August 11, 2011
New turf installed at TWHS stadium By CANDY BROOKS ThisWeek Community Newspapers
The new artificial turf at the Thomas Worthington High School stadium is expected to have a real impact on the whole community. “We’re so excited,” athletics director Dan Girard said on Aug. 9 as he reviewed all of the new ways the high school stadium could be used after the artificial ground cover is ready. That will be on Aug. 26, he said, a week later than planned. The original green cover placed over the field earlier this week has to be removed because of a defect in the manufacturing process. The Motz Group of Cincinnati discovered the problem and was supposed to lay the new turf today (Aug. 11), Girard said. Six junior varsity and varsity soccer games will have to be rescheduled because of the delay. Once all is ready, though, the new ground cover will provide a safer surface for all athletes, will require less maintenance than grass fields, and
will allow the stadium to be used much more than in the past. No longer will use be limited to about 40 events a year. Now all field teams — from football and soccer to lacrosse and field hockey — will be able to play in stadium. Not just varsity teams will play there, either. Junior varsity and freshman teams will play contests there, the band will play there, and physical education classes can be held there. On Sundays, youth booster games will now be played in what is expected to become one of the community’s showplaces. “Aesthetically, it makes the place top-notch for the kids,” Girard said. The use will extend beyond students. Community events, from Independence Day celebrations to picnics, can be held on the artificial turf. The turf project was financed through fund
By Adam Cairns/ThisWeek
Doug Clayton (left) and Rob Comer prepare the rubber high-jump area for its polyurethane coating
See TURF, page A2 beside the new turf field at Thomas Worthington High School on Aug. 8.
School district to put ‘overflow’ policy in writing
SUMMER SHADOWS
By CANDY BROOKS ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Parents who move into the Worthington school district believing their children will attend a neighborhood school are sometimes surprised when those children are forced to ride a bus to a different school. Such overflow occurs when classrooms become overcrowded. It is more cost-effective to pay for a student to ride the bus to another school than to pay for additional teachers for smaller classes, said Worthington administrator George Joseph. The Worthington Board of Education does not plan to change that policy, but it has instructed Joseph to put it in writing and distribute it to families who move into the district. The overflow policy is not new. Fiftynine students were sent to schools outside of their neighborhoods last year. Board members have been receiving complaints recently, and told Rachael Dorothy on Aug. 8 that they plan to put the policy in writing. Dorothy, president of the Colonial Hills Civic Association, said she has heard from several neighborhood families that their children will be bused out of the subdivision to Wilson Hill Elementary School this year. The district begins assigning new stu-
A closer look The overflow policy is not new. Fifty-nine students were sent to schools outside of their neighborhoods last year.
dents to out-of-neighborhood schools when classrooms reach capacity. Primary classrooms, which include grades one through three, should contain 23 to 27 students. The ideal fourth- to sixth-grade class capacity is 28 or 29 students, according to board policy. Administrators try to plan for acceptable class sizes, but sometimes the numbers do not work, and sometimes overflow happens when families move in near the beginning of the school year. There are times when new students are bumped by open enrollment students. All students are eligible to “open-enroll” at any school in the district as long as there is space and they provide their own transportation. Educators try to inform open-enrollment students of their school assignment by July. If a class then becomes full, a new student will be bumped rather than the openSee POLICY, page A2
Worthington Food Pantry hires first paid director By Paul Vernon/ThisWeek
A bicyclist rides along the Olentangy Trail under the West Dublin-Granville Road overpass on Aug. 7.
One exits school board race; one enters bid for council seat By CANDY BROOKS ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Steve Kucinski has dropped out of the Worthington Board of Education race. “I was very excited about the possibility, but I thought it was in my best interest to step out of the way,” he said. Kucinski is a languagearts teacher-leader at Dublin
Coffman High School. His wife teaches music in the Worthington schools. They have three children and live in Colonial Hills. The campaign might have been too stressful for his family and him, he said. With financial constraints and collective bargaining expected to be issues in the race, the salaries and benefits of teachers likely will be part of the dis-
cussion. Instead, Kucinski will work with an organization of parents to communicate about problems and to spread good news about the schools, he said. That leaves three announced candidates for two open seats on the board. Board members Julie Keegan and Charlie Wilson both plan to run for reelection. The third candidate is John Hyre, a tax lawyer, accountant and real estate See RACES, page A2
By CANDY BROOKS ThisWeek Community Newspapers Two years ago, the Worthington Food Pantry and Resource Center opened in a small building on the campus of the United Methodist Children’s Home. That first month, a few volunteers distributed food to 25 families. Today volunteers number more than 300; the pantry is in large, modern quarters on the Harding Hospital campus; and 879 people received assistance in June. With that kind of growth, and more needs to be met, the pantry’s board of directors recently decided it was time to hire its first paid employee. Debra Gray Boyd started as the first paid, part-time executive director in June. Her job is to make sure Worthington school district residents receive the food and assistance they need. “I love my new job,” Boyd said. “I enjoy getting to connect people and organizations to better help our neighbors.” The pantry, located in the old Harding cafeteria and kitchen, is open three times
a week. Shelves are lined with all kinds of food that can be selected by clients, who are referred by social service agencies. Each family can take home enough food for three days on each visit. Besides food, the center helps with utility bills, job searches, furniture and other basic needs. The more than 300 volunteers include businesses that have donated fixtures and furniture as well as money and food; organizations such as the Dublin-Worthington Rotary Club; and schools and faith-based organizations. “It has really been everyone pulling it all together,” Boyd said. Boyd, from Upper Arlington, has a master’s degree in organization development and change management from Bowling Green State University. She has worked with small and large businesses has owned her own small business, and has been involved with other nonprofit organizations. See PANTRY, page A2