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A possible name change for the Struthers First Ward Block Watch
STRUTHERS
When Anthony Fire started the First Ward Block Watch in response to his campaign to be a councilman in Struthers, he had no idea the group would morph from a policing group to something of a community- help group.
Fire said the current name for the group seems misleading.
“When I took office about five years ago, my goal was to start a block watch to help with policing in the area,” Fire said. “But things blossomed from there. We’re more of a help organization.”
During the group’s most- recent meeting, about a dozen members agreed that by next year the group needs a name change. Melanie Rauschenbach, an officer for the group, said it is asking people around Struthers to vote on and submit new name ideas.
“It’s not much of a block watch,” she said. “It’s also not just for the 1st Ward. We get people from all over to join and do projects all over the city.”
In the past few years, the group has tackled numerous beautification and volunteer projects in the city: painting the downtown Struthers mural, placing hanging plants downtown and hosting a back-to-school clothing drive.
The group has a couple of ideas slated for next year, such as painting a mural on the fire department’s building or placing benches downtown.
Rauschenbach said only two to three members of the group actually live in the 1st Ward. The rest live in other wards — or other cities.
Bonnie Cuculich, secretary for the group, lives 15 minutes away in Poland. Cuculich said she got involved with the group after seeing an advertisement to help paint the mural in downtown Struthers last summer. She said she became a regular to the group after attending a couple of the monthly meetings.
“It hasn’t been at all strange — people are welcoming,” Cuculich said.
Cuculich said she’s learned a lot about Struthers by being in the group. She said she likes that the group has a focus on improving the morale of Struthers.
“The downtown has kind of a depressed tone since many of the buildings aren’t being used,” she said. “We know we can’t make businesses move out to Struthers, but we hope to create a better image, making it a place people can actually visit.”