KentNewsNet.com

Ward 6

Theresa Voneida, Crain Avenue
In 1989, Theresa Voneida came to Kent for college and never left. Now 38, she and her husband are raising their 4-year-old daughter Allison in their home on Crain Avenue.

Voneida, who said she loves that most locations in the city are within walking distance, said “beautification” is her primary concern for Kent.

“The things that make me crazy are the broken glass all over the sidewalk, the broken bottles,” she said, suggesting home renters and business owners, especially, be required to keep their properties clean and presentable.

“I usually don’t have a whole bunch to say,” Voneida said, “but I guess because I’m a mom now I’ve been looking around more.”

And like many residents, Voneida hopes to see more businesses pop up in Kent — but no more tattoo parlors, she said. Instead, she’d like more sit-down restaurants and family-owned stores to move in downtown, suggesting they stay open until 10 or 11 p.m., to accommodate students’ late-night habits.
Still, Voneida said Kent is at more of a disadvantage than other college towns.

“Businesses really miss out because people go home every weekend.”

Ed Bixenstine, Wilson Avenue
Ed Bixenstine, an 80-year-old resident of Wilson Avenue, has lived in Kent since 1956, when he taught psychology at the university.

On a trip to San Antonio, Texas, Bixenstine said he was struck by the way the city played up the river running through town, opening shops and restaurants along the waterfront.

“Kent’s got a lovely river,” he said. “Why couldn’t that happen here?”

He said the way Kent is set up actually drives business out of the city, leading local residents to shopping centers in neighboring towns.

“I’d like to see it revitalized in the direction of strong businesses,” Bixenstine said.

He’s seen quite a few changes over the years, he said, noting that the relationship between the university and local residents has become less stressed than it was in the ’60s.

“Kent has been, politically speaking, a fairly forward town,” he said. “And as active members of the Portage Democratic Coalition, this political mindset is important to the Bixenstines, who don’t plan on leaving their barn-red home near Walls Elementary anytime soon.

“I suppose I live in something of a cocoon,” he joked.
&mdash Kate Bigam at sbigam@kent.edu

Jean Vanard, North Willow Street
To Jean Vanard, resident of North Willow Street, revitalizing downtown Kent should be a priority for the next city council.

Vanard said she remembers downtown to be a different place when she was a child.

“When I was young, there were shoe stores, fabric stores and clothing stores,” she said. “It was such a nice shopping area down there.”

In addition, she said living on a street where people don’t follow the 25 mph speed limit or stop at stop signs, gives her a “false sense of security.”

Although she said she has many concerns for the City of Kent, having Councilwoman Beth Oswitch as her representative makes communication between her and council stress-free. That’s why she plans to vote for her in the May 8 election.

Sarah Lane, North Willow Street
Sarah Lane, resident of North Willow Street, said she loves living in the City of Kent. She’s been here for a year and said it would be a nice place to raise a family.

But, as an adult, she said having no parking on her street after 10 p.m. is ridiculous.

“There are three adults living in this house — 10 o’clock is kind of early,” she said.

And when it comes to illegal parking repercussions, she said she learned her lesson quickly.

“Each time, it’s a $10 ticket,” she said. “And they (the Kent Police Department) come by everyday religiously.”
&mdash Katie Alberti

Elizabeth Moledor, North Willow Street
North Willow Street resident Elizabeth Moledor said she thinks downtown “has really gone downhill.”

“I’d like to see the downtown being improved — more businesses and so forth,” said Moledor, who was an elementary school teacher for 37 years. “Trying to get stores back into the city; we need a decent grocery store. There isn’t anything, you know, except the Acme. All the little stores that used to be around are gone.”

Across the street from her home, there’s an empty house that’s a bit of a concern.

“We have one house across the street that’s empty and it’s changed hands a lot,” she said. “You know, different renters and so forth trying to keep out undesirable people from that house. We don’t want druggies or anything like that in our neighborhood. She (Beth Oswitch, her current councilwoman) keeps on top of things and makes sure that, you know, we don’t get somebody undesirable. We’re more concerned about keeping the neighborhood the way it is.”

It’s for reasons like this and the easy communication that she plans to vote for Oswitch in May.

“You just have to call her or go down to her house,” she said. “It’s just two houses down.”

Eirean Bradley, Lake Street
For Eireann Bradley, who has lived in her Lake Street home for a year and a half, speeding and loud neighbors are just two of her battles.

“Well down this street there’s a lot of speeding,” the Kent State graduate said. “I don’t drive personally, but the speed limit is 35. But people usually go close to like 50.”

She also said the streets weren’t plowed well this winter.

“This year it wasn’t very good,” Bradley said. “In the past it has been. I’ve never noticed a problem, but my husband said that Kent — he’s always noticed a problem in Kent — and that usually they don’t clean up the roads ‘til like four or five in the morning. So if you’re driving real late at night, it’s always been bad. But since I don’t drive I never paid attention to it, but I did notice it this year. It was probably two or three days before they plowed this street.”

Other than snowy streets, she’s had experiences with loud neighbors and that’s why she is supportive of the nuisance ordinance.

“I think that this ordinance is targeting repeat offenders who do it over and over and over again. I don’t think that people are calling the police for minor things,” she said. “I think it’s pretty severe when they call. Nobody wants to get up out of bed at three in the morning, call the police and then wait for the police to come.”

Although noisy at times, the city, she said, has lots of diversity and that’s something positive for her family.
“The reason I chose to buy a house in Kent is because I like the fact that there’s a college here and there’s a lot of diversity here that you can’t get in other places,” Bradley said. “And it’s relatively safe. I grew up in Cleveland and it wasn’t very safe.”

She said she plans to vote for Beth Oswitch, her current councilwoman, in May.

“I’m concerned that if she is not re-elected our problems won’t be addressed,” Bradley continued. “She has been an enormous help to me and to other homeowners. She is readily available by phone and by e-mails. She helps people in other wards. So that’s why I’m going with her. She’s just been great.”
&mdash Ryan Haidet

Bill Lane
Bill Lane has been a business owner in Kent for 15 years. Though most of his customers are not from Kent, he is still very pleased with the location he chose for Lane Upholstery on Lake Street.

Lane was born and raised in Kent and graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School. He now resides in Stow.

“I don’t have a lot of complaints about the city,” he said.

There are a few things Lane does think could be improved, however — road maintenance and snow removal are two of those things.

“But that’s a problem many cities have,” he added.

Lane said when he drives to work during the winter he can tell where Stow’s city limit ends and Kent’s city limit begins because the roads are less clear. That is something he would like to see change.

He said he has also requested several times that mail be delivered directly to his store, claiming it can be dangerous to cross the street to reach the mailbox, especially in bad weather.

Besides the few minor inconveniences, Lane is happy with the city, and his business won’t be relocating anytime soon.

Mike Pritt, Crain Avenue
When Mike Pritt and his wife decided to settle in their home on Crain Avenue, the city’s schools were not a big concern. However, they soon realized how important the school system is, and it is now one thing they like about Kent the most.

“You find that is something that becomes important,” he said.

Pritt has three children, two at Walls Elementary School, and one at Stanton Middle School. One thing he especially likes is that his kids are able to walk to school.

In fact, he said it’s easy to walk to many places in the city. He and his family also enjoy how accessible the downtown area is from their home.

The area where Pritt’s home is located is scattered with rental houses, many inhabited by students. He doesn’t mind sharing his neighborhood with the younger crowd, and he is even tolerant of the drunken partygoers who loudly stumble past his yard in the wee hours of the morning — most of the time anyway.
Pritt said it can be somewhat of a nuisance having to explain certain things to his young children, such as why there is a young woman passed out in a neighbor’s front lawn, as there once was. He said he checked to make sure she was all right and made sure his kids understood it as an example of what is definitely not responsible drinking.

There are a few things he feels could be improved about the city. He said he definitely would like to see a revitalization of downtown. He feels the city government could be more proactive in bringing in certain kinds of business.

“There are four tattoo parlors downtown,” he said. “The government shouldn’t mandate business, but maybe they should encourage certain things.”

He said Kent is often referred to as a “hippie-town.”

“The reality of it is you have to be more progressive than that today,” he said.
Overall, Pritt said he is happy with the city and enjoys the familiarity among the people in his community.
&mdash Tiffany Ciesicki