County Commissioner Tim Bubb - Holiday and County Update

November 25, 2009

Licking County Update
From…County Commissioner Tim Bubb


It is time to celebrate the American Thanksgiving tradition. Regardless of whether you are hitting the road or celebrating at home this year – from our family to yours – a wish for a blessed and joyous Thanksgiving! And as the Courthouse Lights begin to twinkle on Friday night let us look forward to the start of a great Christmas Holiday Season!

Tim and Marianne Bubb



In addition to the 61st annual lighting of the County Courthouse this Friday night there are also four great Licking County Christmas holiday parades in early December. Here are the parade dates and a rundown of the activities planned for Courthouse lighting…

Saturday, December 5th Johnstown Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting - 4:30pm

Saturday, December 5th Pataskala Lighted Christmas Parade – Municipal Park – 6:00pm.

Saturday, December 12th – Alexandria Christmas Parade – 10:00am.

Saturday, December 12th – Outville Christmas Parade – 3:00pm – followed by fun events and food at the Harrison Township Hall.


The Licking County Courthouse will spring to life with holiday decorations and officially kick-off the 2009 holiday season in Licking County this Friday evening…


61st Annual Courthouse Christmas Lighting
Planned For November 27th

The community is invited to attend the Lighting Ceremony and the official start of the Holiday Season in Licking County on Friday evening, November 27th. The evening will feature the annual holiday music program, the excitement of Santa’s arrival, and lighting of the local landmark.

Festivities begin at 6:00pm on the November 27th, the Friday night after Thanksgiving. The holiday music program will feature longtime master of ceremonies Dave Lehman. Joining Dave, on the stage, will be well known local singers Hugh Price, Amy Fraley and Hayley Feightner. Returning this year will be Doug Moran and his brass quintet ‘The Heisey Brass’ playing ‘sounds of the season’. Also, featured will be local singers Tiffany Williams and Katie Freet.

Returning with a special Christmas music performance for the fourth consecutive year will be the Blessed Sacrament School Combined Chorus under the direction of Tammy Witham.

The arrival of Santa in downtown Newark is anticipated around 7:00pm. The “Jolly Old Elf” will extend his best wishes to the community, and with the help of children magically turn-on the Courthouse decorations and lights to begin the holiday season in Licking County.

On hand that evening will be members of the Newark Rodders Car Club. Club members will be presenting a donation from the 2009 ‘Lite the Nite Car Show’ supporting the Christmas Lighting Project.

The new local transportation program Earthworks Transit is providing bus rides downtown for those who need transportation. To schedule your ride, call 740-344-3838 extension 4. The fare to the Courthouse Lighting will be 2 cans of food per person beginning at 4:30pm. The return trip will be the regular fare rate. Rates are available by calling the above number, or by viewing www.earthworkstransit.org. If you do not wish to donate food, rides will still be provided for the standard rates. The food donations go to the ‘Elves in Action’.

The ‘Elves in Action’ will be downtown on the Square the evening of November 27th to kick-off their annual holiday food drive. They will be located on the east side of the Square each evening until Christmas. All food collected will be donated to and distributed by the Licking County Food Pantry Network. Visitors to Courthouse Lighting are urged to bring non-perishable food items.

The Vineyard Church of Licking County will be serving free hot chocolate and popcorn, and again will stage a ‘live nativity’ that Friday evening on the southwest corner of the Square.

Santa will be in the Foundation Park downtown to visit with the children and families after the Lighting Ceremony. This is done in conjunction with the Chamber and the downtown merchants.



On December 12th an event I always enjoy is the Heisey Wind Ensemble’s Christmas Concert…

The Heisey Wind Ensemble presents their annual holiday program with a concert titled "Christmas, the Joy and Spirit" on Saturday, December 12, at 8:00 p.m. The 55 member concert band is under the direction of Dr. Russel Mikkelson, Director of Bands at The Ohio State University in Columbus. The band is celebrating their 25th anniversary season in 2009-2010. Appearing with the HWE will be the Johnstown-Monroe High School Symphonic Choir under the direction of Jeff Rings. Also featured will be former local radio personality Bob Brooker as narrator on a special arrangement by Randal Alan Bass of “The Night Before Christmas”. The HWE Christmas concert has become a holiday tradition for many in the area. A capacity crowd is anticipated. Those planning to attend are urged to arrive early. Tickets for the concert will be available at the door. Adults are $10, seniors (60+) and students are $5, and children under 12 are admitted free. The December 12 concert will be the second of four in the 2009-2010 season. Remaining concert dates are February 20 (The Sound of Music) and April 24 (Happy 25th Anniversary HWE). The group's new performance home is the auditorium of the Alford Performing Arts Hall in the Reese Center on the Newark Campus. Additional information can be found at the band’s web site at www.heiseywindensemble.org



County Commissioner Notes…

Licking County Government continues to move forward with planning for a new Department of Building Code Enforcement to fill a 2010 void in the community. Recently, after extensive interviews, we hired Jack Pryor to be the County’s Building Code Official and lead the effort. Jack is a graduate of Ohio State in Architecture, a 32-year veteran of building code enforcement, and a man highly regarded by building officials across the state.
The County is working to secure contracts with local cities and villages that choose to affiliate, as well as seeking authority from the State Board of Building Standards for enforcement authority on December 11th.
I will keep you updated on our progress on this important project to insure safety, and maintain the quality of residential and commercial/industrial projects in Licking County.


Recently my good friend Rick Platt, the President and CEO of the Heath-Newark-Licking County Port Authority, wrote this on his Newark Advocate blog regarding the much improved health of the local Kaiser Plant. It is great news and I am sharing it with you with Rick’s permission…

Puzzled by Kaiser Plant Misinformation
Senator John Kerry, while Presidential candidate, came to Newark's courthouse square in 2004 and, among the negativity about the economy he spewed was about the "downsizing" of the Kaiser plant in Heath. Of course, Kaiser's Heath plant had just gone through a couple of years of new hiring when he said it. Oops. Wrong.Today, a new blogger with 1970-era information about the Newark economy has joined us from out west. Among his mixed bemoaning was the loss of the Kaiser plant. Loss? Huh?Its time to set the record straight with everyone from among other politicians and the homesick who may be equally misinformed.The Kaiser plant is still here. In fact, from the things I've learned, Kaiser has quite a few things on the positive side to talk about.In 2008, Kaiser enjoyed one of its best years of productivity. More product per person was coming out of the Heath plant than ever. That's impressive.It wasn't too long ago; Kaiser's CEO came to town and congratulated the local workforce for being the number one, most productive plant in the Kaiser system. The hot rolled aluminum process in use at Kaiser's Heath plant is the last of its kind left in the world. Airplane manufacturers look to the Kaiser plant for hard alloy aluminum. It's a one-of-a-kind manufacturing gem.This year, despite being hard hit by the same international industries that have been hard hit like automotive and aerospace, Kaiser is humming along pretty well really. They've upgraded their equipment and are poised for even greater productivity numbers in the future.Plus, Kaiser is giving back to the community in more ways than one. It was Kaiser that led the charge on the very successful Heath Duck Derby that pumped money into United Way in a challenging year for the charity.Yes, there were times that Kaiser took some hard hits from the economy and some self-inflicted ones too. But, those times are in the books.The Kaiser Heath plant has really found its niche and, by all rights, should be a great source of pride for the community for its record of productivity. Let's hope it's here for some time to come.



Thanks Rick for your excellent information and thanks to you - the hundreds of Licking County residents - who read my Commissioner Updates.

Feel free to e-mail any questions to…

(Home) timbubb@roadrunner.com

Or (work) tbubb@lcounty.com

These updates are all posted on my blog at my website at www.TimBubb.com


Best Regards…
Your County Commissioner Tim Bubb