HCDA Newsletter September 2014
Greetings. HCDA is presently involved in many activities
for the community, including the Halloween and
Christmas Parades, Riverfront improvements, City
History Tours, etc.; and we have had seven well
attended monthly luncheon meetings at the Sunnyside
store in Parral. The meetings are informative and end
promptly at 1 PM. The membership meetings are held
at noon on the third Thursday of each month.
Our guest speaker, John Hoopingarner, Executive
Director, MWCD gave an overview of the MWCD. The
MWCD was established in 1933 after it was decided that
more needed to be done to address the damage from
the 1913 flood which killed over 500 people and
damaged over 8,000 square miles in the Ohio River
Valley. The MWCD manages 16 dames & reservoirs and
their primary responsibility is flood control. They have
reforested over 54,000 acres under their management.
The MWCD has been actively entering in to Oil & Gas
leases on the thousands of acres of land in their
portfolio. John stressed that their leases are the
“industry standard” when it comes to the environmental
standards that they hold the gas companies to. These
leases have been a source of new revenue and as a
result, the MWCD has no debt and they’ve been able to
lower the property assessment in half. The MWCD has a
“Partners Watershed Program” which funds
improvements to area waterways. Right now the money
covers erosion and sedimentation but in the future
recreational improvements may be covered.
At the September meeting, Treasurer Roy Crawford
gave the financial report as a total net worth of $12,595.53, of which $8692.70 is
encumbered for Riverfront Improvements and the Tourism Grant. The full treasurer’s report
is on the HCDA website. Although not yet reflected in the August statement the Association
recently received a donation of $2356.56 from Aerolease Aviation LLC; thanks to the efforts
of Howard!
Also at the meeting, Dan Warther gave an update on the End-Of-Summer event. The HCDA
raised approximately $440 from the hot dog cart. We ran out of hot dogs near the end of
the event. It was a great event and the HCDA got a lot of exposure to the community.
Lucy Pierce from Huff Run/Mud Run Watersheds gave an update on the Tusc River clean-up
program that they’re spearheading. They plan to launch the clean-up effort in March 2015
and they will keep the HCDA notified. The clean-up will involve both river and river bank
clean-up. They are seeking input from the HCDA members that know our portion of the
river about where to focus the clean-up efforts.
The city of Dover has accepted HCDA’s proposal for an urban bike route through Dover. The
route would run for approximately 9.3 miles and it would encompass the historical areas of
town and travel to the city park on the north end of town. The city also granted their
support for the cost of signs, and placement of the signs, for Bike Route signage along the
proposed route.
Thanks to the efforts of Chief Volkert, HCDA will partner with Dover Public Library to have a
second historical walking tour. The ‘Change of Seasons/Change of Times’ walking tour
will take place on October 11th and will be conducted similar to the June event, but will
cover a different part of the downtown, so it will be completely different information and
everyone who enjoyed the June event is encouraged to attend, as well as anyone interested
in historical information about the city. The tour will kick off from the former site of the
Bernhardt Brewery, located on the south side of Front Street at Poplar; it is easily identified
by the sections of decorative fence and bike rack at the top of the hill. The tour will be a
relatively short walk from the starting point to the Dover Public Library, where cider and
donuts will be served. The walk, with stops for discussion, will probably take about an hour.
Adair Amadio of Alice Adair & Co. shared with the group the plans for Dover’s Season of
Good Cheer. The downtown businesses are coordinating again to have open houses and
events in the downtown during the Christmas Season. This year’s program will run from
November 1 through December 6. There will be a passport that customers can get stamped
(like last year’s event) and the completed passports are to be turned in to the library. The
contest winner will be chosen and announced at the Christmas parade.
At a previous membership meeting, President Howard noted projects we presently involved
with and possible goals for HCDA in the future. They were:
Active Projects:
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Bike/Hike Urban Trail in Dover.
Continued promotion of the riverfront development.
Involvement in community activities such as the Halloween and Christmas Parades.
The Change of Seasons/Change of Times walking tour noted above.
Additional opportunities
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Continued support of a Riverfront Park.
Riverfront clean up.
Addressing the trees and sidewalks along Third St and Wooster.
Grants to address the blight along West Third East of I77.
Fundraising and seeking grants for the Canaler Statue.
Promote the display of art projects in the downtown area (i.e. Murals, art pieces,
etc…).
Focus on finding ways to implement a plan to link the towpath trail from the White
Bridge through Union Country Club and the Broadway Area to the north side of the
river.
Implement a ‘Keep Dover Clean Program’
Our membership chair, Tod reports that we now have 48 members.
Your Officers for 2014 are:
President – Howard Dugger Vice President – Dan Warther
Treasurer – Roy Crawford Secretary – Kathy Thomas
Trustee – Al Little Trustee – Russ Volkert
Trustee – Tod Carper Trustee – Mary Jo Monte-Kaser
Trustee – Sandy Zorzi
Future meeting dates and events to mark on your calendar:
October 11th – Dover Walking History Tour, part 2, with Chief Russ Volkert.
October 16th – Membership Meeting – Speaker will be Tom Leach, Operations Manager for
Muskingum Basin, Army Corps of Engineers..
October 29th – Halloween Parade in downtown Dover – We are co-sponsors.
November 20th - Membership Meeting – Speaker will be Jim Gill, Director of Dover Public
Library.
December 6th – City Christmas Parade – We are major volunteer staffing.
December 18th - Membership Meeting – Speaker will be TBD
January 15th 2015 – Membership Meeting – Speaker will be Hon. Richard Homrighausen,
Mayor of Dover.
Hope you enjoyed this newsletter. Many more to come. Our website is www.canaldover.org
Check us out. Email: hcda1913@yahoo.com. Also find us on Facebook.