Marina event to honor Meshel

The former state senator was a driving force for getting dam repair funds.

By SEAN BARRON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

LAKE MILTON — Two dedication ceremonies will take place here to honor a former elected official and to launch a boardwalk and walking trail.

The unveiling of a sign will usher in a ceremony to rename the Lake Milton Recreation and Marina area after former state Sen. Harry Meshel. Sean Logan, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, is to give remarks and help unveil the sign at the event, set for noon Friday at the marina near Milton Avenue and Northeast River Road.

Preceding the Meshel event will be a ceremony at 11 a.m. on the Mahoning Avenue bridge for a boardwalk and 6,500-foot walking path at Lake Milton State Park.

More than $125,000 worth of grants, as well as hundreds of volunteer hours, went toward the three-year project of building the path and boardwalk, noted Leni Schulz, Milton Township’s fiscal officer.

Meshel’s contribution

Meshel, a member of the Youngstown State University Board of Trustees, was a driving force behind securing about $6 million for dam repairs at the lake, Schulz said.Without the funds, he added, the dam would likely have been breached.

Despite opposition, the former state senator also was instrumental in having the state take over the park in the late 1980s. Since 1988, the facility has been the recipient of numerous awards, Schulz noted.

Expected to speak are state Sen. John Boccieri of New Middletown, D-33rd, and Brian Mitchell, chairman of the walking path committee. Attending will be the trustees; Jim Petuch of the Mahoning County Green Team; current and former county commissioners; Dan West, the state's chief of parks and recreation; and Kenneth Carano, Gov. Ted Strickland’s regional director for the Mahoning Valley. Carano also served several years as a state representative.