Lots of good things are happening in Marietta's City's 1st Ward and elsewhere in the beautiful Mid-Ohio Valley.
We have now removed 76 tires from creeks, yards, puddles, ponds and trails. Thanks to the assistance of Mayor Joe Matthews who helped come up with disposal money and Ted Mahone and staff at Mahone's Tires, we are clearing tires one at a time. Most recently, two were removed from Walker Street near the Marietta Middle School and four from the Glendale Trail near the middle school tennis courts. Thanks to Patrick Stewart for the wheelbarrow and Dick Boulton for his big red truck and muscle. His beloved dog Angel was lookout.
I have gotten permission to work in the Greene to Grandview street right-of-way and slip-prone natural area with the Marietta Health Department in treating six water impoundments for mosquito larva and to fill in a cistern.
Beth Lepore of the Women's Home on Third Street tells me her board is looking for funding to replace sidewalks there so their residents and other pedestrians can more safely traverse the area to and from that beautifully historical women's residence. I'm sure Beth would love to hear from anyone interested in helping with the project there because they have a major bathroom project in the works also.
Marietta College (now) senior Holly Simms made a presentation to the Mayor's Alternative Transportation Advisory Committee about her rough draft of River Trail's first maintenance plan. Holly of Pickerington researched leading maintenance plans around the US to begin formulating ideas that may help us with the existing 2.2 miles of trail and mile of Phase III planned for construction this fall. MATAC will spend time at the next meeting at noon Wednesday, June 6, fine tuning a maintenance plan. City Engineer Joe Tucker suggested the River Trail be included in the street maintenance program that involves professional evaluation every two years so areas needing attention receive it before they deteriorate beyond reasonable repair efforts.
Marietta College (now) senior Shirley Quan of Inner Mongolia has turned her Walk Marietta sidewalk survey information into the Marietta Development Department. A cooperative city-county effort led by Marietta's administration is resulting in a young person being hired by the Washington County Jobs and Families First to input all of the Walk Marietta surveys completed in the past year into the development department computer system.
Hopefully, we may be able to complete the sidewalk surveys as early as October so we may then develop a priority system for making Marietta accessible to one and all. What a wonderful 225th birthday present that would be!
Development Director Andy Coleman and Engineer Joe Tucker spent a recent Sunday updating and redesigning an application for the former Ohio National Guard Armory to pay for the $173,000 of new windows and doors for that historic Front Street structure in the 2nd Ward.
Finally, everyone - and that means you - are invited and welcome Saturday, May 12, to help plant 10,000 sunflowers on Dr. Roger Anderson's farm on Ohio 550 about 5.5 miles west of Marietta just beyond Goodfellows Park.
Planting begins at 9 a.m. We are expecting 30 to 300 volunteers. Those who help will have a life memory from this historic community project. Folks bringing groups (which are most welcome) are encouraged to call in advance so we may have a volunteer supervisor work with your group. As much as I hate to admit it, Roger Anderson's farm is not in the wonderful 1st Ward.
Marietta City Councilman Roger G. Kalter represents the 1st Ward.
