July 3, 2011
Blue Lake Park
Residents offer to spruce up area By CARLA SMITH ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Prairie Township residents who want to enhance public space at Blue Lake Park themselves approached the board of trustees June 29 for direction and help. Eric Hesson, the father of two children, approached the board at its regular meeting to ask permission to purchase and set up soccer goals and a vol-
leyball net at the small community park located off Hubbard Road in the township. “We use the park quite a bit,” Hesson said. “I am here to see if you could help us out getting goals. We’ll help maintain the field.” Cost of the soccer goals is around $173, he said, and the cost of the volleyball net and poles is about $306. “I believe there is plenty of room for
it and it stays pretty dry,” Hesson said. “We have had positive feedback on both the soccer and volleyball idea.” Trustee Steve Kennedy said he thought it was a nice idea but cautioned about putting too much personal time and money into the project. “The only thing is, you need to understand that this is still a public park,” Kennedy said. “There is no membership and it is first-come, first served.”
“This is something that is definitely for the neighborhood,” Hesson said. When it comes to any legal issues dealing with residents pitching in to help maintain a public park, township administrator Tracy Hatmaker said those residents who will be involved will have to fill out a standard liability form. It would also be better if the township went ahead and made the purchases for the residents, she said.
“All these expenses can be done at an administrative level,” Hatmaker said. In other news, trustees had to decide whether to declare 20 properties a nuisance due to high grass, weeds, trash or other maintenance issues. Two vacant lots located along I-270 and Emmit Avenue were among the 20 properties up for consideration. See PRAIRIE TOWNSHIP, page A2
Store manager seeks to be useful in community
REBELS FOR A CAUSE
By CARLA SMITH ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Adam Cairns/ThisWeek
Mike Conway of Galloway lets out a rebel yell as he lines up with the Conferderate soldiers prior to the morning battle during the Civil War encampment and re-enactment at Civic Park in Reynoldsburg on June 25. For a slideshow of additional pictures of the day-long event, visit ThisWeekNews.com.
Clinger: Cell phones, teen drivers don’t mix By KEVIN PARKS ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Columbus banned texting while driving in May 2010. NowScott Clinger, the Columbus Police Department liaison officer for Precinct 1, believes it’s time to take things a step further: Prohibit drivers younger than 18 from talking on their cell phones while behind the wheel. When Clinger broached the subject at last week’s monthly meeting of Northland area Block Watch captains, one of those present suggested an even higher age limit for new legislation banning using a cell phone
while operating a motor vehicle — “like maybe 40.” “It’s in the thought stage,” Clinger said, adding that he had met with the legislative assistant to Columbus City Council member Michelle M. Mills, chairwoman of the public safety and judiciary committee. It’s beyond that stage in several states, and the Federal Transportation Safety Board voted in September 2005 to add a ban on novice motorists using cell phones to the annual “Most Wanted Safety Recommendations to States.” “Learning how to drive while distracted is definitely a recipe for disaster,” the board’s then-acting chair-
man, Mark Rosenker, told the Associated Press. At that time, according to the wire service story, 11 states and the District of Columbia had placed restrictions cell phone use among novice drivers, and some banned handheld cell phones completely. The states with restrictions on wireless communication while driving were Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee and Texas. Since that time, California has joined the list. More recently, an effort to prohibit teen cell phone use
failed in Utah after it was approved by the state senate. Keeping young drivers focused on learning how to drive is what prompted him to raise the idea with city council, Clinger told the Block Watch representatives. Driving distracted causes accidents, he said. “You know how adults do with a phone; it’s bad enough,” Clinger said. Paving the Way program coordinator J.P. Blackwood echoed Clinger’s sentiments. He said people who argue that speaking on a cell phone is no differSee PHONES, page A2
Westerville resident Joe Cruz is making his mark in Prairie Township by striking up partnerships and giving back to the community. Cruz is the general manager of a Home Depot at the exit of I-270 and West Broad Street in Prairie Township. A few weeks ago, he and a team of volunteers from his store helped some township residents spruce up their properties. In the spring and summer months, the Prairie Township Zoning Department is inundated with calls from residents complaining about the upkeep, or lack of it, at some residences, said zoning inspector Connie Swisher. Trash and high grass are among the most common complaints. Once a complaint comes into the township office, it is checked out by the zoning department. The board of trustees has the authority to declare the property a nuisance, at which point the township can clean up the property and assess the cost to the property owner. But failure to maintain a property isn’t always the fault of the property owner, Swisher told ThisWeek. Sometimes grass and weeds can get away from a homeowner who is elderly or physically unable to do the work. This is where Joe Cruz and his team of Home Depot volunteers come riding to the rescue. And it all began, he said, with those relationships he forged while managing a Home Depot in Grove City. As a store manager, Cruz said he has always tried to build and maintain relationships with local community leaders. Not only does it help promote his business, but it gives him a chance to see what he and his staff can do to help others, he said. He learned a lot while he was managing the Grove City store, he said. “I was at that store for six years and developed a lot of relationships,” he said. “We started working on a variety of projects.” Those relationships included one with former See STORE MANAGER, page A2
Jaguars to roar around Franklin County fairgrounds By GARY BUDZAK ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Jaguars will be on the prowl July 6 at the Franklin County Fairgrounds. No, it’s not Bradley High School students, or the big cats – we’re talking British sports/luxury cars. The Jaguar Association of Central Ohio is putting on a slalom challenge at the fairgrounds as part of the Jaguar Clubs of North America Challenge Championship July 5-9. The local Jaguar club volunteered to host the event. Membership chairman Dave Putnam said 120 vintage Jaguars and their owners from all over the country, Canada and Mexico will take part in events in Powell,
Dave Putnam is at the wheel of a 1950 Jaguar Mark V Saloon, on the way to winning his class at the Jaguar Association of Central Ohio’s slalom racing event last year at the Franklin County Fairgrounds. The Buckeye Buggy bus in the back powers timing equipment for the event.
Hilliard and Dublin. headquarters at “The Barn” in First, the owners will meet at Powell on July 5 to kick off the the local Jaguar organization’s event. The next morning, the
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slalom event takes place at the fairgrounds. Putnam said it should start at 10 a.m. and go until 2 or 3 p.m. Although registration for the event is over, people are welcome to come out and watch the slalom driving for free. Bleachers will be set up. Putnam said the club held a similar event at the fairgrounds last October. “We had one there last fall to kind of test it out and see how it worked, and it worked out very well,” Putnam said. “We had done one this spring at a church parking lot and it worked all right, but not for the quantity of cars we’re going to have for a national event.” The fairgrounds is also pre-
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ferred because it has better restrooms, bleachers and the staff is helpful in doing things like sweeping gravel and blocking the back gate so people don’t cut through the middle of the course. The slalom competition is a bit like what one might see on “Top Gear.’” An area is blocked off with 30 traffic cones set up. Thirty or so drivers, in different classes, will line up and are timed as they go through the pattern a couple of times in three different configurations. A school bus dubbed the “Buckeye Buggy” holds a generator for the club to power the computers and timing equipment. The fastest time wins in each class. Putnam, who lives in Wor-
thington, said he and his 1950 Jaguar Mark V Saloon can negotiate the course in just under a minute, but some of the modified and newer Jags can slide through in less than 40 seconds. Another reason to visit the Fairgrounds is this year’s challenge features the popular Jaguar XKEs, also known as the E-types, which are now 50 years old. Putnam said the challenge will also feature a rally from Dublin to Dayton to visit a Packard museum on July 7. There is a cruisein on July 8 and a Classic Auto Show on July 9 at the Metro Center in Dublin. The E-types will be shown alongside other makes See JAGUARS, page A2
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.