July 7, 2011
Saved Freedom Festival benefits USO By MARLA K. KUHLMAN ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Gahanna’s Independence Day celebration started with the Gahanna Lions Club’s annual parade and ended with a crowdpleasing fireworks display, thanks in large part to the Gahanna Parks & Recreation Foundation. Foundation chairman Lee Tucker thanked everyone July 4 at the Gahanna Municipal Park, where children’s games, a band, food vendors and fireworks entertained the crowd. He recognized presenting sponsor Heartland Bank, the city of Gahanna and others who donated money to make the festival a reality this year. “One-third of the donations came from the community,” Tucker said. “The community
wanted to have this.” Parade organizer Frank Treadway complimented spectators, as well as about 80 individuals and groups who participated in the July 4 tradition that has occurred since 1946. “It went very well,” he said. “We had quite a few participants. They all thought it was great.” First Baptist Church, on Havens Corners Road, won first place for its float. The Lions Club also recognized all three of the children who rode bicycles in the parade. After the city announced last year that it couldn’t provide funds to support the Freedom Festival, the foundation launched a “Save the Freedom Festival” fundraising campaign. G. Scott McComb, Heartland Bank president and CEO, said
Heartland was proud to step up as the festival’s presenting sponsor. “We felt this was a good cause to direct our efforts,” he said. “We wanted to honor the USO. There’s no better tribute than this day to thank the men and women in service. We live under the freedom they provide.” Proceeds from Freedom Festival VIP tables and the sale of glow sticks benefited the organization. The USO of Central & Southern Ohio, a nonprofit organization, relies on the generosity of individuals, organizations and corporations to support its activities. By Andrea Kjerrumgaard/ThisWeek USO funds that are generated locally are used locally to help Gahanna Parks and Recreation worker Laura Hester (right) reacts as Alyssa Lynn (left) reciprocates by throwing a whipped-cream pie into the face of Faith Fernandez during the Freedom Festi-
See FESTIVAL, page A3 val July 4 at Gahanna Municipal Golf Course.
Emerald ash borer
Council debates tree removal, replacement By MARLA K. KUHLMAN ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Photos by Adam Cairns/ThisWeek
Jefferson Township resident Dana Stahlman, president of Central Ohio Beekeepers Association, inspects a rack of honeybees inside the research area at Plumbers Park in Blacklick.
Jefferson Township park abuzz with honeybee research project By MARLA K. KUHLMAN ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Ohio Beekeepers Association. “Honeybees are valuable,” said Stahlman, who is a full-time volunteer working with Dr. James Tew of the Ohio Honeybee Lab, as well as state and local beekeeper associations. “There’s no other place like this bee yard. We’re doing something unique, in terms of research.” Stahlman said the queen research project begins in his back yard, where queen cells are. “We run five lines of queens for central Ohio beekeepers and one line for Ohio
State,” he said. Each of the five lines, identified by color, have proven qualities that must be explored and tested for a number of qualities, including survival during winter, mite resistance, gentle temperament and honey production. “We have queens that have been artificially inseminated,” Stahlman said. “The queen cells will develop into young queens that will go to Plumbers Park.”
Jefferson Township will host some queens this summer for a honeybee research project. Plumbers Park this summer will house 10 beekeeper volunteers working to produce queen bees that have genetic traits strong enough to survive Ohio winters. “What’s happening here is a grassroots attempt to do something about the honeySee BEES, page A2 bee problems,” project director Dana Stahlman said. “It isn’t funded by a grant or the government. It’s totally funded by beekeepers.” Rob Platte, Jefferson Township parks coordinator, said the township acquired Plumbers Park in 2005 via an Ohio Public Works Grant and additional funding is being sought to develop it. The park is open for fishing only; permission must be sought for the activity. “That created an ideal location,” Platte said. “There’s no risk of the study being disturbed. The project fell in line with one the township’s core values for innovative land use and preservation concepts.” The bee project is nonprofit, he said, and any funds generated from the research go back into the bee study. In addition to Jefferson Township providing a place for the bees, the project is also supported by the Ohio State University Bee Lab in Wooster, the Ohio State German Village resident Nina Bagley harvests queen bees from Dana Stahlman’s Beekeepers Association and the Central Jefferson Township home.
Gahanna is considering options for addressing hazardous street trees, especially those affected by the emerald ash borer. City council will continue discussions July 11 on ways to assist residents who have ash trees near the street that pose safety risks. Parks and recreation director Tony Collins said Gahanna has 1,660 ash street trees, according to inventory. “The emerald ash borer has had tremendous impact on Gahanna,” he said. “Academy Ridge dealt with the issue last year, and Rathburn Woods is heavily hit this year. We’re in a position we have to take some action.” Collins has requested that council consider approving $18,000 in supplemental funding to pay for contracts with various landscape and tree companies to remove dead ash trees and grind stumps. If approved, Collins said, the funds would be used to begin removing 100 hazardous street trees this year, including those affect-
ed by the emerald ash borer. In 1992, Gahanna identified street trees as a priority in developing the city and adopted code that required developers to install street trees and maintain them for one year. According to the Ohio Revised Code, street trees are the responsibility and liability of the homeowner, Collins said. Gahanna requires a tree to be there, he said, and he believes the responsibility should be shared. Of the city’s estimated 12,000 to 14,000 street trees, about 1,660 are ash trees. The count does not include ash trees on city property. A majority of Gahann’s ash trees likely have been affected by the emerald ash borer, Collins said. The bug normally destroys the tree. “With ash trees, the whole tree can go down on its side,” he said. Thus far, Gahanna’s arbor crew has been managing publicly owned trees, Collins said. Last year, Gahanna removed almost 100 trees in parks that were deemed hazardous because of See TREES, page A2
Parks-rec mulls hiring part-time cleanup workers By MARLA K. KUHLMAN fielded numerous complaints ThisWeek Community Newspapers about the condition of parks and
Gahanna’s Parks & Recreation Department intends to clean up the parks by restoring some maintenance jobs. Troy Euton, parks and recreation deputy director, requested that council approve $42,304 in supplemental funding from the general fund for some part-time park-maintenance jobs. After some maintenance activities were cut midyear in 2010 because of budget constraints, Euton said, the department has
facilities, such as mowing, trimming, landscaping and cleanliness. “We don’t have enough bodies to keep it less shabby-looking than what our citizens expect,” he said. “This would make sure everything is clean and kept in a manner of service standards. It would provide the necessary staff to reduce the number of complaints we’re getting.” During a June 27 committee
Sign up for breaking news & sports! Click on mobile in the top right corner of ThisWeekNews.com to get community coverage delivered to your phone!
Read anytime at http://mobile.thisweeknews.com
See PARKS, page A3