Extension of Civic Park bad idea
My wife and I read with disappointment your article on Civic Park. According to the article, the Reynoldsburg City Council is considering adding the pond on Wind River Drive to extend the park behind the 12 properties there.
We would like to thank you for bringing it to our attention. Memories of the trouble we experienced when we purchased our property in 1984 came flooding to our minds. People used our property as if it were public property. There were many unsettling incidences where our property was misused, among which are storing fishing items under our deck, playing games in our yard and cutting through our yard to get to the pond.
This was a driving force that caused us to fence our yard. Currently we have witnessed drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and have been forced to clean up beer cans, liquor bottles and fishing debris. We have been cursed at and have been forced to close doors and windows to avoid such language and loud music from radios and boom boxes.
Cars have been broken into and property has been vandalized. Such activities go on at all hours of the day and night. Foot traffic and car traffic has increased in the neighborhood. We are very concerned about our children and grandchildren playing in our backyards next to a public park.
When discussing the article with the other property owners, many of the same concerns came up. We welcomed the comments from council members Mel Clemens and Leslie Kelly about the rights of property owners. We are concerned about the comment that the city could use the pond "for such activities as fishing."
We wonder what other activities will be added. There are fishermen across the pond already who continually build fires and put up tents to camp out all night. What next?
Why did the council fail to notify the owners involved and we had to read it in your paper, especially since the grant’s deadline is Oct. 30? Perhaps they thought they could slip one over on the people who would be directly affected by such a decision.
Tony Reid and Cecelia Reid
Reynoldsburg
Thanks for your support
On Sept. 7, more than 1,200 people gathered in the soccer fields at Pickerington High School Central for the largest community picnic anyone can ever remember.
On behalf of the Violet Township Bicentennial Committee, I would like to thank everyone for coming and making this such a wonderful event.
The efforts of the contestants in the Table Decorating Contest are still the subject of conversation.
A special thank you to our sponsors who made the afternoon possible: Meijer, Dwayne R. Spence Funeral Homes, Bob McDorman Chevrolet, Rogers Basement Waterproofing, WalMart, Primrose School, and Fort Rapids Indoor Waterpark Resort. Also, our thanks go to Great Clips, SportClips and Tim’s Barber Shop for sponsoring the 1800’s Beard and Mustache Contest, the top winner of which was chosen at the picnic.
We could not have hosted such a successful event without the help and cooperation of the Pickerington Local School District who provided a suitable location.
I would also like to express our appreciation to the members of the Pickerington High School North and Central bands who participated; to the Winchester Steel Company from Canal Winchester High School; to the City of Pickerington, the Pickerington Public Library, and the Pickerington Lions Club; to John Hammond, who again shared his time and talent as emcee; to Tony Alfano for leading the sing-a-long; to Angela Frehault and Judy Willoughby from the Pickerington Post Office who were on hand to provide the last of our four special postmark cancellation stamps and hand cancelled all those postcards again; and to the numerous volunteers, without whom the picnic would not have been possible.
I would like to invite you to the last event on our year-long calendar of celebrations. The Bicentennial Finale will be held on the evening of Nov. 15 at Hickory Lakes. The public is welcome and details will soon be available on our Web site, www.violetbicentennial.com or by calling (614) 382-5989.
Those who attended the picnic may be happy to know that at the finale, they will be able to taste some of the food that won the Community Picnic Recipe Contest. Please join us to wrap up the year with family and friends.
Terry Dunlap, Chairman,
Violet Township Bicentennial Celebration Commission
Know your score
Dear reader,
I am writing today with a challenge to you. Know your Kidney Score!
Your Kidney Score indicates how well your kidneys are cleaning your blood and should be as well-known as cholesterol or blood pressure. Far too often people who suffer from kidney disease do not know about it until they have progressed to the later stages of kidney disease.
Kidney disease is a silent killer. Risk factors include diabetes, high blood pressure or a family history of diabetes, high blood pressure or kidney disease. Twenty-six million people in the United States have chronic kidney disease. Annually, more than 100,000 people develop chronic kidney failure and more than 65,000 are waiting for a kidney transplant at this time.
In Ohio alone, more than 1,200 people each year are added to the kidney organ donation list to wait for a new kidney.
If you have diabetes or high blood pressure, you may be able to come to a free kidney screening. The National Kidney Foundation of Ohio is offering a free kidney screening called KEEP from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 29 at Brookwood Presbyterian Church, 2685 E. Livingston Ave.
KEEP Screening participants will experience a comprehensive health screening. Participants get their height, weight and blood pressure checked. They also get a urinalysis to determine if they have protein, blood or white cells in their urine. There is a blood draw to measure hemoglobin, cholesterol and serum creatinine (which can be used to determine their Kidney Score). At the end of the screening, the participant meets with a nephrologist, or kidney doctor, who reviews the results and makes recommendations for follow-up, if needed.
In fact, I will be the doctor on site for the KEEP on Oct. 29. I hope to see you there! The screening is free but appointments are necessary. Please call Danielle Estep at the NKF of Ohio at 800-242-2133 (ext. 224) to make your appointment. You must have an appointment and slots are limited!
In the early stages, there often are no signs or symptoms, which is why knowing your Kidney Score is so important! For more information, logon to www.kidneyscore.org.
Dr. Anil Agarwal
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and Director of Interventional Nephrology, The Ohio State University Medical Center
