Monday, March 18, 2002
Unlike past years, beautification won't be limited to downtown's core.
YOUNGSTOWN -- The theme for downtown's Streetscape 2002 project was only natural.
About 200 volunteers are expected June 1, from 8 to 11 a.m., to plant patriotic-colored annuals for the "Red, White and Bloom" project.
The group, an arm of the Downtown Revitalization Committee now in its fifth year, will plant flowers, add mulch, water and freshen up other landscaping downtown.
Streetscape will announce this year's plans Tuesday at a noon press conference at Boardman and Champion streets, or inside the nearby Ohio One Building if there is bad weather.
Target areas: Planting spots will include Federal Plaza; monuments on the square; in front of large downtown buildings; the large flower boxes that run along Boardman and Champion streets; and the stairway between Wood and Commerce streets.
Volunteers also will return in the fall to plant bulbs meant to bloom in spring. The 5,000 bulbs planted last fall should bloom soon.
Unlike past years, beautification work won't be limited to downtown's core, said Scott Schulick, Streetscape chairman. Some "gateways" into downtown will get similar treatment, he said.
Growing interest: Last year's Streetscape project drew about $16,000 in donations and 200 volunteers. This year, the group is looking for about $20,000 and up to 250 volunteers, Schulick said.
"The more people we have the more quickly it goes and the more we can get done," he said.
Each year the volunteer program builds, and more businesses are maintaining the work the group does or doing their own projects, Schulick said. "It's slow, but I think it's happening," he said.
XFor more information, contact the group via its voice mail system at (330) 727-9896.