Letters to the editor: Readers say Moundbuilders should stay, dogs can be source of food

Newark Advocate

July 16, 2022 at 5:33 AM·9 min read

Let Moundbuilders keep caring for mounds

Show me the Money

This is exactly what the Ohio Supreme Court and Governor DeWine should be demanding of the Ohio Historical Connection to produce in their eminent domain case with Moundbuilders Country Club.

The OHC has publicized delusions of grandeur that if the grounds that Moundbuilders CC occupies now gains a World Heritage Designation that people from all over the world will flock to Newark, Ohio by the thousands boosting local tourism with tens of thousands of dollars. This from a site that on a “best weather day” attracts enough people to fill a family van. What hurts is that a vocal minority has managed to hook some local politicians into believing this charade not considering the amount of local dollars and jobs lost with the absence of the 110 year fixture that is Moundbuilders Country Club. How embarrassing for some local and state authorities this will become if the OHC wins their case and doesn’t have the money to make good of any of their grandiose promises.

The world already has visitation rights to this site as well as the Great Circle Mound in Heath. Licking County already has over 50 public parks and doesn’t need another place that gathers drug paraphernalia and garbage.

The Octagon Mounds are arguably the best kept mounds in the country and maybe it’s solely because of the preservation and attention that Moundbuilders Country Club has given them the last 110 years out of their own pocket. Let’s keep it that way!

Thom McManus, Newark

Saving dogs at the expense of people

Regarding the big article of June 23 about the "No Dogs Left Behind." You made it sounds like they did a good thing. I doubt a poor hungry Chinese person, whose food was taken from his mouth would agree.

They wen there and stole (confiscated) his source of meat. I like animals and have raised and taken care of many, many of them. But they do not come before human beings and should not be treated at the expense of people.

I do not see that they did a good thing, and condemn them for stealing and depriving Chinese of food. Shame on them and for you writing it up like it was a good thing.

Agnes Howard-Attebery, Granville

Thanks for ice cream festival support

What a weekend we had at Ye Olde Mill for the 46th annual Utica Sertoma Ice Cream Festival. The weather was absolutely perfect, vendors offered exciting homemade items, the entertainment was light and enjoyable and the ice cream, of course, was delicious. The feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive. We could feel the energy around the grounds as visitors returned to our festival for the first time in 3 years and took in the many sights, sounds and sweet treats the event has to offer.

We at Velvet would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone involved in making the ice cream festival a huge success. The Utica Sertoma group has been running this central Ohio tradition since its beginning in 1975 and deserve recognition for another fantastic festival weekend. While many think that it is Velvet Ice Cream that leads the festival, it is in fact a group of dedicated Sertoma members who work tirelessly to make sure this ice cream celebration goes off without a hitch. It has been a pleasure to see generations of Sertoma families coming back to Utica year after year to volunteer their time and energy to make this event what it is. The Sertoma members don’t do it for a paycheck or recognition, they do it to help the Utica community and they have delivered time and time again. We cannot begin to express our gratitude toward this group.

Thanks again for putting big smiles on thousands of loyal festival goers,

Luconda, Joanne & Joe Dager, President, Vice President & Chairman of Velvet Ice Cream

Business Boom in Ohio

After a difficult two years for people personally and professionally, it seems the sun is rising again in Ohio. Intel has announced an incredible investment, the central Ohio region is growing and business leaders are choosing the Buckeye State to call home. As a young professional, a business owner and a native Ohioan I see and appreciate how special it is to be in our area right now.

My family has been doing business in Ohio for as long as I can remember but recently others are seeing what we’ve known all along, that our state is open for business. Not only is our region of the country centrally located but the talent coming from our great institutions like The Ohio State University is unrivaled.

It’s not just the three-Cs being noticed by investors anymore, Intel will be investing billions of dollars in the New Albany and Licking County region, an area I also saw value. Earlier this year I broke ground on a new real estate endeavor in the booming Hamilton Road corridor. Ohio is logistically convenient, has a friendly regulatory environment, a lower cost of living and has a pipeline for talent. It is these reasons, among others, which makes Ohio so appealing for businesses.

Ohio has a huge opportunity to keep this growth going and show people why our area is one they should call home. I'm excited that “The Cody,” my apartment complex will be one of the places a few of those people will go to find that “home.”

Cody Coughlin, CEO of Cody Coughlin Co.

Congress must update work permit rules

While competitors like China make great strides in their STEM fields, we must ensure that we are preparing a robust and skilled workforce to set up our industries for success.

While the U.S. attracts many skilled individuals from other countries to attend college in the U.S. or move here for skilled opportunities after graduation, many foreign-born advanced degree holders must go back to their native countries instead of contributing here in the U.S. This isn’t because of lack of interest or workforce needs, but lack of opportunity due to outdated policies and regulations. Here in Ohio, we are one of the top ten states with the most international students in the country, with close to 30,000 within our colleges and universities last year. However, without a significant change, many students will have no choice but to take their talents elsewhere to work against us.

Provisions within the House-passed America COMPETES Act look to address this issue by removing limitations on green cards and work permits for certain immigrants pursuing higher STEM education. The bill is currently facing a conference committee where conferees are negotiating between it and the United States Innovation and Competition Act.

Senators Portman and Brown are conferees for the hearing, making their support for this legislation even more critical. It is paramount for our economic gain and national security that the STEM provisions are included in the final version, and I hope to see the Senators work with their colleagues to make that happen.

Austin Kent, Hebron

Youth baseball competition fierce

Two hundred and sixty-eight teams began play on July 7 in the Buckeye Elite Baseball Tournament. Over 600 games were scheduled at 60 central Ohio locations--93 at Licking County high schools and Denison and 60 games at Don Edwards Park.

Select hotels and restaurants are certainly local beneficiaries. Winners also include area baseball fields (admission fees, field rentals, site manager fees & concessions). One location reports net profits exceeding $250 per game.

What’s next? The Beast of the East tournament, near Wheeling, has seen team participation decline from 162 teams to 54 in 2022. Some attribute the reduction to increased turf fields, increasing costs to attend tournaments and poor talent levels. Others say it’s an increase in the number of tournaments and sparse attendance by college coaches.

Jon Pyles, operator of Hitmen Baseball in Newark, skipped the Buckeye Elite, heading instead to the Atlanta area with his team of 15-year-olds. Prep Baseball Report (PBR), the premier scouting agency in the country, merged with LaPoint Sports Complex for this tournament.

Pyles cites 8 lighted turf fields, 2 scouting towers, 50 streaming cameras, college umpires, baseballs provided, many more college scouts and better competition as reasons for his choice. Buckeye Elite scores indicate that of 120 games, nearly one third, we’re decided by the mercy rule on Thursday and Friday—perhaps supporting Pyles’ competition claim.

College baseball reality: Only 16% of 12 and 13-year-olds make their high school baseball team and just 7% of high school seniors will make a college team.

Dave Froelich, Newark

Newark's Sources of Strength a success

I read the article “Newark High School students, teachers team up to provide "Sources of Strength” from the May 4th edition of the Newark Advocate. I have some opinions I wanted to share as a graduating senior. Senior skip day was on Monday during Sources of Strength week, so I did not attend the entire school day, but went to the pep rally and it was super positive and upbeat. The theme was Hawaii so everybody got the opportunity to dress up for it and there was even a voluntary game of musical chairs during the first and second periods.

That day I saw so many people having fun and laughing. On Tuesday we had emotional support dogs in the lunchroom and that was a big hit. Every minute I would see people going up and giving the dogs non-stop love and affection. The rest of the projects done throughout the week were not as big as the first two and I cannot even remember what they were, but students and teachers were still having a fun time throughout the entire week. Sources of Strength week was a huge success and a lot of fun. I just wanted to share my opinion on it after reading this article.

Ethan Strauch, Newark