Old Rider;1708122 wrote:This CAN be changed....IMO. But that is a discussion for another day...

How. Lets have it today because I am sick and tired of watching crap!

You can argue that it is better to live here today than it was 15-20 years ago. So why is population decreasing? I pass a huge line of traffic coming into and out of town at the end of the day going to Smuckers. Lost some factory jobs and that employed people that lived here instead of commuting in to work in an office. Before you say that is an Orrville problem look around...there are those jobs being lost in every city across the nation.

Flash answered it best! Lots of reasons for the decline...I do wish the wheels were spinning faster on the cities comprehensive plan. There is more that could be done from that side of the fence to help population growth IMO

Old Rider;1708142 wrote:Flash answered it best! Lots of reasons for the decline...I do wish the wheels were spinning faster on the cities comprehensive plan. There is more that could be done from that side of the fence to help population growth IMO

That is a cop out...what is the plan you said it can be changed...How? Maybe Flash can present the ideas.

rrfan;1708149 wrote:That is a cop out...what is the plan you said it can be changed...How? Maybe Flash can present the ideas.

Get all youth sports on the same page with middle & high school coaches. Start there.

Another slow moving process. Several steps have been taken since the fall...including a meeting held last night that about 50 adults attended. Need more of that and more participation from adults willing to roll up their sleeves and help out.

Stuff we are talking about now will impact kids in kindergarten now. Important to be involved in discussing the issues and coming up with a plan to make our youth sports best for as many kids as possible.

The problem has been identified for several years. Factories that brought families here from Canton and Massillon for good paying jobs are long gone. Gone with that is the work ethic that made this town special. Still exists in pockets, but not as much as before.

Look how the town population is staying flat, but school enrollment is declining. From 2000 census to 2010 census we dropped about 2% in population or Orrville.....but we're 20% in school enrollment. Same # of folks...but a lot less with school age kids in the district.

Aging population. We're getting older. Nice community for older folks, but not so much for the 20-somethings that work and want a vibrant community to call home.

Class size:

Above 140 kids
1997 - 12 out of 13 classes (Average size 167)
2003 - 7 out of 13 classes (Average size 144)
2010 - 0 out of 13 classes (Average size 127)

rrfan;1708149 wrote:That is a cop out...what is the plan you said it can be changed...How? Maybe Flash can present the ideas.

I didnt say I had a plan...I said it can change with a city comprehension plan in place that encourages employers in this town to offer incentives and such for their employees to move into town. Store fronts in our downtown need to be filled instead of sitting vacant. There are jobs in this town, but not the factory jobs like we once had.

Flash get on this!

You can't do much is my point. What do you want a Starbucks? What would actually make a difference? What is not here that the young generation has to have to move here? It is a small town and close to big cities without a long drive. Anything a young couple could want is within about 15-25 minute drive (that is a 3 mile commute in a big city)

rrfan;1708182 wrote:Flash get on this!

You can't do much is my point. What do you want a Starbucks? What would actually make a difference? What is not here that the young generation has to have to move here? It is a small town and close to big cities without a long drive. Anything a young couple could want is within about 15-25 minute drive (that is a 3 mile commute in a big city)

That's the problem...everything is 15-20 minutes away. Young families see this & head to Wooster, Medina, & Wadsworth....where there is stuff to do.

We don't have a park system with established walking & running trails. Young families want that. We don't have it. Coming...but not yet.

It's not Flash's problem to solve. He brought his kids up & coached them & sent them off into the world. Now it's our turn.

Won't get there by sitting in the shadows & talking about what everyone else is doing wrong. If we want our kids to be leaders, we have to show them (and their friends & their friends' dads) how it's done.

RedRider1;1708191 wrote:That's the problem...everything is 15-20 minutes away. Young families see this & head to Wooster, Medina, & Wadsworth....where there is stuff to do.

We don't have a park system with established walking & running trails. Young families want that. We don't have it. Coming...but not yet.

It's not Flash's problem to solve. He brought his kids up & coached them & sent them off into the world. Now it's our turn.

Won't get there by sitting in the shadows & talking about what everyone else is doing wrong. If we want our kids to be leaders, we have to show them (and their friends & their friends' dads) how it's done.

okay first of all look at what you can buy here vs. Wooster, Medina, Wadsworth. You have a huge advantage there already not to mention taxes are far higher in those locations. we have a great park with swimming, basketball, tennis courts and play structures. We have a wilderness trail and trails to walk at the park as well. There is a walking trail right off of 57 as well (name I forget right now). We have grocery stores and restaurants. We have a boys and girls club and great facilities at the schools. So again I ask what is it that they need here? That is a serious question I am not being smart...is there something that you say if we had this or we are missing that.

I made an observation about the program that I believe is a missing link in the middle school lifting. I found out that I was correct. I also have had nothing but praise for coaches and coaching staff and yes I have called out the kids and parents to step up. I have not said anything about everyone else doing wrong. So not sure what you mean by that.

I know it is not Flash's problem but he offered up that he was on the committee.

Lets just put this to rest and agree that Orrville needs some football players...good football players....strong, fast, athletic football players....NOW!!!

That would just about solve all of my problems....lets move on!

We have Señor Panchos & Dravenstotts. Who wouldn't want to live here????

C'mon...we also have Jerry's, Mr.J's, overpriced BBQ joint and 2 chinese places!

My family moved here in 1975 from down south, My dad got here on a Monday with no job, limited education and was working full time by Wednesday of the same week and that job fed, housed and raised our family. Those days are GONE! It is simply short sighted NOT to take an honest look at EVERY measurable factor within the problem. MORE discussion and MORE constructive debate will ultimately help. The things that attracted my dad and many others like him was WORK... PERIOD. The white collar jobs produced today also bring with them individuals who's interests are different and these individuals have way more options than the blue collar men from 20 and 30 years ago.

Get all youth sports on the same page with middle & high school coaches. Start there.

This is awesome to hear and this can lead to a remedy to the problem rrfan has pointed out.

Old Rider;1708203 wrote:Lets just put this to rest and agree that Orrville needs some football players...good football players....strong, fast, athletic football players....NOW!!!

That would just about solve all of my problems....lets move on!

I will second that!

If I had the answer I'd run for mayor. LOL. I think the city is trying to add industry and the right housing but that takes an investor. I'm afraid there is no quick fix. You guys are young , make more babies and help us out here..LOL

Flash;1708296 wrote:If I had the answer I'd run for mayor. LOL. I think the city is trying to add industry and the right housing but that takes an investor. I'm afraid there is no quick fix. You guys are young , make more babies and help us out here..LOL

10 kids between RR1, rrfan, and myself...were trying to do our part!

Old Rider;1708302 wrote:10 kids between RR1, rrfan, and myself...were trying to do our part!

LOL!!!

That would be about 10 years til they get to play football. I might not be here. LOL

Old Rider;1707713 wrote:...It has to be hard as a coach to continue to tell the kids "we have to lift more weights, practice harder, get tougher"...only to go out on the field and take ANOTHER ass whooping.

Do you think that it may have been hard for the coaches of those "larger" schools to continue to tell their "kids" that same thing when they were getting their "asses whooped" by a smaller or equally sized Orrville school? From all this talk it seems to me that when Orrville's "athletic" advantage is lost, then it is time to change leagues where;
a-similar sized schools that Orrville can compete with, i.e., weaker
b-larger schools that aren't that good compared to similar-sized schools

How many of the OCC schools ever really challenged for a state title or consistently went deep in the playoffs?

Old Rider;1708120 wrote:RR1...always good for providing numbers. And when I see those numbers the first thing I ask is WHY? Where have the kids gone? Well....as we have said many times before on this site there is nothing to attract people to this town to call it home. New schools were built in hopes to help attract people to live here and by looking at those numbers, it appears to be doing just the opposite. There is absolutely NOTHING to attract young couples to this town!

I was told by a former Smucker's employee that Smucker's advised their relocated employee's not to make a residence here in Orrville. I don't know if it's true, but the long line of traffic into (AM) and out of (PM) Orrville, Monday through Friday may bear witness to that.

In recent years(6-7) I have heard of more families moving out of Orrville than moving in. Why is that?

70 less families in last census. 30 more households. 170 less people. That's fairly flat. The last three kindergarten classes have had increased numbers. I'm not sure Smucker's advises their employees to not live here but says there is limited housing opportunities unless you want to build. Have you looked at their employees? A majority of younger people.

Series62;1708980 wrote:I was told by a former Smucker's employee that Smucker's advised their relocated employee's not to make a residence here in Orrville. I don't know if it's true, but the long line of traffic into (AM) and out of (PM) Orrville, Monday through Friday may bear witness to that.

If it is true that they advised them of this....that is SAD! I have seen those long lines and that could prove that theory to be true. Again...many young people in those office jobs choosing to live in Wadsworth, Medina, Strongsville rather than Orrville.

Series62;1708980 wrote:I was told by a former Smucker's employee that Smucker's advised their relocated employee's not to make a residence here in Orrville. I don't know if it's true, but the long line of traffic into (AM) and out of (PM) Orrville, Monday through Friday may bear witness to that.

Series-if that it true it is really bad. That is something I think we can both agree on....

Old Rider;1709348 wrote:If it is true that they advised them of this....that is SAD! I have seen those long lines and that could prove that theory to be true. Again...many young people in those office jobs choosing to live in Wadsworth, Medina, Strongsville rather than Orrville.

If you're not from here and you're newly married (no kids or even 1 kid)...and put us up against Wadsworth, Medina & Strongsville in terms of housing, recreation, restaurants, etc......does Orrville ever win that competition??

We're an aging town with a skill set (blue collar factories) that doesn't align with the jobs Smuckers has available (white collar corporate). The folks that work there aren't from here and feel no allegiance to this town. Most of the folks from town that worked there were at the factory, which is much more automated (can run with less people) now.

Maybe when they have 2+ kids and are looking for safe communities & good schools, they consider Orrville. But Wadsworth, Medina & Strongsville have pretty good schools too. There are also more private schools in the Akron area too....which could be important for a Smucker exec. who can afford it.

State report card website says Wadsworth, Medina and Strongsville are rated as an A and we're a B. That's a quick snapshot, but some families may not even consider a school with a B grade. Even Copley-Fairlawn has an A grade.

I know, I know....more numbers from the math nerd....but it matters.