A Reporter's Call

I got a call from a reporter today.  It was a long, intense conversation.  Too long.

I wonder what he got from it.  Yikes.

Here's the tidbits I hope get taken:

On the soon-to-be-open highway improvements between New Albany and Granville, I said one of the top things was the everyone got a bonus with increased property values.  The market for housing in Western and Central Licking County just got more interested buyers when the new highway opens.

On the fact that the highway is numbered 161, 37, 16, 36, and 22 between Columbus and Pittsburgh, I said I thought 161 made the most sense.  A lot of people have weighed in to say they want this, but, in the end, we want the new asphalt more than the new signs so we'll wait for common sense to prevail.

On why there doesn't appear to be any progress on naming the highway one name or numbering it with one number, I suggested he call ODOT.

On the fear that Licking County would lose people who commute to Franklin County with the new highway, I said that it just means we have to make continued progress on efforts to improve quality of life here and work to ensure that jobs in Licking County don't go unfilled.

On the need for the Columbus-Pittsburgh Corridor group to continue, I said that that its powerful when we all work together and, for example, people from Steubenville help us make the case for the need for the Cherry Valley Interchange.

On the mentality that some people don't want development, I suggested that that concept is foreign to people like me who grew up and worked in places hit by declining population and a lack of growth.  I suggested that people who don't like development to happen should take a bus to places like Massillon, Ohio and see their perspective. 

That's enough said.  Whew.