News & Media

Partnership extends Pickerington STEM course to Canal Winchester students

Wednesday, August 07, 2019

A new partnership for the 2019-20 school year will enable four Canal Winchester High School seniors to get biomedical science instruction alongside Pickerington students at the OhioHealth Pickerington Medical Campus, 1010 Refugee Road. This school year will mark the fifth that students from Pickerington High School Central and Pickerington High School North will take STEM-based classes -- those rooted in science, technology, engineering and mathematics -- at the medical campus. The biomedical science course for seniors is taught by Andy Harris, the STEM biomedical science coordinator for Pickerington Schools. The course covers biochemical and physiological functions, anatomy, epidemiology and pharmacology in ...

County to commission study for performing arts center

Tuesday, August 06, 2019

LANCASTER - The Fairfield County commissioners either took the first step in building a performing arts center or the last step. The commission officially opened invitations for companies to submit proposals to study the feasibility of a performing arts center downtown or somewhere else in Fairfield County. Economic development director Rick Szabrak said the study could show the economic support for one or show that one would not survive here, thus ending the plan immediately. Read full article.

United Candle Company Moves Production to Ohio, Creates 100 Jobs

Monday, August 05, 2019

Company will make candles for some of the most well-known, brand-name retailers Company Name: United Candle Company, LLC Location: Muskingum County Industry Sector: Advanced Manufacturing Company Profile: USA Tealight began as a manufacturer for wholesalers of all various types of candles and waxes. Due to its state-of-the-art facility, production power and high-quality ingredients, USA Tealight quickly became an industry brand among wholesalers, retailers and general consumers. With its move to Ohio, the company will begin operations as United Candle Company. Company Website: https://tealightusa.com Project Summary: Type of Project: New location Number of Jobs: Jobs committed: 100 Capital Investment: $1,815,000 Company Need: The former USA Tealight is a candle manufacturer located in New Jersey. The company’s clients prefer to dea...

AMG Vanadium Constructing a Second Ohio Plant, Investing More Than $200 Million

Sunday, August 04, 2019

Second facility helps company stay an industry leader Company Name: AMG Vanadium Location: Washington Township Industry Sector: Energy & Chemicals Company Profile: AMG Vanadium is a global critical materials company at the forefront of CO2 reduction trends. AMG Vanadium produces highly engineered specialty metals and mineral products and provides related vacuum furnace systems and services to the transportation, infrastructure, energy, and specialty metals and chemicals end markets. Company Website: https://amg-v.com/ Project Summary: Type of Project: New Location Number of Jobs: Jobs committed: 102 Capital Investment: $200,652,178 Timetable: Groundbreaking on the new plant will be on August 8, 2019. The first phase of construction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2020, focusing on a raw materia...

Ohio Will Become 4th State to Offer Residential PACE for Energy Improvements

Saturday, August 03, 2019

Homeowners in Summit, Franklin and Lucas Counties will soon have access to low-interest loans for energy efficiency improvements through property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing. In Summit County, the City of Barberton will begin offering residential PACE (or RPACE) to homeowners. In Franklin and Lucas Counties, the cities of Bexley and Toledo have authorized agreements with the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority to offer RPACE to their residents. RPACE loans will be available to homeowners for energy efficiency upgrades to HVAC, windows and doors, roofing, insulation and other improvements. Property owners can finance projects through the 5- to 20-year loans, which ar...

Kroger and Ocado Break Ground in Ohio on U.S.’s First-Ever Robotic Warehouse

Friday, August 02, 2019

$55 million high-tech facility will create over 400 jobs The Kroger Co., America’s largest grocery retailer, and U.K.-based Ocado, one of the world’s largest dedicated online grocery retailers, are launching America’s first state-of-the-art automated customer fulfillment center (CFC) in Monroe, Ohio. The $55 million, 335,000-square-foot CFC is expected to generate more than 400 jobs. The partnership was announced in May of 2018, broke ground on June 12, 2019, and is expected to be operational in spring 2021. Research by Nielsen and the Food Marketing Institute found online grocery spending could rise to $100 billion annually by 2020. Furthermore, as many as 70% of consumer...

Mid-Sized Urban Markets Compare Well with Mega-Cities

Thursday, August 01, 2019

Even before New York politics interfered with the Amazon HQ2 project, it was not the typical economic development project — not even counting the 50,000 jobs associated with it — but the decision of the company to end up in two major urban markets goes against recent corporate site location trends favoring mid-sized urban markets over mega-cities. Any economic development project that is going to create 50,000 jobs will end up in large urban market — likely one of the top-10 mega-cities in the United States, primarily based upon the availability of that many skilled workers. However, in the ag...

A look inside the Wigwam

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Scenes from the July 27 Wigwam open house in Violet Township View original article.

Violet Township: Wigwam open house

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Violet Township held an open house for the Wigwam on July 27. Although the 63-acre retreat with 26 buildings at 10190 Blacklick-Eastern Road NW has been open to the public in various forms since February, the township had not held a formal event for people to see the facility that was purchased for $2.7 million in July 2018. View original content.

John Raymond Eisel, Jr., Current Director of Operations & Retired Fire Chief

Tuesday, July 09, 2019

Violet Township Press Release FOR RELEASE ON: July 9, 2019 John Raymond Eisel, Jr., Current Director of Operations & Retired Fire Chief With great regret and heavy hearts, Violet Township announces the passing of Director of Operations and Retired Fire Chief John Raymond Eisel, Jr. A veteran of the fire service for more than 32 years, John died suddenly surrounded by his family in Monticello, Kentucky on Friday, July 5, 2019. John entered the fire service as a volunteer with the Madison Township Fire Department. He then became full time with Perry Township, and ultimately became a Volunteer with the Violet Township Fire Departmen...

Violet Township Office Closed In Honor of John Eisel

Tuesday, July 09, 2019

In honor of the passing of the Violet Township Director of Operations, John Eisel, the Violet Township Administrative Offices at the Wigwam, 10190 Blacklick Eastern Road, will be closed from Noon to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 11th and will be closed all day on Friday, July 12th. The office will reopen at 7:30 a.m. on Monday, July 15th. This will allow our staff to attend the Visitation and Celebration of Life Service for our friend and colleague. For more information on John Eisel, view Violet Township's press realease here.

Press Release: Violet Township Seeking Volunteer Applications

Monday, July 01, 2019

Contact: Holly Mattei, AICP, Violet Township Development Director 614-575-5556 – holly.mattei@violet.oh.us Violet Township is seeking applications for volunteer positions on various boards and commissions related to the administration of the Violet Township Zoning Code. Applicants must reside in the unincorporated area of the township and should have interest in land use, zoning, and development within the township. A background in city planning, real estate or other similar field is helpful but not necessary. Applicants will work closely with the Violet Township Zoning Inspector and must be willing to attend various meetings, including monthly evening meetings. Interested residents shoul submit a letter o...

Historic Wigwam Retreat is Now Open for Public Use

Thursday, June 27, 2019

Violet Township has purchased the historic Wigwam retreat and it is open for community use. This beautiful property was previously the private retreat of the Wolfe family, owner of WBNS TV. It was initially built in 1929 and has been host to many exciting events and visitors over the years. Now, having been recently renovated, it is open to public use. Residents of Violet Township and the surrounding area can enjoy the Wigwam’s beauty, history and grandeur by reserving one of the several event spaces that are available for private use. The Wigwam is an ideal destination for corporate events, meetings...

The Wigwam Open House

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

You are invited to the Wigwam Open House on Saturday, July 27! Please join us for... Tours of the Wigwam Facility “Touch a Truck” featuring heavy equipment from our road and fire departments Fairfield County Sheriff and SWAT Displays And more!! View details here.

Office Building For Sale

Monday, June 24, 2019

Violet Township is selling its former administrative office located at 12970 Rustic Drive, Pickerington. Please see attached flier for details and contact information! View sale flier here.

We Celebrated International Economic Development Week

Friday, June 21, 2019

We celebrated International Economic Development Week (EDW) this past month. It was an opportune time to reflect on the importance of local economic development efforts to help Violet Township grow in a sustainable way. Our recent and current initiatives include transforming the Wigwam Retreat into an asset for the entire community, building a new community center, infrastructure improvements, and creating master plans for future area development - just to name a few! What is International Economic Development Week? The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) created EDW in 2016 to help raise awareness for the profession. Economic Development Organizations (EDOs) are often misunderstoo...

COTA’s micro-transit program set for July start in Grove City

Monday, June 03, 2019

Despite some concerns regarding the cost, scope and feasibility of the Central Ohio Transit Authority’s on-demand micro-transit program, all four Grove City Council members attending a May 20 meeting voted to approve Grove City’s participation as the pilot community for the project. Grove City will provide $180,000 to fund half of the cost of the project, with COTA paying the remainder of the $360,000 total cost. The program will be an enhancement of what already exists in Grove City, said Dan Havener, the city’s economic development manager. Read full article.

The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital Spins Off Groundbreaking Gene Therapy Companies

Thursday, May 30, 2019

Nationwide Children’s Hospital has the resources and teams to take discoveries from bench to bedside The resources and expertise of Ohio’s renowned research and healthcare institutions drive discoveries that could improve millions of lives. Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the leading pediatric hospitals in the nation. In 2017, the hospital had over 1.4 million patient visits from all 50 states as well as 48 countries. Its nonprofit research entity, the Research Institute, is a top-funded pediatric research institution with more than 1,300 employees and investigators. The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital occupies over 500,000 square feet of dedicated space an...

Eastland-Fairfield’s culinary-arts program earns award of distinction

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Andrew Borenstein said his education at the culinary-arts academy at Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools helped land him a job right out of high school in 2008, working for Cameron Mitchell Restaurants as a sous chef. He later attended Hocking College and Ohio State University before serving as executive chef and operating partner for the now-closed Lomonicos Inc. Borenstein, who became the academy’s second culinary-arts instructor in 2015, said part of his job is mirroring a competitive, real-life working environment. Read full article.

Workforce Development and the Future of Smart Mobility

Monday, May 27, 2019

As DriveOhio and Smart Columbus launched our first phase of testing self-driving shuttles around the Scioto Mile in downtown Columbus, and Honda demonstrated its “smart intersection” camera and sensor technologies as part of the Connected Marysville project along the US 33 Smart Mobility Corridor, one thing often overlooked are the positive workforce impacts of such projects. But that’s something we fully consider whenever DriveOhio introduces a project, as workforce development is a core part of our mission to support and advance Ohio’s smart mobility future. In fact, we take a four-pronged approach to workforce development, launching these initiatives as new projects begin: Read full article.

With New Strategic Plan, DriveOhio and the Ohio UAS Center Bring Smart Mobility to Every Altitude, Position Ohio as a Leader in Drone Technologies

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

When Dayton’s own Wright Brothers took their first flight in December 1903, they only reached about 10 feet off the ground. Today’s flights take us easily to 30,000 feet and above, as air traffic control monitors and guides planes safely across the sky. Interestingly, thanks to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), known commonly as drone technology, there is now a need for an air traffic management system for altitudes below 2,000 feet. Why? Because drone technology has advanced rapidly the last few years and is now capable of transporting both packages and people, but there is no system in place to ensur...

New Self-Driving Shuttle Rolls Around Scioto Mile in Columbus

Monday, May 20, 2019

Ohio’s first self-driving shuttles hit the streets in downtown Columbus, kicking off the first phase of a project designed to test, operate and evaluate self-driving vehicles, while providing residents and visitors first-hand experience with intelligent transportation. The low-speed transportation shuttles are operated by May Mobility, a self-driving vehicle startup, which commenced testing and route mapping around the Scioto Mile. Read full article.

Beam Technologies More Than Triples Workforce, Expands Headquarters

Friday, May 17, 2019

Company places emphasis on Ohio’s technology talent ecosystem Read full company profile.

Ohio is a Top 10 Best State for Business in New Chief Executive CEO Survey

Thursday, May 16, 2019

Since 2010, Ohio has jumped 34 spots to become the ninth best state for business according to CEO survey In early May, chief executives across the country ranked Ohio as the ninth best state in the nation for business, according to Chief Executive magazine’s 2019 “Best and Worst States for Business” survey. Ohio rose one place in 2019 from No.10 last year but has jumped 34 spots in the survey since 2010. “This is a strong positive contrast to other states in the region,” said Andrew Deye, managing director, strategy, business development & research for JobsOhio. “Interestingly, only two northern states –Ohio and Indiana –wer...

Root Insurance Will Significantly Expand in Ohio, Add 400 Jobs

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Following a great 2018, the insurtech company works to launch nationwide View full company profile.

Columbus Happenings: CAPA summer movie series celebrates 50th anniversary

Wednesday, May 08, 2019

COLUMBUS - The CAPA Summer Movie Series, the longest-running classic film series in America, announced the movie lineup for its 50th series of classic films and cult favorites. Made possible through the generous support of PVS Chemicals, the 2019 series will run June 14 – Aug. 11 at the Ohio Theatre (39 E. State St.) and feature 26 films over nine weeks. Highlights include nine series premieres, a silent film with live musical accompaniment, two Saturday mornings of classic cartoons, a sci-fi double feature, a film noir double feature, and Fright Nite Friday with Fritz. As part of CAPA’s year-long 50th anniversary celebration, admissio...

Violet Township preparing for upcoming move to Wigwam

Wednesday, May 08, 2019

Officials plan to move Violet Township’s administrative offices from Rustic Drive to a new home at the Wigwam. Violet Township purchased the Wigwam retreat and its 63-acre site at 10190 Blacklick-Eastern Road for $2.7 million from Wolfe Enterprises, controlled by family members of late businessman and longtime The Columbus Dispatch Publisher John F. Wolfe. Since then, officials have planned for it to be the new government headquarters for the township. The day to enact that plan now appears set. Read full article.

State of Fairfield County address: Financial health, services lauded

Tuesday, May 07, 2019

Fairfield County officials reported stable financial health in the county and lauded ongoing programs aimed at enhancing public safety, as well as economic and workforce development, during a recent State of the County address. During a two-hour State of the County luncheon at Violet Township’s Wigwam facility in Pickerington, officials updated residents and stakeholders on continued efforts to enhance the quality of life throughout the county. Numerous statistics were provided, both designed to demonstrate strides being made and the continued evolution of the Fairfield County. Read full article.

Turning Disruption into Opportunity Within Ohio’s Food Industry

Wednesday, May 01, 2019

Disruptions in the food industry present the chance to seize opportunities in Ohio Ohio is home to over 1,300 food manufacturing facilities of all sizes and in most every food production segment. With 3.5 percent of the U.S. population, Ohio produces nearly 5 percent of the country’s food and beverages by value. As a part of the state economy, food manufacturing accounts for 2 percent of the GSP compared to the average across states of 1.2 percent. Ohio’s food and agribusiness sector contributes $16.4 billion to the state’s Gross State Product annually. Employment in food manufacturing totals about 70,000 jobs with a...

Fairfield County could see 20% population growth by 2040

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

VIOLET TOWNSHIP - Because of Fairfield County's close proximity to Columbus, county administrator Carri Brown said the population is expected to grow 20% to 186,810 by 2040. That figure is based U.S. Census and Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission analysis. Read full article.

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