COLUMBIANA CO. Donations sought for bell project

The first home football game is Sept. 18.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LEETONIA -- Leetonia High School alumni want to ring in 100 years of Leetonia football this fall, continuing the tradition of ringing the school's century-old bell at home football games.
Donations of time and money are needed to ensure the bell is ready to ring for the first game in the new stadium, Sept. 18.
The Alumni Square project, sponsored by the Leetonia Alumni Association, is being funded by donations and built with donated labor.
The association is sponsoring a raffle with the winner earning the right to be the official bell ringer for the first home football game. Linda Steele, Alumni Square chairwoman, said the project is designed to be completed in stages. Several contractors have already donated their time and equipment to get the first phase of construction -- the bell tower -- started.
Volunteers are needed to lay brick and block, paint, do landscaping, electrical work and wood work and do general work. Alumni are also looking for someone to make iron gates.
Concept
The original concept for Alumni Square was submitted to the school board in September 2002, before demolition of the old Leetonia High School and Washingtonville School.
The bell is from the former North Side school in Leetonia and is 100 years old this year, Steele said. It was made by Meneely Bell Company of Troy, N.Y.
Steele said the bell tower will be the focal point of the grand entrance to the new football stadium.
Standing 30 feet high, the tower will be flanked on each side by walls that will contain the cornerstones from the demolished schools. The walls will be topped with a school flag from each of the Tri-County teams, Steele said.
Alumni Square will also be the new home for the football stadium stone and the 50-foot flag pole that stood in front of the old high school. The bell tower will serve as the main ticket booth for football.
Dedicated volunteer
Ed Smith has volunteered to oversee the construction of Alumni Square. Several years ago the Alumni Association awarded him honorary LHS Alumni status for all his volunteer work that he has done for the Leetonia School system. He recently completed the second phase of the brick walls within the school, and served on "the chain gang" -- volunteers called upon by referees to measure ball movement during the course of a game -- during home football games.
He has also coached Little League for several years.
Anyone wishing to make a tax-deductible contribution to the Alumni Square project may mail it to Leetonia Alumni Association, c/o Bell Tower, P.O. Box 71, Leetonia 44431.