1 March 6, 2021 Vol. 19 No. 4 Rumen Zdravchev A group of Wooster High School Drama Club members rehearse for their upcoming presentation of “Footloose,” based on the popular Kevin Bacon film from 1984, which follows Ren McCormack as he journeys with his mother from Chicago to small town Bomont. The show will be held at the high school March 12-14 and 19-21. See page 4. PERMIT NO. 4 4 NO. PERMIT WILLIAMSPORT, PA PA WILLIAMSPORT, PAID POSTAL CUSTOMER POSTAL 2 Park plans 5 A real help 9 Sign-ups started POSTAGE U.S. PRSRTSTD Group meets to discuss WHS senior pitches in Registration underway for *****************ECRWSS**** county’s open spaces. where needed. WCS kindergarten. 2 2 • Wooster Weekly News March 6, 2021 Group meets over plans for county parks 7368 CR 623 • PO Box 358 By Rhonda Edgerton about 35 volunteers. to create a framework for Millersburg OH 44654 On Feb. 16 an ad hoc Numerous natural areas establishing an identity. 330-674-2300 • 888-674-1010 committee in support of the in and around the county “We need to think broadly Fax 888-769-3960 Wayne County Park Dis- include Wooster Memorial with a systematic approach OFFICE HOURS trict held the first of sev- Park, Browns Lake Bog to economic development, Monday-Thursday 8 AM-5 PM eral planned meetings that Friday 8 AM-Noon Preserve and Shreve Lake education and quality-of-life will ultimately implement in Shreve, Funk Bottoms, issues,” Schuster said. “Hav- DISPLAY AD DEADLINE a strategic plan for pursu- Call 330-440-2835 Johnson Woods, the Kill- ing this structure will make TUESDAYS AT NOON ing dedicated funding and buck Marsh, Vulture’s Knob future decisions easier once Stark • Tusc • S. Tusc administration for natural mountain bike park, Secrest we lay the groundwork.” WEDNESDAYS AT 11 AM areas in the county. Arboretum at OARDC, Schuster also said the Wooster “We’re just too big to The Wilderness Center in group will not duplicate WEDNESDAYS AT NOON continue working on a vol- Wilmot, Oak Hill Park, what has already been done Holmes • Wayne unteer basis; it has simply Grosjean Park, the Sippo by other entities but instead CLASSIFIED AD DEADLINE become too overwhelming,” Trail, the Ohio Erie Great will use the available infor- Call 1-800-552-7150 said Denny Jordan, the park TUESDAYS AT 11 AM American Rail Trail, the Rit- mation they’ve generated. Stark • Tusc • S. Tusc district board chairman. Rhonda Edgerton tman Nature Preserve, Wal- “Lots of groups have At present the park dis- ton Woods Park, and others done a good amount of WEDNESDAYS AT 11 AM trict is a quasi-governmental Holmes • Wayne • Wooster Barnes Preserve, southeast of Wooster, is the only Wayne that are in various stages of data analysis and research entity — neither govern- County park. It is maintained by a Friends of the Park group PROOF/AUCTION ment nor private. It is associ- of about 35 volunteers. Recently, an ad hoc committee in sup- development. already. We’ll use informa- AD DEADLINE port of the Wayne County Park District held the first of several MONDAYS AT 5 PM Schuster said any time tion from Wayne Onward, ated with the Wayne County planned meetings that will ultimately implement a strategic Stark • Tusc • S. Tusc Commissioners and is a non- the goals for nature and the the Nature Conservancy, plan for pursuing dedicated funding and administration for goals for people overlap, the Western Reserve Land TUESDAYS AT NOON profit political subdivision natural areas in the county. Holmes • Wayne • Wooster that reports to Judge Latecia that generates more impact Conservancy, Cleveland NEWS/EDITORIAL DEADLINE Economics from the Uni- messy.” and success. Metroparks and the Lake TUESDAYS AT NOON Wiles of the Probate and Juvenile Court. versity of Arizona, giving Pete Wearstler, Wayne “Hiking trails can also Erie Basin collaborative All deadlines subject to Elizabeth Schuster of her training in quantitative County planning director, preserve a wildlife corri- plan, among others,” Schus- change for holidays. Sustainable Economies and qualitative methods of said one of the biggest items dor. Restoring wetlands ter said. analysis. cited in the county’s com- might reduce flooding and At the end of the first NEWS POLICY Consulting is leading the News and announcements group through the strate- Schuster spent five years prehensive plan, Wayne impact the quality of drink- six months of the project, may be submitted via mail or gic-planning process. She as an economist with the Onward, was people desire ing water,” Schuster said. Schuster said the group will email to [email protected]. Nature Conservancy in New to preserve, protect and “A birding area can lead to be ready to move into phase Publishing of news items is brings more than 20 years subject to space availability. of experience in community Jersey and has experience enhance the county’s open very significant spending two, which will be the even- The Bargain Hunter reserves economic development in in the facilitation of work- and park spaces. This desire and eco-tourism in the local tual passage of a ballot mea- the right to edit, condense, the United States and inter- shops, meetings and strate- has become even clearer economy.” sure for the park district. refuse or cancel any item. nationally. Her experience gic-planning efforts. with people seeking more Schuster said any conser- This will involve budget includes working in manu- “People are excited to outdoor recreation in the vation efforts need to con- information, polling, ballot ELECTRONIC FILE SUBMISSION facturing, agriculture, non- get going, but it takes time middle of the COVID-19 sider ecological systems all design and ballot language. All photos should be profits, academic institutions because we’re talking about crisis. across the region. “Nature “The commissioners will submitted as TIFF or JPEG and government. She earned really complex and dynamic At present Barnes Pre- doesn’t know political require the ballot to demon- file formats only and must be 200 dpi resolution or an undergraduate degree in land use and the interac- serve, southeast of Wooster, boundaries,” she said. strate a compelling need, be higher. Ad files submitted environmental studies from tion of human and ecologi- is the only Wayne County Schuster said before the affordable and have built-in as PDF files are preferred. Oberlin College and a Mas- cal communities,” Schuster park. It is maintained by a group starts focusing on any accountability,” Schuster Vector files saved as EPS, created in Adobe Illustrator, ter of Science in Agricultural said. “This can be hard and Friends of the Park group of specific projects, it needs said. Macromedia Freehand or Corel Draw are acceptable. Please convert all text to curves/outlines to avoid Main Street Wooster begins partner drive font issues. All files must be created in CMYK color space to exact size at 200 Main Street Wooster is of $26.58 in our commu- Main Street Wooster’s staff morale is higher. dpi resolution or higher. reaching out to area busi- nity,” Waller said. “Without revenue comes from annual “With additional part- nesses and asking them to the ability to have gather- contributions from partner ners, we can grow the num- MICHAEL MAST get more involved with its ings, we knew we’d have organizations, bed-tax pro- ber and quality of the attrac- President [email protected] mission to keep Wooster’s to scramble to help make ceeds and event sponsor- tions in our community. RICK FESTI historic downtown thriving. up that economic activity. ships. While I hope businesses are Circulation Manager “The downtown Wooster So we facilitated close to “All Wooster businesses willing to join Main Street [email protected] 330-674-2200 we know and love didn’t $50,000 in grants, added benefit from our work,” Wooster because they sup- MIKE PLANT happen by accident,” said community partnerships shopping and dining incen- Waller said. “Downtown port our mission, we do Editor Shannon Waller, the non- tives like Christmas in July merchants get additional offer benefits to our part- [email protected] and attracting visitors. 330-231-8427 profit’s executive director. COVID-19 forced the non- and Wooster Strong, and foot traffic and public- ners.” DAVE MAST “It took decades of dedicat- profit to cancel or redesign worked to bring the Desig- ity, but manufacturers Benefits include grant Sports Editor ed effort and investment to its entire 2020 calendar of nated Outdoor Refreshment like Schaeffler USA and opportunities, social-media [email protected] revitalize the historic heart events including Kids’ Day, Area to the downtown.” Wooster Brush get a better publicity, free access to of our community. Because the Cruise-Ins and Window Partnership committee work force. Our efforts to conferences and training, of the pandemic, our work Wonderland, which nor- chair Sue Williams said, make downtown Wooster and eligibility to accept needs to accelerate.” “This past year has taught more appealing means that Downtown Dollars, a new Follow us on mally bring tens of thou- Facebook Economic development sands of visitors to Wooster us how important it is for all overall quality of life is bet- gift-card program. The Bargain Hunter is is one of the core goals of annually. of the Wooster businesses to ter here, employers are able For more information visit published by AloNovus Corp. Main Street Wooster, along “Each person attending stick together and support to recruit and retain more www.MainStreetWooster.org © Copyright 2021 BF-00500863 with historic preservation, an event spends an average each other.” high-caliber personnel, and or call 330-262-6222. 3 March 6, 2021 Wooster Weekly News • 3 Maple syrup season means spring is on the way By Barb Lang In addition to being deli- Lehman’s Hardware and Ama- with Gortner’s Maple Syrup When most people think cious on pancakes and used zon sell supplies.