Home Care In Valley View, OH

VALLEY VIEW, Ohio — A water main break in Valley View sent water shooting up into the air Thursday as temperatures remain freezing in most places.

"The crew has the road excavated and the main exposed and is working on making repairs," said a spokesperson for the department.

A spokesperson for the Cleveland Water Department said investigators responded to the scene at around 7:15 a.m. of a 16-inch water main break near the intersection of Canal and Hathaway roads.

Water still flowing from this break on Canal Road near Hathaway in Valley View. pic.twitter.com/okYFY6uCuQ

— Jon Rudder (@JonRudder) January 27, 2022

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VALLEY VIEW, Ohio — Northeast Ohio has a thing for major bridge projects. Remember the innerbelt bridge project that wrapped up a few years ago? Well there’s another one in the works – currently the largest project in Ohio and 4th in the state’s history.

Interstate 480’s Valley View Bridge carries a whopping 180,000 vehicles per day, making it the most traveled bridge in the state. And to alleviate some of the traffic slowdowns, 2 bridges will become 3 by the year 2024.

When finished, there will be a total of 12 lanes – 6 in each direction.

A project of this size presented a problem for construction workers who needed to build a bridge between two existing bridges. Typically, that’s not the order you do things, especially when you have to maintain traffic in the process.

The solution: a gantry crane system!

“We’ve got the gantry cranes setup to help us erect the steel and construct a new bridge in the middle,” said Amanda McFarland, spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) northeast region. “It’s a very fascinating project.”

The system is actually a trio of cranes that are controlled by a single operator. Each crane uses laser guidance to keep a specific distance from the other two. The crane uses the existing bridges for support and can ride newly installed rails across the 4,155 footlong gap.

PHOTOS: Valley View Bridge Construction Progress

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Brandon Simmons

So far, construction has been going smoothly.

“The substructure, the piers that are coming out of the ground -- we’re about 90 percent complete there, girder erection we’re about 60 percent complete on that part,” said McFarland after we toured the worksite.

She continued, “they’ve started to put the pan decking down for the bridge pours. You saw the rebar getting into place. And they also have the Bid-Well set up to be able to do the first deck pour.”

That first pour is scheduled for next week when trucks bring in concrete during overnight hours.

Enough about construction. How long do drivers have to wait?

For the most part, workers and all construction equipment will be out of the way in late 2023.

The new bridge is expected to be used in fall of 2021. That’s when eastbound traffic on the current bridge will shift to the new one to allow the old eastbound bridge deck to be replaced. That will take about a year to complete.

In fall 2021, traffic will be shifted again. The westbound traffic will then use the new bridge while the old westbound bridge deck is replaced. That deck replacement will also take one year.

In fall of 2022 traffic will return to its original configuration (as it is today) so that a middle divider can be added to the new bridge to separate traffic.

In 2024, all three bridges will be fully open with smooth driving surfaces, new parapet walls and fencing.

It’s seems like a long way away but is worth the wait for drivers who sit in the current traffic on I-480.

Total cost: $227 million dollars.

Barker Field was the place to be on Friday nights and anywhere else the Spartans lured the Germantown and Farmersville faithful. Here’s why: Beginning in 1984, Niswonger was the Spartans’ main man for 28 seasons (243-78-1). Valley View won 73 straight regular-season games from 1991-99.

»RELATED: Wayne top 7 all-time best

Featuring an innovative run-and-shoot offense that was unstoppable, the Spartans had their way in the Southwestern Buckeye League from 1992-2002, winning all but one league title and being a postseason regular.

»SIDNEY: RB Bowser, DL Rogers commit

“We were blessed,” Niswonger told writer Eric Frantz last year after being inducted into the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. “It really was like Friday Night Lights.”

»DUNBAR: RB Thomas commits to Oklahoma

Here’s who we consider the all-time seven best football players at Valley View High School. Have something to say about this alphabetical list? Email your comments to [email protected].

Location: Germantown.

League: SWBL Southwestern Division.

Division: D-IV, Region 16.

1. Brock Bolen, RB/LB, 2004 graduate: Holds the game (279 yards), single-season (2,283) and career (5,622) rushing records. At 6 feet and 230 pounds, was the original hammer up the middle with speed. Transferred from Fenwick to Valley View. Began collegiate career at Illinois, then transferred to Louisville. Played in the NFL with the Jaguars (2009-12) and was on the Browns practice squad (2013). Father Jim Bolen was a well-documented mercenary.

2. Aaron Focht, RB/WR, 1996: Fleet and slight benefactor of the run-and-shoot offense, was named an All-Ohio offensive player of the year as a senior when he accounted for more than 2,000-plus all-purpose yards. Went to Stanford as a receiver and switched to defensive back as a junior.

3. Shane Hannah, OL/DL, 1990: Perhaps the biggest Spartan ever at 6-5 and at least 350 pounds. Excelled in football, basketball (school record 23 rebounds), track (discus) and extra-large pizzas. Four-year starter at left tackle for Michigan State. Drafted by Cowboys in second round, but injured a knee in his first preseason game and essentially never recovered. Cowboys defeated Steelers to win the Super Bowl that season.

4. Shane Hannah Jr., LB, 2014: Son of the original, Spartans' all-time career leader in tackles (453). A redshirt junior at Dayton.

5. Thomas Howard, QB/DB, 1983: Predated the Spartans' glory football years and Niswonger, but nonetheless is one of their best athletes. Guided Valley View to a SWBL football title and was All-Ohio in basketball and baseball. Agreed to play football at Ball State because the Cardinals' coaching staff allowed him to miss spring drills to play baseball. Good call. After dropping football he became a first-team All-American in baseball and set a program record with 23 home runs. An outfielder, he played 11 major-league seasons from 1990-2000, including a four-season run with the Reds (1993-96) as a fan favorite because of his local tie.

6. Andy Keating, QB, 1997: Outstanding football/basketball player for the Spartans. Led Spartans to a 14-0 record as a senior, capped with a 37-12 defeat of previously unbeaten Bellaire in the 1996 D-IV state title game. Initially played football at West Virginia, then resumed his basketball career at Sinclair. Remains active as a boys basketball assistant in the area.

7. David Riley, QB, 1986: Like Howard, a football, basketball and baseball Spartans standout. Held most significant passing records – since broken - when he graduated. As a senior at Ball State was the MAC offensive player of the year and MVP. Played arena football for two seasons.

Honorable mention: Shane Brewer, LB, 1993 graduate; Ben Buehner, WR, 2001; Teddy Buehner, QB, 2004; Tim Curtis, RB, 1989; Johnny Day, QB, 2009; Jared Fore, LB, 2000; Jason Reed, LB, 1996; Jason Reiger, WR, 1999; Wes Root, DL, 1994; Josh Sears, LB, 1998; Danny Smith, QB, 1993; Dustin Strayer, QB, 2001; Joe Swanson, LB, 2003.

FACEBOOK: For more high school sports you should like Marc Pendleton

AKRON, Ohio – About 100 years after Summit Metro Parks first identified what is now the former Valley View Golf Course as land that should be preserved for its natural beauty, the 200-acre site on Akron’s North Side is on track to welcome visitors this fall as part of Cascade Valley Metro Park.

The park district has completed the first phase of its plan to restore natural resources to the Valley View Area, which is located at 1212 Cuyahoga Street, directly across from Cascade Valley.

Since Summit Metro Parks bought the former golf course for $4 million in 2016, crews have restored about 30 acres of wetland and 3,000 feet of headwater stream, and reseeded the rest of the site with native plants including walnut and oak trees.

“We went through a public process to listen and hear from the public as to what they wanted to see with the park,” Mike Johnson, chief of conservation for Summit Metro Parks, told cleveland.com Friday. “What they wanted was a natural area with trails and hiking and opportunities for natural recreation.”

That is expected to become a reality this fall, as the park plans to open a mowed, prototype trail on the east side of the Valley View Area, near Cuyahoga Street.

The mile-and-a-half trail will give visitors an opportunity to explore the area, which Johnson described as a “linchpin” because it will connect Cascade Valley, Gorge and Sand Run metro parks, for a total of 1,900 acres of connected park land.

“This area was identified in the park’s first master plan in the 1920s as something worth preserving,” said Summit Metro Parks spokeswoman Lindsay Smith. The area is near the confluence of the “Little” and “Big” Cuyahoga Rivers, and the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail.

“Phase Two is focused on the Cuyahoga River itself,” Johnson said of conservationists’ next steps. “That project is going to involve restoring about 5,000 linear feet of habitat to the river.”

Over the years, former golf course management “channelized” the river, and the area is nearly devoid of trees, Johnson said.

“We are going to restore the physical habitat to the river, we’re going to reforest it, and we’re also going to recreate and restore about 60,000 acres of floodplain, and we’re going to do that by excavating fill material that was placed along the river banks over many years,” Johnson said.

Crews are also working on restoration of a historic barn on the property, which was Akron’s last dairy farm. The Himelright family owned the farm from about 1887 to 1956, when it was sold to become a golf course.

“The barn was the clubhouse to the golf course,” Johnson said. “It was a barn to the original farm, and it was built in the mid-1800s, so it’s a historic structure… We’re taking it and we’re really restoring it to that historical time period. We want it to look like a barn again.”

Both the barn and nearby prototype trail are expected to open this fall.

The conservation and restoration efforts are almost entirely grant-funded, Smith said.

Phase One, which is the restoration of all the land except the Cuyahoga River, was paid for by a $1.14 million grant from the Ohio Public Works’ Clean Ohio Conservation Fund.

The second phase is being paid for by a $370,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Summit Metro Parks is working with NOAA, the Great Lakes Commission, the Oho Lake Erie Commission and Cuyahoga AOC, Johnson said.

The renovations to the barn are being paid for with a $185,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The grant requires the park to consider the needs of the nearby refugee community in Akron’s North Hill neighborhood, so that will influence how the park uses the space, Smith said.

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GERMANTOWN, Ohio (WKEF/WRGT) --Valley View Local Schools is facing what many are calling detrimental budget cuts if a new levy doesn’t pass.

Wednesday night students, parents, teachers and residents showed their support as the district broke down what those cuts would be.

"I think we have a lot of people that don't really understand the negative consequences that come with failed levies,” said Maddix Cradlebaugh, a sophomore at Valley View High School.

Consequences like a district being $1.1 million in the hole. That would force administrators to get rid of music, art and physical education for kindergarten through sixth grade.

They would also eliminate junior high sports and cancel all school dances, stem clubs and the drama program.

"I've seen so many people where the arts have completely changed their lives, and for some kids to not have that chance it's heartbreaking,” said Adonis Lemke, who works with the drama department.

Pay to play would also go up to $400 a sport for high school students.

“I can't think of a single one of these recommendations that I think are good for students or our community,” said Superintendent Ben Richards.

Richards said over the past two years they’ve made $1.5 million in cuts.

"We've already increased class sizes, decreased administrators, teachers took a pay freeze this last year,” said Richards. “We've already done the things that are necessary and this is, unfortunately, the next step."

On their ballots, voters will see a 5.5 millage bond levy for new facilities.

"We have three of our four buildings right now are not ADA accessible, don't have air conditioning, two of those buildings were built in the 1920s," said Richards.

There's also a combined .5-percent income tax increase for operating expenses.

Together they would total $193 a year for a $100,000 home.

"Unfortunately, with how schools are funded in the state of Ohio this is something all schools get to regretfully at some point in time,” said Richards.

Many say not passing the levy will be a disadvantage for students.

"It's hard to get in these competitive colleges when you don't have as many opportunities to put yourself in a higher position,” said Abigail Caskey, a senior at Valley View.

But with signs in hand and tears in their eyes, this community is fighting for its future.

"The stakes are too high to stay home and not vote,” said Cradlebaugh. “We need every vote that we can get. Valley View will never be the same if we don't pass this levy."