Cherie Lucks has served on the board of Scenic Ohio since it began in 1996 and as board chairman from 1999- 2003. In addition to her enthusiasm and a wealth of experience working with ODOT, Cherie brings to Scenic Ohio her important contacts with community leaders, the legislature and the Governor’s office.

Educated at The Ohio State University, Cherie was an assistant professor in the OSU College of Dentistry. She is married to developer/visionary Jack Lucks. They have two children.

An active member of the Franklin Park Conservatory, Cherie is a member of the Little Garden Club of Columbus and has served as president. Other activates in Columbus include, Children’s Hospital, Friends of the Topiary Park, Bexley in Bloom, Inniswood Metro Garden, OSU’s Chadwick Arboretum, Keep Franklin County Beautiful, Richard & Annette Bloch Cancer Survivors Park at OSU and Central College Presbyterian Church where she served as an elder. Cherie is past president of 100 Friends of Central Ohio. She is currently helping to promote support for Mrs. Hope Taft’s Ohio Legacy Garden.

Her earlier affiliations were with Colour Columbus, First Floralscape, Cleveland, OH, City of Bexley’s First Annual Garden Tour, U.N. Trade Symposium, ODOT (ISTEA), Childhood League, Easter Seal Rehabilitation Center, and Columbus Clean Community. Her successful creation of Colour Columbus is seen every spring when you drive into Columbus and hundreds of daffodils are in bloom along their freeway system.

Cherie represents the true spirit of Scenic Ohio’s mission, to preserve and enhance the scenic character of Ohio’s communities and countryside.

Submit (1) 8”x 10” or 5”x 7” black and white or color photo of one of Ohio’s historic or ecological scenic resources or byways. Please include complete photo credits with image. Great photos will be posted on our website. A release form will be forwarded to those selected. All photos posted on www.scenicohio.org during the year will be entered into the annual photo contest. Please send photos now, if you would like them to be considered for posting on the scenic Ohio website. Three winners will be selected for recognition and special award at the 2011 Scenic Ohio Awards ceremony.

In April Scenic KY was featured in the Louisville Courier Journal for the organization's leading role in defeating two bills by the billboard industry: 1) to cut public trees on public land for private billboard visibility and 2) to erect tri-vision signs. CONGRATULATIONS for these two important victories!

The tide of public opinion on advertising may be shifting somewhat. Keith Eichen of Scenic KY passed along this quote from a New York Times article 4/14/04 in The Media Business section: "People have a love-hate relationship with advertising.....But a far greater percentage are saying they have concerns, primarily related to its growing obtrusiveness. 61% said they agreed that the amount of advertising and marketing to which they are exposed ' is out of control'. "

It pays to keep fighting for scenic beauty and community character!

From Scenic America:

America has lost a national treasure. Lady Bird Johnson, of course, was a special hero to Scenic America and the entire scenic conservation movement. She was our spiritual godmother and the inspiration for our work. We serve proudly as the guardian of her legacy.

Lady Bird taught us that beauty is not a luxury, and that the landscape has an intrinsic value that cannot and should not be ignored or debased. She wanted America the Beautiful to be more than just a song title; it should be a description of our way of life and an expression of our most cherished values.

Her true legacy is not just the landmark Highway Beautification Act, the Wildflower Center, or the countless acts of conservation undertaken in her name. It is the movement she inspired. She leaves behind not just millions of acres of natural beauty, but millions of people, spurred to action by her example and courage, who share her commitment and passion for protecting our precious scenic heritage.

Lady Bird’s passing is an opportunity to reflect on her astonishing achievements and to rededicate ourselves to ensuring that her work continues. We must redouble efforts to complete the job she began over four decades ago.

Every time we see a field of wildflowers bloom or a billboard fall, we will think of her and remember the debt our nation owes to this remarkable woman, one of the most beautiful spirits America has ever known.

Scenic America extends its sincere condolences to the Johnson family and to her friends and promises to continue to do the vital work she said we all must do to save the American land.

Sincerely,

Kevin E. Fry

President

Governor Strickland has been a strong advocate of protecting Ohio’s environment and reducing the state’s energy use. In both the ODOT Business Plan and the recommendations of the Transportation Priorities Task Force, ODOT is called upon to embrace environmental stewardship and lead by example in reducing energy consumption.

So far we have exceeded our goals for using B-20 biodiesel fuel; our garages are recycling spent oil and other uids, tires, batteries, paper, cans, scrap metal; we are using solar and wind power for Road and Weather Information Systems; ofces have curtailed printing; and on the roadways we are using reective material that eliminates the need for sign lighting, and low-energy LED lights in stop signs and trafc signals.

ODOT will be starting a “Go with Green” initiative, a near-term eort to put ODOT on a totally green path, with the immediate focus being the exclusive use of green products and eliminating the use of environmentally-damaging chemicals. Some other initiatives are:

• Mowing to eliminate the spraying
  of weeds
• Addition of glass collection containers
  to assure glass recycling
• In ODOT’s rest areas and our right-ofway,
  explore creating energy through
  solar, wind and other technologies

Long term, ODOT will strive to identify and deliver environmentally sound transportation investments - in our construction, maintenance, and operations - that result in a “better than before” environment.

ODOT looks forward to working in close partnership with Scenic Ohio in the future.

The Ohio Historical Society and the Ohio National Road Association were pleased to receive a 2007 Scenic Ohio Award for their joint project, the Ohio Historic National Road Design Handbook.

The Handbook was produced in recognition of the complexity of context sensitive design and the varying levels of control and governance along the National Road corridor. It is designed for numerous audiences, including regional planners, local governments, property owners and developers. The Handbook offers a variety of tools, resources and design guidance to protect, preserve, enhance and appropriately develop the 227 miles of Road in Ohio. The Handbook has been called a solid model for future planning by byway stakeholders. Authorized by Congress in 1806, the National Road was the first federally funded interstate highway. The Road extends across six states from Maryland to Indiana. It was designated a National Civil Engineering Landmark in 1976, an Ohio Byway in 2000 and an All-American Road National Scenic Byway in 2002. The project team of Judith Williams, The EDGE Group, Lincoln Street Studio and Burgess and Niple produced the Handbook. To gather input from stakeholders, and to make the final product relevant to rural, urban and suburban settings along the Road, the consultants created a jurisdictional database, an interactive website and an electronic questionnaire, supplemented by regional public meetings. High quality graphics and a series of “case histories” or “best practices” helped insure that the Handbook would be user-friendly. A series of workshops are planned to help introduce the Handbook to local communities. In May, the Ohio Historic National Road Design Handbook also received national recognition when it was one of eight projects to receive a 2007 National Scenic Byway Award from America’s Byways Resource Center, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the Federal Highway Administration. The Handbook was the only award winner in the planning category and the only project along the entire National Road to receive an award. The Handbook project had numerous partners, including the Federal Highway Administration, the Ohio Department of Transportation, regional planning agency’s, convention and visitors bureaus and local historical societies. To view the Handbook or to download a copy, visit www.ohiohistory.org. Also available is A Traveler’s Guide to the Historic National Road in Ohio and The Corridor Management Plan for the Ohio National Road Scenic Byway.

“I think that I shall never see A billboard lovely as a tree. Perhaps, unless the billboards fall, I’ll never see a tree at all.”

Ogden Nash wrote this in 1933, and it is certainly no less true now than it was nearly 70 years ago. Though Nash’s poem was probably not their direct inspiration, a grassroots organization in Millersburg (Holmes County) led by activist Sue Banbury is planning a “Patriot Garden” that will commemorate both September 11 and Ohio’s Bicentennial in 2003.

Banbury and others of this informal group will plant 40 hardwood trees this spring in a strip of land that was created when part of State Route 39/62 was straightened just inside the eastern city limits of Millersburg. The trees, while honoring patriots, will also vastly improve the viewshed along the highway. The money for this project came from community donations given at Rohde’s IGA SuperCenter in Millersburg for “trees and remembering 9- 11.” A matching grant was provided by IGA as part of the corporate “Hometown Green” program that encourages and supports community involvement with beautification efforts.

The area for the tree plantings is along the Amish Country Byway, one of Ohio’s four National Scenic Byways. Sharon Strouse, OSU Extension Agent for Holmes County and president of the Ohio Byway Links organization said, “Grassroots groups are the key to having such projects appear along Ohio’s byways. Monies for such projects are readily available, and we need to encourage more groups to seek that kind of help.”

Scenic Ohio is dedicated to protecting and enhancing the visual quality and scenic character of Ohio’s towns and countryside. Our new awards program will draw attention to those who are protecting our distinctive landscapes and, we hope, encourage others to become involved and keep “Beautiful Ohio” beautiful. A beautiful Ohio is good for business and its citizens.

This newsletter is focused on Greater Ohio. We are proud to be a part of the GO Campaign Steering Committee. “The purpose of the Campaign is to promote – through research, public education and grassroots advocacy – public policy in Ohio to grow our economy and improve our quality of life through intelligent land use. To this end, Greater Ohio works to support the redevelopment of existing communities, strengthen regional cooperation and protect the countryside and Ohio’s natural resources”. The committee is working toward a commitment from all candidates running for office in Novembers, to support our mission.

In response to the oversized billboards recently approved by the Columbus Downtown Commission I sent the following letter to the Columbus Dispatch:

To the Editor:

The over sized billboards that have been erected in downtown Columbus are examples of visual blight. Vinyl wrapped buildings and over-sized billboards are forms of visual garbage. They are disruptive barriers between us and the natural beauty of the American landscape.

Scenic Ohio is not against businesses directing customers to their establishments. We are not against signs. We want prosperity and progress, healthy communities and thriving businesses. We believe we can have all of that without sacrificing the beauty and character of our communities. Change is inevitable. Ugliness is not. When did blight become a selling point for community growth and development?

There is no evidence that removing billboards harms local businesses and there is no evidence that using billboards instead of other kinds of signage helps them. In fact, jurisdictions that have taken action to remove visual clutter have seen improvement in sales. States that have banned billboards entirely have seen an increase in tourism. People want to feel comfortable, find their way quickly and directly to shops and restaurants without picking their way through clutter.

Too bad America cannot ban visual spam like they can on phones and computers. Citizens can, however, remind public officials the cost of ugliness and visual blight far exceeds any benefits; that the visual quality of their community is a priority. Columbus should have a strong sign ordinance and take the important step of banning any new billboards.

Christine Freitag, Chairman

Scenic Ohio

In response to this letter, Harrison Smith, Chairman of the Downtown Commission called me to explain the super-sized billboards add visual excitement to an otherwise dismal and drab downtown.

Ms. Martin’s professional career in transportation planning has integrated her educational background in economics and finance with a problem-solving perspective in technical transportation issues. Educated at Indiana University and Wright State University, in her ten-year tenure as Transportation and Program Administrator with the Ohio Department of Transportation she was recognized as an innovative and creative project leader and program developer.

Ms. Martin’s broad range of experience in transportation planning, NEPA, economic analysis, project financing, land use integration, green infrastructure development, context sensitive solutions, project design and preliminary development enables her to integrate multi-disciplinary teams with divergent agendas to create eective solutions to intractable transportation and land use challenges. She was ODOT project manager for the Eastern Corridor Multi-modal Program of Projects (Recipient of ASHTO Context Sensitive Solutions – Best Large Urban Project 2006), and had responsible charge for a number of other major and macro-corridor transportation programs, including I-75 and its nationally critical crossing of the Ohio River.

Now an independent consultant, Ms. Martin is currently leading development of an innovative financial implementation approach that includes integration of system-level transportation relationships with land use and development outcomes. She has addressed state and national peer groups on the development and evolution of this approach, as well as its relationship to context-sensitive solutions, mixed-mode frameworks, and the role of understanding land use in eective transportation delivery.

Congratulations to Governor Taft for initiating the Ohio Bicentennial Tree Initiative. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and the Ohio Department of Transportation, along with the Environmental Protection Agency, are working in harmony to add significantly to the tree canopy in Ohio by the Year 2003.

One of the Bicentennial's most talked about programs is the Barn Painting Program. Barn painter Scott Hagan is painting the celebration's distinct red, white and blue logo on the side of barns around the state, the goal being to paint the logo on at least one barn in each of Ohio's 88 counties. In collaboration with this plan, Scenic Ohio suggests the Bicentennial Commission provide the native trees used to build these barns to each county for reforestation providing a supply of lumber to maintain and restore these barns in the future.

Since trees provide a substantial reduction in air pollution, Scenic Ohio proposes that a tree be planted for every citizen in the State of Ohio. This doable proposal would impact the scenic beauty and set the wheels in motion for perpetuating a planting program as a lasting legacy for generations to come. We offer our thanks and appreciation to Senator Priscilla Mead from Columbus for her valuable confidence in efforts toward succeeding with this goal. Contact Scenic Ohio if you can organize your community efforts in a tree planting program.

Cherie Lucks, Chairman, Scenic Ohio

For outstanding contributions to the visual and livable quality of the State of Ohio, Scenic Ohio presents its 2007 scenic awards to:

1. The City of Reynoldsburg, Mayor Robert McPherson, for the revitalization of their Commercial Corridors prepared by E.G.& G., Inc. of Akron, OH. Part of the National All- American Historic Road, the project updated infrastructure, signage and landscaping, creating a visual impact aimed at creating a positive image for its residents and new business investment.

2. The City of Akron, Mayor Don Plusquellic, for the design and building of Ohio’s first vegetative sound wall, proving that a vegetative approach to noise attenuation is a viable alternative to structural sound barriers. The City and Scenic Ohiohave requested that the Ohio Department of Transportation [ODOT] officially change its designation as a landscape demonstration project to a sound wall abatement, allowing Akron and other cities in Ohio to receive sound barrier funds for vegetative sound walls.

3. Ohio Historical Society and Ohio National Road Association for the Ohio Historic National Road Design Handbook for the Ohio Historic National Road Design Handbook, a handbook providing guidelines, tools and techniques for the communities along the historic National Road/U.S. 40 to “protect, preserve, enhance, develop this All- American Road.” By creating a jurisdictional database, a project website to gather input from the public and through workshops, the project team produced the Design Handbook providing “guidelines and recommendations” for rural, urban and suburban settings along the 227 miles of National Scenic Byway and All- American Road.

4. City of Cincinnati and the Hillside Trust of Greater Cincinnati for the Cincinnati Scenic View Study providing an inventory of all public viewing locations of the downtown/ Ohio River area, with a strategy to preserve and protect these view sheds. The Study provides a rational input on scenic issues of view encroachment and preservation with both public and private development projects in the Metro Area.

Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Enhancement Program provides funds to local governments outside of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) for projects that enhance the transportation experience by improving the cultural, historic, aesthetic and environmental aspects of transportation infrastructure. ODOT encourages adding enhancements to planned transportation projects rather than stand-alone projects. Jurisdiction within small MPOs (those MPOS with less than 200,000 population) that have elected to join the statewide program are also eligible. Citizen groups or other private organizations may sponsor a project by coordinating with and making application through the local government having jurisdiction over the transportation facility involved.

Applicants must commit to a 20% cash match for construction and the match must be currently available and readily accessible. The Federal enhancement program is not a grant program but a cost reimbursable, pay-as-you-go program.

The application process is two-fold. It begins with a simple Letter of Interest (LOI) which addresses eligibility issues. If the proposed project is determined to be eligible, the sponsor is supplied with an application packet. Approximate due dates are as follows:

• January 1 Release LOI

• February 1 LOI due to districts

• March 1 Application packets to eligible project sponsors

• May 1 Application to districts

• August Award announcements and letters to applicants

More information will soon be available on ODOT's website at www.dot.state.oh.us/local/ and click on Transportation Enhancement Program for further details. Or contact Randy Lane, Program Manager, at 614-644-8211.

The Federal Telecom Act requires 5 basic conditions an ordinance must meet:

1. Must not unreasonably discriminate among competing providers.
2. Must not prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting wireless service.
3. Must act on the permit application within a reasonable time.
4. Permit denials must be in writing and based on substantial evidence.
5. No permit denials based on emissions (as long as they meet FCC standards).

Some things you can do:

Moratorium: Generally a period of 60 – 180 days to include public hearings, analysis, meetings with providers and a bona fide attempt to craft a permanent ordinance.

Intent of Ordinance: State the purpose of your ordinance. This is usually to balance the growth of and demand for wireless service with the need to protect the natural beauty and community appearance. You might encourage the use of existing structures, joint use of new towers and design with minimum adverse visual impacts

Land-use: Your ordinance should distinguish clearly in which districts wireless facilities are permitted “by right” versus districts requiring a special use permit such as a residential areas, historic and downtown districts. No tower should be permitted in areas of identified environmental or scenic sensitivity.

Tower height: This is critical. Your ordinance should specify maximum height across the jurisdiction or by zoning district. Height limits should be proportional to the predominant building heights and scale of topography. If the tree line is 40 – 50 foot, adopt a limit of 60 – 70 feet.

Future removal: Your ordinance should require the tower come down when no longer in use. The State of Ohio requires a $10,000 bond for removal when the tower is no longer in use.

We hope this information is helpful. Please call if we can provide you with more information. 330-865-9715, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Christine Freitag, Director, Scenic Ohio. Scenic America has an excellent publication, “Taming Wireless Telecommunication Towers”. $8:00, www.scenic.org

In 1977, on a busy commercial strip, the owners of an abandoned gas station decided to get into the used car business and asked if our firm would like to help design it. My reply that I never had a burning desire to design a car lot, but if they wanted to do something better, I would be pleased to help. I recommended that we turn the lot into a park and they agreed.

The client projected that they would be extremely happy
if they could sell about fifteen cars per month out of their
small lot. A year after the facility opened they had sold
an average of eighteen cars a month because of the trees,
planting, lighting and other details made the facility so
appealing. The average sale was $300 more per car than
the typical competition would charge. This brought
$65,000 additional profit for the year which was three
times the cost of entire front-end “park”.

Women started buying their cars. The design firm developed
the name, “BEEP”, graphics and even re-wrote their
sales agreement in plain English which was approved by
their attorney. As the trees and landscaping grew each
year, the park became even more appealing.

This is another case that has dramatically proven that an
appealing, beautiful facility is good for business and the
inner pleasure of people.

All who know Connie White acknowledge her love and devotion to conservation and preservation. A member of the Garden Writers Association of America where she has served as national and regional director, she has shared her love and knowledge of gardening for the past 30 years through a bi-weekly column in the Chagrin Valley Times.

She became an active member of the Garden Club of Cleveland in 1958 and has served on many committees both on the zone level and national level of The Garden Club of America where she was also a director and a member of the executive committee. At their annual meeting in 2004 the GCA awarded Connie the Amy Angell Collier Montague Medal “ for outstanding civic achievement”.

Her civic activities include the renovation and beautification of Cleveland’s Public Square for the bicentennial of the United States. She has served as president of the Gates Mills Community Club, as founder/president and trustee of the Gates Mills Land Conservancy, as a board member of the Cleveland Botanical Garden, the Horticulture and Library Committee of the Holden Arboretum, the board of Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens and currently as the Mayor of Gates Mills.

Since becoming mayor, Connie is overseeing the building of the first “green” library in Ohio and is creating an historic district to preserve her village’s unique character. Most important for Scenic Ohio, throughout all these many activities she has found the time to help us transcend from the Ohio Roadside Council to Scenic Ohio and its affiliation with Scenic America. Her acceptance speech for the GCA award reflects the essence of this accomplished woman. “My vision for my community and our northeast Ohio area is for a greener, cleaner community that will invite recognition of the business world for the opportunities here: good living facilities for families, outstanding cultural institutions, good housing stock, parks and the water that is already coveted by many.”

KALIHI, HI -- A nationwide trend of disguising cellular phone antennas will result in the state's first "stealth pine tree" at Kalihi Elementary School.

Ohio is a state with a rich history and vibrant future. The Governor’s Residence is a part of that ‘Living History’ and as such is the perfect place to showcase the wealth of arts, industry, and government in Ohio. In addition, the creation of the Residence Ohio Botanical Garden highlights the state’s rich and varied geographical regions, native plant species, and green industries.

Much of the Residence’s potential as an educational resource remains untapped. The programs that are being developed will create a Living Museum to showcase Ohio. The Living Museum will feature these key components:

• Create educational programs for Ohio’s school children with a special focus on 3rd and 4th grades with assistance from teachers to supplement the Ohio History, Government, and Geologic curriculums
• Insure the future of the Residence and Garden tours by cultivating trained docents, to share their knowledge with visitors.
• Become a destination for the thousands of professional and recreational gardeners in Ohio with our 23 gardens representing regions and plant materials from throughout the state
• Develop and implement a collections management and conservation program for the Residence and gardens
• Research and document the history of the two structures that have served as Ohio’s Executive Residences and host an event for the descendants of Ohio Governors.

The Governor’s Residence Foundation, a 501.c Foundation, has been established to ensure the longevity of this project. The Foundation’s goal is to raise funds to restore, preserve and develop the Residence and grounds. This foundation is not political, there will be no changes due to changing administrations. The State of Ohio pays for the daily operation of the Residence as with any state facility, however, any restoration, collections management, landscaping and education programs are funded through the Foundation.

Mini Ohio Botanical Gardens

The Gardens will be a true celebration of Ohio and it’s great diversity. The Landscape Master plan features over 20 unique gardens. These gardens will demonstrate the residential use of native plant materials and will recreate eco-systems from all over the state. They will demonstrate Ohio’s diverse climates and rich geologic history. They have already had an overwhelming response from some of the prominent garden clubs and plant nurseries throughout Ohio who want to participate. Some of the gardens include a Cranberry Bog, an Orchard and Vine Garden, Appalachian Garden, a Lake Erie Dune Garden, and a Prairie Garden. The key entry garden will be the Ohio Legacy Garden where presentations and interpretive panels will provide stories about Ohio’s First Families, information about the gardens and will honor those who have made donations to the Living Museum Project.

· The National Academy of Sciences Urban Policy Committee reports that “improving the appearance and attractiveness of buildings and open spaces in a community increases its desirability as a place to live, work, visit, and invest.”

· When a community passes regulations that effectively limit the size and number of signs, the viewer actually sees more. As a result, businesses do a more effective selling job at a lower cost. Elimination of clutter also increases motorist safety, and reduces the visual assault on our senses.

· The President’s Commission on Americans Outdoors reports that “natural beauty” is the single most important factor for adults when they choose a site for outdoor recreation.

· The Texas Industrial Commission recommends “visual enhancement” is one of the five major steps for a city that is seeking industrial development.

· The more a community does to enhance its unique natural, historic, and architectural assets, the more tourists it will attract. On the other hand, the more one place comes to look like everyplace, the less reason there is to visit.

· Almost all of America’s premier vacation resorts ban billboards and control signs. For example, Palm Springs, Lake Tahoe, Carmel, and Big Sur, California; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Scottsdale, Arizona; Hilton Head, South Carolina, Williamsburg, Virginia; Boca Raton, Florida; and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts have all recognized that sign control helps attract tourists’ dollars and aids the local economy.

Who is Responsible for Preserving the Intrinsic Qualities of an Ohio Scenic Byway?

A travesty is occurring on the Olentangy Heritage Corridor (OHC) State Scenic Byway. The West Orange Road Bridge replacement project initiated by Chris Bauserman, Delaware County Engineer, will so dramatically alter the OHC's attributes that the organization responsible for getting the OHC designated a state scenic byway in 1998 is seriously considering an official request to ODOT to remove this scenic byway's designation.

Logic would tell us that all users and managers are responsible for the preservation of a scenic byway's intrinsic qualities. So, where do you turn when a byway's sponsor, ODOT, and other government officials decide to implement a project that is contrary to the goal of the Ohio Scenic Byway program?

Each Ohio Scenic Byway is charged with preserving and enhancing the intrinsic qualities by which the byway was designated. In this specific case, all efforts are to be directed toward preserving and improving the OHC's historic, scenic, and natural qualities.

Instead, Delaware County Engineer Bauserman has decided the OHC's National Register West Orange Road Bridge is "structurally deficient and functionally obsolete" and that relocating the historic scenic road and adding a new bridge and roundabout is necessary. This project negatively affects all of the intrinsic qualities by which the OHC was designated: historic (National Register-listed landmark), scenic (state scenic byway), and natural (state scenic river).

Knowing the project would be highly controversial, Mr. Bauserman has hired a PR firm to orchestrate "communications" for the project. Although the project is now in final design phase, Mr. Bauserman has refused to hold public hearings or discuss the historic bridge. Instead, "open houses" have been used to control and direct all public input.

ODOT has given a nod to the proposed roundabout on State Route 315, the narrow, winding river road at the core of the Olentangy Heritage Corridor. The "heritage" in the OHC's name refers to this road, a Native American trail that became the first road commissioned in Delaware County in 1808. The byway also honors the county's first white settlements, mill, school, and one of only two National Register bridges in the county. In spite of this, the byway's sponsor, the Liberty Township Board of Trustees, has not publicly opposed the project. Instead, the Board has voted to look into widening historic W. Orange Road after the new bridge is built, a step that will remove the road's landmark tree canopy.

In 2008, Delaware County will celebrate its bicentennial. Planning is now underway to showcase the county's history. Ironically, if Delaware County continues on its current path, it will be destroying its own "Heritage Corridor" in the very year it is celebrating its heritage!

Your letters of support for the OHC are urgently needed. Please send a one-sentence email with your name and address to Judi Brozek, Chairperson of Friends of the Olentangy River at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . stating, "I (we) believe the Liberty Township Comprehensive Land Use Plan should prevail with regard to the West Orange Road Bridge Project along the OHC Scenic Byway." Ms. Brozek will make copies and forward them in a group to the Delaware County Engineer, Delaware County Commissioners, Liberty Township Trustees, and ODOT.

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF SITUATION

• The ODOT-designated OHC State Scenic Byway includes the ODNRdesignated Olentangy State Scenic River and the National Register-listed 1898 West Orange Road Pratt Through Truss Bridge.

• Pratt Through Truss bridges are an endangered species in Ohio. In 1983, Ohio had 510 of them. Today, there are 122 left. (Of them, only 23 are eligible for the National Register.) In the past 23 years, 75% have disappeared. In the past 5 years alone, 9 have been removed each year. At this rate, all could be gone from the Ohio landscape in little over a decade.

• The 2006 Comprehensive Land Use Plan of Liberty Township states the historic West Orange Road Bridge should be preserved as a vehicular bridge in its current location.

• The OHC Byway Management Plan states the bridge should be preserved.

• According to work orders from the Delaware County Engineer's Office, no regular maintenance to the bridge's superstructure or substructure has occurred in the past decade. No major rehab work has been done since 1970.

• Delaware County already has torn down all other historic bridges in the OHC.

• Now, Delaware County is proceeding with plans to move West Orange

In 1977, on a busy commercial strip, the owners of an abandoned gas station decided to get into the used car business and asked if our firm would like to help design it. My reply that I never had a burning desire to design a car lot, but if they wanted to do something better, I would be pleased to help. I recommended that we turn the lot into a park and they agreed.

The client projected that they would be extremely happy if they could sell about fifteen cars per month out of their small lot. A year after the facility opened they had sold an average of eighteen cars a month because of the trees, planting, lighting and other details made the facility so appealing. The average sale was $300 more per car than the typical competition would charge. This brought $65,000 additional profit for the year which was three times the cost of entire front-end “park”.

Women started buying their cars. The design firm developed the name, “BEEP”, graphics and even re-wrote their sales agreement in plain English which was approved by their attorney. As the trees and landscaping grew each year, the park became even more appealing.

This is another case that has dramatically proven that an appealing, beautiful facility is good for business and the inner pleasure of people.

F. Eugene Smith,

Design Management and board member, Scenic Ohio

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now”. ~ Chinese Proverb

The mural, which was completed in May 2007, depicts the early years of the Pumpkin Show and how it began in 1906 as an event to display locally grown pumpkins and other fall produce. A native of Circleville, nationally recognized artist Eric Henn painted the mural, which covers over 200 square feet on an historic building in downtown Circleville.

The new Ohio Byway slogan captures the essence of the byway driving experience for all ages. This slogan will be used on interpretive and marketing materials. A traveling interpretive display depicting all the byways made its debut at the Ohio Hill Country Gathering in Nelsonville in Mid-June. A banner is being planned, and an accompanying map/brochure depicting the location of Ohio's 14 byways will be coming soon for byway travelers who want to travel and enjoy Ohio's Scenic Byways. A 10 to 20 minute slide show is also available. To request the use of the traveling interpretive display or slide show contact Ohio Byway Links Secretary Ken Baldwin at 330/666- 1789 or Scenic Ohio at 330/865-9715 or the Scenic Ohio website at scenicohio.org

Paul Staley is the new state byway coordinator for ODOT. He met Friday, June 29, with an Ohio Byway Links representative at Camp Ohio near Utica. Ohio Byways Link has agreed to support a strategic planning process which Paul Staley has requested be completed to give new direction to the Ohio Byways Program. Representatives present at the June 29 meeting began the planning process. Other Ohio byways will receive an opportunity for input by mail.

The biannual National Scenic Byway meeting will be held in Portland, Oregon in August. Glenn Harper, representing the National Road Alliance, and I as representative of Ohio's Amish Country Byways are both making presentations at the conference.

Gene Smith has presented his ugliness show, "Why Ugly? Why Not?, at his expense, to hundreds of people from coast to coast. More than 700 organizations, universities, churches, designers, architects, numerous clubs and city planners have seen it. Gene, an industrial designer, has made fighting ugliness his crusade.

In the 70s Gene tried to rent a billboard from Naegele Outdoor Advertising Co. with the message "Beautify Akron. Ban Billboards." Naegele's representative refused to rent him a billboard with that message. Later that summer, at a fund raising auction, Gene was the highest bidder for a Naegele billboard. Again Naegele refused to post his message, "Beautify Akron. Ban Billboards". On the basis that he had paid for the billboard, Naegele had a monopoly on billboards in Akron and there was no other way he could post his message and the message was lawful and reasonable, Gene filed suit. Then in October, Naegele sued Gene for $280,000, charging that he was campaigning to destroy their business. They later dropped their suit. Gene did not get his billboard but drew attention to his goal, the proliferation of billboards in Ohio.

Gene has always maintained he is not opposed to signs and every business has the right to identify itself but not the right to deface the community. He has campaigned against billboards because "It is the only industry that is not trying to improve urban ugliness. How ironic, that we have to die before we can be surrounded by beauty." He maintains that people today grow up with ugly commercialism and don't see the ugliness.

The winner of numerous awards, Gene's firm, Design Management Inc. has assisted clients with design related decisions and activ ities world-wide. Closer to home he is known for his design work for Akron's famous West Point Market, Quaker Square in downtown Akron and for the historic restoration of Medina, Ohio, Deland and Fernandina Beach, Florida.

Gene has been an inspiration for many organizations. He served on the board of Scenic America and helped found Scenic Ohio, originally the Ohio Roadside Council.

Welcome to the battle of the billboards v. the public’s trees, an ongoing struggle being played out in states all across the country, with frequently sad and often frustrating results. Conservationists, local governments and even tradition-steeped garden clubs find themselves up against an industry with deep pockets, skilled lobbyists and a relentless drive to secure public property rights for its own profit.

All across America, billboard companies are suing local and state governments, petitioning transportation departments (which oversee tree-cutting along the highways and sometimes local thoroughfares), and lobbying state legislators for the right to cut down or drastically trim trees that grow anywhere near their signs.

Never mind that more than 70,000 of the roughly 450,000 billboards punctuating our federal highway system no longer conform to state and federal laws, and that tens of thousands of trees are cut down each year so we can all get a better look at them. Never mind that these trees were planted at public expense, often as part of local beautification projects designed to add color and beauty to the harsh look of concrete and asphalt.

“The billboard industry thumbs their nose at the law,” said Bill Brinton, an attorney specializing in billboard law and a member of the Scenic America Board of Directors. “These are the modern-day robber barons.”

Every year, the billboard industry gains new ground in its efforts to establish the right to “view zones” surrounding its signs, often taking rights away from taxpayers in the process. This year alone, the industry succeeded in launching legislation in at least half a dozen states. While some bills stalled in committee, others, such as one in Wisconsin that codifies the industry’s right to cut trees at no charge for up to 600 feet, sailed through with overwhelming support.

Billboard operators contribute heavily to lawmakers’ campaigns and offer free advertising space to legislators or to the lawmakers’ favorite charities, giving them a powerful edge when legislation hits the floor.

“The billboard companies will suck up all of your resources,” said Molly Diggins, state director of the Sierra Club in North Carolina, where a tree-cutting bill battle took place earlier this year. “Most of the time, environmental groups aren’t able to take up billboards because they don’t rise to the level of issues that affect public health.”

Meanwhile, the industry continues to profit at public expense, taking advantage of the lack of well-funded opposition. It’s a war they’ve successfully waged for many years. Part of the failure stems from a policy enacted in March of 1977, when the Federal Highway Administration gave states the right to enter into so-called “maintenance agreements” with outdoor advertising companies that would allow them to trim or remove trees that had grown in front of their signs.

In 1984, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General issued a report on the Highway Beautification Act, criticizing the policy on the grounds that allowing companies to cut down trees only prolonged the life of nonconforming billboards that didn’t belong there in the first place. The following year, a report from the General Accounting Office likewise criticized the tree-cutting policy, but the FHA refused to rescind it.

Finally, in 1990, the agency did rescind its policy and asked states to put an end to their tree-cutting programs. However, the outdoor advertising industry put so much pressure on Congress that federal lawmakers ultimately told the states they could ignore this change and keep their tree-cutting programs in place.