School board likes idea for gazebo

MINERAL RIDGE — The Mineral Ridge Beautification Committee has had an enthusiastic response from the Weathersfield Board of Education to building a gazebo next to what is now the focal point on Main Street, the aging middle school.

June Lucas, former 67th District state representative and a member of the Mineral Ridge Beautification Committee, which formed last May, came to the school board with the idea. Other members joining her were Linda Ference, Jim Pirko, Sue Cleland, Marcie Buchanan and Chuck Pierce.

There are 15 to 20 people who attend meetings of the beautification committee at 7 p.m. the first Tuesday of every month at the Mineral Ridge Fire Station.

Schools Superintendent Michael Hanshaw told the group that the district is in the very early stages of review with the Ohio School Facilities Commission, which is doing studies now on what the district’s needs are. The district has already hired an architect, MS Consultants in Youngstown.

Hanshaw suggested that, when the district gets final word back from the state, someone from the committee could meet with an architect to see how the gazebo idea could be incorporated into the site.

“We always preach that the schools are the heart of the community, and they are,” Hanshaw said.

Read more in Sunday’s Vindicator and at Vindy.com