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OUR VIEW: New school symbolic of new era in Ravenna n Dedication of High School one more sign of turning the corner

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August 31, 2010

 

In the afterglow of theRavenna High School dedication Saturday, it is eminently possible to agree with the accurate assessment by the president of the Board of Education, Joanne Newhouser, that this is indeed a new era for Ravenna. 

The $28 million high school’s inauguration was led by Superintendent Tim Calfee. He quickly turned the limelight on so many other key players, including a student representative from every class in the school system. So tastefully done, the ceremony had a tone about it that amounts to one more important bit of evidence that the community has turned a corner.

Citizen initiative, focused on the greater good without regard to who gets the credit, was a defining characteristic of the process of the new high school coming into being  It spoke of a healthier community, busy renewing itself, less burdened by ego and a demoralizing cynicism that often aimed at selfish gain at the expense of collective citizen resolve to do better. 

Ravenna four years ago inaugurated the new Reed Memorial Library, a beautiful facility that enhances the community’s downtown. Remarkably, no one on its board, which worked so diligently with the library staff to make it happen, hogged the spotlight. A citizen initiative has brought into being an entirely new municipal park and playground on North Chestnut Street. Collective citizen action aimed at helping young people, not personal aggrandizement, caused it to happen.

As the community’s then new mayor,  Kevin Poland endorsed the high school bond issue in 2006, fought for it, and when it passed, did not take credit for it. 

Ravenna’s current mayor, Joseph Bica, is just as supportive and understated.  His unselfish approach to getting the city’s expenses in line with revenues and his focus on economic development in the long run are going to pay handsome dividends for a city that remains a vibrant manufacturing center for numerous industries, which continue to make Ravenna a vital center for rubber, plastics, lighting, steel, and aerospace.

Ravenna is a great place to do business and the new high school makes it even more so. It will present a progressive image as Ravenna goes about promoting itself to prospective new businesses and continues to work at being a hospitable site for the many fine businesses it already has.  

As it opened its doors Monday to hundreds of young people, the new Ravenna High School pointed to a new era and the promise of a bright future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




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