One Giant Leap
Violet Township’s new Fire Station 591
By Assistant Fire Chief Jim Paxton
As we enter spring, we are once again reminded of renewed life and new beginnings. The Violet Township Fire Department will also experience a renewal of life this spring as we open new Station 591, in Pickerington Village.
This project has taken several years to plan and complete. We have undergone exciting successes and a few setbacks. Through it all, we have been committed to answering the current and future needs of the organization and the community.
For me, the opening of the new station is bittersweet. As I may have mentioned once or twice, I kind of grew up in the old firehouse. My father, Jim E. Paxton, was a volunteer firefighter/EMT throughout most of my life.
I was hooked by the fire service at an early age. I was fortunate enough to experience and witness the inner workings of the old station, as well as the men and women who volunteered so much of their time there. I was captivated by their history and their encounters.
I met Santa for the first time at the old firehouse. I
witnessed my first bingo game in the apparatus bays. I remember the unique smell the interior would have the day after a fire. I enjoyed jubilation after successful runs. I felt the anguish after traumatic runs.
I witnessed several expansions of the old building. I grew up as it transformed from a volunteer firehouse into a full-time fire station. I felt part of it, as well as safely at home there.
I have had the honor of working at old Station 591 for 20 years. It was surreal to live out a dream in the building I grew up in. It had some special and unique characteristics. I will miss the old place, but it was time for a move forward. We had reconfigured and remodeled as much as we could. We were asking more of the structure than it could safely provide.
We are excited about the new facility. New Station 591 will be state-of-the-art in many ways. From indoor training aids to an exhaust removal system, it will offer opportunities and safety features previously unavailable in any of VTFD’s facilities.
We have tried to blend some features of the old building into the new one. Architecturally, it was designed to reflect some of the other downtown structures while also resembling an old firehouse. We look forward to the journey ahead, but we do not want to forget the traditions and path that led us to this moment.
Although it looks like block and concrete to most, I know the foundation of the new facility was cast upon the duty and dedication of many: Ebright, Good, Badger, Knowlton, Brubaker, Diley, Stemen, Cramer, Ellis, Patterson, Miller, Spears, McMunn, Ashton, Smith, Bessemer, Daniels, McDaniel, Fenice, Fleck, Hoover, Bednarski, McVay and Taylor, just to name a few. Many have served; all have left an impression.
To them and my father, I say “thank you.” Our community and our department will always be grateful for their service. I hope that those of us who will serve the community from the new firehouse will do it as honorably as those who created the foundation.
Fairfield Soil and Water Conservation District to Host Lawn Care Workshop
The Fairfield Soil and Water Conservation District will offer a lawn care workshop on Saturday, April 14 at 9 a.m. The workshop will take place at the Violet Township Administrative Office located at 12970 Rustic Dr.
The workshop will cover the following:
- The benefits of healthy turfgrass
- Lawn composition
- The basics of sustaining healthy turfgrass
- Common lawn pests you need to know
This workshop is free of charge; however, we ask you to please RSVP by Thursday, April 12 because space is limited. To RSVP, please contact the Fairfield Soil and Water Conservation District at 740-415-3927. For more information, please contact us at the number above or visit our website at www.fairfieldswcd.org.
Save the Date: Saturday, April 28
Drug Collection/Electronics Recycling/Paper Shred Event Scheduled
By Chad Lucht, CPESC, Senior Urban Specialist, Fairfield SWCD
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day has been scheduled for Saturday, April 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Violet Township Service Center, 490 N. Center St. Participants are asked to enter the event from the North Center Street entrance.
The Fairfield Soil and Water Conservation District – in cooperation with Violet Township, Fairfield County Sheriff’s office and Lancaster-Fairfield County Recycling & Litter Prevention – will be participating in the event.
This event marks an ongoing effort to rid the Pickerington community’s medicine cabinets of potentially dangerous drugs, particularly controlled substances. Only prescription pills and capsules will be collected. No aerosols, inhalers, liquids, creams, gels, ointments, powders, patches, suppositories, syringes or IVs will be accepted. We ask that you black out all personal information or remove labels before bringing containers to the disposal site.
At the fall event, residents disposed of almost 45 pounds of pills. That was another 45 pounds that were not discarded in the trash or flushed down the sink or toilet, leading to potential contamination of groundwater and wastewater treatment plants and causing harm to aquatic life and the human water supply.
Electronic recycling is also available at this event. The following electronic items may be dropped off at no cost: computers, laptops, printers, cables, mouses, keyboards, discs, electronic clocks, VHS/DVD players, radios and cell phones. Over 6,600 pounds of electronics were recycled at the fall event.
We will be offering free document shredding at this event. We ask that participants wishing to shred documents observe a limit of three legal size boxes per car.
No items containing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), commonly utilized as a refrigerant or as a propellant in aerosol cans, will be accepted. A certified facility, such as the Lancaster Transfer Station on Ewing Street in Lancaster, must handle the disposal of this compound.
Computer monitors will be accepted at no additional cost if they are included as part of an entire computer system. However, there will be a $3 disposal fee for computer monitors delivered without a processor tower. Televisions will be accepted at the event a cost of $1 per diagonal inch. Only cash and checks will be accepted as payment for disposal fees.
Call the Fairfield Soil and Water Conservation District office at 740-415-3927 or the Fairfield County Sheriff’s office at 740-652-7900 for more information about prescription drug disposal. Call Chad Reed with Litter Prevention and Recycling at 740-681-4423 with any electronic recycling questions.
For those unable to attend this event, a drop-off box for prescription drugs is available at the Pickerington Police Department located at 1311 Refugee Rd. Needles and liquids are not permitted for disposal.
We look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday, April 28 as we continue to rid Pickerington and Violet Township of unused medications.
Violet Township Welcomes South Shore Cable
South Shore Cable Construction, Inc. is investing $1.2 million in Violet Township with the construction of its 14,000 square foot office-warehouse facility on the south side of Basil Western Road.
Construction began in late 2017 with the anticipation of occupying the buildings at the end of the first quarter of 2018. South Shore Cable leased space nearby for the past 15 years, but this move will allow the company to improve and grow the operation.
South Shore Cable provides aerial and underground cable outside plant construction services for both the cable television and telecommunications industry. The original company, Cable TV Services Inc., was founded in 1980 by the Geib Family in northeastern Ohio, and the current company also was founded by the Geib Family back in early 1989. South Shore Cable decided back in 2002 to expand its field operations to the growing Columbus region to increase its local service territory and industry market share.
The company has leased similar space in Violet Township over the past 17 years as it expanded into the central Ohio market. South Shore Cable decided to construct its own permanent location within Violet Township after numerous years of successful business in the Columbus region. South Shore Cable currently has 25 employees in Violet Township, and this new investment will allow the company to grow by an additional 20-25 employees in 2018-19. South Shore Cable can be contacted at its main office in Cleveland at 440-816-0033.
South Shore Cable is part of a growing economy in Violet Township. Violet Township continues to work with existing and new businesses to help move projects forward quickly and efficiently. These new investments enhance the economic base of our community, promote job creation and increase the overall quality of life for our residents.
For more information regarding economic development, please contact Holly Mattei, AICP, Violet Township Development Director, at 614-575-5556.
