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Support sought for projects

Two fundraisers currently are underway that are in need of community support.

The Friends of Beaver Creek State Park is in the midst of a project to repair Gaston’s Mill, which is the central focus of Pioneer Village.

And the East Liverpool Rotary Club has undertaken the venture of repairing the J. Burchfield Cartwright Swimming Pool located in Thompson Park.

Both are great projects. Both are led by great organizations. And both the mill and the pool are gems of the area.

The mill wheel at Gaston’s Mill is in need of replacement, and it’s a costly project for the 20 volunteers who comprise the Friends of Beaver Creek State Park group, whose goal it is to educate the public and develop its appreciation for local history.

The cost of the new 8-foot-6 by 12-foot-5 wheel is $29,800, although the Friends will receive a $1,000 deduction of that price because they will remove the old apparatus.

The new wheel is expected to be complete by late March or early April. One-third of the cost has been paid by the Friends group, but a second installment is due upon installation, and the final payment due in July.

What’s unique about Gaston’s Mill is that it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is owed by the state of Ohio and is the last of six water-powered grist mills that once operated on Beaver Creek between Elkton and Fredericktown. The Ohio Department of Natural resources operates the park, but no funding from the state is available.

The grist mill is operational and plays a role in fundraising efforts by the Friends, as various grains are ground into flour and available for purchase during the monthly “Village Comes Alive” programs that take place the first Saturday of each month between May and October.

As for the Rotary’s “Save Our Pool” project, it’s pledge of raising $100,000 for renovation of the pool was met, however, preliminary work uncovered the need for additional repairs to the pool’s bottom surface.

The concrete floor, which once was more than six inches deep, is one-inch or less as the result of erosion throughout the years.

Only recently discovered, the result of the new problem means an additional $50,000 will be needed to complete the renovation. “The good news is that once completed, we will have an almost-new pool that should serve the community for many decades to come,” said project Chairman Jeff Cartwright-Smith.

We are not shocked by the generosity of the community – its individuals, organizations and businesses – in fundraising efforts of the past, and we are sure they will step forward again.

We urge donations be issued to both of these fine organizations for the efforts they put forth, every day, toward the betterment of our communities.

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