Portsmouth (pop: 20,909; metro: 79,905) is the county seat of Scioto County.  The city is famous for the grand Portsmouth Murals built along the city's floodwall, with each frame telling a different story of the city.  The city with two downtowns (the actual central business district along Route 23; the other is the Boneyfiddle District, which is built along the floodwall area) has wonderful galleries, parks, cafes, shops, restaurants, and pottery centers.

 

The Central Business District

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Murals

 

 

 

 

 

The Boneyfiddle District

 

 

 

Good to see Portsmouth. They have their own WB station, impressive. It looks like they are making an effort to keep the downtown looking respectable.

Nice...except for 5/3. Yuck!

Yep, that's my P-town. :clap: great pics coldayman! just a little something to add is that the green heilig meyers building that is being restored was just recently sold for the amazingly high price of $35,000 i believe. if i would have known that i would have took a couple of years off of college and bought the place.

boneyfiddle...tosrv... these are some funny names. but nice pictures.

How the heck did I miss this one?  Great pics ColDay.  I've wanted to visit this city for some time, and these pics make me want to visit it even more.  Thanks for the tour.

ODOD press release, 7/24/06:

 

TAFT ANNOUNCES GRANTS TO BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITIES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 24, 2006

 

City of Portsmouth, located in Scioto County, will receive a $20,000 Roadwork Development grant to construct a public roadway into the City’s expansion of the Port and Industrial Site Development area and in support of Conley River Terminal’s port distribution center.  The funds will assist in the construction of 650 lineal feet of roadway that will make the Port area more accessible and enable Conley to build a port distribution facility for goods that will be delivered by barge from the Ohio River.  As a result of this $128,457 roadway project, Conley expects to create 20 jobs in this Appalachian Ohio community.

 

The Business Development Account (412) is a grant program to assist companies and communities that are creating or retaining jobs in Ohio.  The Roadwork Development Account (629) provides grant assistance to communities for public highway and road projects related to job creation and retention.  The 629 Program is funded with gas tax dollars.

 

http://www.odod.state.oh.us/newsroom/releases/1623.asp

 

KDMC to open site

Portsmouth Daily Times, 4/20/07

 

The mystery is finally over.  On May 7, King's Daughters Medical Center will open a $6.5 million primary care and cardiology complex on U.S. 23.

 

The Ashland, Ky.-based hospital also will offer lab and X-ray services at the building, which is close to the U.S. 23 viaduct.  The medical building sits on the site of the former Portsmouth General Hospital which was razed a couple of years ago.

 

Hospital officials had been silent about the building until Thursday, saying they wanted to wait and make a formal announcement of their plans.

 

From the 2/15/07 Portsmouth Daily Times:

 

 

* PHOTO:  Attendees at the unveiling of plans for the new Southern Ohio Medical Center cardiovascular building are reflected in the window of Building K, which overlooks the white outline of the new building's perimeter on Wednesday.  Lindsay Niegelberg/Daily Times

 

SOMC unveils new expansion plans

By FRANK LEWIS

Wednesday, February 14, 2007 10:03 PM EST 

PDT Staff Writer

 

Employees, community leaders and citizens of southern Ohio watched a video unveiling plans for the new expansion of the Southern Ohio Medical Center on Wednesday.  The video featured three-dimensional computer-generated images of the future look of SOMC.  SOMC President Randy Arnett spoke on the new additions, including the expansions in emergency, surgery, heart and vascular services, nursing, as well as the new front entrance and lobby.

 

“We're going to have about 500 jobs as this is built,” SOMC President Randy Arnett said. “Five hundred construction jobs, almost all of them will be local people. We're going to have over 200 permanent jobs when we're through. That's a tremendous impact here in our community.”

 

http://www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com/articles/2007/02/15/news/local_news/1news_somc.txt

 

Nice image they provided! Instead of renderings and the like, we get... a window shot.

SOMC is like Portsmouth's Sistine Chapel. A ton of people in that part of the state is in terrible shape or old, so SOMC rakes in the bucks and has to keep expanding. Still love Portsmouth though! I lived there for four years.

When New Boston Coke was active (and Cyclops Steel), you had some of the highest cancer rates in the nation. New Boston was heavily polluted, especially during the coke plant's waning decade. The corporation was underestimating the amount of pollutants produced and had virtually no pollution controls -- the actual pollution rate was 30-40x over the acceptable standard, as far as what the materials at the library stated.

 

It made sense. The majority of the billboards heading westbound on US 52, and southbound on US 23 read, "I SURVIVED CANCER! AT SOMC" or something to that effect.

Well, this first one is not so much a development but of destruction. The owner has said he will rebuild...

 

Portsmouth Landmark Burns

Renovated Columbia Theatre Burns; Owner Spent $2 Million on Renovations; City Loaned $190,000; Developer Had Fought City to Renovate 1910 Palatial Building

By Tony Rutherford, Huntington News Network Writer, November 12, 2007

 

Portsmouth, OH (HNN) – A large portion of the last remaining former single screen downtown movie theatre burned early Sunday morning, Nov. 11. Four fire departments battled flames starting around 3 a.m.

 

The Columbia Theatre, 832 Gallia Street, which had been renovated over the course of five years at a cost in the millions, became the Columbia Music Hall in 2006. The Music Hall suffered extensive damage particularly to the stage area, according to Robert Forrey, a retired Shawnee State University professor, who compiled a documentary on the showplace. The professor’s evaluation came from a drive around the structure early Sunday evening. He said the rear roof has collapsed and most of the renovated and “finer” portions have been gutted. He has not been inside the remains of the structure.

 

Forrey indicated that various townspeople have told him that the owner, Lee Scott, has vowed to rebuild.  A posting on the Hall’s My Space site listed the structure as opening in about 1920, but the http://rivervices.blogspot.com, which is based on Forrey’s research, has a 1916 photo of the marquee and details that it opened in 1910.

 

Fire decimates Columbia

Early-morning blaze guts music hall, cause investigated

By Frank Lewis, Portsmouth Daily Times, November 11, 2007

 

 

Flames stretched high into the air during the early morning hours Sunday, from the Columbia Music Hall, in the 800 block of Gallia Street in Portsmouth.  “The original call was at 3:04 (a.m.) this morning,” said acting Portsmouth Fire Chief Randy Duncan. “Our first alarm came down into engine two and three, and the platform. The assistant chief called in New Boston and Sciotoville trucks when he got on the scene. There was heavy smoke showing. Shortly after that, they made entry into the building, and we had a collapsing roof. So we had to back everyone out of the building, and at that point, it became just a defensive firefight.”

 

This is a shame. They busted their asses renovating the building. I didn't know that Robert Forrey was doing a history of the building; I had him for an English class at Shawnee about seven years ago.

Crazy. I never did like the stonework they put on the facade, however.

 

The last time I went by it, it was in very good condition. While I didn't like the stone work all that much, the detail above it made up for it.

 

I never sat foot in the interior :(

Area reacts to Columbia fire

By Jeff Barron, Portsmouth Daily Times, November 12, 2007

 

Columbia Music Hall manager Lee Scott cried as he talked about a fire that gutted the Gallia Street building early Sunday morning.  “I'm totally devastated,” he said on Monday. “I'm just destroyed. I'm just totally destroyed.”

 

Scott has spent the past five years or so renovating the former Columbia Movie Theater.  He opened it for business in January, and hosted national acts like Shooter Jennings and the Misfits, among numerous smaller acts.

 

ATF Will Investigate Columbia Fire in Portsmouth

By Tony Rutherford, Huntington News Network, November 13, 2007

 

Portsmouth, OH (HNN) – Fire investigators, including the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms will arrive in Portsmouth, Ohio, soon to examine the gutted interior of the Columbia Music Hall, said Claudette Ferguson, a former sound engineer at the venue.

 

The former Columbia Theatre, built in 1912, burned early Sunday morning, Nov. 11, 2007. “They are bringing in the feds and a special dog from Texas tomorrow [Tuesday, Nov. 13] to continue the investigation,” Ferguson said.

 

The presence of Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms inspectors does not necessarily mean that arson is suspected. Following the Emmons Junior Apartment Fire and the Ratcliff Place fires in Huntington, the ATF assisted the local and state fire marshal to identify the cause of the fires. Huntington Fire Chief Greg Fuller explained in January 2007 that the Bureau assists in any fire loss over $1,000,000.

 

Former mayor Bauer DID NOT like the Columbia project due to the fact that his wife owns the bar across the street (Richard Noggins, which runs smaller bands, mostly covers -- hell I've sat in with bands there) and was so afraid that the Columbia would steal their business. DUMBASSERY. The Columbia only helped Noggins' sales by taking over clientèle that left the Columbia after their shows were over. The Misfits or Shooter Jennings would never play at Noggin's. Hell, they wouldn't even get booked; they cost too much. Bauer's wife even got arrested for stealing traffic cones from in front of the Columbia while it was being renovated, which was one of the reasons for Bauer's recall.

Unofficial Sources: Arson Started Columbia Fire; Arrest Made by ATF

By Tony Rutherford, Huntington News Network, November 17, 2007

 

Portsmouth, Ohio (HNN) - According to Claudette Ferguson , a former sound engineer at the Columbia Music Hall, authorities at the scene of the destroyed theatre state have unofficially stated that “two wires were found to have been cut and some type of detonation device [was ] on site.” Ferguson told HNN an individual with close ties to the Music Hall was placed in handcuffs around 5 p.m. Friday.

 

Franklin Toland, the music hall/ theatre’s booking agent, and Lee Scott the manager, confirmed to Ferguson that an arrest had been made. Additional arrests may be pending, Ferguson said.  However, before news of an arrest became known, several Portsmouth residents questioned the intensity of the investigation. Specifically, they asserted that other fires at other historic Portsmouth buildings had not seen this degree of investigation.

 

The “Recall” video essay mentioned that during the controversy over the city’s purchase of the Marting’s building a fire occurred at the office of the appraiser destroying vital documents. In addition, residents have mentioned the burning of numerous historic buildings previously including buildings on Second Street, Market Square as well as Spuds.

 

^ 1 new story above

UPDATED FROM SCENE: Fire Witness Describes Debris Removal; Thanks Everyone for Caring About Columbia

By Tony Rutherford, Huntington News Network, November 16, 2007

 

Portsmouth, OH (HNN) – You can see cranes and other heavy equipment outside the brick wall of what was the Columbia Music Hall. The historic theatre burned early Sunday morning. With the federal investigators methodically removing debris, no one will venture even a remote cause of the inferno. On the street, the buzz unilaterally hints toward the same suspicion --- it was intentionally set.

 

On Wednesday, November 14, Ferguson was visited by members of the ATF. They interviewed her for about two hours. As confirmed by prior ATF fire investigations, Ferguson said, “they will be her until they find out the cause and if the cause is arson, they will continue to stay until they find the individual responsible.”

 

Columbia Music Hall fire

City, State and Federal Agencies Determine Arson Started Fire; Investigation Continues; No Arrests Made; Earlier Report Involved Search Warrant

By Tony Rutherford, Huntington News Network, November 18, 2007

 

Portsmouth, OH (HNN) – It’s official: The fire last Sunday morning at the former Columbia Theatre on Gallia Street in Portsmouth, Ohio, has been declared arson, by multiple cooperating federal, state and city agencies, which included the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and National Response Team (NRT). Since the investigation is on-going, specific details will not be disclosed, according to the joint news release.

 

While the on site investigation has been completed, ATF Columbus Field Division special Agent in Charge Christopher Sadowski, “committed local ATF special agents to continue working the follow investigation” alongside the Portsmouth Police and Fire investigators and the Ohio Division of the State Fire Marshal until the “individual(s) responsible are brought to justice.”

 

Columbia Manager Given 30 Days to Finish Clean Up; Cited for Having Dumpster on Property

Portsmouth Times Fires Reporter Who Wrote "Pay to Protect" Article

By Tony Rutherford, Huntington News Network, November 30, 2007

 

Portsmouth, Ohio (HNN) – What else can happen to Lee Scott, the manager of the burned Columbia Music Hall?  Earlier we ran a story where he called for volunteers to help with the clean up, noting that soon heavy equipment would have to be obtained to do the most intense clean up.

 

On November 27, 2007, Scott received a ticket, apparently authorized by Portsmouth Police Chief Horner for not providing the city with 40 hours notice before placing a dumpster on the property. Apparently, Scott spoke to the mayor’s office the day before about the dumpster. Although Scott offered to move the dumpster for 40 hours, mayor Jim Kalb’s office allegedly told him that would not be necessary.

 

Loft tour tickets available

By Ryan Scott Ottney, Portsmouth Daily Times, November 30, 2007

 

See also: Tours of Lofts Portsmouth

 

The fourth-annual Tour of Lofts and Other Historic Places will take place on Sunday, sponsored by Main Street Portsmouth, taking tourists through some of the most scenic lofts the area has to offer.

 

“Some of the buildings on this year's Tour of Lofts are kind of more historic places. We've put lots of buildings that are interesting buildings, but people don't really know what's inside. For example, the Masonic Temple building - a lot of people don't realize what the seventh floor looks like, or what it is,” said director of Main Street Portsmouth Zoe Richards. “By being able to showcase what is inside the Masonic Temple, it is a beautifully historic place.”

 

This year's tour will include:

€ The Lofts at 840 Gallia St. - via doors off the Gay and Fourth streets' parking lot;

€ The Kennelodge at 501 Seventh St.;

€ The Masonic Building, Seventh Floor, at 602 Chillicothe St.; and,

€ The Stone House on Ohio 239 in West Portsmouth.

 

Tickets for the tour are $15 each, $10 for students and seniors, and can be obtained at American Savings Bank, The Emporium of Portsmouth, Remember When Antiques & Gifts, Scioto County Welcome Center and Ye Olde Lantern Restaurant. Tickets are available now and may be purchased through Sunday morning.

 

The Tour of Lofts will last from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, and more information can be found on its Web site at www.tourofloftsportsmouth.com.

Tour has Lofty Goals

By Shawn Tyree, Portsmouth Daily Times, December 2, 2007

 

The annual Tour of Lofts, hosted by Main Street Portsmouth, presented a showcase of projects, plans, and potential investment opportunities in downtown Portsmouth on Sunday. Main Street Portsmouth is an organization that exists in part to provide services, incentives and opportunities within downtown Portsmouth, while preserving historic integrity.

 

Main Street Program director, Zoë Richards, was encouraged by how the program has matured. Sunday was the fourth year for the Tour of Lofts.

 

“Originally, the Tour of Lofts was designed to showcase the hard work that individuals and investors are putting into our downtown,” Richards said. “Then we started thinking there are other historic places in our downtown district people don't realize are there, such as the Masonic Temple meeting room. It is beautiful.”

 

Many downtown establishments opened their doors for the tour.

 

RAISING THE ROOF: Huntington Benefit to Raise Funds for Burned Columbia Music Hall

Tony Rutherford, Huntington News Network, December 6, 2007

 

Huntington, WV (HNN) – The season of miracle looms upon us, and, a Huntington live music club will hold a benefit for the rebuilding of the Columbia Music Hall, which burned Nov. 11 in Portsmouth, Ohio. An up and coming venue for all types of live music, the Columbia had originally been a vaudeville movie theatre, which opened in 1912.  An investigation by federal, state and Portsmouth authorities led to a determination that the fire was intentionally set. Damage estimates have been as high as $2 million dollars. Although the front foyer has been left with mostly smoke damage, the roof collapsed and the stage was destroyed. Lee Scott, manager, indicated that insurance will partially cover rebuilding.

 

 

For an additional article by Prof. Robert Forrey on the fire, visit: http://rivervices.blogspot.com and http://www.myspace.com/1columbiamusichall

Steel plant officials to visit today

Portsmouth Daily Times, December 10, 2007

 

An Atlanta-based steel supplier is expected to lay out more of its plans and a timetable for construction of a distribution center in New Boston today.  According to Scioto County officials, executives with Infra-Metals will be in the area to view the site where the center is planned. Some of the topics up for discussion between local officials and Infra-Metals representatives include a timetable for construction, which reportedly could begin as early as January.

 

All of the pieces appeared to be coming together for the project when tax incentives and a loan were approved for the company to build in New Boston. One item that has yet to become a reality, however, is the local tax incentive by the village of New Boston. The local incentives not only effect the village, but also the New Boston School District, Scioto County Technical School and MRDD.

 

Infra-Metals Co., part of PNA Group, has seven other structural steel service centers in Illinois and the eastern seaboard, and recently chose New Boston for further expansion. Michael Sturgill, village administrator and development director, said Monday he expected company officials to fill in some of the details of their plans when they return to southeast Ohio this week.

^ Another new article posted directly above. The athletic complex (phase 1) is located on the site of the old school, which I assume has been demolished now. It was beautiful :(

The link within contains a map.

 

PCSD continues complex planning

District's athletic site has two phases

By Ryan Scott Ottney, Portsmouth Daily Times, December 10, 2007

 

Portsmouth City School District is moving forward with its plans to construct a $10-million athletic complex, but those plans have changed, slightly, to two divided phases. Dividing the project, however, requires the approval of Portsmouth City Council, which discussed the issue Monday night.  During city council's meeting Monday night, council suspended the third reading of the amendment, and voted to allow the school's request.

 

The athletic complex first was announced in October 2006, when Portsmouth City School Board passed a resolution that would allow the school to “explore and ascertain the feasibility and desirability of developing the site of the former Portsmouth High School and its surrounding area into an athletic complex.”  In May, the school board released its initial plans for the complex, which would include a new football stadium, track, baseball and softball fields, tennis courts, outdoor basketball courts and a fieldhouse to link to the current gymnasium.

 

 

Seriously, if anyone drives through and checks out the area...

 

You had Detroit Steel leave New Boston in the mid 1980s. New Boston Coke in the early 2000s. Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant all but closed. Shelby Shoe String factory operates only a handful of workers from its peak. No large industry left in Portsmouth or New Boston, replaced by the service sector.

 

Down the road to the east are new industrial plants for SunCoke. Sunoco set up shop years ago, along with DOW, but the chemical-based jobs employ far fewer.

 

A bright spot is Southern Ohio Medical Center, which is currently expanding. It is at least twice the size since the late 1990s, when my grandfather died.

 

 

Poverty rate is second highest

By Frank Lewis, Portsmouth Daily Times, January 11, 2008

 

Study: Scioto levels at 25.3 percent, Athens County ranks first

 

A full quarter of Scioto County residents are living in poverty, according to a U.S. Census study just released.  The report, which analyzed data from 2005, indicates poverty is worsening in the region.  In the latest figures released by the U.S. Census, Scioto County is shown to have a poverty level of 25.3 percent, compared to 18.9 percent in 2004.

 

But Scioto County Commissioner Tom Reiser said while he understands there is a poverty problem, he believes things have improved since the study.  “In the last two-and-a-half years, with all the construction projects, I believe the numbers are much better,” Reiser said.  “Look at the trade unions, people going from sitting at home to unions trying to fill needed jobs.”

 

Steel plant receives $8.4 million

By Ryan Scott Ottney, Portsmouth Daily Times, January 16, 2008

 

Ohio Sen. Tom Niehaus, of the 14th Senate District, announced on Monday, the state Controlling Board has approved two loans in combined excess of $8.4 million to Infra-Metals Company, in an effort to attract new companies and create more jobs in southern Ohio.

 

Infra-Metals is an Atlanta-based steel company that distributes various steel products. The company recently released its plans to open a new $15-million plant in New Boston. The funds provided by the state reportedly will assist in the purchase of land for the development and construction of a 250,000 square-foot building, housing 52 new full-time positions.

 

I'm from Portsmouth, and yeah it gets more depressing every time I go back.  I think this article should fit right in this topic.  If not, mods feel free to move.

 

Blue-Collar Jobs Disappear, Taking Families’ Way of Life Along

By ERIK ECKHOLM

 

JACKSON, Ohio — After 30 years at a factory making truck parts, Jeffrey Evans was earning $14.55 an hour in what he called “one of the better-paying jobs in the area.”  Wearing a Harley-Davidson cap, a bittersweet reminder of crushed dreams, he recently described how astonished and betrayed he felt when the plant was shut down in August after a labor dispute.  Despite sporadic construction work, Mr. Evans has seen his income reduced by half.  So he was astonished yet again to find himself, at age 49, selling off his cherished Harley and most of his apartment furniture and moving in with his mother.

 

Middle-aged men moving in with parents, wives taking two jobs, veteran workers taking overnight shifts at half their former pay, families moving West — these are signs of the turmoil and stresses emerging in the little towns and backwoods mobile homes of southeast Ohio, where dozens of factories and several coal mines have closed over the last decade, and small businesses are giving way to big-box retailers and fast-food outlets.

 

MORE: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/us/16ohio.html?em&ex=1200632400&en=a0879e8624a49ac2&ei=5087%0A

Wow. That's just totally depressing...

Sounds like they were looking for a couple of the most pathetic people in the whole county who were probably lucky to have a job in the first place, So they could write a sob story. There are plenty of good jobs if they actually try looking!!  I heard all that same whining & crying when I moved to WV, I never had a problem finding a job, One that I wanted not one I just accepted. People are just lazy lazy lazy...

It's much deeper than that, Ohio1221, but I won't go into that because I'd spend hours detailing out reports after reports. I worked for a while with a few professors and government workers on poverty in Kentucky -- how and why it happens -- and it's much more than people being "lazy."

It's much deeper than that, Ohio1221, but I won't go into that because I'd spend hours detailing out reports after reports. I worked for a while with a few professors and government workers on poverty in Kentucky -- how and why it happens -- and it's much more than people being "lazy."

 

Oh please!!  Yeah don't waste your time detailing out reports...  Its as simple as that!  Such reports have been studied longer than we both have been in existence & the problem still exists. Stop whining, Get a job & the problem goes away, Its like freakin magic!

Are you a college graduate? Have you studied poverty economics? Or economics in general?

 

I would suggest two books that could help you start --

"Poverty and discrimination," by Kevin Lang

"The invisible safety net," by Janet Currie

 

Then read over some of the selected papers from Dr. Ziliak. They are quite informative, with a lot of instances that pertain specifically to Appalachia (and more specifically, Kentucky), and are well regarded in their field. Dr. Ziliak is a Professor and Gatton Endowed Chair in Microeconomics at the top-ranked Gatton School of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky, and is the University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research -- a federal and state funded research program.

 

I'd believe him more over your "lazy" comment.

You believe what you want! You can study & report until the cows come home. If you want to work there is a job for you. Don't complain because you can't make $15.00 an hour starting out.  Let me guess, Your an expert in economics? Well of course you are, You read a few economic studies about Appalachia kentucky... ;)

No, but an argument is augmented with facts and reasonable theories, not with general assumptions that people are on welfare because they are "lazy." I haven't read in any of my texts or papers regarding a welfare recipient's "lazyness," and it only calls upon your general miscalculations. Wal-Mart, the largest employer in West Virginia and one of the largest in Kentucky (and in many other states), hardly pays a living wage, especially if you have children. You can forget about benefits as well, unless you want to pay extra for that.

 

Sorry, service sector jobs do not equal manufacturing or technology-based jobs. They require far fewer skills for the typical job, but the pay is often halved and benefits can vary.

Nobody said anything about welfare! You are making "general assumptions" if you think I'm calling people on welfare lazy. The people I called lazy are the ones who say they can't find a job.. This conversation wasn't about people who don't make a living wage, It was about people who don't work because they say they can't find a job. Please don't accuse me of saying things I didn't say. Thank You...

To change the subject a little, is there any sense that a migration away is taking place as well? Where are they headed?

 

I'd guess North Carolina (out of state), CBus in state. Are any heading west to Cincy?

 

Just curious.

Well, you can classify people under the following categories --

1. Unemployed (actively looking for work or < 4 weeks)

2. Discouraged (not looking for work or > 4 weeks)

 

This may include those on --

1. TANF, which has become a rather difficult program to enter and has a set time limit and is _not_ an entitlement, unlike the former AFDC. Those on TANF have dropped considerably, especially during the transition period in 1996-97.

2. SSI (supplemental security income), which has taken up some of the slack.

3. Other government assistance programs, which include SS (social security).

 

So, ohio1221, who do you call "lazy" in your original post? If they cannot find a job, then they must be discouraged workers, which by definition, means that they have run out of unemployment benefits after four weeks and/or stopped searching for a job -- thus leading to a lower unemployment rate for that specific region.

 

The unemployment rate describes only those who are actively searching for work. There are many in the area who are not for various reasons, and have dropped out of the labor force completely, so the numbers can be skewed.

 

--

 

dmerkow, as with most of Appalachian Kentucky, the demographic shift shows a tendency for discouraged residents, or those seeking a better job, of heading south towards North Carolina (in general), Atlanta or Florida -- the warmer states, where jobs tend to be more aplenty.

Another problem is the people who actually do move, Have the same issue when they get somewhere else. They expect to get a job right away & find they are in the same position they were before. I know people which that has happened & they admit it was the worst mistake of their life. Specifically a gentleman who moved from PA to CA because he thought he would make more money. After 2 years of struggling he moved back because he actually made more money in PA, GO FIGURE! Went back to PA with money he borrowed from his mother and a suitcase...  They end up losing everything & back where they started. I was almost one of them, But I always plan ahead to have an exit to where I was before. The sure way to learn is the hard way... Thats how another friend of mine now lives in Cincy, He moved from seattle to atlanta & got a job at atlas van lines. He was laid-off not long afterward & moved to Cincy. He has been steadily employed here at the same job & shares my view that if you can't find a job in Cincy you are just lazy. 

Oh lookie. It's hard for an aging woman, with SSI, food stamps and an ass-load of medications to make it by. Perhaps she should "find a job" and get off the poverty rolls, right?

 

 

1 in 8 living in poverty

Even a job won’t assure escape from the abyss

By Connie Cartmell, The Marietta Times, January 26, 2008

 

Washington County is doing a better job than most of its Appalachian Ohio neighbors, but that doesn’t mean poverty is not tightening its grip here, too.  Doris Phillips, 57, of Marietta is approaching her senior years in the uncomfortable and scary position of deteriorating resources and health.

 

“It’s hard to live,” Phillips said.  “I don’t get enough income, not enough SSI (Supplemental Security Income), and I don’t get enough food stamps. I have 15 bottles of medicines, and some I have to pay for myself, some I don’t.”

 

Phillips has no car, doesn’t drive, and must take a taxi or public transportation wherever she wants to go.  With an income just less than $700 a month, the widow is one of about 8,647 Washington County residents, or 13.3 percent, living at or below the federal poverty level, according to the 2005 Small-Area Income and Poverty Estimates, recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau.  That is a 1.1 percentage point increase from 2004 figures.

Council building deadline closes in

City has 'til March to present a plan for Marting's location

By G. Sam Piatt, Portsmouth Daily Times, January 29, 2008

 

Use it or lose it.  The city has until March to present a plan for the former Marting's building or lose $1.5 million, city councilman Mike Mearan said at Tuesday's Portsmouth City Council meeting.  The city bought the empty building from Richard D. Martin Foundation in 2002, for $2 million.

 

However, in 2004, Judge William Marshall said city council violated Ohio's Sunshine Laws by meeting in two groups of three members with foundation members.  Marshall voided the sale, awarded the city a $2-million lien on the property and ruled the council could not meet in executive session.  The issue helped lead to a voter recall of two council members and former mayor Greg Bauer.

 

New Boston makes new school plans

By Ryan Scott Ottney, Portsmouth Daily Times, February 23, 2008

 

Glenwood High School in New Boston is shown Saturday. A new school building is being planned.

 

After announcing this week they no longer would entertain the possibility of merging with Sciotoville Community School, New Boston schools have now begun the process of bringing a new school building to the village. According to New Boston Superintendent Mike Staggs, the district has solicited bids from architects with a deadline of this month's school board meeting - Wednesday. During that school board meeting, Staggs expects the board will narrow the selection of architects and ask them to present formal presentations within the following week.

 

"I'm telling them (the architects) that we need a building that can be built in limited space. I'm also telling them that the Ohio School Facilities Commission has determined we can only build a K-12, so it's got to be a comprehensive building and it has to be built in a small area," he said.  The size of the school is determined by the district's student population, and the current OSFC count for New Boston Local School District is 389 students. Staggs, however, said the number is actually 429.

 

Clay campaigns for new building

District to ask voters to support project

By Ryan Scott Ottney, Portsmouth Daily Times, February 24, 2008

 

 

Clay Local School District defied the snow on Thursday evening to host an informational meeting in their high school gymnasium. The purpose of the meeting was to further inform residents of the district about the school's plan to build a new K-12 building. Clay Schools is hoping voters will take advantage of new funding regulations from the Ohio School Facilities Commission, which has reduced the local funding share from 34 percent local share to only 19 percent. That means if new facilities are built, the state of Ohio will pay 81 percent of the cost - $17 million.

 

The school nearly was ineligible for these new rates. When they were announced last summer, the district already had plans for a new building and planned to ask voters for a levy in the November 2007 election. Because the school already had a plan in place, they were not eligible for the new rates. Rather than lose the opportunity and risk asking voters for a higher levy, the school chose to defer their plans, and restart the process under the new OSFC regulations. By deferring the project only a few months, Clay Superintendent Anthony Mantell said the district has been able to reduce the taxpayer responsibility by about 40 percent.

 

Baughman: Building issue stalled too long

By G. Sam Piatt, Portsmouth Daily Times, February 26, 2008

 

Portsmouth's need for a new city building is an issue that's been stalled too long, says Howard Baughman, president of the City Council.  The council met in conference session to discuss the issue following Monday night's legislative session and part of the meeting was devoted to discussing the issue.

 

No decision was reached, but Baughman said the Building Committee, headed by Councilman Mike Mearan, will have "a couple of recommendations" for the council at another conference session. It's scheduled to follow the next regular legislative session, which is set for March 10. The council meets in regular session every other Monday.

 

There are at least four options under consideration and there could be others. Those four options are:

 

� Sell the existing building and land to a developer and use the proceeds for a new building.

� Raze the existing building and put a new one up on the spot, because the site does offer considerable parking space.

� Remodel or build a new building on the Washington Street site of the former Adelphia Communications headquarters.

� Remodel the former Marting's building to house city offices.

Architect chosen for New Boston Schools

By Ryan Scott Ottney, Portsmouth Daily Times, March 13, 2008

 

New Boston Schools on Thursday selected an architect to move forward with the design of a new K-12 facility for the district, pending approval of a tax levy by the voters of New Boston.  Last month the school accepted bids from architects, and narrowed the list to four candidates. Those four then were called back in to make a presentation to the school board earlier this month. They were Tanner Stone; Lesko; Legat and Kingscott; and Stead, Hammond and Paul. These four firms made their presentations to the school's committee for new schools on March 5-6. From those presentations, the board awarded the contract to Legat and Kingscott, of Columbus, at its school board meeting on Thursday.

 

"We selected a good architect. We could have been blindfolded and selected a good architect, because all four of them were outstanding," said New Boston superintendent Mike Staggs.  If all goes well, Staggs said he would like to see the bond on the ballot in November.  If it's passed by the village, he hopes to break ground in summer 2009, and then have the school open and ready by the start of 2010 school year.

Main Street Portsmouth gains national accreditation

By Gm Sam Piatt, Portsmouth Daily Times, April 7, 2008

 

Main Street Portsmouth is a solid organization with sound management and a good handle on what it will take for long-term success, according to the director of the National Trust Main Street Center.  Doug Loescher said Portsmouth meets all performance standards set by the center, and that's why it has been accredited in 2008 as a National Main Street Program, one of 675 other Main Street revitalization programs nationwide recognized so far.

 

Upcoming events designed to focus attention on these things include an April 26th spring cleanup, a May 17th Garden Market and a May 29th concentration of marketing and business.