Memorial Day festivities!
I hope that you and your families enjoyed the Memorial Holiday weekend, and that this included some overt and appreciative acknowledgment of our nation’s veterans and their families, in particular those who have died or been injured in military service. As usual, our community turned out in large numbers for the parade down Main Street, which this year was punctuated by a fly-over by two fighter jets! Pretty spectacular, when combined with the rolling might of the Lima-built Abrams battle tank that accompanied the marching parade units.
In addition to the events that took place on Memorial Day itself, a couple of local events were appropriate lead-ins for the nation’s holiday:
On Saturday, May 22, the Freedom Flag Monument was dedicated at the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center.
You can check out its unique and inspiring design at www.uawfreedomflag.com, where this photo and lots of others are catalogued. You can also fill out a form to sponsor a brick in the name of a veteran that you wish to honor. A great way to say “thank you” to a family member or friend who served.
Congratulations to UAW Local 2075 which represents workers at General Dynamics’ operations at the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center. Their many years of team work and creative efforts stimulated generous donations from individuals and organizations in order to create this wonderful reminder of the men and women who make up our nation’s military organizations, the sacrifices they have made, and the freedom which we enjoy as a consequence.
Also, on Wednesday, May 26, the City of Lima opened up the Faurot Park Children’s Fountain for the summer season by spotlighting the Veterans who work in the employ of the City.
Peter White and Amy Harpster were on hand to flip the switch to turn on the Children’s Fountain and to start the summer season.
In addition to Peter and Amy, the City gratefully acknowledges the other military veterans that work in all municipal departments: Allan Eversole, Andrew Groman, Andy Green, Damon Engleman, Gilbert Frew, Greg Adkins, Greg Zickafoose, Harold Camper, Jason Warren, Jim Watson, Joe Clay, Kevin Martin, Lewis Shepherd, Mark Factor, Michael Ovelgonne, Mike Caprella, Nathan Garlock, Randy Tigner, Richard Shade, Shelly Scarberry, Steve Cleaves, and Vince Ozier.
Our thanks to all who have served in the US. Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard!
Ground Breaking for the Vine Street Grade Separation (aka Underpass)
Tuesday, May 25, brought the Director of the Ohio Department of Transportation, Jolene Molitoris, to Lima to assist in the ground breaking ceremony for the much anticipated Grade Separation project on Vine Street. This project is the largest federal stimulus project in the 8 county region, involving two mainline railroads, CSX and Norfolk Southern. The project will cost approximately $15 million and provide relief each day for 17,000 vehicles which routinely are in conflict with the 40 passing trains.
The graphic illustrates the finished look for the Vine Street project. Two local contractors, R.D. Jones and Tuttle Construction, are the primary contractors on the project.
Team work involving ODOT District and Central offices, architects and engineers from the Bassett Company, Kohli & Kaliher, and the Poggemeyer Design Group, the CSX and NS railroads, and the City of Lima not only accomplished the groundbreaking, but also pushed the project across the finish line in order to secure the federal stimulus funding.
The Lima News article at http://www.limaohio.com/articles/breaks-50597-city-ground.html discusses the project and its safety, job creation and economic development implications.
A Personal Invitation from Unity Elementary’s 2nd Grade Class
One day recently I was doing chores at home when the door bell rang. There was a young boy and his mother. He said that his name was Xylon, that he was a student at Unity Elementary school, that he had told his teacher he lived in my neighborhood, and that he would be willing to invite me to visit their classroom.
Would I come?
Well, sure I would.
On May 20, I had the opportunity to visit the 2nd grade classrooms of Unity Elementary teachers Julie Rummel and Kimberly Schmenk, where the students have been learning about Lima. They have a special motivation for their studies because they are engaged in a distance learning project with a classroom in Huntington, West Virginia. Just as the Unity students were preparing reports about Lima, the Huntington students were researching their community. Soon they will be sharing their reports with one another via a video hook up between their classrooms. I was invited to hear their presentation and help answer their questions.
As you can see, we had fun and learned a lot too!
Take care, everyone!
Dave
David and Linda Berger
1211 Lakewood Avenue
Lima, Ohio 45805
419-228-7498
dberger@wcoil.com
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