The Remaking of Huron’s Main Street

In 2012, Huron City Council adopted a master plan for the City in which they set forth to redefine and update key areas of the City.  The plan, entitled Vision 2020, “is a comprehensive master plan for Huron that capitalizes on downtown redevelopment opportunities, creates synergies between identified initiatives and sets a course for the city’s growth while ensuring its rich history and character are celebrated.”  Many of the ideas set forth in this master plan have already been completed; namely, the reclamation of the Con Agra site and the acquisition and clean up of the former Showboat site.

 

Construction to re-connect Main Street, September 2015

Another of the key suggestions of Vision 2020 was to reconnect Main Street which had been left disjointed following Urban Renewal.  According to the plan, “The extension of North Main Street establishes substantial new opportunities for development within the City’s core. More importantly, the new street will re-link the City’s primary corridor, by re-imagining parking lots and other underutilized land as a beautiful and functional street.”  Through much planning, the City finally began the process of re-connecting the disjointed portion of Main Street this fall.  In total, the North Main Street Project is estimated to cost $1.3 million and is to be completed in two phases.

 

Phase I called for the re-connection of Main Street through two separate parking lots- the Boat Basin lot and the hotel lot.  This phase was slated to be completed in fiscal year 2015.  Work began on this project this fall and is nearly complete.  To date, the City has spent $267,000 on this project and anticipates spending another $433,000.  This total of $700,000.00 came from the city’s Capital Improvement Project Fund. 

Phase II called for streetscape enhancements totaling $650,000.00 to be completed in fiscal year 2016.  This project will begin at the intersection of US 6 and SR 13 and run north to the former entrance of the Boat Basin parking area.  Subsequently; work will proceed from the intersection of Main and South streets to Main Street’s northern terminus at the Huron River Pier.  The streetscape enhancements will include asphalt, curb, sidewalk, parking, and landscape improvements.  The City acquired a federal grant in the amount of $500,000 to help fund this phase of the project.  The remaining $150,000 will come from the City’s Capital improvement Project Fund.

North Main Street looking south from Wall Street

The ultimate goal of the Main Street project is to re-establish a thriving Main Street in Huron.  To that end, the City has had contact from the private development community to discuss preliminary concepts for new construction along Main Street.  According to City Manager, Andy White, “Work on a specific recruitment strategy is ongoing and is expected to be in place in 2016 with potential for development as a result of capital investment by the City.” Further he stated “In accordance with its Master Plan, the city will value those proposals which increase property valuations, create jobs and provide new downtown amenities for residents in the highest regard.”  It is truly exciting to see what the near future will hold for the Huron!

Son and Father Photo Exhibit at Huron Public Library

Photographer Brian J. Smith will share his photo exhibit with poet Larry Smith during the month of August at the Huron Public Library.

The two men have created a strong collection of photo-poems, as well as landscape photography. The senior Smith is the former Poet Laureate of Huron and a well published poet and professor emeritus of Firelands College of Bowling Green State University. The younger Smith is a graduate of Kent State and Akron University of Law and is a lawyer with the area’s Sivinski Law Offices. Both are long time residents of Huron, Ohio.

Larry Smith states, “I have been so impressed with Brian’s work as a photographer that I asked if I might place short poem responses within the context of his art work. He agreed, and we have done 20 or so combined works called photo-poems. Seven will be on exhibit.”

The main exhibit includes 12 large landscape photographs by Brian Smith of the area’s fields, old houses, nature, and shoreline in summer and winter seasons. They are part of a much larger collection. The exhibit during the month of August is free and open to the public. Some of the photos may be seen online at the web page http://smithdocs.net/bjsphotography and on Smith’s Flickr pages at https://www.flickr.com/photos/b_smith .

Larry Smith may be reached at Lsmithdog@aol.com. (419-602-1556)

Brian Smith may be reached at brian_smith@inbox.com

From the Huron City Schools- Welcome Back To School Celebration

Huron City Schools and the City of Huron are hosting a Back to School Celebration and Ice Cream Social on Thursday, August 13^th from 6-7 pm at the Huron Boat Basin. Parents, students, community members and district staff are invited to an official kick-off to the 2015-16 school year.

Class lists and room assignments will be available. Several local organizations including the Huron Boosters and Health Department will be on hand to answer questions and distribute information. Along with performances by the Huron High School Cheerleaders and members of the Tiger Marching Band, complimentary Tofts ice cream will be served. 

Christ’s Community Meal Continues to Grow

Over the past five and a half years, Christ’s Community Meal has been helping feed those in need in the Huron area.  The mission of the community meal is to serve those in need a warm, cooked meal that is made with love and served with love.  The volunteers associated with the community meal have worked tirelessly raising funds, preparing meals, and nurturing those less fortunate.  Despite the fact that the media reports positive changes in our economy, the number of meals served at Christ’s Community Meal has been rising steadily.  In 2014, 5,413 meals were served.  As of June 22, 2015, there have already been 3,547 meals served.  

Christ’s Community Meal is held at First Presbyterian Church on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month.  Those in attendance are treated to a delicious dinner.  If someone in need cannot physically get to the meal, food is delivered to their home.  In addition, Hot Dog Mondays are held weekly at First Presbyterian.  These less formal gatherings are held at lunchtime and provide mostly seniors an opportunity to eat and socialize.  Hot Dog Mondays have been held for the past year.  

The community meal is partially supported by Huron’s churches including Christ Episcopal, First Presbyterian, St. Peter’s, Zion Lutheran, Lighthouse Assembly of God, and Huron United Methodist.  Each church supports the meal both financially and by encouraging their members to volunteer.  Despite support from the churches, the financial needs of the community meal are not fully met.  The costs of purchasing food and other items necessary to prepare the meal have risen substantially.  A local retailer who formally donated many items to the community meal now offers these items half off retail price.  Many items are purchased from Second Harvest Food Bank in Lorain, but the demand for items from Second Harvest is great.  

Christ’s Community Meal is a 501(c)(3) organization that is run by a volunteer board.  The board is seeking creative means to raise funds so no one in need will be refused a hot meal.  If you or your business are interested in helping this great cause, please contact Christine Eirons at 419-433-6131.  Gifts of money can be mailed directly to Christ’s Community Meal c/o First Presbyterian Church, 225 Williams St., Huron.  

Volunteers are always welcome and greatly needed.  Serving 100+ meals takes an enormous amount of planning, as well as 25 to 30 volunteers who work as prep cooks, set up the dinning room, serve the meal, tend the dessert table, assist in the dinning room during the meal, clean the dinning room and kitchen, and deliver meals.  Contact Chris Hakeman at 419-433-4903 if you would like to volunteer.

If you are in need of a warm meal, plan to attend the next Christ’s Community Meal on Wednesday, July 8 at 5 PM.  In addition, a special Kids Café will be held on July 13-15.  Call the church office at First Presbyterian (419-433-5018) for more information.  Due to the Kids Café, the Hot Dog Monday schedule for July 13 will be held on Thursday, July 16.

“West Side Story” Review

By Hannah Blackwell

The sixty-seventh season of the Huron Playhouse will open on Tuesday, July 7 with their first show, “West Side Story”,  at McCormick Junior High School.  In a modernized rendition of the musical by Arthur Laurents, the Playhouse cast, along with director Lisa Wiley, encapture the essence of the characters in such a way that they truly seem to become the Sharks and the Jets.  Innocence contrasted by loss of innocence is brought to its’ poignant best by lead actors Benjamin Frankart and Jennifer Barnaba who play Tony and Maria, respectively.  The show revolves around a theme with which we as humans are forever enamored; love.

The play is set in the Upper West Side neighborhood of New York City and is a spin on the classic, “Romeo and Juliet”.  The two main characters, Tony and Maria, fall in love, but their love is not welcomed by members of the opposing street gangs to which they belong.  The two gangs, the Sharks and the Jets, rival over control of the streets of the neighborhood.  All together, it is a mix of love, blood, and tragedy.  The story line of the play is intensified by the well-written script.  It keeps the audience intrigued as well as entertained, and the lines are believable for a teen gang of the time period in which it is set.

In this well-known play centered around a timeless topic, all the Playhouse actors can do is shine.  And shine they do.  Hours upon hours of hard work have gone into making this play something special, something better than other renditions you may have seen, something unexpected.  Throughout the performance, the actors continually impress with fun, energized dances and top-notch voices.  The choreography is intricate and is focused mostly on group dances with differing individual parts throughout.  The actors do a good job of maneuvering their way through the dances as well as the multi-part songs.  In addition, they have developed their characters well enough that the disdain between the opposing gang members is apparent.  Furthermore, the chemistry between Tony and Maria is completely believable.  The difficulties Tony and Maria must overcome to be with one another are portrayed in such a way that you will ache for the young couple.   

Looking past the script and acting, the background aspects of this production play a large part in it’s greatness.  The set used throughout the play does a wonderful job of depicting the environment in which the play is set.  A skyline, graffiti-covered brick walls, and chain-link fencing all give the feeling of the Upper West Side.  Along with the set, the music sets the mood of each scene quite well.  In rehearsals, only a piano was used, but audiences will be treated to a full orchestra.  It is modest music, nothing over the top, but it has just enough zip to make audiences wonder what will happen next.

Overall, this production is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.  The storyline, the acting, and the music all work well together, and every detail seems to fit into place just right.  The members of this sixty-seventh season have clicked, and “West Side Story” will be the first time audiences can witness this. Another great Playhouse season is well underway.