July 28, 2011
Two board seats up for grabs this fall “You can talk and talk, but you never know who is going to turn in petitions,” Keegan said. Financial constraints caused by state budget cuts, Two seats on the Worthington Board of Educa- along with the uncertainty caused by a possible retion will be filled in the Nov. 8 election. call of Senate Bill 5, will have an effect on Julie Keegan and Charlie Wilson said the schools in the next few years, she said. they plan to run for re-election. It also will be a time to reassess the Residents Steve Kucinski and John district’s direction as a new superinHyre have indicated they intend to run, tendent and assistant superintendent take and more candidates could appear by over in the fall, she said. the Aug. 10 deadline for filing nominatKeegan, an attorney, still has three of ing petitions with the Franklin County Board four children in the schools and said she beof Elections. lieves she is ready to take on the board’s chalBy CANDY BROOKS
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lenges over the next four years. “The main reason I decided to run is, there is an enormous learning curve,” she said. “I have learned so much in the past four years. I would like to use it to hit the ground running in the next four years.” Wilson is a professor of law at Ohio State University and has been on the board for eight years. “I found it to be satisfying,” Wilson said. “There is a lot to be done to keep an excellent school district improving.” Kucinski is a language-arts teacher-leader at Dublin Coffman High School. He has a Ph.D. in educational psychology from OSU.
His Facebook page on March 3 listed his qualifications as community member, homeowner, taxpayer and parent of three boys. He has lived in Colonial Hills for 10 years. Hyre is a tax lawyer, accountant and real estate investor who lives in Worthington Hills. He reportedly participated in the Worthington Hills Independence Day parade as a board candidate. He recently spoke to the board about the lack of transparency in the process of negotiating and approving labor contracts for teachers. cbrooks@thisweeknews.com www.ThisWeekNEWS.com
So far, eight vying for five council seats By CANDY BROOKS
FARMERS MARKET (Above) Bonnie and Bill Buesching look at Phil Keller’s herb selection during the weekly Worthington Farmers Market on July 23. Keller has found success selling herbs, flower baskets and vegetables at the market. Keller was one of the original market vendors when it was started in 1987. (At right) Mike Anderson arranges a bunch of sunflowers during the farmers market. He sells blackberries, peppers and zucchini in addition to sunflowers. The Worthington Farmers Market is held Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon in downtown Worthington.
Photos by Adam Cairns/ThisWeek
Administrator salaries frozen for two years By CANDY BROOKS
increases in 2011-12 or in 2012- contract. Taxpayer liability will
ThisWeek Community Newspapers 13. In the following school year, be capped at $20,800 a year for
The Worthington school district’s salary freeze will extend to administrators for the next two years. The Worthington Board of Education approved the new compensation and fringe-benefits package for administrators during its July 25 meeting. The package calls for no salary
administrators will receive a 0.5percent salary increase, plus a 0.5-percent increase if the district receives a rating of “Excellent with Distinction” on the state report card or meets other state achievement goals. Also, administrators will abide by the same health-care cost cap that Worthington teachers had agreed to in their most recent
family coverage. “While I think it unlikely that the cap will be reached in the three years of this agreement, it does set a ceiling on health-care costs that will be useful in levy planning,” board president Marc Schare said. The administrative package is
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A closer look
Five incumbents and three challengers have announced plans to run for five seats on Worthington City Council in November. Candidates have until 4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 10, to file nominating petitions with the Franklin County Board of Elections. By then, more candidates could appear, and the three challengers must decide if they want to run for a four-year or a two-year term. Bonnie Michael, Bob Chosy and Dave Norstrom all plan to run to maintain their seats. This is the regular year in which their seats would be up for re-election and, if elected, they would serve four more years on council. That is where “regular” ends with this election. Robert Schmidt and Joseph Davis have been appointed to council in the past two years. Schmidt was appointed to replace Dave Foust, who resigned when he moved from the city. Davis was appointed to replace Mike Duffey, who left to serve in the Ohio House of Representatives. Both promised the council members who appointed them that they would be candidates in the fall for the seats to which they were appointed. If elected, they will serve two-year terms. Doug Smith, D.J. Falcoski and Rachael Dorothy must decide whether to challenge one of the established council members for a four-year seat or take on Schmidt and Davis for a two-year term. Smith said he has not decided but is leaning toward running against Michael, Chosy and Norstrom for a four-year term. Falcoski said he would seek one of the two-year seats. He said he respects Michael too much to run against her. Dorothy did not return phone calls, and her candidate website does not indicate which seat she would pursue.
Bonnie Michael, Bob Chosy and Dave Norstrom all plan to run to maintain their seats. This is the regular year in which their seats would be up for re-election and, if elected, they would serve for four more years.
None of the veteran council members had a difficult time deciding to run, they said. Each wants to continue to be involved with projects that are under way, such as the development of the Shops at Worthington Place, the reconstruction of the I-270/U.S. Route 23 interchange and the Wilson Bridge corridor plan. Michael, an attorney in private practice, is seeking a fifth term. Continuing to provide highquality city services in light of state budget cuts will be a challenge facing council in the coming years, she said. Chosy, a retired physician, also seeks a fifth term. “With so many changes on council, I think it’s good to have a person with some history on there,” he said. Norstrom, a transportation consultant, is completing his first fouryear term. “I value what I am doing,” he said. “Cost-effective operations continue to be a primary concern.” Davis, co-owner of Worthington Jewelers, said he believes the proposed Riverlea annexation and the challenges created by the state budget would be issues in the campaign. Schmidt, an attorney with Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur, played a pivotal role on the Riverlea Annexation Commission and believes the annexation proposal would be a key part of the campaign. Smith, who was kept off the ballot two years ago because of an See COUNCIL, page A2
City warns candidates: No political signs on public land By CANDY BROOKS
signs that are illegally posted ing department and placed in
ThisWeek Community Newspapers too close to the street, in parks an outside storage area.
The city of Worthington no longer will look the other way when political signs crop up in the public rights of way. With the local election season approaching, the city engineer’s department has announced that it would either move or confiscate political
or on other public land. In the past, the city enforced the local ordinance only when it received complaints. This year, the city will do a weekly sweep. Signs that aren’t in compliance with the local law will either be moved onto private property or, if not near private property, will be taken to the city engineer-
Stored signs may be recovered by a candidate or candidate’s or cause’s representative. Those that aren’t recovered will be destroyed after the election. Though enforcement will be tighter, the ordinance has been loosened a bit to make it easi-
See SALARIES, page A2
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See SIGNS, page A2