European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 13, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Small town charms a amps Wes Booher a great place to live by Bil Vogrin associated press in an Era of dying Small towns in the United states Ohio iii., paid a Price to survive. The Gritty Community of 540 residents offered Cash incentives up to $5,000 to lure newcomers willing to Trade big City amenities for Small town Charm. The results surprised everyone. Today vacant Homes Are virtually nonexistent. Most houses boast fresh paint neatly mowed lawns and gardens sprouting Flowers and vegetables. There a a new subdivision with sewers water and electrical lines and construction is under Way on new houses. City leaders also Hope to land a federally subsidized housing project for older residents to free up even More houses for prospective buyers. Quot the Bounty Money gets Peoples attention. But its not the key to getting them Here a says Jack Piper one of the programs architects. Quot visitors just get such a warm feeling about the Community. They see Why its such a great place to  two years ago the town named Ohio had Little to offer. Quot we were suffering because our kids were moving out our population was aging and we did no to have any new jobs Quot Piper says. Dick Swanson helped organize a town meeting at which Quot we passed the hat and a couple dozen people chipped  the group formed the Ohio growth foundation to make one last attempt to generate some expansion. In Early 1989, the foundation launched a modest marketing Campaign stressing Friendly Community life top notch schools and crime free environment with the Cash incentive As the Centrepiece. The foundation offers Grants of $3,000 to anyone buying an existing House or $5,000 to buyers of newly built houses. The Grants Are to pay real estate taxes. Quot the response was much greater than we anticipated. We weren to ready for the Calls we got Quot Swanson said. Ohio resembles dozens of Remote towns sprinkled among the Cornfields of Rural Illinois. Its classic business District includes a Post office Bank feed store Beauty parlor insurance agents office attorney s office Gas station Coffee shop and a couple of taverns. Downtown is dissected by an abandoned Railroad right of Way. The tracks Are Long gone a sign that often signals the demise of farming communities that developed As rail stops where Farmers shipped crops bought seed supplies and groceries and met friends. What the Railroad left behind in Ohio is Swansong a huge Grain elevator. He now ships Grain by truck rather than Boxcar. The hog Sale barn is closed. But Bill Sisler a ice business thrives along with his Dairy that produces Rich ice Cream in flavors like tin roof sundae. The loss of rail service left Ohio with intersecting two Lane Blacktop As the Only link to Chicago 105 Miles East and Peoria 75 Miles South. Overcoming the Remote location Wasny to the Only obstacle to growth. The transfusion generated by the Cash incentive program had to wait for major surgery on the towns heart its classic old Brick school where grades kindergarten through 12 study under one roof in classrooms overlooking a tiny gymnasium and stage. As the towns population dropped Over the years enrolment at schools dwindled making it harder to find teachers and administrators. Two years ago Only 40 kids remained in High school and a budget deficit loomed. Demographic trends pointed to an aging population and a declining birthrate. Rather than close the school and consolidate with another withering town residents approved a 40 percent tax increase. Quot i guess we re crazy but we think our kids Are Worth it Quot Piper said. Quot it costs a lot to run our school. But we figure if we spend Money on schools and Send them to College maybe we won t have to spend a lot of Money on  but Money alone did no to solve the. Problem. A catalyst was needed to reenergize teachers and students alike and integrate new ideas without disrupting the Community a comfortable family environment. Frank Dagne was coaxed out of retirement from nearby Sterling Rock Falls where he served As school superintendent and school Board member. He agreed to help Ohio find a permanent administrator. Four years later he s still on the Job and has relocated to Ohio. Dagne has caught Ohio fever and he a glad he did. One of his first moves was to hold private fund raisers to buy a dozen computers for the school. In two years he raised $8,000 from Ohio residents Many of whom done to have children in school. Next he renovated a study Hall into a Library resource Center. He also hired a retired band director to help build school spirit. Quot we were Down to eight students most of whom could t read music Quot Dagne said. Quot i hired a retired band director Dick Davis and now we have 40 kids in band. They sound great and they Are winning awards. And the Community really supports it. Quot it s an example of the difference in the communal feeling of this town. People Here really Are friendlier and concerned about the kids. They really  Tony Dicarro saw a news report about what Ohio Calls a Bounty while rehabilitating a House in Florida. Quot i was looking for the peace and quiet of a Small town Quot said Dicarro who has relocated to Ohio and is gutting an old apartment House. The Cash incentive program has resulted in sales of 24 Homes a leaving just one vacant House in town. And five new Homes have been built. The state also helped with Small business Loans to attract business including development of a High technology company a restaurant and insurance Agency. The new businesses created a Hal dozen new jobs. Quot that does t sound like much activity in most cities but it s More than has happened in the last 20 years in Ohio Quot Piper  comeback making malls More convenient by Mike Feinsilber associated press some american cities have decided to make downtown look like downtown again. They Are doing away with their pedestrian malls bulldozing the kiosks Trees and benches that replaced streets 20 or 30 years ago. They Are welcoming Back the fumes and noises of once banished traffic. And some that Haven to decided to return to the downtown of an earlier time Are thinking about it. It turns out said Lawrence o. Houstoun jr., that converting traditional shopping districts into a pedestrian malls worked a but Only for a while. Houstoun is an Urban development consultant in Cranbury . Dry rot has set in again in Many Central cities in the United states he said because office buildings a which provide Many of the shoppers a have been erected on cheap land too far away for a lunch time shopping stroll. Quot the pedestrian malls had some initial Success because they were the first thing that looked Good downtown but they did t Deal with the Basic problem Quot Houstoun said. Quot the problem Wasny to that people wanted to walk in the streets the problem was that downtown Wasny to convenient or became  Houstoun said studies have established that at lunch time people will walk for nine minutes a or about three blocks a from their office. If stores Are a Block or two further away they will be shunned no matter How pleasant the environment. So a number of the 200 or so cities that took the plunge in the late 1960s and the 1970s have undone or downscale their malls or Are considering it Houstoun said. He reported his findings in planning the Magazine of the american planning association and elaborated in an continued on Page 15 saturday october 13, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 13