Eric Grimm was sworn in by Mayor Williams at the November 1 New Boston Village Council meeting as the village’s newest fireman.
Long time New Boston Mayor Jim Warren memorialized
The weather was a little cooler than in recent days. The fog had not yet lifted to warn folks it was going to be a day of ultra-sunshine, but approximately 30 people gathered in New Boston Village Square Park Wednesday morning, for a special event. The park was renamed the James N. Warren, Jr. Village Square Memorial Park in honor of the man who served the village as mayor for 23 years.
“It was emotional,” New Boston Village Councilman Mike Payton said. “It was really emotional.”
The man who succeeded Warren as mayor, Junior Williams, read a proclamation and Warren’s sister, Opal Porter cut a ribbon over the new signage in the park, and several people spoke, including Scioto County Commissioner Mike Crabtree, and Steve Sturgill, Executive Director of Community Action of Scioto County.
Williams said the decision to hold the ceremony was made late last week and they quickly tried to spread the word. The dedication is the result of action taken recently by the New Boston Village Council who had wanted to honor Warren in some permanent way.
“I served my entire 15 1/2 years as a councilman under Mayor Warren,” Williams said. “He certainly preached togetherness. He always felt that to get things done, set politics aside and we all just had to work together to make things happen.”
The proclamation read in part – “Mayor Warren played an important role and partnered with Village Council and other leaders to help all communities succeed and provided outstanding leadership and direction fo the village staff and employees; and Mayor Warren recognized the importance of business and industry and took all necessary steps to listen and ensure that they had the very best opportunity to succeed and grow here in New Boston; and Mayor Jim Warren was an accomplished and well respected pillar of our community and dedicated his life to the best interests of our neighborhoods and families, including his own; and Mayor Warran was always loved, admired, and appreciated for the passionate way he handled challenging situations and the overall day to day operations of the village…”
Williams said Warren stressed looking out for each other and having support for each other as a way to accomplish things.
“The way he treated people in such a fair and friendly manner is why he was commonly known as ‘The People’s Mayor,’” Williams said.
Reach Frank Lewis at 740-353-3101, ext. 1928, or on Twitter @franklewis.
Columbia Gas breaks ground in New Boston
New Boston continues to rebuild the infrastructure that lay dormant since the closing of Empire Detroit decades ago.
The latest activity was the groundbreaking for the new Scioto County facility for Columbia Gas of Ohio, at 208 Vine Street in New Boston.
NiSource Columbia Gas of Ohio corporate officials joined with community leaders at the site on Wednesday afternoon, shovels in hand.
“This is our 17th project with Columbia Gas,” Steve Pagura the developer with the Brewer Company said. “These are transportation mods. It’s where they dispatch the crews to repair lines and we’re real excited about doing another project with them, bringing these jobs to Portsmouth.”
Pagura said the facility will begin with the maintaining of the current 29 employees and will add more because of the scope of the new facility.
“It’s brand new. You’ve got a more energy efficient building and bigger building than the one they’re coming out of,” Pagura said. “It will make the work flow a lot better.”
Shane Cartmill of Columbia Gas of Ohio told the Daily Times the facility was built with safety in mind.
“The space is ergonomic with the intent of keeping the employees safe and productive,” Cartmill said. “For example, there are details like pull-through parking which helps to reduce backing collisions.”
Don Hadsell of Hadsell Construction will build the facility.
“This means more jobs for local people and it’s a continuation of everything that we’ve done up here in New Boston,” Hadsell said. “We’re about out of property now. We’ve got about another three acres around the corner and next we’re (Hadsell) going to move to the Harmon Street location in Portsmouth and then there should be an announcement coming from the Southern Ohio Port Authority (SOPA) on the (Ohio) 522 lot. It’s coming here in the next few weeks. With what I hear that some people want to do up there (522 in Wheelersburg), there may be another plant coming up there.”
Hadsell said the project is a continuation of the vision of the late Bob Walton who made it his life’s goal to create a successful industrial complex on those grounds.
“It doesn’t have the 2,000 jobs it used to (when Empire Detroit Steel was located there), but up and down there now, with this, which is 29 more, that makes probably 700 to 800 jobs in here,” Hadsell said. “It’s not what we had but it’s better than if it went into a brownfield. Bob Walton fought and gave his life for this area, so this is just a continuation of his dream and that of Mick Sturgill and (the late New Boston Mayor) Jim Warren.”
President of Village Council Mike Payton welcomed the company to New Boston.
“This is a great opportunity for New Boston,” Payton said. “We have seen it grow from Jim Warren’s days, making a rebound after the mill left and we have come back a long way. It’s a team effort.”
Pagura said the company hopes to be under roof at the new building by June 1, 2016.
Photo 1: Steve Pagura of Columbia Gas of Ohio addresses company officials and local political leaders at the groundbreaking of the new location of the Scioto County facility for Columbia Gas of Ohio on Vine Street in New Boston Wednesday.
Photo 2: NiSource Columbia Gas of Ohio officials and local political leaders break ground for the construction of the new Scioto County facility for Columbia Gas of Ohio on Vine Street in New Boston Wednesday.
Photo 3: Submitted Graphic Artist rendering of the new Scioto County facility for Columbia Gas of Ohio on Vine Street in New Boston.
Photo 4: Update, New Columbia Gas Facility
We cannot display this galleryReach Frank Lewis at 740-353-3101, ext. 1928, or on Twitter @franklewis.