Some, but not many, of the links that have left have switched to using social media, primarily Facebook. I can see the appeal in being able to easily post for free, but I think that in the coming years, these businesses will regret that decision. Starting a WordPress blog is nearly as easy and the return over time will be greater. It’s always wise to own your own content and Facebook owns everything that you place on their pages. 

Due to these large volumes of changes I’m working on converting my old system to a newer system for keeping track of the link directory. This will mean an ever better organized list of active links. 

Here’s the list of recent changes:

Websites added:

• Massage and Prosper
• Arensberg Pharmacy
• Licking Land Trust
• The Ohio National Road
• Newark Kiwanis – major update and new domain name
• Caribou Coffee
• Legend Farm And Feed
• Pet Supplies Plus
• Heath Eagles
• Awaken Technologies – computer repair, web design, and consulting
• Jay Baldwin
• Licking Springs Golf Club
• LongHorn Steak House

Websites deleted:

• Multiple catering businesses
• Multiple churches
• 1 Engineering firm
• 1 radio station
• 1 clothing manufacturer
• 1 clothing cleaner
• 1 embroidery company
• 1 gift shop
• 2 local blogs
• 1 news website
• 1 motorcycle repair website
• 1 restaurant ceased to operate their website, but remain in business
• 1 winery
• 3 realtors
• 1 property management group
• 2 personal trainers
• 4 websites supporting local sports teams
• 1 firearms instruction school
• 1 website hacked and unusable
• 1 yoga center
• 1 hockey team
• Licking County Farm Bureau apparently chose to cease it’s own website, but larger organizational website exists.
• 1 apple farm
• 1 attorney
• 1 junkyard
• Multiple car repair garages
• 1 Christian school
• 1 child care center
• 1 limo service
• 1 rock band

Related articles

• New Links For The Directory (newarkohiolinks.com)
• How to Make Website More Sociable with 10 Joomla Extensions (prweb.com)
• New Links For The Newark, Ohio Directory (newarkohiolinks.com)
• New Newark, Ohio Website Updates (newarkohiolinks.com)

Image via Wikipedia

• Can they be hacked? 
• Can their signal interfere with other wireless systems? 
• Do they bill correctly and what is the recourse if they do not? 
• How are the states funding these projects when they are broke? 
• How are the cities funding these projects when they are broke? 

I’ve got many questions and I’m sure others do too. So far, here is the only link of substance that I can find on the issue, Newark, Ohio borrowing money for water meter system. That’s on the city’s $20,000 website, so whether the link stays good or not, we’ll see. My apologies if it’s bad. 

With a resource as vital as water, Newark’s residents place a lot of trust in city officials to get this done right. My concern is that there is no mention of how problems that other cities have experienced will be addressed here. With the money freely granted from the State Of Ohio, we’ll find out. 

Related articles

• Water shortages will drive demand for smart water meters, analysts predict (businessgreen.com)
• Monroe replaces thousands of water meters (mysanantonio.com)
• Water Meters Explained (bestbathrooms.com)
• Charlotte city council to vote on new transmitters for water meters (charlotte.news14.com)
• Top 5 Smart Grid Trends of 2011 (greentechmedia.com)
• Building A More Effective Water Meter (business-opportunities.biz)
• A short history of meter reading technology (chicagolandh2o.wordpress.com)
• Not your father’s water meter (chicagolandh2o.wordpress.com)
• Cheaper with a Water Meter? (waterwatchbc.wordpress.com)
• Water Meters for Vancouver? (waterwatchbc.wordpress.com)
• Fresno’s water meter project is on right path (fresnobeehive.com)
• Thousands In Baltimore City, County Will Get New Water Meters (cbsbaltimore.wordpress.com)
• Smart meters (kevingriffiths.wordpress.com)
• UCLA Bringing a Fully Networked Smart Grid to Campus (greentechmedia.com)
• Smart Meter Battles in Nevada (lettingfreedomring.com)

In the Newark, Ohio Restaurant And Bars category:

• The Steak Escape
• Sheppy’s Pizza
• Christy’s Pizza
• Damon’s

In the Health category:

• Custom Care Giving
• Behavorial Healthcare Partners Of Central Ohio
• Primary Vision Care

In the Non-Profit category:

• Licking County Courthouse Lighting Committee

In the Local Bloggers category:

• Randolfo Stories And Photos

In the Recreation, Sports And Leisure category:

• Valley Zipline Tours
• Roscoe Village

In the Industry And Warehousing category:

• PCA – The Packaging Corporation Of America

In the Attorney And Legal category:

• Handleman Law Office

In the Financial category:

• McClain, Hill, Rugg, And Associates Inc.

In the Photographers category:

• Barclay Photos

In the Beauty And Barbershops category:

• Tan Pro
• BeachFront Tanning

In Food category:

• Al’s Meat Market

In the Retail category:

• T.E.M. Pawn Shop

In the Artists And Galleries category:

• Stained Skin
• Rising Tide Studio

The directory is at a total of 840 active links with only a small percent of the links not belonging to businesses, individuals, or organizations in the immediate vicinity of Newark, Ohio. As always, I’m looking for more to add and I always appreciate any help with errors or omissions.

Happy New Year’s and best wishes to all for 2012. 

Related articles

• New Newark, Ohio Website Updates (newarkohiolinks.com)
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• New Links For The Directory (newarkohiolinks.com)

Dispatch writer Josh Jordan points out that Jonathan Davey ran for a position on the Newark City School’s board in 2003. According to their article, he ran by promoting better financial accounting for Newark City schools. 

Scammers are everywhere and at all levels of society. We can see from this that the wolves are at the door when they see an organization like Newark, City Schools wasting money in the ways that they do. I bet Davey did see the fraud and abuse, but I bet he wasn’t there to solve the problem. More than likely, he wanted to use his expertise to funnel these unchecked funds to his benefit. I cannot help but wonder how many are already doing this or have plans to in the future. 

Point of this is that many are not financial wizards and if you look at the Newark City Schools finances, the truth of how the money is spent is buried in there somewhere, but it’s not easy to find. Find the most detailed report there and only in new construction will you find exactly what vendors were paid and there’s nothing telling what they were paid for. The lack of public accountability is indeed open for attack anyone pulling a scam. The only safeguard available is that the school district polices itself very well and take into full consideration that there are many looking at them as a cash cow. 

Here are some other links related to the Ponzi scheme with Jonathan Davey:

• Keith Simmons – charged in a Ponzi scheme involving CapitolONE Bank
• Bryan Coats – assets frozen in the same investigation. 
• Deanna R. Salazar – California Board Of Insurance explains her involvement in the Ponzi scheme. 

I’m sure you’re wondering the same thing as me. How did this group join up? What linked them together? 

Newark, Ohio's Chinese restaurant, The Golden Wok, has an entrance in the alley just north of the courthouse square.

I’m not qualified to tell you much about the food at The Golden Wok as I’m not a big fan of Chinese food. I enjoyed the meals I’ve had there as far as Chinese food goes though. It’s worth a try just to experience the place.

If you have trouble finding it, look for these signs. I’m also including a map.

Sign visible from the Newark, Ohio square for the hidden Golden Wok Chinese Restaurant.Closeup Of The Golden Wok Chinese Restaurant in Downtown Newark, Ohio.

Closeup Of The Golden Wok Sign.

View Larger Map

Related articles

• The Lucky Bamboo Chinese Restaurant In Newark, Ohio. (newarkohiolinks.com)

There is carry-out(10% off) or dine-in. The Lucky Bamboo’s phone number is 740-344-1822. Hungry Chinese food lovers in Newark should try them. They are very close to The Cherry Valley Lodge and The Marriot. They are also a short drive from Granville, Ohio. Don’t settle for fast food on the west side of town when you could have great Chinese and Thai food. 

As of this writing, I cannot find a website for this location. 

Another longtime favorite Chinese restaurant in Newark, Ohio is The Golden Wok, which used to be a speakeasy during prohibition. 

The Lucky Bamboo In Newark, Ohio

View Larger Map

I’m not going to write to much on the Marcellus Shale projects. I can’t. I don’t have enough knowledge about the gas and oil industry to defend every detail that I write about. I do know that if you want to see the end results, all you have to do is look to Pennsylvania. Fracking(a complicated process of getting gas out of a well that’s gone dry) has devastated the lives of many and ruined rural land there. Fracking involves pumping millions of gallons of water and hydraulic chemicals into the well to force cracks in it and get surrounding gas to fill the empty well. Along with putting toxic chemicals in the ground, the process also releases chemicals already in the ground out into the environment. The result is hazardous to the health of the population in the area.

I’m not much of a tree hugger. I believe that many potentially harmful practices can have the risk greatly reduced simply by using proper practices. Proper practices usually cost more money, so the only common sense protection is for the law to enforce laws concerning private property. That’s usually not done because the gas industry pays off our legal system and politicians. There’s a lot to the methods used to skirt the law in Pennsylvania. The laws have already exempted the gas industry from oversight. For example, nobody is allowed to question what’s in the fracking fluid. The law protects them from disclosing it’s contents.

Ohioans should be studying what’s happened in Pennsylvania. Marcellus Protest is a good place to start. Use a search engine to look for terms like “Pennsylvania Fracking” too. Some of what you find is horrifying. Wells blowing up in backyards, tap water that you can set on fire, significant rises in cancer and rare diseases, and more. This is not the harmless natural gas industry that we’ve been led to believe for so many years.

There’s big, big money involved. Here’s a Licking County Port Authority CEO finding himself excited at the thought of Licking County, Ohio getting in on the gas boom. I’ve read a lot of his posts and he NEVER mentions any of the hazards experienced in Pennsylvania. No mention of the need to change Ohio law to protect citizens from an industry that most no nothing about. Just as ignorant are the landowners entering into contracts to lease their land to the drilling companies. I don’t use the term “ignorant” in a derogatory way here. I too an ignorant, but how are our politicians and citizens going to enter into agreements with a complicated industry that they don’t know anything about. Who is educated in the gas industry that will look out for the public?

All of us should keep a very close eye on our local government when it comes to their decisions on this pipeline. We all need the work, we could all use the revenue, but remember who we’re letting make these important decisions. Remember the state and local government allowing Longaberger to do as it pleased with the roads? What fruit has that brought us? We don’t need to discount the gas industry as an evil, but we do need local government to give priority to protecting the property and land of it’s citizens over the easy money from allowing the gas companies to operate at their convenience.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgg_ZIoUFS0

Here’s a link to their Facebook page.

Licking County Courthouse Lit For 2011 Christmas Season

The 2011 Lighting Of the Courthouse event is over. Santa Claus arrived as scheduled for his annual visit to light the Licking County, Ohio Courthouse. As usual, there were a few technical glitches to work out, but with the help of the crowd cheering on, they got it lit and it will remain so for the rest of the Christmas season.

It’s become an annual tradition for Newark, Ohio to usher in the Christmas season with the lighting of the courthouse. Donations are made all year long and events like the Lite The Nite car show are held to pay for the lighting. The community makes quite an effort to ensure that this happens every year. The end result is a stunningly beautiful display and a fun memory made for everyone. 

Carolers sang while the crowd anxiously waited for Santa’s arrival. Santa made contact by radio and the fire truck had to pick him up after some difficulties with the sleigh. The fireman were happy to pick him up with the fire truck. I even seen Homeland Security there to ensure his safety. A police escort was also there to assist. 

If you’re town doesn’t have a Christmas tradition like Newark, Ohio, you’re missing out. It’s a great time kids and adults alike. Unlike big events, it’s just a few hours out of the season that’s for everyone, but especially the kids. What other time of year do kids get to see a large gathering of adults that are for the most part, just having fun? 

Here are some videos. Not the greatest quality, but good enough to get an idea of what the Christmas gathering in Newark, Ohio is all about. 

 Santa Arrives On The Fire Truck

The Crowd Must Cheer To Overcome The Technical Difficulties With The Lights. Happens Every Year.

Was the Lincoln Middle School demolition wasteful or necessary for progress.

I recently noticed an article about the demolition of Lincoln Middle School in Newark, Ohio and it brought back recent memories of every other elementary school demolished in Newark. The school that I remember well is North Elementary on Deo Drive. For years before it’s demolition, voters were asked for funds for new windows, heating/cooling system, a new parking lot and more. After so many very expensive improvements, the school was demolished. It was a total waste and the land remains vacant years later.

The article in the local paper stated that the school was being demolished with no sales to the public because that would be labor intensive. The article never touched on the feelings of many that the demolition was just a waste in general. See all of those windows on the front of the school? They’re not that old. There were many contractors that enjoyed many projects maintaining this building recently. It’s frequently the same old story of recent major renovations, only to be thrown into a scrap pile.

The school board’s defense is that they must maintain the schools for the children and that all spending to do so is justified. They never know if they’ll get the money for new schools, so they must make sure that parking lots are perfect, state of the art heating/cooling systems are installed, and that the old structures get the utmost attention. They need these expenditures to use as justification for the new schools. “Look at how much these old buildings are costing us!”, is the claim right after the updates.

Joe Taxpayer first sees these high expenditures to maintain the old buildings. Then, he sees the massive campaigns in the news and the signs. Quite often, the “do it for the children” signs are in contractor’s yards, public employee yards, and in the politicians yards. Basically everyone that profits from the system is all for any new levy that comes about. After a levy is passed, the old schools are razed, then another levy comes out demanding more money to operate the new schools. Oddly, when requesting a levy for new schools, they always forget to include enough money to actually operate them.

To ad insult to injury, the old schools are frequently torn down. The school district always has an excuse. “If sold, they could become an eyesore as a commercial property.”, “The buildings are just unsafe and need to be torn down.”, etc. They gloss over the fact that they’ve ruined a viable commercial property and any of the profits that could have resulted in it’s sale.

My question is, where in Newark, Ohio has an old school that did survive turn into a nuisance? The few that I know about have remained nice properties used as churches and office buildings. These businesses have improved their neighborhoods. With this in mind, I have to wonder if the officials simply don’t want the embarrassment when the buildings prove to have value when the schools claim the buildings are dangerous.

If you buy the school district’s claims, keep voting for new schools. I don’t agree and I’m looking for ways to make them more accountable. Question the school district’s claims boldly! Many of us work and/or live in buildings in much worse condition than Lincoln, yet they’re telling us that it the building is worthless? That would mean that many other buildings that pay large amounts of taxes to support new schools are even more worthless!