ROTC lead the Fourth of July parade through downtown Delaware on July 4.
Kiwanis project to teach proper child seat set-up By BONNIE BUTCHER ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Area Kiwanis clubs have raised funds to help keep children safe while riding in cars. The Kiwanis Club of Powell, the Delaware County Kiwanis Noon Club and the Delaware Kiwanis Evening Club each donated $200 to the Friends for Life Fund of the Delaware General Health District, said Jesse Carter, DGHD spokesperson. Club members also requested and received a $1,000 grant from the Ohio District Kiwanis Foundation for the fund. Those donations paid for a set of six life-size dolls used to demonstrate
proper car- and booster-seat installation and the proper way for a child to sit in those seats, Carter said. One doll is the size of a premature infant. Heights of the others are 13, 17, 38, 48 and 57 inches. Carter said they are “weighted and articulated to resemble a child that size.” The dolls have a lot of advantages over using the actual children for these demonstrations. “The children aren’t always in a frame of mind where they want to be cooperative,” said Carter. “The dolls are another tool to make sure that children are riding safely. The more tools like that we have, the better job
By Chris Parker/ThisWeek
Life-size training dolls purchased by local Kiwanis clubs will be used to See KIWANIS PROJECT, page A2 demonstrate the proper use of car seats.
Principal named for new Big Walnut Middle School By BONNIE BUTCHER ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Lorrie Cecil/ThisWeek
Penny Sturtevant is the principal of the new Big Walnut Middle School, which will open for the 2011-2012 school year.
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The new Big Walnut Middle School will open for the 2011-12 school year with Penny Sturtevant as principal. She was promoted to the position after principal Angie Pollock was named the district’s director of academic achievement. The board of education approved the employment changes in June. Sturtevant began working with the district in 1994, serving as a high school counselor and department chair. For one year, 2010-11, she was assistant principal of both the high
school and middle school. She became assistant high school principal three years ago. She has been in the field of education for 24 years, and started her career working with “severely and profoundly handicapped people in an institution setting.” She moved to teaching sevenththrough 12th-grade science at Danville Local Schools in Knox County, and then worked as a counselor at Utica Junior High in the North Fork Local School District. Excited by the opportunity to work with middle school students, Sturtevant said, “This is a time in (middle school) students’life where
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we can still affect their skill level. ... They’re growing and changing, and at the educational level we can give them an opportunity to hone in on weaknesses they have or find those strengths they have before they move on to the high school level.” Having been a counselor brings a positive component to her experience, she said, because a principal’s role at times requires those skills. “It’s that immediacy. Sometimes it’s a kid in trouble or a parent bringing up a question,” she said. “You can discipline a probSee NEW PRINCIPAL, page A5
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