Amherst News-Times, 1997-02-26

              Leo Club roars into town — Page 5 | Grapplers send 10 to district — Pag*
Amherst News-Time
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Wednesday, February 26, 1997
Amherst, Ohio
Enrollment reflects school future
by GLEN MILLER
Naws-Times reporter
An incretse in kindergarten
enrollment at Powers Elementary School may be an indication
of things to come throughout the
Amherst school district
According to the latest student count, there is a record 260
kindergarteners at the school,
nine mote than last year, accord-
ing to a report given to the
school board last week.
Although nine students may
not seem like a lot, administrative assistant Robert Wicrsum
said it could be a small sample
of the possible growth for which
the school board is planning.
The 260 kindergarteners are
part of the Class of 2013. About
three to five percent more children are expected to join the system annually as their families
move into the school district, he
added.
"So, we're looking at some
real big classes," Weirsum said.
"II this current trend of big kindergarten classes keeps op, the
need (for additional classroom
space) may be compounded
sooner than We expect"
Board members said nothing
$& they officially approved a
3.%36-mill bond issue last week
to pay for more than $16.7 million in additions and renovations
to the schools. Comments and
suggestions came at January's
meeting as specific plans and
cost estimates for each school
were unveiled by architects
If voters approve the bond
issue May 6, it win help eliminate overcrowding in the
schools by 1999.
Based on new home construction information, school officials
have predicted enrollment will
jump by 1300 students over the
next three to four years. The district now  has about  3,600
students.
About 1,000 new homes are
being built or are on developers'
drawing boards, according to a
survey done early last year. In
addition, builders think the
building boom may be accelerated by the construction of a
new turnpike interchange at Rt
58.
Other options explored by a
school planning group included
possible half-day sessions or the
purchase of modular classrooms.
Both were rejected because of
the possible negative affect they
might have on students'
education.
Cash in, cash  :
Street repair Ii
starts with crack
and seal projects
by BILL ROSS
Soup's on
Charles Seckel gets ready to enjoy the soup lunch hosted by the   the monthly lunches and said he thinks ft is one of the best deals in
United Methodist Church on Park Avenue. Seckel is a regular at   town.
News-Times reporter
The streets in Amherst that have
the greatest need for repair have
been written into the 1997 Street
Program and have been sent to city
council for final approval.
Phase one of the program was approved earlier this year, and calls for
crack and joint sealing of recently
paved streets.
According to mayor John Hig-
gins, crack and joint sealing is a
process whereby "streets that have
been paved in the last two or three
years are inspected for signs of expansion and surface cracks, which
are then sealed to prevent damage to
the under lament"
The under lament is a two-inch
"floating" bed of asphalt, layered
between the road bed and the surface coat, and if it becomes water
damaged, can lead to more serious
problems.
The following streets have been
approved for crack and joint sealing:
• S. Lake Street — Milan Avenue to Valley Drive.
• Valley Drive — S. Lake Street
to Hickory Hollow Drive.
• Hickory Hollow Drive. — Valley Drive to cul-de-sac.
• Chestnut — Hickory hollow
drive to end.
• Wilshire Drive — Princeton
Avenue to Sharondale Drive.
• Princeton Drive — Columbia
to cul tie-sac.
• Tenney Avenue — Jackson
Street to Spring Street
• Jackson Street — Elyria Avenue to Franklin Avenue.
• Jackson Street — Railroad
bridge to Park Avenue.
• Washington Street — Sunrise
Drive to Cleveland Avenue.
• Hazel Street — Franklin Avenue to Crosse Avenue.
• Chapel Court — Spruce Tree
Lane to end.
• Middle Ridge Road — S. Lake
Street to bridge over Beaver Creek.
• Middle Ridge Road — S. Lake
Street west to city limits.
• Middle Ridge Road — Elyria
Avenue to 630' west of Sleepy Hollow Drive.
• Meadowview — Elyria Avenue
to 630' west of Sleepy Hollow
Drive.
• Beaver Court — S. Main Street
to Milan Avenue.
• Blossom Drive — Cherry Valley Drive to end of plat 1.
• Blossom Drive — Shadylawn
Avenue to Stonewood subdivision.
• Willow Creek Drive — S.
Lake Street to cul-de-sac.
• Nordson Drive — Middle
Ridge Road to Gordon Drive.
• Linn Road — North Ridge
Road to Cooper Foster Park Road.
• Weavers Drive — Linn Road
to end.
• Autumn Drive — Middle
Ridge Road to Gordon Drive.
• N. Main Street — W. Martin
Street to Rt 2 bridge.
• Cooper Foster Park Road —
N. Lake Street to 600' west of
Crosse Road.
• S. Main Street — Milan Avenue to city limits.
Total cost for the crack and joint
sealing for the listed streets is
$116,050.
Phase two and three of the 1997
Street Program have been approved
by the finance committee and were
sent to the floor of city council,
where they were expected to be approved on Feb. 24.
Phase two covers asphalt pavement repair and resurfacing needs
and covers the following streets:
• Dewey Road — Park Avenue
north to city limits.
• West Martin — North Main
Street to bridge.
• North Woodhill Drive —
Cleveland Avenue to Shadylawn
CONTINUED on page 3
Whittler for life,
Wilbur Bohley's
art reflects love
of craftsmanship
by BILL ROSS
News-Times reporter
The woodcarver's faded gray-
blue eyes are once again sharp —
like the finely detailed eyes of the
sculpted eagle which stands watch
in his Jefferson Street home.
Wilbur Bohley will be 83 years
old in a few months, but shows no
sign of slowing down as he carves
his intricate masterpieces.
A new lens had just been replaced
in his right eye and he was busily
working on a new project to test its
abilities. "You know those eye
charts they have? Well I started
reading the letters right near the bottom," he said with obvious satisfaction. His left lens was replaced seven years earlier.
The right eye, which had been rendered almost useless by a cataract,
is now allowing him to focus on his
craft with eyes like a child.
And his mind has always held a
childlike imagination.
In the home that he shared for S3
years with his wife, Elizabeth, who
passed away last September, Bohley
spends his days carving whatever
captures his fancy for the moment.
"1 get a picture in my head and just
start carving," he said.
Bohley does the majority of his
work with only a pocket knife. It is
similar to the one his grandfather
gave him when he was nine years
old, living just up the street on Milan Avenue.
"He showed me how to make a
whistle out of a willow twig," Bohley said. "It just kind of evolved
from there."
He immediately took to whittling,
and often would go walking into the
woods, find a place to sit and pick
up a piece of wood on which to
work.
Bohley whittled sporadically as
he was growing up. He spent 10
years in the Army, both prior to and
during World War n, and after leaving the Army, returned home and
married Elizabeth. He was 30 and
she was 39.
Bohley said he was fortunate to
have met her at all, because when
she was 17 years old, she went to
the doctor with internal problems.
The doctor told her parents that they
should take out life insurance on
her. "He told them she wouldn't live
to see 21," Bohley said. "But he was
wrong."
Although their families lived
close by, they had no children of
their own, so their hobbies helped to
Wilbur Bohley displays soma of his many carved creations in the living room of his Jefferson Street home,
where he lives by himself. Many of the pieces, includ
ing ones that have movable parts, have been carved
from a single piece of wood, and he uses no glue,
tape or nails.
fill the time. "She knitted, crocheted
and did puzzles." Bohley said. "And
I did my carving."
There is a difference between
carving and whittling. Carving, according to Bohley, involves greater
skill, whereas  whittling can  be
simply paring away at the wood.
"It's like the story of the old far-
ma sitting by the country store and
the city fella says, 'Whatcha doing?'
and the farmer says 'whittlin*. So
the city fella says 'Whatcha whittlin?' and the farmer says,
'shavins."'
After the Army, Bohley became a
metal worker at the Nabakowski
Sheet Metal factory, which occupied
the property where Albright Terrace
is now located. Before becoming
shop foreman, he made patterns —
which probably helped him to develop his skill as a carver.
He took a medical retirement
when he was 58 years old, due to
pernicious anemia, which caused his
blood to stop manufacturing red
blood cells and required regular
CONTINUED on page 2
City hall
basement
is gutted
for offices
by BILL ROSS
News-Times reporter
After tearing back everything
to the walls, the basement of city
hall is ready for its next incarnation — as additional city offices
to ease overcrowding for city
employees.
But before that can be done,
the structurally unsound roof
and bell tower of city hall must
be repaired.
Mayor John Higgins said he
hopes to put the mayor's and
safety/service director's offices
downstairs, but that may not
happen until next year.
"One of the problems we cur-
rendy have is a lack of confidentiality when a citizen wants to
talk in private," he said. "Right
now, we just don't have an area
where people can make sure
they are not being overheard."
City workers have uncovered
safety hazards in the basement
that the mayor feels could have
been an accident waiting to
happen.
"They found 3,000 feet of unused wire, a flue door open; bare
wires with scorch marks; backwards insulation; wires going
nowhere; and walls mortared in
CONTINUED on page 2
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