ThisWeek Olentangy 6/30

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June 30, 2011

Olentangy hopes to cut step-pay costs By TOM SHEEHAN ThisWeek Community Newspapers

The Olentangy school board on June 22 approved a $157.3 million general fund budget for fiscal year 2012 that includes about $500,000 for all-day, everyday kindergarten for about 300 students and a freeze on step-pay increases for about 300 non-union classified staff. The step-pay freeze, along with no

base-pay increase for central-office supnot begun yet. The port staff, secretaries, aides and other contract with the non-union workers, will save the district Olentangy Teachers about $200,000 next fiscal year, officials Association runs out said. on June 30, 2012. Superintendent Wade Lucas said beThe 16,000-student fore the meeting the district is looking district has about at step pay as a way to cut costs. 1,100 unionized Wade Lucas Two Ohio Association of Public teachers and certified School Employees’ union contracts will staff and about 300 unionized classified expire on June 30. Negotiations have staff.

Both Lucas and treasurer Becky Jenkins said everything will be on the table when union negotiations are held. Despite approval in May of a threeyear, 7.9-mill levy and combination nonew-millage bond issue, school officials have said they still need to cut at least $9.3 million in about three years. They said they plan to spare academic programs from cuts. The all-day, everyday kindergarten

will affect about 20 percent of all kindergarten students. Currently, Olentangy offers all-day kindergarten to about 1,400 students on Mondays, Wednesdays and every other Friday. The 300 students who will go to allday, everyday kindergarten next school year at the new Heritage Elementary See OLENTANGY HOPES, page A2

Liberty loses bid for grants

POWELL FESTIVAL

By BONNIE BUTCHER ThisWeek Community Newspapers

Photos by Lorrie Cecil/ThisWeek

(Above) Michael Treboni shares a candy apple with his 3-year-old daughter, Sophia, during the 15th annual Powell Festival on June 24, held in the Village Green Park. (Left) Dave Smith gets high fives from his son, Ryan, and his nephew, Beau Williamson, as they enjoy the music at the festival. (Below) Ten-year-old Helen Ashworth has a mugshot taken at the Powell police booth at the event.

State budget woes have dashed Liberty Township’s hopes of securing more grants to improve its parks. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is not funding two grant programs to which the township applied this year, letters from the department said. In winter, trustees paid a grant writer $15,000 to better their chances of scoring some state funding for a pedestrian trail and restrooms in parkland behind the YMCA,7798 N. Liberty Road. The site is referred to as South Liberty Park. Township administrator Dave Anderson on June 20 told township trustees the grant failure is a disappointment and an unforeseen circumstance. Anderson said the township applied for NatureWorks and Land Water Conservation Fund grants to help pay the $112,000 cost of a restroom facility. The township also applied for the Clean Ohio Trails Fund and Recreational Trails Program grants for $200,000 to help fund a pedestrian trail that would connect Olentangy Wyandot Run Elementary and Liberty Middle schools to the park, as well as provide for crossing lights at Woodland Glen Drive. The township planned to use bond proceeds remaining from building the YMCA facility, which can be used only to improve the site. Those proSee LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, page A2

Local governments meet new sign regulations By BONNIE BUTCHER ThisWeek Community Newspapers Local government officials say nothing frustrates them more than unfunded mandates from the federal government. One such mandate is the new reflectivity standards for traffic and street signs. The standards take effect in 2015 for traffic signs and in 2018 for street-naming signs, area officials have said.

Orange Twp. July 4 parade to return By BONNIE BUTCHER ThisWeek Community Newspapers

Canceled last year because of road construction, the Orange Township Independence Day parade will return July 4. The celebration will begin at 8 a.m. Monday, July 4, with registration for the Freedom 4 Miler race, which starts at 9 a.m. The parade will start at 10 a.m. The race and the parade routes have changed slightly from previous years. The race will begin and end at

a huge part of the Orange Township community that we felt it would be A closer look nice to have him as grand marshal. He’ll head the parade as our guest of honor,” said Debbie Taranto, of TaranThe race and the parade routes have changed slightly from previous to’s Pizzeria, one of the event oryears. The race will begin and end at Little Bear Golf Club, 1940 ganizers. Little Bear Loop. The parade will start at Glen Oak Elementary The Olentangy High School and School, 7300 Blue Holly Drive, heading south to Orange Road, then Olentangy Orange High School bands east to Old State Road, then south to Little Bear Club. will march in the parade. The parade also includes more than Little Bear Golf Club, 1940 Little Road, then south to Little Bear Club. Bear Loop. The parade will start at Olentangy Local School District 50 entries from businesses, churchGlen Oak Elementary School, 7300 superintendent Wade Lucas will serve es and government representatives Blue Holly Drive, head south to Or- as parade grand marshal. See ORANGE JULY 4, page A3 ange Road, then east to Old State “Olentangy school district is such

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City of Powell Powell City Council’s operations committee discussed the city’s approach to meeting the standards June 21. City manager Steve Lutz in April said the city put some “stop” and “yield” sign decals on existing signs to meet the new standards established by the Federal Highway Administration in 2008. To avoid buying new traffic signs, the city’s public service Steve Lutz department is testing how easily the decals can be put on and how well they weather. Public service director Jeff Snyder has said the cost of decals, which is less than that of new signs, See LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, page A3

Arts, eats and fun in central Ohio The 2011 Special Olympics Ohio Summer Games were held June 24-26 at various locations in the Columbus area. To view a multimedia presentation on opening day, visit ThisWeekNEWS.com.

Click on Social Scene at ThisWeekNEWS.com


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