A Licking County tradition.......................

...............................on the Friday after Thanksgiving:  the Christmas lighting of the County Courthouse:

Good looking building even without the lights

Santa getting ready to hit the switch

All lit up for the season

Wow, I think he is talking about Newark, Ohio...

 Urbanism is not dead, but it is morphing into a new form. The most promising cities are currently taking shape on the periphery of the most densely settled areas, which lets them accommodate companies and families in a safer, healthier environment. These new cities are found around economically and demographically dynamic regions, largely in the sunbelt, but also in parts of the Midwest such as around Columbus and Indianapolis.

-Joel Kotkin, from here

Licking County makes it........................

...........ridiculously easy to vote early.  Go vote.

'tis the season..................................

Christmas must be getting close.  Watched Hans Gruber fall off of the Nakatomi Tower last weekend, and the Licking County Courthouse is now officially all decked out.

Reasons why I like living in.........

..........................................Newark and Licking County: 

Reason #37:   The Granville Turkey Trot

So my Sweetie has been a part of the organizing committee for the Granville Turkey Trot.  Held annually (for 13 years now) on Thanksgiving morn, this 5K run/walk raises funds (over $625,000 so far) for the Food Pantry Network of Licking County.   It is a tremendously fun family event with over 2,500 participants of all ages.

Three Tigers Brewing is helping out this year with their creation of  Tater Trot, a sweet potato brown ale.  A bit of every glass sold will be donated to the Turkey Trot.  I suspect much fun was had in both brewing the Tater Trot and making this video.  Bottoms up!

Getting.........................................

......................................ahead of the trend.  We call this good news.

Reasons why I like living in Newark and Licking County.......

Reason # 32.......................investing in our heritage.   The County Commissioners agreed to spend invest at least $4,000,000 in the restoration of our historic County Courthouse.   While it is not sexy, spending money today will insure that this focal point of our community will be here for future generations to enjoy.  For those of you interested in such things, the Courthouse was built in 1876 for the sum of $190,000 (plus or minus).

Here is what the building looked like before the scaffolding showed up:

Re-visiting the reasons why I like living in Newark and Licking County....

Reason #44:  The Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra.

The Orchestra performed at the fabulous Midland Theatre tonight.  They opened with Rossini's Overture to The Barber of Seville.  Yep, the one made famous by Bugs Bunny:



They closed the show with Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Opus 95, aka From the New World.  Here is different orchestra's performance of the Allegro con fuoco:



It was a fine evening.   For reference, here is another NGSO post.

Reasons why I like living in Newark and Licking County..............

Reason #86.....................................Affordable real estate.  You would be hard pressed to find any house valued in the low $1,000,000s.

sign via

Beauty................................

The Licking County Courthouse is all dressed up for Christmas.

A little slice of Americana........................

A brief glimpse of the "mile long" 4th of July Parade, as it works its way through Granville, Ohio; featuring the pride of Licking County - the 4H Band:

now fixed, sorry.

Reasons why I like living in Newark and Licking County......................

Reason #47:  The anti-flooding totem pole.  You just can't be to careful.

My adopted hometown, Newark, Ohio, was seriously impacted by a great flood on a cold winter's day in 1959.   I wasn't here then, but they say that an enormous amount of rain fell on snow-covered and frozen ground.  The rivers and normal drainage outlets were unable to do much in the way of carrying the waters away.  Ergo, much of the town went under water.  We have not had a similar flood since.  Perhaps this is the reason:

The sign reads:
      TO PREVENT A RECURRENCE
OF THE GREAT FLOOD  JAN. 21, 1959
      DEDICATED JUNE 1, 1962
BY THE RISING RIVER ASSOCIATION
THIS PLAQUE POSITION DESIGNATES
←   HIGH WATER LEVEL

The local legend is that the "Rising River Association" hired a shaman from the Great Northwest to create a totem pole that would protect the area from another catastrophic flood.  (Perhaps they added the fence and barbed wire to keep evil spirits from tampering with the positive energy of the totem pole.)  So far I'd say they've gotten their monies worth.

We should all look this good......................

..................................................when we are 126 years old.

The historic (and now closed for business) Licking County jail occupies an important location in downtown Newark, as well as an important place in our local history.  At the present time, many of those interested in preserving and protecting history are trying to figure out how to save, fix, and adaptively re-use, the old jail.  If you drive by it today, your first thought might be, "What a dreary and foreboding place."   The passage of time has obscured the beautiful original rose hue of the sandstone.  It is amazing what a little cleaning might do:

An amazing number of good things are going on right now in downtown Newark.  The restoration of the historic Licking County jail would be a wondrous addition to the list.

I suspect the artist took some liberties with coloration (much too much red), but here is a 1909 post-card painting of the jail (if you squint real hard you can see, in the lower left hand corner, a boy fishing in the old (and long ago filled in) canal.

Reasons why I like living in living in Newark and Licking County..................................

 Reason #53:  The magnolias.  They are in wondrous form, again!

................................and the daffodils are mighty pretty to:

Christmas is in the air...............................

..........and the Licking County Courthouse is doing its part.

So I read this...................................

"Abstaining from voting is a kind of vote.... It's notable that the nonvoters are generally presumed to represent votes that would be cast for the Democratic Party's candidate, but that presumption shows how the abstention means something. The nonvoter doesn't want to give affirmation to the Democratic Party's candidate... I say all the votes — cast and uncast — count and have meaning."
-Ann Althouse

.............and thought:  I should go vote early.  So I did.

A few observations:

-Ohio's early voting is a really good thing.  The Board of Elections office is easily accessible; the staff is professional and friendly; there is no waiting; using the heavy black pencil to fill in the ovals on the ballot gives me the feeling that there will be no mistaking my choices.

-If all Ohio counties follow the protocols of Licking County, it is difficult to see the opportunity for "voter fraud."

-There were four property tax levy issues on the ballot, three renewals and a new city "streets" levy.  Voted for all four.  Feel free to make your own choices, but I hope you will support the Library levy renewal.  Thank thee kindly.

Does anybody really know what time it is...?

Suddenly, the hands on the Courthouse clock have gone missing.

Reasons why I like living in Newark and Licking County.................

Reason #70:   Herb Gregg (et. al.)

There are a variety of gardens around the Licking County Courthouse.  It is a little known fact, but flourishing gardens take time, energy, sweat, and a bit of planning.  For the past three+  years, this particular garden area (pictured above)  has fallen under the tender loving care of the Newark Kiwanis Club, mostly in the form of Herb Gregg.  Since he has been ministering to it, it has been a thing of beauty.  The spirit of volunteerism is alive and well in Newark and Licking County.  That is a thing of beauty too.

Here is what his garden looked like a summer ago:

thanks Herb!

Us Ohioans will welcome them with open arms...

"A combination of expensive green policy missteps and a hesitance to explore its own shale reserves have sent Europe’s electricity prices spiraling upward in recent years. That’s hurting households and businesses alike, and has many European companies eying the greener grass of shale-rich America."
-Walter Russell Mead, as excerpted from this blog post

'Tis the season................................