July 7, 2011
City grant program up for renewal By LISA AURAND ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Grove City Council on July 5 was scheduled to renew its financial support of the Town Center Commercial Revitalization Grant Program. The proposal would appropriate an additional $100,000 from the general fund for the program, which offers grants of up to $10,000 for refurbishment of properties in the downtown historic preser-
vation area. The program is a 50-percent match. A closer look From January 2010 through September 2010, the city awarded $75,154 in grants The proposal would appropriate an additional $100,000 from the general for 15 projects totaling $158,542. This fund for the program, which offers grants of up to $10,000 for refurbishyear, council appropriated $50,000 in its ment of properties in the downtown historic preservation area. The program annual budget toward the grants. is a 50-percent match. In early 2010, city council allocated $100,000 toward the fund and approprithe loan program. ated an additional $40,000 in Septem- grant from $1,000 to $10,000. City council member Steve Bennett “We’re allowing the business and propber. A 2009 vote by council increased the maximum amount of the matching on July 2 told The Record he supports erty holders to improve the looks of the
property in the town center,” he said. “There’s quite a few different projects that we want to be able to fund. There are ones that need to get done while there’s still nice weather.” Bennett said some business owners are pledging as much as $25,000 to $30,000 of their own money toward the projects and are applying for $10,000 in grant money from the city. See CITY GRANT, page A2
Softball teams that brawled to meet again
BLAST AT BEULAH
By LISA AURAND ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Photos by Lorrie Cecil/ThisWeek
Grove City celebrated Independence Day on Saturday, July 2, at the Blast at Beulah, held at Beulah Park, 3811 Southwest Blvd. (Top) The Grove City Navy Junior ROTC prepares to present the colors at the event. (Left) Three-year-old Hope Delong plays with the hula hoops in the children’s area. while (above) Angel Gillam and her 2-year-old son, Jayden, dance to the music of Wally and the Beavs at the Blast at Beulah.
The Grove City High School classes of 2003 and 2007 will be watched closely at this year’s Grove City Homecoming Alumni Softball Tournament scheduled for July 30 and 31. Both teams, which were involved in an altercation at last year’s tournament, are on probation for two years, tournament organizer Steve Carr said Saturday, July 2. Grove City Council members were expected to vote July 5 on whether to allow beer sales at Fryer Park during the annual event. Grove City police said the fight broke out on a field at Fryer Park between the classes of 2003 and 2007, as the winning teams were congratulating each other, according to one of those involved. Police said the incident started with three people — a father and son and someone on an opposing team — and escalated to include about 70 individuals. The three men, who had been drinking throughout the day, gave differing accounts of what occurred, police said. The Sertoma Club, which sold beer at the tournament last year, has elected not to do so this year, Carr said, but will sell food at the event. The ordinance before council sought permission for the Grove City Titans Youth Baseball Organization to sell beer at the event from 11 a.m. to the end of the last game each evening, no later than 10 p.m. Council president Ted Berry said July 1 that he was unsure whether he would vote in favor of allowing beer sales at the park. “I’ve got mixed emotions on that because of what happened last year,” Berry said. “I want to hear what the proposal is and hear what kind of protections they have.” Berry added he believes that alcohol itself isn’t to blame for the fight that took place. “Alcohol is not the problem. It’s people that are not acting responsibly,” he said. “We’ve allowed (drinking) on the public streets downtown. ... You’ve got to be consistent in what you’re allowing. So long as there’s proper surveillance and things like that, it wouldn’t be right to say no to one and yes to the other or vice versa.” Police Chief Steve Robinette said security will be increased at this year’s event. “We’ve had a couple of meetings (with the organizers) over the last couple of months and we have one next week,” he said. Robinette wouldn’t share specific security plans, but Carr said two additional special duty police officers will be at the event at the request of Robinette and the Grove City attorney. In addition, only team members from the classes of 2003 and 2007 are allowed on the field, Carr said. “They can only have classmates on the field with them. No fathers or coaches for a two-year period,” he said. “Those measures seem to have satisfied the city.” Carr said the 2010 incident was the first in the tournament’s 29-year history “and hopefully our last,” he said.
Business survey Karnes to be remembered at fair sets goal of better communication By GARY BUDZAK ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By LISA AURAND
based research company Saper-
ThisWeek Community Newspapers stein Associates $22,000 to de-
Most Grove City businesses are happy with the quality of the local school system and the city’s transportation infrastructure, but want improved communication with the city, according to the results of Grove City’s first business survey. Grove City paid Columbus-
velop questions and administer the online survey with the goal of learning opinions about city services, business needs and how to better attract other businesses. “Our objectives were … to get a real handle on how many busiSee BUSINESS, page A3
The 94th edition of the Franklin County Fair will feature some new events and will honor an old friend. Saturday, July 16, the fair’s opening day, is also Franklin County Sheriff Jim Karnes Day. Karnes, the longest-serving sheriff in Franklin County history, died last month of pancreatic cancer. He was 71. “He was a big fair supporter, and we want to show our respect and honor him for everything that he’s done for us,” said Allison Rushley, senior fair board member. Karnes was to have received a golden
ticket from fair officials, which would have given him free admission to the fair forever. His wife, Sandy Karnes, will get that ticket. “He was always present at the fair several days throughout the week,” Rushley said of Karnes. “He bought animals from the Junior Fair kids at the livestock sale and he purchased goods from our Junior Fair kids at the creative baking auction. He also entered his fudge and apple pie into our senior fair board contests.” Also on opening day will be three new events at the entertainment tent: a cute baby contest at 3 p.m., when children 5 and younger will be wearing farm attire; a toddler trot at
4 p.m.; and a diaper dash contest at 4:30 p.m. There will be two new daily shows at the fair — bicycle stunts by Rise Above BMX Entertainment, and the Kidbuck$ Game Show, where children can win prizes by doing different activities. Another daily activity is barn tours, when Junior Fair members will talk about the various animals shown at the fair. An old-fashioned draft horse pull is another new event for the fair. “It’s kind of like a truck or tractor pull. You just don’t have the loud noises,” Rushley said. “They hook the horses up, and they See COUNTY FAIR, page A2