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[ledenews]

Martins Ferry Fostering A Roller Skating Revival

“Don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone.”Hair metal group Cinderella had a huge hit back in 1988 with a song title of those very words. Many Ohio Valley residents likely felt those lyrics deep inside when they watched the old skating rink on Wheeling Island go up in flames.The center had closed years prior, but the memories seemed to go up in smoke along with the proper. That was back in 2019. St. Clairsville’s popular skate center had long since closed and been repurposed.The last bastion of roller skating along the Ohio River, the Roller Derby in Moundsville, closed its doors in 2021. A group is attempting to reopen the derby, but as of yet, it remains closed.That left nostalgia as the remaining option of public roller skating, either that or buying a pair outright and braving the pothole-riddled roadways of many area streets.That is until Martins Ferry decided to bring it back in June when a soft opening of a new facility for skating was held at the city’s rec center. Mayor John Davies admitted then he was getting a feel for the interest level initially. It went over well.Skating took a brief hiatus but made a triumphant return on Sunday, January 22, and every Sunday thereafter. Safe to say word got out and more than a few area residents, both from the Purple City and from beyond, took advantage.“We had probably close to 200 people (last Sunday),” Davies admitted. “We went through 192 pieces of pizza. We ran out of drinks.”The best part is that was all free of charge and has been since the start. This Sunday, skating will be held from 2:15-4:30 p.m. The skating, plus the refreshments, will be free again.Donations are helping keep the refreshments free. United Dairy has donated drinks. This Sunday, DeFelice Brothers Pizza is providing six large pizzas. It seems there’s no shortage of help.“A lot of people have been donating their time which has allowed to keep it free, or relatively cheap,” Davies said. “I hate to even have to charge a dollar, but we’ll have to start fixing skates, and purchase more equipment.”More facility upgrades and an expansion of offerings are coming to the Martins Ferry Rec Center.Free No More?After this Sunday, skating will take a one-week break as the rec center is rented out. But, it will soon return. Davies said the center will eventually have to start charging to keep up with costs.But how much? Something astronomical? No. More like, a buck.“I would say in the near future we’ll probably charge a dollar per person to get in,” Davies said. “We’re going to keep it as cheap as we can. We have sponsors providing pizza, drinks, and hot dogs right now, but that won’t last forever.“If we charge a buck a person, we can recover the cost of all of the snacks and still be able to keep that free. We’ll continue it as long as we can.”When the idea to open the skate center came about, the city purchased a lot of the old equipment used at the Roller Derby in Moundsville. It provided a good bit of stock right from the start.But the equipment needs repairing, and more needs to be purchased.“We bought all the skates from the Moundsville rink, but some need repairing now and we don’t have enough for certain youth sizes, so we’ll have to buy skates and they are pretty pricey,” Davies said. “We’re going to try to recoup a little bit of the money and expand onto better things, new skates, keep adding snacks and more lighting for atmosphere.”More events are on the way. From teen dances, adults-only skates, cornhole tournaments, and Zumba classes, the rec center’s usage is greatly increasing.Davies noted that they’ve been unable thus far to find a Zumba instructor, but the facilities recently purchased 75-inch TV can stream classes sans an in-person instructor.There’s also a crochet class being held on February 18 from 10-11 a.m. Melissa Finney is running that and interested parties, of which there are many according to the Mayor, can still sign up by calling Finney at [phone].The Exposition Hall on Wheeling Island was the last roller rink in Wheeling. It burned to the ground on New Year's Eve 2019. (Photo by Mike Hudimac)Setting the ExampleDavies is doing what he can to improve the lives of the citizens of both Martins Ferry and beyond. He freely admits he receives plenty of help from fellow city employees and community members who are ready and willing to answer the call when asked.Most don’t even need to be asked. There's even a talented artist at the high school willing to donate her time to teach an art class at the center.With all that’s being done in Martins Ferry, Davies is unintentionally setting an example for city leadership across the Ohio Valley in how to provide for and engage with their citizenry.“I think that your leaders of these communities need to offer something to their patrons,” Davies said. “The youth are really important. They will be the leaders of the communities. We try to do a lot for them, as well as the elderly because they are the ones who built the rec center, the community.”Davies isn’t looking to compete with other towns but thinks leadership from surrounding communities can get together, work to leverage the different resources that each community has, and put its best collective foot forward.Bellaire or St. Clairsville may have resources that Ferry doesn’t, and vice versa. He feels if the towns can work together, they can offer quite a bit. He knows money can be an issue, but working together could be advantageous in that regard too.“My hope is other communities—if they can afford it because I know money is tight everywhere,” Davies said. “But we could have a get-together of mayors and leaders, and see what everyone wants to do and can offer. There are a lot of different venues and we can figure out what the different towns want to offer.”Davies and Ferry aren’t out to compete or outdo another community. If say St. Clairsville, or Bellaire, wanted to offer a specific activity or event, then Ferry could go in an opposite direction so there aren’t competing events, but complementary ones.It benefits not only the residents but the businesses in town. It’s certainly helped Ferry as it’s not just Purple residents enjoying the skating or various events put on both at the rec center and throughout town.“This is a valley-wide thing, not just for Martins Ferry. We have a lot of people, people from Barnesville, St. C., Wheeling, and Rayland coming down. We have a couple from Adena.“We’re getting people from all over, which is great. That’s what we want.”

[ledenews]

Ferry's Fiscal Picture Keeps Improving

Martins Ferry’s overall financial position improved to fiscal year 2020 from the previous year, during Mayor John Davies first year in office. Davies recently told residents gathered at a town hall meeting at the rec center that the city’s budget is “more stable than we’ve seen it in a long time.” The city’s 2020 state audit stated as much. Located here, it shows that, in short, the city’s total net position increased $471,838 from 2019 to 2020, a 7-percent increase. Similar numbers will likely be shown when the 2021 audit is released later this year. After all, the city is feeling the full effects of having East Ohio Regional Hospital back up and running, from income tax revenue collected, to utility purchases by the facility. That money also filters down to secondary income tax revenue as both employees and patients of the hospital spend their dollars inside city limits, patronizing restaurants, gas stations, and other businesses. That’s money that could have gone elsewhere, had the hospital not reopened. It certainly makes a difference. “We came in and the budget was tight and now, (auditor) Rita (Randall) and (Service Director) Andy (Sutak) work really well together and keep funding and moving forward,” Davies said. “All the departments are working well together, including the people, from supervisors down to the hourly employees. They are working hand and glove for this city. “And the hospital has been a great thing, not only to us, but for the health case of the entire Ohio Valley.” Recently it was announced that Senior Services of Belmont County was officially partnering with all three major medical players locally, and not just WVU Medicine. Now, EORH and also Trinity Medical will all reap the rewards of working with the county’s agency for the elderly. That too, will provide a boost to the hospital in Ferry and, subsequently, the city’s coffers. But it’s more than just the hospital providing said boost.

Finding the Money

Within the last 10-15 years, when local government funding received cuts and funding issues needed tackled, one of the first things bandied about yet—thankfully for the employees never acted upon—was potentially eliminating the dispatcher positions in the city building. Unlike most municipalities in Belmont County, Martins Ferry dispatches its own Police, Fire, and EMS calls with employees inside the city building. But that system and those workers cost money. Their status, in the past, was put in jeopardy, at least in theory. That’s not been an issue for quite some time. “That’s never even been brought up,” Davies said. “Budget-wise, we’re pretty solid. But we’re always looking to increase our coffers.” One is the former Rose Café location in town. Recently demolished, the city will be using the property for an impound lot. Vehicles get towed and taken for an assortment of reasons. Davies figured there’s no reason the city couldn’t get in on that action and reap the benefits of vehicles in town, and potentially, from out of town. In fact, it was actually Police Chief John McFarland that approached the mayor about the idea. “Chief McFarland came up with the impound lot and we thought it was a great idea to keep generating more revenue,” Davies said. “Now when people get towed, they’ll get towed to our facility and it’ll generate revenue.” Once open and running, Davies said the chief may talk to his counterparts in both Bridgeport and Yorkville about using Ferry’s impound lot moving forward. “He’s going to run with that,” Davies said. Another boost, however, fiscally small at the moment, is the city’s taking over the running of the recreation center. The Park District, which will still run the city pool, used to run the rec center as well. The city, however, was charged with paying for the utilities as it owns the building. When the city opted to take over operational duties, it made it a point to increase offerings and, in turn, work to create a little revenue in addition to being able to pay for the utilities and the space, not at a loss. The second batting cage has been installed and both are available to teams and individuals to rent by the hour. The weight room received the influx of equipment from the school district, coming from the weight room at the field house. There’s cardio equipment in a separate room and monthly memberships are available. The racquetball court areas will soon be home to both wrestling mats and a golf simulator is in the works. The aim is to not only make the rec center a beacon of activity for residents of all ages, but a positive portion of the city’s ledger. It’s little things like that, when coupled together with an overall town-wide mission to move the Purple City forward and further into the black, that seem to be working. The administration and employees, along with non-profits and private businesses are all on board in helping revitalize the city. The budget shows that much, and when the next audit is released, the numbers won’t lie. Read the full article

[northeastbaltimore]

Guest post by @gardeningwithgary Signing off tonight. Getting my kiddos school clothes ready as they are getting ready for bed. We have great schools in #northeastbaltimore. Shout out to @aworldoffriendsschool and @baltimoreinternationalacademy for educating our children and other kids in NE Baltimore. It's been great spending the weekend with folks. Hopefully you have enjoyed the weekend with me. If you want to follow more of my gardening adventures in NE Baltimore, follow me at @gardeningwithgary. Good night and #GoRavens #PurpleCity #RavensFlock . . . . #northeastbaltimore #lifeissweetinthenortheast #baltimorecity #baltimoremd #bmorelocal #igbaltimore #charmcity #maryland #mdinfocus #bmoresecretspots #igbmore #explorebaltimore #bmorelove #discovercharmcity #walkwithlocals #ilovebaltimore #visitmaryland #bmorelife #baltmag #mybmore #thisisbaltimore #wearebaltimore https://www.instagram.com/p/CUBgu-PM32b/?utm_medium=tumblr

[shotbytim]

I promise not to reply to anyone that ask me Who’s gonna win in the @VerzuzTV between @theLOX & @mr_camron @jimjonescapo @thejuelzsantana I’ll just leave this here!!! #DIPSET #Dipset4Life #birdgang #skullgang #purplecity #ShoutOut 2 @virgie_og much love! 🎬 @TimIzCocky 📸 #ShotByTim (at Canada Vancuover) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRdTPlDjOiQ/?utm_medium=tumblr

[shotbytim]

I promise not to reply to anyone that ask me Who’s gonna win in the @VerzuzTV between @theLOX & @mr_camron @jimjonescapo @thejuelzsantana I’ll just leave this here!!!🤙🏾🤙🏾🤙🏾🤙🏾 #DIPSET #Dipset4Life #birdgang #skullgang #purplecity #ShoutOut 2 @virgie_og much love! 🎬 @TimIzCocky 📸 #ShotByTim (at Canada Vancuover) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRdTPlDjOiQ/?utm_medium=tumblr

[shotbytim]

I promise not to reply to anyone that ask me Who’s gonna win in the @VerzuzTV between @theLOX & @mr_camron @jimjonescapo @thejuelzsantana I’ll just leave this here!!! 🤙🏾 #DIPSET #Dipset4Life #birdgang #skullgang #purplecity #ShoutOut 2 @virgie_og much love! 🎬 @TimIzCocky 📸 #ShotByTim (at Canada Vancuover) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRdTPlDjOiQ/?utm_medium=tumblr