Community and Generosity to Merge at the Great Westerville Food Truck Fest
Meet local musicians, artists, vendors and volunteers at the intersection of Community and Generosity this month. Twenty food trucks will roll into the parking lot of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Close to Home Surgery Center in Westerville on Sunday, Sept. 15 from noon-7 p.m. for the Great Westerville Food Truck Fest, benefiting Westerville Area Resource Ministry (W.A.R.M.).
Popular local food trucks will represent a variety of food choices suitable for all taste buds. Participants include My Place or Yours, That Food Truck, Tatoheads, Los Jalapenos, Pitabilities, Kona Ice, Challah!, White Castle Crave Mobile, Gigi’s Cupcakes, OH! Burgers, Mojo TaGo, Pizza Mike’s, Explorers Club, Butch’s Italian Cafe, Red Plate Blue Plate and Cafe2U.
“I am very excited to have the Great Westerville Food Truck Fest in town,” said Westerville Mayor Kathy Cocuzzi. “This is the perfect opportunity to introduce food trucks to those who might not have experienced them yet and also to see the quality of the food trucks available in our area.”
The festival will also feature entertainment for all ages - including performances by Avalon 9, Truslow, Eric Gnezda and Fred Astaire Dance Studio dancers - as well as appearances from local balloon artists the Amazing Giants and environment education specialist Linda Pettit, who will orchestrate an interactive puppet performance of The Lorax.
“The food truck community is very excited about being able to serve in Westerville, but these small business owners are even more excited about being able to help raise money for W.A.R.M.,” said Jim Ellison, co-creator of Street Eats Columbus, a website designed to track the trend of mobile eateries in Columbus.
As part of the day’s festivities, the Great Westerville Food Truck Fest will provide an opportunity for families to join with friends, church groups, businesses and civic organizations in making a difference in the lives of those in Westerville that need a hand up, not a handout.
“This is an entertaining fundraiser with a purpose,” said Cheryl Wooten, development and communications manager at W.A.R.M. “The main event of the day will be to raise awareness regarding hunger issues by mobilizing volunteers to package more than 10,000 shelf-stable meals to be distributed throughout Westerville.”
The ingredients, packaging supplies and training will be provided by Generosity Feeds. This program is an initiative of the Replenish Community Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works with other nonprofits, churches, businesses and schools in American communities to host “packaging events” that funnel thousands of meals into local communities.
These shelf-stable meals will come to Westerville at a time of great need. This is a time when one in three students in the Westerville City School District receives free or reduced-price lunch during the school year, and when nearly 20,000 free meals are served during the summer at the Westerville Area Kids Lunch Club.
Admission and entertainment activities are free. All proceeds raised through drink sales, donations and sponsorships will go directly to purchasing meals as well as maintaining and building W.A.R.M. programs designed to lift the community.
“This event allows our residents to experience the food truck phenomenon while helping W.A.R.M.,” said Mayor Cocuzzi. “One can eat well and then help box some of the 10,000-plus meals being prepared to feed the hungry in our area – it’s the best of both worlds.”
For more information on registering a volunteer group to package meals, becoming a sponsor or learning more about the event, please contact W.A.R.M. at 614-899-0196 or info@warmwesterville.org. And check out the event Facebook page at facebook.com/TheGreatWestervilleFoodTruckFest.
Twitter Users: Follow the Food Trucks coming to Westerville. Trucks often announce their location and menu items via Twitter, so become acquainted with them before the big fest!
Butch’s Italian Cafe @Butchs_Italian
Cafe2U @cafe2udublinoh
Challah! @challahatyagrls
Explorers Club @explorersclubmv
Flat Top Pizza Co. @FlatTopPizzaCo
Gigi’s Cupcakes n/a
Kona Ice @KONAICE*
Los Jalapenos @losjalapenosoh
Mojo TaGo @mojotago
My Place or Yours @MyPlaceorYours1
OH! Burgers @OH_Burgers
Pitabilities @Pitabilities
Pizza Mike’s @PizzaMikes
Red Plate Blue Plate @rpbptrk
Tatoheads @TatoHeads
That Food Truck @That_Food_Truck
White Castle @WhiteCastle*
*Corporate account
“Complete Street” Part of Schrock/Spring Road Improvement Project
The Schrock and Spring Road Improvement Project won’t begin until next spring, but the project has already spent years in the planning process as part of the City’s schedule of infrastructure upgrades promised when Westerville voters approved the income tax restructuring initiative in 2008.
Part of these improvements includes bringing streets up to modern modes of planning prepared for traffic in addition to vehicles, namely pedestrians and cyclists. Known as a Complete Streets program, the City has been implementing these roadway updates for more than four years (?).
The Schrock/Spring Road Improvement Project involves all the traditional aspects of construction, including street maintenance, street lighting upgrades and extending the fiber network along portions of Schrock Road. Changes in the number of traffic lanes along both roads are also planned as part of this work. These changes, including the addition of bike lanes, will turn the existing route into a Complete Street.
It’s not just walkers, joggers and cyclists who benefit from Complete Streets. Complete Streets also consider and encourage transportation for emergency responders, school bus riders and delivery and service personnel, all for safer and more accessible and routes. Throughout a series of open houses and public outreach efforts, Westerville residents have expressed support for the incoming improvements.
Here’s a brief overview of Complete Streets:
What are Complete Streets?
Complete Streets are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities, making it easy to cross the street, walk the neighborhood or ride a bicycle. The concept generally includes:
• Roadways with narrower travel lanes, roundabouts, well-marked pedestrian crosswalks or raised center medians;
• Roadways that incorporate wider sidewalks, bike lanes, shared lanes (sharrows) and accessibility to public transportation;
• Pedestrian and bicycle connections between schools, public facilities, office/retail centers and residential neighborhoods; and
• Amenities such as landscape treatments, street furniture and bicycle parking to enhance the street environment and overall appeal.
Why is the City of Westerville incorporating Complete Streets?
Incomplete streets – those designed with only vehicles in mind – limit transportation choices by making walking, bicycling and taking public transportation inconvenient, unattractive and potentially dangerous. In a 2009 National Household Transportation Survey, it was found that 50 percent of all trips are 3 miles or less and 28 percent of all trips are 1 mile or less – distances easily traveled by foot or bicycle. Yet 60 percent of trips less than 1 mile are made by automobile, in part because of incomplete streets.
Complete Streets improve safety and also encourage bicycling and walking. Having the availability of and access to bike paths, bike lanes (sharrows) and walking paths creates a greater opportunity to be healthy and active, building a stronger, more livable community.
For more information on this project, please visit www.westerville.org and visit “Construction Updates” under the “I’m Looking For” tab.
Fall into this Season’s Property Improvement Program
The City of Westerville is now seeking nominations for the Fall 2013 Property Improvement Award Program, a friendly, semiannual awards program for Westerville residents to recognize significant improvements made to home exteriors within the past year.
The program, announced earlier this year, has undergone a few enhancements. This season, neighbors are encouraged to nominate neighbors based on landscaping or building design (see below) improvements made to the home. The program has also been redesigned to focus on residential/private properties.
Awards and recognition will be presented to homeowners based on improvement efforts in these categories:
Landscaping
• Plant materials in landscape enhance the total overview of the property.
• Landscape colors attract viewers from the street or sidewalk and harmonize with the surrounding landscape (e.g., trees, shrubs and structures).
• Layout and proportions of plantings and structures is uniform.
• Design is balanced. For example, plant beds relate to scale and design of structure.
• Landscape is visually appealing and creates an atmosphere of tranquility.
• Garden beds are clean, mulched and deadheaded.
Building Design
• The general style of the original structure is improved.
• Awnings, painting, paint removal or window replacement constitute improvements.
• Additions to the existing structure enhance its visual appeal.
All nominees must own or lease property in the corporate limits of the City of Westerville, and all improvements must have been implemented no earlier than Jan. 1, 2013. For more information or to download a nomination form, please visit www.westerville.org/PIP. All nominations must be received by the City no later than 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4.
Staff Profile
Westerville’s Newest Crime-Fighting Duo
Meet Officer Bryan Schwartz and Fiji, a 2-year-old blue Malinois. Together, they are Westerville’s K-9 unit, serving as highly trained partners in the community’s public safety program. Fiji is a specialist in the detection of narcotics, with skills in tracking, area and article searches, criminal apprehension, and handler protection. Along with Officer Schwartz’s 19-year career in law enforcement and security, the pair continues the Westerville Division of Police’s long tradition of the K-9 program.
Tell us about your career and how you became involved in the K-9 program.
After discharging from the military in 1991, I worked in executive security as an explosive detection K-9 handler for four years, which is where I became interested in working with K-9s. While working for Delaware Police Department from 1996 to 2002, I attempted to restart the K-9 program there, but it didn’t work out. In 2002, I started with Westerville police in the Patrol Unit, working my way into the Detective Bureau until February 2013. I also served as a sniper team leader on the Delaware and Westerville tactical units until 2013, when I took the new K-9 position. K-9 Fiji and I were certified through the state of Ohio as a K-9 team on March 29, 2013.
Describe Fiji’s character. What makes her special?
Fiji’s breed is originally from Czechoslovakia. She’s referred to as a blue Malinois because when the sun shines on her coat, it looks as if she has a blue streak down her back. Also, she’s unique in the fact that she is a female police K-9. Typically, you see male working dogs in this job. She’s a working dog, and takes her work seriously. But she has a high play drive, which is unique to her breed. She’s clear-headed and able to socialize well, but she’s all business when we’re working. She’s strong, highly trained and very alert.
What were you looking for in choosing the right animal?
We work with a company in Delaware County. Storm Dog K-9 training was used to train our new K-9. They interview the handler and ask questions about their home life, including whether they have other pets and children. It is a K-9 team so it’s very important that the K-9 and the handler work well with each other, as well as be able to relax once they are away from work in the home environment.
How does Fiji work?
Fiji has been trained in the detection of a variety of narcotics and their derivatives. When she detects these odors she will offer a passive indication, meaning she sits down. She always wants to work. When she sees me getting ready, she’s getting excited and ready to start our shift. Once, when we were called out to help conduct an area search for a fleeing suspect, she was so eager she started working (sniffing) the cars in the neighborhood. She has made great strides since April with that strong work ethic.
What are your goals and plans for the K-9 program?
In the future, we’d like to add another K-9 to the program, as well as enter our team into some Police K-9 competitions in and out of Ohio. We will also continue to build on her training and eventually introduce her into SWAT operations.
How should people behave around Fiji?
She’s well socialized, but she is a working dog. When we’re working, she’s kept focused on the job or task at hand. When we’re visiting a school or with the cadets at the Youth Police Academy for example, that’s different. Still, based on my experience with dogs, people should always ask a handler or owner before running up to pet any animal.
Fiji is with you 24/7. How is she at home?
Fiji fits in well at my house. She is one of the family. Of course, when she first came home, we had a period where she was introduced to the family slowly so that she could get used to them. I have one other dog, which she gets along with fine now that they have established the alpha dog (it’s Fiji.). She stays with me 24 hours a day, and it’s like having another child. If she gets sick in the middle of the night, you’re up with her.
What’s ahead for the two of you?
The service life of Fiji could be up to 10 years, depending on her health and injuries, so we’ll work together through her career. After that, we’ll stay together.
A Healthy Lifestyle is a Walk in the Park
Ask 100 people to complete the phrase, “A healthy lifestyle is …” and you’ll get 100 different responses. Why? Because health and fitness have different meanings to each person. However, a healthy lifestyle is available to everyone of all abilities.
That’s why Westerville Parks & Recreation and Mayor Kathy Cocuzzi partnered to create a health and fitness program focused on one of the most accessible forms of physical activity: walking. “A Healthy Lifestyle is a Walk in the Park” is a group walking program led by the Mayor each Saturday at 8 a.m. Walkers use the parks and leisure trails for a 3-mile (about one hour) walk at variable paces and get back to nature and exercise on a weekly basis. People of all ages (strollers welcome), shapes and abilities are welcome.
Walking is one way to accumulate physical activity and contribute to a healthy lifestyle. The benefits of a healthy lifestyle are far-reaching and go beyond weight management, even though most use the bathroom scale to measure their “health.” Those who engage in regular physical activity may reduce risk factors for several chronic diseases and conditions as well as improve their quality of life. Most notably, a healthy lifestyle can help prevent or manage heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, back pain, osteoporosis (bone loss), and stress.
Physical activity can also improve your self-esteem and potentially reduce your dependence on prescription medicines for any of the above conditions (consult with your physician prior to discontinuing them). A healthy and active lifestyle has numerous benefits that far outweigh (pun intended) its deterrents, but where does one begin?
Take a look below and see which best describes you.
- New? Plan is simple: Get started! It can be as simple as walking for up to 30 minutes a day, five days a week, or maybe dusting off the bicycle and taking a 30-minute ride on the leisure trails. It may seem small, but these small steps add up and benefit you later. And try not to use your scale as a measurement tool.
- Already active? Try a new class or activity. Your body will become accustomed to the same physical activity, so now is the time to change it up and “surprise” your muscles. Incorporate strength training or change up your cardio routine (i.e., if you walk/run on treadmill for 30 minutes at a certain pace, change it up to an interval program).
- Fell off the wagon? Welcome back, and remember to start within your limits. Don’t try to pick up where you left off because you’ll risk an injury that could limit your journey back to a healthy lifestyle.
The “Walk in the Park” program has a full schedule planned for the fall season. Check www.westerville.org/parks for any changes.
September
Heritage Park Shelter, 60 N. Cleveland Ave. – 8 a.m.
Saturday, Sept. 7 – Schedule change. Walk or run the 9/11 Heroes 5K Run at Alum Creek Park North at 9 a.m.
Saturday, Sept. 14
Saturday, Sept. 21
Saturday, Sept. 28
October
Millstone Creek Park Shelter, 745 N. Spring Rd. – 8 a.m.
Saturday, Oct. 5
Saturday, Oct. 12 (Instructor-led)
Saturday, Oct. 19 (Instructor-led)
Saturday, Oct. 26
NOVEMBER
Highlands Park Aquatic Center Shelter, 245 S. Spring Rd. – 8 a.m.
Saturday, Nov. 2
Saturday, Nov. 9
Saturday, Nov. 16
Saturday, Nov. 23
No walk on Saturday, Nov. 30
By the Numbers (goes with the health story)
150
Minutes per week recommended to meet physical activity guidelines for health.
Mark Your Calendars
Honor Flight Welcome Home Ceremony
Saturday, Sept. 7, approximately 9 p.m.
Port Columbus International Airport, Southwest Baggage Claim
Join the community of Westerville at Port Columbus Airport to give World War II and Korean War veterans the “welcome home” they deserve. As part of the Westerville community-sponsored flight, local veterans return from their day of honor, touring national monuments of their service in Washington, D.C. Participants and spectators may gather in the Southwest Baggage Claim area beginning around 8:40 p.m. For more information, please visit www.honorflightcolumbus.org or check for updates on Facebook at www.facebook.com/westervilleforhonorflight.
Cops & Kids Day
Sunday, Sept. 8, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Hoff Woods Park, 556 McCorkle Blvd.
Cops & Kids Day is a popular annual event that offers children of all ages the opportunity to interact with law enforcement officers and see, touch and learn about some of the equipment these agencies utilize, including helicopters, cruisers, K-9 units, mounted patrols, SWAT, bike patrol and DARE vehicles. Don’t miss the kid-favorite “Dunk-A-Cop” tank, P.A.L.S. safety puppets and all of the special police robots. Admission and all activities are free.
Trick or Treat/Beggar’s Night
Thursday, Oct. 31, 6-8 p.m.
Citywide
The City of Westerville will observe Trick or Treat/Beggar’s Night on Halloween, Thursday, Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m. As our little ghouls and goblins hit the streets for their treats, please use extra caution while driving. Costumes with reflective materials and flashlights will also help kids be seen in our neighborhoods. SPECIAL NOTE: Westerville has adopted the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) resolution that observes these activities on Oct. 31 unless that date falls on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. In that case, trick-or-treating is observed on the Thursday before that date.
Westerville City Council Election this November
Residents of Westerville will have the opportunity to vote in November for members of Westerville City Council. The general election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5, with polls open on Election Day from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Members of Westerville City Council are elected to four-year overlapping terms and serve at-large, which means they represent the entirety of the City. Council terms begin on Dec. 1 following each municipal election, with four members being elected in one election and the remaining three being elected in the following municipal election two years later.
By City Charter, the seven members of Westerville City Council are the only elected officials in our Council-Manager form of government. After each municipal election, Councilmembers make appointments from within their ranks to the various leadership positions of the governing body – including Council Chair, Vice Chair, Mayor and Vice Mayor – to serve for the next two years. As Westerville’s governing body, Council is responsible for setting policy, establishing goals and strategic priorities, and adopting the City’s annual budget and capital improvement plan.
Four incumbent Councilmembers are seeking re-election this November.
Voters must be registered and are required to cast their ballot in a designated precinct and polling location. In Ohio, there is a 30-day voter registration requirement. This year, the deadline to register is Monday, Oct. 7.
Make sure your voice is heard. If you would like register to vote or do not know the location of your precinct or polling location, contact your county board of elections or visit www.MyOhioVote.com.
Franklin County Board of Elections
614-525-310
vote.franklincountyohio.gov
Delaware County Board of Elections
740-833-2080
www.co.delaware.oh.us/boe
For more information on Westerville City Council, please visit www.westerville.org and click on the “Government” tab in the main navigation bar.
Keep in Touch
Has your contact information changed? Please notify the City of Westerville Utility Billing Department at 614-901-6430 or email updates to askutilitybilling@westerville.org.
Why is this important? Westerville residents are notified of community alerts or emergency information via their registered phone number. These phone calls are infrequent, and would be made only for emergency notifications, updates on power outages or public safety alerts.
