June 2, 2011
Community Development Committee
Backyard chickens to be debated June 6 By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers Whether Reynoldsburg residents will be allowed to raise chickens in their backyards will be on the Community Development Committee’s June 6 agenda. Councilwoman Leslie Kelly, who chairs the committee, said she will be meeting with council clerk Nancy Frazier and city attorney Jed Hood to make
sure the proper procedures are in place to allow the practice. The issue of raising backyard chickens was brought up during a May 9 city council meeting by resident Richard Boone, who said he and his family want to raise chickens in their backyard but had found city code is unclear on the subject. He found in the city’s ordinance on “Keeping Wild Or Exotic Animals” does
not specifically mention chickens or domestic poultry. Boone asked if city officials would consider discussing the issue and agree to amend the ordinance to include chickens or domestic poultry. The issue caught the attention of another resident, Matt Jorgenson, of 7412 Bryden Road, who said he used to raise chickens but stopped after discovering the city’s ordinance might not allow it.
“When I first tried to do it, I had similar frustrations trying to figure out in the ordinances if they were specifically prohibited or permitted,” Jorgenson said. “There are certain types of pets that are listed and there’s certain types of farm animals that are prohibited. Chickens weren’t mentioned, as far as I recall,” he said. Jorgen said he would like to see clarification on the issue because keeping
chickens in an urban area is a trend and he would like to work at forming a club with others who are also interested in raising chickens. Kelly said she thinks allowing people to raise chickens in their backyards is a great idea. “I would like to be able to allow people to raise backyard chickens, but I See CHICKENS, page A2
June 3-12
Officials prepare for annual Clean-Up Week By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Tim Norman/ThisWeek
The Reynoldsburg High School class of 2011 valedictorians pose on stage following an awards ceremony in the school auditorium May 26. They are (front row, from left) Darlene Berrios, Nicholas Elliott, Melanie Guinto, Jessica Hayward, Alyvia Johnson, Mary Katherine Krigbaum, Paul Daniel Newell, Corey Pollock and Tiffany Ricks, (back row, from left) Caitlin Rigsby, Mariah Scott, Ruwaydah Shalash, Taylor Snare, Michelle Snyder, Brandy Stapleton, Chelsea Stiner, Samantha Strawser, Adam Swingle, Kalkidan Sisay Tefera, Caroline Wallace, Alexis Wilder, Tai Yee and Kellie Yung.
23 valedictorians lead class of 2011 By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers This year’s class of almost 400 Reynoldsburg High School seniors were led by 23 valedictorians during the May 31 graduation ceremony. All students who earn an accumulated grade point average of 4.0 or higher during the eight semesters of their high school careers earn the designation of valedictorian.
RHS principal Ed Johnson said he is proud of this year’s valedictorians, calling them “perfectly fine young men and women.” He noted the number of valedictorians throughout the years has been consistent. “Historically, we’ve had 20-plus valedictorians each year and we’ve always had a National Merit Scholar thrown in there. When I look around the area at other schools, we’re competitive with the best,” Johnson said.
“It’s a consistent excellent performance by our seniors every year, and I think it speaks highly of the teachers and students, and district K through 12.” Johnson said start of the district’s four STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) academies could boost the number of students achieving valedictorian status even higher. See VALEDICTORIANS, page A2
Volunteers are still needed for Reynoldsburg’s annual Community Clean-Up Week, scheduled for June 3-12. Event chairman Mary Hudson said in addition to throwing away trash from their yards, basements or garages for Rumpke to collect on the June 9 regular trash day, residents can also hold garage sales during the week event without having to pay the $1 fee. Saturday, June 4, is being dubbed Community Clean-up Day. The city will offer document-shredding facilities and bulk-item and electronics disposal bins in the parking lot at the municipal building, 7232 E. Main St. In addition, Hudson said, residents who bring in old and/or broken red recycling bins will receive replacement bins. She said bins for trash and bulk items would remain in the parking lot throughout the weeklong event. Reynoldsburg Parks and Recreation Department director Jason Shamblin said a new addition to the event on Saturday will be that representatives from Habitat for Humanity will See CLEAN-UP WEEK, page A2
Invention Convention
Reynoldsburg student rewarded for creativity By DAVID S. OWEN “Glo-Turf,” glow-in-the-dark pelThisWeek Community Newspapers lets spread onto artificial turf so soccer players can see the field better Hannah Ashton Middle School if it isn’t well-lit. sixth-grader Mitch Klecan won the “We are very proud of him,” “Out of This World Creative” schol- Diane Klecan said. “He’s an awearship award at this year’s region- some student and he’s also in the al Invention Convention on May Quest gifted program here in 21. Reynoldsburg.” The held at COSI in downtown An avid soccer player, Klecan Columbus and featured inventions said he came up with the idea after from students throughout central playing with his teammates and Ohio who hoped to scholarships noticing the sun had gone down and ranging in size from $50 to $2,500. the field they were on had no lightKlecan, son of Diane and Jim ing and it became too dark to see. Klecan, took home a trophy and a “So I was trying to think of a way $500 award for his invention called that we would be able to see, be-
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cause a lot of fields don’t have lights on them, so I was thinking of a way to see without lights,” Klecan said. As a result, during an Invention Convention class in March, taught by Todd Stanley, Klecan said he came up with the idea for the glowin-the-dark pellets. He then worked on building a scale model of a soccer field, about the size of an eightinch by 11-inch textbook, and spread glow-in-the-dark pellets on it. When he tested it, the pellets lit up the turf, so he was selected to participate in this year’s Invention Convention along with six other students from his class.
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“The last few years, I’ve coordinated the Invention Convention at Hannah Ashton,” Stanley said. “I had 25 of my sixth-graders do it, with overall 50 from this building in which the top seven were selected. “We had teachers judge them and they picked the top seven. Then we sent them on to the district competition at COSI, and he won the award,” he said of Klecan. Stanley said a variety of corporate sponsors judge the entries in the Invention Convention and the See CREATIVITY, page A5
emorial Day was not conceived to be the kickoff to summer activities or as a reason to schedule a three-day weekend. It was established to recognize the nation’s military veterans who died while fighting for their country. In keeping with efforts to recognize and honor the sacrifices and service of military veterans, ThisWeek Community Media is launching Honoring Heroes, a continuing series through which we will share the stories and remembrances from and about local men and women who are either on active duty or retired from service. As part of covering their beats, our reporters often hear about and write about veterans leaving for overseas or com-
Hannah Ashton Middle School sixth-grader Mitch Klecan won the “Out of This World Creative” scholarship award at this year’s regional Invention Convention for his invention called “Glo-Turf,” glow-in-the-dark pellets spread onto artificial turf.
ing home at the end of a tour of duty. We’ve covered funeral services of those who have sacrificed their lives. We’ve written about soldiers who arrive at their homes or their children’s schools to unexpectedly surprise their delighted families. We know many more stories are out there, waiting to be told. We want to tell them. And we need your help. If you have a story idea about a friend, family member or colleague, let us know by emailing editorial@thisweeknews.com, with the subject line, “Honoring Heroes.” Honoring Heroes isn’t just a ThisWeek Community Media project: It’s about sharing history.
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