July 6, 2011
Karnes to be remembered at county fair By GARY BUDZAK ThisWeek Community Newspapers
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 Ju-
nior 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.
Website INDEPENDENCE DAY PARADE designed to promote growth By GARY BUDZAK ThisWeek Community Newspapers
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 See FORMER, page A2
Ares gets incentives to stay in Ohio By GARY BUDZAK
Hilliard’s Economic Development Department has its own website, with the appropriate address of www.hilliardworks.com. The site has a list of potential economic incentives that Hilliard can offer a company, a map of planned development areas, a commercial real estate search and information for entrepreneurs and small businesses. There’s also a business-oriented community profile on the site. Among the tidbits, it states, “There are approximately 2,198 companies in Hilliard, Ohio. Taken together these companies have estimated annual sales of $1,053,218,996 and employ an estimated 15,034 people.” The site was launched last fall to coincide with the city’s redesigned site. “I wanted an economic development website,” said David Meeks, economic development director. “I’m catering and trying to appeal to an entirely different clientele than the city’s website, which is concerned with the citizens of Hilliard and visitors to Hilliard, and people looking for general information about the city.” Meeks said he wanted to target the website to commercial real estate developers, brokers and site selectors looking to locate and grow a business in Hilliard. “One of the key things in there is a commercial real estate search tool, and that is powered by a company called Xceligent,” Meeks said. He likes it because it lists smaller business properties in Old Hilliard that may not have a broker representing them. Meeks said the site was designed and developed by Andrew Limbert, the owner of Resonant Interactive, LLC, a Hilliard company. “I wanted to make sure we had it done locally,” Meeks said. “This is really meant as a tool for David to speak to businesses,” Limbert said. “If you’re talking with one person one-on-one on the phone, it’s very difficult to impart some of the information that can potentially be shown through a website. I imagine that this tool is used as a communication method for him and the businesses that he speaks with.” Limbert said this is the first city website he’s worked on. Meeks said the site has been well received to date. However, it continues to evolve, and he’s hoping to tailor more pages to small businesses and list more resources. “It’s always going to be a work in progress as is any website, which they should be,” Meeks said.
A closer look The site, www.hilliardworks.com, has a list of potential economic incentives that Hilliard can offer, a map of planned development areas, a commercial real estate search and information for entrepreneurs and small businesses.
ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Ares Sportswear may expand its operations in Hilliard, thanks to state tax credits approved last week by the Ohio Job Creation Tax Credit Authority. “I’m fairly confident that they will stay in Hilliard,” said David Meeks, Hilliard’s economic development director. “This was just the first step, but the state is on board now with its incentives.” “They were approved by the state of Ohio for a job creation tax credit of seven years and 45 percent for the creation of 90 new jobs,” said Dan Borsky, a tax lawyer with Enterprise Advisory Group, LLC, which consulted with Ares. “This offer is contingent upon Ares choosing to expand into Hilliard from its current location.” Ares, a custom screen-printing and embroidery business that supplies sportswear to teams and schools across the country, is currently located at 3650 Parkway Lane and employs nearly 90 people, said spokeswoman Jackie Miller. “I love the property we’re in, except it’s just not big enough any more, and there’s a place down the street that I really like the looks of,” said Ares co-owner Mike Campbell. “We’ve never considered moving the business out of state, but we could put a satellite office on the West Coast that’s closer to our West Coast customers,” Campbell said. More than 75 percent of Ares’ sales are outside of Ohio. “That’s actually what our meeting with See ARES SPORTSWEAR, page A2
Photos by Lisa Rice/ThisWeek
(Above) The Hilliard Police Department Honor Guard, which made its debut on Sept. 11, 2010, led this year’s city of Hilliard’s Independence Day parade along Norwich Street on July 4. The theme was “Home of the Free Because of the Brave.”
Lockers added to aid sunbathers By GARY BUDZAK ThisWeek Community Newspapers
The Hilliard Family Aquatic Center (HFAC) will have 36 lockers installed in each of the restrooms this month. “I went ahead and ordered lockers for the convenience of the patrons,” said Steven Mazer, director of recreation and parks. “That way, if they want to store and lock some of their valuables up — wallets, cell phones — they have a secure area to do so.” Mazer said the metal ventilated lockers are 12 inches wide by 15 inches high by 12 inches deep. People will need to bring their own lock. If belongings are left overnight, they will be removed the next day. “They’re not big lockers, but they’re what we could get into our budget this year,” Mazer said. “There are some dollars available if we need to do the East pool, or maybe add some more lockers to the Aquatic Center. It all depends on the circumstances.” Coin-operated lockers with removable keys were considered, Mazer said, but they were too expensive. “Hopefully, sometime in the near future,
(Above) Grand marshals Otie and Janet Blankenship ride in the parade. (Right) MacKenzie Rausch of Plain City get pushed by her mother, Nicole, during the parade. Rausch’s father, Jason, is a Norwich Township firefighter. (Far right) George Sorge from the Norwich Township Firefighters Pipes and Drums unit beats his bass drum along Norwich Street while marching in the parade.
’s 0 0 0 2
See POOL LOCKERS, page A3
Live Entertainment!
Swagg Friday July 1, 2011 • 6:00-8:00pm
6 weeks, 6 big acts Diving with the Decades Hilliard Family Aquatic Center 3850 Veterans Memorial Drive www.HilliardOhio.gov
FREE admission after 5:00pm to those born in the “decade of the week”!