Worthington Civic Center Upgrades Completed

Worthington-West Franklin Joint Parks and Recreation Authority Chairman Bill Hodak walks across a new gymansium floor in the Worthington Civic Center last week. The floor was replaced thanks to community donations and a match donation from Rosebud Mining.

by Jonathan Weaver

Donors who gave toward two Worthington Civic Center upgrades last year can now see the results.

The civic center?s gymnasium floor has been repaired and the parking lot repaved after a community fundraiser orchestrated by the Worthington-West Franklin Joint Parks and Recreation Authority netted $40,000. Rosebud Mining agreed to match $20,000 if the community donated the other half, which the organization raised in eight months.

The final contribution was received in December 2011.

With the library next door and a little league field close-by, patrons will now be able to park without risking vehicle damage. Authority Chairman Bill Hodak was elated with the paving work performed by White?s Paving of Worthington, of which included extra sealant

?We were really impressed, really surprised that they did this much,? Hodak said.

Owner Fred White said the company donated two loads of asphalt and will line-stripe it this summer, worth at least $4,500. His 17-member crew took an extra day in May to do the repairs.

?We donated that to do a better job,? White said. ?We were just supposed to do base repair and fix some of the worst spots. Well, we fixed them, scratch-coated and leveled it out a bit more with paving so we could tar-and-chip it so it would be a lot smoother.?

The lot was tar-and-chipped last weekend.

Wood Floor Technicians performed the indoor repairs to the gymnasium floor, something Hodak said was a long-time coming.

?It has been a long time ? no one knows when it was done last,? Hodak said.

Armstrong Community Theatre Director Paul Wright was in the refurbished auditorium for the first time before April?s dinner theatre production of ?Murder at Caf? Noir and was also impressed by the work performed.

?The floor looks wonderful ? you walk into this room and don?t even know the trim is missing because your eyes are on the floor,? Wright said. ?Those people that have been in this room before and seen the floor will be shocked when they come in here.?

Young?s Flooring of Ford City installed new carpeting along the walls, and the Worthington Lions Club ? led by John Good ? volunteered to paint the remainder.

Hodak said a basketball hoop will also be installed in the gymnasium for recreational sports.

The parking lot was also repaved thanks to White's Paving in Worthington. Initially, only troublesome spots in the lot were to be fixed, but the company donated labor and material to fix up the rest.

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