• Federal Stimulus Money Sought to Fund Several Rickenbacker Projects
• Heartland Corridor on Track
• Foreign-Trade Zone Activity
• Southeast Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Unveils New Web site
• From Trains to Planes – An Adventure into Flying History
• Mentors Needed! Make A Difference!
• Bring the Magic of Christmas to a Child – Toys for Tots
• Groveport Madison Adopt-a-Family Project Underway
• Canal Winchester’s Christmas in the Village

The Columbus Regional Airport Authority (CRAA), operator of Rickenbacker International Airport, recently served as the lead agency in the submittal of an application for a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grant. The TIGER program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation and is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The application, submitted in September, is intended to foster the growth of private investment and sustainable jobs through improvements in intermodal highway, rail, air freight infrastructure and Intelligent Transportation Systems in the Columbus region. It is estimated that the six proposed projects in the application will lead to the creation of over 10,000 jobs in logistics and other industries, adding over $400 million per year in wages to Ohio and the U.S. Over a 20-year period, direct, indirect and induced wages will total nearly $5 billion toward the state and nation's economy.

Along with the CRAA, the Ohio Congressional delegation; Governor Ted Strickland; Ohio Department of Transportation Director, Jolene Molitoris; Columbus Mayor, Michael Coleman; Village of Groveport; Village of Obetz; Pickaway County Commissioners; Franklin County Economic Development Office; Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission; the Columbus Chamber and many other regional economic development partners and educational institutions supported and contributed to the application process. Decisions regarding the TIGER grants are expected by February 2010.

Norfolk Southern has reported continued progress on the Heartland Corridor clearance project. Work has been started on all of the tunnels and completion is expected in the 3rd quarter of 2010.

The three-year railway capacity improvement project is expected to significantly increase the speed of containerized freight moving in double-stack trains between the East Coast and Midwest. Currently, double-stack trains must take longer routes by way of Harrisburg, Pa., or Knoxville, Tenn. The Heartland Corridor goes across Virginia, through southern West Virginia and north through the Rickenbacker Intermodal Terminal to Chicago.

The Columbus Regional Airport Authority (CRAA) is the grantee of Foreign-Trade Zone #138, which serves the Central Ohio area. As grantee, CRAA is responsible for administrating the guidelines set by the federal government and educating community businesses about the FTZ program. Recently CRAA hosted a free annual seminar, sponsored Abercrombie & Fitch’s application for a subzone of Foreign-Trade Zone #138 and is pursuing participation in the new voluntary Alternative Site Framework program.

Contact Kathy Mills, CRAA’s Business Development Manager of International Trade, at (614) 409-3606 for more information on Foreign-Trade Zone #138 and the ASF program.

Did you know November 2010 marks the 100th anniversary of the first air cargo flight? Guess where the first flight took place. Yep, Ohio. The flight took off from Dayton and landed in Columbus. Plans are under way for next year’s celebration of this monumental moment in history that has significantly impacted and shaped the cargo industry into what it is today.

Some facts regarding the first air cargo flight from Cargo Flight - An Adventure into Flying History by Foster A. Lane:

• The first air cargo flight occurred on a cool morning on Nov. 7, 1910.


• Orville and Wilbur Wright designed and created the Model B airplane which carried pieces of silk and newspaper articles.


• Philip O. Parmelee was the pilot and was only 24 years of age and had just finished his flight training during the summer of 1910.


• The airplane weighed a total of 1,180 pounds including the bundles of silk and Parmelee.


• Upon delivery some of the silk was cut into tiny pieces and sold on post cards. The post cards had both a picture of the Wright airplane and the tiny pieces of stamped silk. The stamp read, “This is a piece of the first merchandise ever carried in an airplane, Dayton to Columbus, Nov. 7, 1910.”


• The Ohio State Journal (now known as The Columbus Dispatch) heading later read: “Arrival of the Aeroplane: Nov. 7, 1910, is a date that will go down in history as the time an airplane sailed into the capital city. It came from Dayton in one hour and six minutes. It sailed up out of the western horizon, ‘A winged boat, A bird afloat, Sailed around the purple peaks remote.’”
  

There is a need for mentors in your community. Mentor twice a month for an hour and you can impact a child for a lifetime.

If you would like to impact the youth in your community, the KIDSConnect program is a great way to get started through facilitator lead mentorship groups at Canal Winchester, Whitehall, Hamilton and Groveport Middle Schools twice a month for an hour.

Mentors will be asked to participate in teambuilding activities, discuss certain skills related to career exploration, preparation required to achieve professional and career goals, and establish a caring relationship. More information can be obtained at www.edcouncil.org or contact Laura Linden at (614) 247-5915.

The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots, a national initiative with a local campaign organized at Rickenbacker, is reaching out for help this holiday season. The organization is collecting new unwrapped toys and monetary donations for its annual toy drive to benefit Columbus area children in need this Christmas season. Toys are being collected now through Dec. 12.

Last year, the Rickenbacker Toys for Tots campaign played Santa Clause to around 18,000 families and provided approximately 46,000 toys to children.

“This year we are appealing to the giving spirit of humanity – to serve someone in greater need than ourselves,” stated Staff Sergeant Cary Anderson, Operation Chief Lima 3/25 and Toys for Tots Coordinator. “It breaks my heart when I think that some children wakeup on Christmas morning with no presents to open.”

“The gift we are giving these children in donating presents is truly invaluable,” noted Staff Sergeant Anderson. “By collecting and giving presents to those children whose families may not be able to afford Christmas presents, we will bring smiles to the faces of not only the children but to the their families.”

Visit Rickenbacker Toys for Tots online to view a list of drop-off locations or contact Staff Sergeant Anderson at (614) 492-2973 for more information.

The Groveport Madison Adopt-a-Family (GMAAF) organization is looking for “angels” (individuals or groups) to bring joy into a child’s life this holiday season. Donors have the opportunity to provide Christmas presents and food to families in the Groveport Madison School District who are under financial constraints. Under GMAAF’s guidelines, each child will receive a coat, gloves, hat (new or gently used), pajamas, socks, underwear and an age-appropriate toy.

Angel assignments will be given in mid-November. Financial donations for the GMAAF project are being collected at Groveport’s Huntington Bank. Additional donations are accepted to help fulfill Christmas for families not directly adopted. Help bring the magic of Christmas to a child and become an angel, contact Christine Boucher at (614) 836-7939.

Canal Winchester’s annual storybook Christmas celebration will be held in the village’s historic downtown on Friday, Dec. 4 and Saturday, Dec. 5. A Santa parade will begin at 5:15 p.m. each night and activities will commence at 6 p.m.

Activities will take place on the sidewalks and streets of downtown as well as inside several business establishments around the village’s municipal office building at 36 S. High Street. A complete list of activities and the parade routes can be found on the village’s Web site.

Anyone who would like more information about Christmas in the Village or details on how to enter the third annual gingerbread house contest should contact Carrie Hoover at (614) 834-9727.

If you would like to participate in the Business Expo, please contact the Main Street Canal Winchester organization at (614) 270-5053.