News-Journal from Mansfield, Ohio • 4

News Journal, Mansfield, 0. Tuesday, April 4,1989 4-a RegionOhio State releases $6 million for minivan plant By Jim Underwood Newi Journal Statehousr Bureau But Joseph Marinucci, deputy director for business development, said Netzley was merely confused about the percentage of the abatements. The abatement plan calls for an 80-percent tax abatement on property tax over the next 10 years and a 65-percent abatement on personal property taxes. Ford will still pay more than $40 million in property and personal property taxes. State Sen.

Robert Ney, D-Barnesville, also wanted to know whether the incentive package would prohibit those from outside Lorain County from seeking some of the 1,300 jobs to be generated by the new plant. "When Honda came In, they restricted the job applicants to those who lived within 30 miles of the plant. I just want to be sure there is nothing in here that would prevent unemployed people from Guernsey and Belmont County from applying," said Ney, whose Senate district includes those two high-unemployment counties. Albert N. Covelli, legislative liaison for Ford, assured Ney that no such restrictions exists with the Avon Lake development.

He said that although the company has been asked to give preference to applicants from the local area, the only other' consideration would be internal posting requirements spelled out in the company's master contract with the United Auto Workers. The request to the controlling board included a breakdown of some $25 million in site improvements that will be required to provide sewer, roads, waterlines, paving, lighting and electrical needs for the massive new plant. Marinucci said the $6 million would be used to help offset that cost. Not included is some $3 million in job training funds and another $13 million in highway funds earmarked for improving roads and highways leading into the facility. The total commitment of state funds to the project is $22 million.

Marinucci said this is the only controlling board approval needed for the release of funds for the plant. The training funds already have been earmarked and the highway funding will be included as part of the state's larger highway budget. The total cost of the plant will be about $900 million. Ford estimates the 1,300 jobs will generate a $52 million payroll. When completed, the plant will produce about 130,000 vehicles a year.

COLUMBUS The State Controlling Board, with only one dissenting vote, approved the release Monday of $6 million in funds for development of the multimillion dollar Ford-Nissan minivan plant in Avon Lake. Voting against the proposal was state Rep. Robert Netzley, R-Laura. Netzley questioned the local tax abatements and said the Department of Development's numbers just don't add up. Kahn wields 'weed stick' demonstrating a growing problem I I By John Futty News Journal and 5th Ward Councilman Ocie Hill recommended hiring additional summer help to deal with the weed problem.

First Ward Councilman Rex Elsass chose to take the situation lightly by delivering a series of puns. "Obviously, we have found a cutting issue that, if we don't address it, will be a growing problem," Elsass said. "Let's make a little hay out of it." Kahn, who sits beside Elsass, shot a glance at his fellow councilman and responded, "I just thought of another use for my stick." In other action, council reviewed an ordinance that would approve the lease of two parcels at the city's Airport Industrial Park East on Ohio 13 to EE-EM Enterprises Inc. for the construction of two buildings that would be available for industrial development. According to Jack Pollock, community development director, the builders have no tenants for the structures but are speculating that there are businesses that would be interested in the properties.

The weed-cutting ordinance and the proposed lease are among 13 pieces of legislation that will be presented for a final vote at council's legislative session tonight at 7:30. MANSFIELD Second Ward Councilman Robert Kahn brought a visual aid to City Council's caucus Monday night to demonstrate the for stricter limits on the permitted height of weeds and grass in the city. Kahn exhibited a "weed stick" that he uses to measure the depth of weeds when he receives complaints from residents of his ward. The stick actually a converted mop handle has a mark at the 18-inch level, which is the height to which weeds and grass are allowed to grow under the current city code. Kahn and 7th Ward Councilman Robert Grose are sponsoring an ordinance that would reduce the limit by eight inches, classifying all weeds and grass that exceed 10 inches in height as public nuisances that must be cut.

Pointing to the mast on his weed stick, Kahn said, "Itttfrly hard to explain to the citizens of Mansfield why we would want weeds that high." He characterized a 10-inch limit as "a more reasonable standard." Most council members expressed support for the legislation, although 4th Ward Councilman Don Culliver A p. If il Art show angers Ohio Congressman defends Old Glory StltM Nm Scrvlc WASHINGTON In response to the controversial use of the American flag in a Chicago art exhibit, Ohio Democratic Rep. Douglas Applegate will co-sponsor a bill that would expand the definition of what constitutes abuse of the flag. The legislation will specifically include language prohibiting the display of the flag on the floor or ground as was done in Chicago. The exhibit at the School of Art Institute in Chicago entitled "What is the Proper Way to Display the U.S.

Flag?" had the flag spread on the ground, sparking emotional protests from citizens and condemnation of the artist Dred Scott Tyler. "If Mr. Tyler were truly serious about this subject, I would suggest that he visit a local VA (Veteran's Administration) cemetery in Chicago during the Memorial Day weekend and comprehend the fluttering of small flags which adorn the grave markers," Applegate, who represents the 18th Congressional District, said. The legislation aims to amend a 1968 law that penalizes persons who publicly mutilate, defile, burn, deface or trample the U.S. flag.

The current penalties for defacing the flag are obscure and seldom enforced. They range from a $1,000 fine to six months in jail. "Our position is if you burn the flag as an expression of protest then that is symbolic speech and is protected by the Constitution," said Arthur Spitzer, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington. Applegate agreed that free speech must be protected but said Americans have the responsibility to respect veterans who died defending the country's freedom. "While the rights of all Americans are sacrosanct, we must never forget that the first responsibility of citizenship is the recognition and support of our men and women in uniform and of those veterans who have defended our freedoms and liberties for more than 200 years," he said.

Peters says he'll plead guilty Ronald Peters, a key figure in the gambling investigation of Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose, appears with his lawyer in federal court Monday to tell a magistrate he plans to plead guilty to cocaine and tax charges. Peters, 31, was linked by Sports Illustrated magazine to alleged gambling. (AP Photo) Councilman wants justification Land near reformatory site for industrial park lock grant request MANSFIELD Land expected to be swapped to Richland County by the state will become the Richland Industrial Park. The new park' will be developed on a 89-acre site along Piper Road, according to Herman Stine, president of the Richland Economic Development Corporation. The county is expected to acquire the land for the new industrial park through a land exchange with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections.

The trade was initiated early this year to entice LTV Steel and Sumitomo Steel to develop their joint venture manufacturing plant in Mansfield. In March, the steel corporations announced they had selected a site in Columbus instead of the one north of Mansfield. Bills were introduced in Ohio's legislature in January to trade the 89 acres of state land adjacent to the Ohio State Reformatory to Richland County for 120 acres of county-owned land adjacent to Dayspring (the Richland County Home). The legislation has passed the Ohio House and is pending in the Senate. According to Stine, the site the county plans to obtain also has been submitted for other projects that are of the same scope as the LTV-Sumi-tomo venture, which will be a $200 million investment and provide 100 manufacturing jobs in Columbus.

Regardless of the projects being considered for the Piper Road land, Stine said, both city and county officials will soon announce plans for the development of the new industrial park. Meanwhile, the industrial park along the east side of Ohio 13 near Mansfield Lahm Airport has been named Airport East Industrial Park. Ground was recently broken on a speculative industrial building at the park, but construction was halted soon after when the Federal Aviation Administration wanted to review building plans for the site, Stine said. munity Development Manager Iwana Wagner to compile a one-page report explaining the financial need. "Frankly, how all the pieces fit together is a bit hazy in my mind," Kahn said.

Mrs. Wagner said the report is already being prepared and would be ready for council's review at a Public Affairs Committee meeting scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. The committee will consider all of the Citizen Participation Committee requests at the meeting. Monday's public hearing was attended by a handful of people and included only one objection to the citizens group's recommendations. Jeff Haring, president of the Downtown Growth Association and a member of the citizens committee, questioned the decision to reduce Main Street Mansfield's request for funding of a downtown restoration program from $12,000 to $3,000.

Haring said $3,000 isn't enough to launch the program, which would offer downtown property owners a 10-percent grant for restoring their building facades. City Council will follow-up its Thursday committee meeting with a public hearing to announce its own block grant recommendations April 17 at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers. Council is scheduled to vote on the allocations at its May 2 legislative session. MANSFIELD The city administration was asked Monday night to come up with documentation to justify its request for additional Community Development Block Grant funds to help finance the Fourth and Main Street redevelopment project.

Second Ward Councilman Robert Kahn made the request during a public hearing at which the Citizen Participation Committee reviewed its recommended allocations for the $812,000 in block grant funds the city expects to receive this year. The committee consisting of representatives from neighborhood coalitions, minority organizations and the Downtown Growth Association recommended using $175,000 for acquisition, demolition and relocation of properties in the Fourth and Main Street area to make way for a proposed carousel park. The project received $161,000 in block grant money last year, but city officials contend that other sources of funding have come up short. Mayor Edward Meehan explained that the city had hoped to use the income stream from an Urban Development Action Grant loan, but said those funds have been depleted by high-than-expected costs for acquisition, demolition and relocation activity in the Fifth and Diamond Street redevelopment areas. Kahn asked Fianance Director Lydia Reid and Com Hearings slated on waste plan ATHENS, Ohio (AP) Public hearings will be held next month on a proposed solid waste management plan for Ohio, a state Environmental Protection Agency spokeswoman said.

A draft of the plan has been completed and now the public has a chance to comment on it, said EPA spokeswoman Carol Porter. An objective of the plan is to reduce the reliance on landfills as a method for waste disposal, she said Friday. Once the hearings are completed, the state's Solid Waste Advisory Council will consider formal adoption of the draft plan by a June 24 deadline, she said. Mobile crime lab can analyze drugs on scene within minutes "I have eight officers and I can't afford to have one gone on the road for about five hours taking samples to a BCI lab two hours away (in Widowed persons meet MANSFIELD On Your Own Again, a support group for widowed persons, will meet at April 12 at 10 a.m. at the Mansfield YWCA.

Dr. Adrian N. King, will be speaking on general foot care. All interested persons are welcome to attend. AKRON (AP) Ohio Attorney General Anthony J.

Celebrezze Jr. has unveiled a new $250,000 mobile crime laboratory able to identify and analyze drugs on the scene within minutes. 1 "This lab will enable us to get at this drug war so we can put a stop to it now," said Celebrezze, who was on hand Monday as the van went on display at the Akron-Summit County Safety Building. The unit is the first of its kind in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, which provided the grant for the lab to be used by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.

Celebrezze said the new laboratory would offset the work overload at the state's BCI labs in Richfield, London and Fremont. The labs, with a total of seven chemists, service Ohio's 88 counties. The mobile lab can analyze more than 1,500 different chemicals within 30 minutes, compared with a two- to three-hour process at the stationary BCI labs. Last year, the three labs handled 532 drug cases, in which the value of the drugs was estimated at $86.8 million, Celebrezze said. Sugarcreek Police Chief Thomas Alger, who came up with the idea of the mobile drug lab 18 months ago, said it will save time and money at small departments like his in Tuscarawas County.

Ontario board to meet ONTARIO The Ontario Local Board of Education will meet in special session Thursday at noon at the board office, 2200 Bedford to discuss staff negotiations. 522-7911 THE CHARLES I II II I II II I I I 1 6 apply for job as Richland deputy elections director AIR CONDITIONING HFATINft V- -T cuccTucru offers the tz ONE MARION AVE SUITE 307 Oam On 2 TON AIR to i i Sttn rai rm conditio CONDITIONER MANSFIELD Three men and three women have applied to replace the deputy director of the Richland County Board of Elections when she retires in July. The selection is up to the Richland County Republican Party, though it must be confirmed by the elections board. Deputy Director Betty J. High has announced her retirement, effective in July.

She plans to move to Arizona, where her mother and daughter live. GOP Chairman Tim Alexander said the party's Stewardship Committee will screen the candidates Wednesday, and pick those the believe should be interviewed next "week by the Stewardship and Search committees. Those committees are expected to recommend a nominee to the GOP Executive and Central committees, which will meet later in April to vote on the nominee, Alexander said. Six candidates submitted applications by the April 1 deadline, though Doug Theaker, chairman of the Stewardship Committee, may have gotten a few more during the weekend, Alexander added. Candidates also could be nominated from the floor when the Executive and Central Committees meet Alexander said job qualifications include management capability and the ability to work with the public.

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