City works to lessen pain from job losses

“You have to say, ‘Enough is enough.’ We’re still alive. We’re still chugging along.”

Kerry Steed

Generations Pizzeria and Pub owner

WILMINGTON, Ohio (AP) — Hit by massive job losses, residents hope to soften the blow of hard economic times by buying from local stores, weatherizing their homes and growing their own tomatoes, potatoes and other vegetables.

One merchant has even offered free pizza to boost morale.

Wilmington, a small city of 12,000 about 30 miles southeast of Dayton, was devastated when air cargo shipper DHL announced in May it was pulling out, a move expected to lead to the loss of 8,000 jobs at a local air park. So far, about 3,000 of the jobs are gone.

Kerry Steed, owner of the family owned Generations Pizzeria and Pub, said he is frustrated at being “beaten over the head” with constant reminders of the bad news.

“You have to say, ‘Enough is enough,’” Steed said. “We’re still alive. We’re still chugging along.”

Ground zero of the recovery effort is a tiny downtown storefront next to a record store with a “Going Out of Business” sign.

Inside the storefront office are the directors of Energize Clinton County, two recent college grads who put Peace Corps tours on hold to return to their hometown. Pinned to the wall is a county map and a “Green Jobs Now” poster.

“We are much more of an asset to our country in Wilmington, Ohio, right now than in Ecuador,” said Taylor Stuckert, 23.

Stuckert and the group’s other co-director, Mark Rembert, 24, are seeking $30 million in federal stimulus funding to weatherize 10,000 homes in the region. They say that could create up to 1,300 jobs, boost business for local merchants who sell weatherization supplies and services and enable residents to spend more by saving them money on energy.

Community leaders, troubled by seeing more families visit food banks to lower their food bills to pay rent and utilities, also want to promote small-plot and backyard vegetable gardening.

The idea is patterned after victory gardens, which became popular in the United States during World War I and II to ease pressure on the public food supply.

“If you have a yard space where you can grow enough food for yourself, that’s money you don’t have to spend at Kroger,” Rembert said.

Initially, Wilmington College will make available 20 small gardening plots on its property for committed individuals and families in need, said Chris Burns-DiBiasio, the college’s director of community relations. The residents will be mentored by gardening experts and can eat or sell the food they grow.

In addition, the college will have its own production gardens, growing tomatoes, potatoes and corn for local food pantries and for churches to can or freeze. There will also be a demonstration garden to educate residents about vegetable gardening.

“Imagine the money you save on having produce that you grow, coupled with 25 percent off of your energy bill due to weatherization,” Stuckert said. “These are ways that we put money in our pockets.”

The group is also helping promote a Buy Local campaign, encouraging residents to patronize Wilmington restaurants, bookstores and clothing stores instead of traveling out of town.