Groveport Village Councilman Ed Rarey is continuing his crusade to have the village follow through on earlier plans to install sidewalks throughout Groveport.
"I’m going to keep harping on this," Rarey said at council’s Sept. 24 meeting.
A few years back the village repaired sidewalks as well as built new sidewalks in some areas under a program Rarey said was initially spearheaded by former councilwoman Margaret Ann Cottrill.
"We didn’t follow through on our sidewalk program," said Rarey. "This is an important issue."
Rarey mentioned Elm Street from Walnut Street west to College Street, West Street north of Main Street, Center Street north from Main Street, Wirt Road, Church Street, the west side of Mohr Avenue north of Clark Court, Delane Road, Lesleh Avenue, Hendron Road, and Main Street to State Route 317 as some of the areas still in need of sidewalks.
Rarey said sidewalks are necessary to keep residents and students from having to walk in the street to get to their destinations.
He cited the number of people who must walk in the road to get to Heritage Park each year for the village’s highly attended annual Apple Butter Day in October as an example of the need for sidewalks.
"If you’re going to Apple Butter Day or the cemetery you’re going to walk in the street at some point," said Rarey.
Council could discuss the sidewalk issue further at a future meeting.
Groveport’s population grows
The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) has estimated Groveport’s population as of Jan. 1, 2008 will be 5,207. This is a 1.3 percent increase over 2007 projections.
According to U.S. Census figures and information provided by the Groveport Heritage Museum, Groveport’s population has increased each decade since 1830 except for 1890, 1900, and 1990. Here are Groveport’s population numbers over the past 177 years: *1830 – 100; *1840 – 250; 1850 – 480; 1860 – 541; 1870 – 627; 1880 – 650; 1890 – 578; 1900 – 519; 1910 – 643; 1920 – 671; 1930 – 946; 1940 – 1,052; 1950 – 1,165; 1960 – 2,043; 1970 – 2,490; 1980 – 3,286; 1990 – 2,948; 2007 – 5,207. (*denotes combined estimated population of Wert’s Grove and Rarey’s Port before the towns merged into Groveport in 1847.)
Other Groveport news
•Groveport Police School Resource Officer Christopher Gyke reported that, since the beginning of the school year, there have been 13 fights/assaults/disturbances at Groveport Madison High School. Last year, for the entire 2006-07 school term, there were 150 fights/assaults/disturbances at the school.
In a written report to council, Police Lt. Kurt Blevins’ stated "…there has only been one assault based arrest and the students have been very well behaved. Officer Gyke contributes part of this success is due to the strict enforcement of policies set forth by the school district."
•On Sept. 18, Franklin County Emergency Management (FEMA) and Homeland Security notified the village that "the siren system located at Main Street and Hendron Road remained non-functional due to a lightning strike. Additionally, the siren located behind Eastland Career Center is operating at 75 percent efficiency due to a faulty siren driver." FEMA officials hoped to have the systems fully functional by Sept. 26.
