Twinsburg Talk of the Town

by Stacia Naoum

Opening Day was Oct. 12 for the new Twinsburg Township baseball field, officially “YaYa and Chuck’s Memorial Field,” 8776 Harvard Rd., in the Twinsburg Heights neighborhood. The event included a ribbon cutting for the newly renovated field, as well as a game played by two teams comprised of members of the Heights community. John Curry, an 89-year-old lifelong resident, threw out the first pitch. 

“I couldn’t be happier with the support we received from the community, and it was a blessing to see all the smiling faces excited for this addition to the community,” said Jonah Schulz, founder and president of Diamonds in the Rough, the nonprofit that coordinated the 13 months of planning, fundraising and construction of the rejuvenated baseball field. “We had over 100 visitors throughout the afternoon, and the game was played among members of the community, both children and adults.”

The project started in September 2018 when Schulz spoke to Twinsburg Township Manager Rob Kagler about Diamonds in the Rough’s mission to transform neglected baseball fields into state-of-the-art ballparks.

“He immediately directed me to the Twinsburg Heights neighborhood, in which a once vibrant park now contained a couple basketball courts and a tiny baseball field that was little more than a pile of mud,” said Schulz. “Weeks later, Diamonds in the Rough officially partnered with Twinsburg Township to fully renovate the ball field and take the first steps to revitalize the entire park.”

The new field, supported through community donations, includes an expanded and renovated infield that can be used for any age group, new fencing, backstop, dugouts, foul poles, seating area and field equipment. 

“The Harvard Road property holds a lot of memories for residents of the Twinsburg Heights neighborhood and Twinsburg Township,” said Trustee Tom Schmidt. “Having the ball field rebuilt through donations and community support says a lot about Twinsburg. This is another opportunity for people to come together and provide the youth of Twinsburg Township with activities close to home.”

Schulz thanked supporters, including top-tier financial donors Nature Stone, Stainless Steel Products and Cleveland Indians Charities.

“Nature Stone also donated the labor and materials for our brand new seating area behind the backstop, and Geauga County Excavating donated significant labor and materials,” he said.

Despite being from Chardon, Schultz played on the Twinsburg Tigers travel baseball team when he was 16 and feels a special connection to the community and the game.

“I believe that everyone, regardless of where they live, should have access to a quality ballpark that the community can be proud of,” said Schulz. “The game of baseball has been the love of my life and I want to share that love in your community.”

Twinsburg resident Alyssa Quinn presented plans for rejuvenating the Twinsburg Safety Town, located in the Glenn Chamberlin Park on Ravenna Road, at a September city council meeting.

Quinn’s daughter, Claire, 5, participated this summer in Safety Town, which is run through Twinsburg Parks and Recreation department. Her son, Ryan, 7, participated two years ago.

“I noticed that Safety Town was run-down and in need of a facelift, as it was originally built over 20 years ago,” said Quinn. She said she got “an overwhelming response” after posting on the Twinsburg Roundtable Facebook Page plans to head a committee to renovate the site.

Quinn’s initial plans for the rebuild will be similar to the current setup, which includes approximately 10 houses/ businesses, stop lights and street signs. She wants to build a roundabout, “as kids need to learn to cross one and how traffic flows through one,” Quinn said.

“I want kids to be able to ride their bikes and scooters through the little ‘city,’” she said. 

Although the parks and recreation department does not have the time or resources to directly help with the project, it has been very supportive, according to Quinn.

“My goal is to not use any government funds; I’d like to do this solely based on donations and volunteers,” she said.

The project and fundraising will operate through Friends of Twinsburg Parks, and more than 20 businesses have already offered support.

“The Twinsburg Rotary has offered to sponsor the roundabout, while others have pledged money to have their company’s name on a building,” said Quinn. Sherwin Williams has also donated a gift card for paint.

While it would be ideal to have the project completed by next summer’s Safety Town, it would take a lot of help to make that happen, she said. Quinn is requesting volunteers to help demolish the current safety town, Scout groups to help with age-appropriate building, painting and clean up, as well as local businesses to donate signs, money, advice, time and energy to help with the rebuild.

“I would love for this to be a community project made by the community,’’ she said. “That way we take pride in it and keep it updated through the years. I would like to name the area ‘Joshua T. Miktarian Memorial Safety Town.’” 

For more information or to donate time or resources, email Quinn at twinsburgsafetytown@gmail.com.

Kudos to Connor Harris, the Twinsburg High School junior who brought home a bronze metal in a national achievement competition.

Conner received the medal for his presentation of “Role of EPHA6 in Africa-American Colorectal Cancer,” at the NAACP 2019 Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics. ACT-SO is a yearlong achievement program designed to recruit, stimulate and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among African-American high school students. The competition was held in Detroit.

According to an article on the Case Western Reserve University website, Connor did the colon cancer research during a 2018 summer internship program at Case Comprehensive Cancer Center and was drawn to the subject by experiences with cancer in his own family. 

Connor was attending University School when he participated in the summer research program, according to the article.

“I am very proud of Connor and look forward to seeing what will undoubtedly be an impressive future ahead of him,” said State Senator Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson), who commended the student at the statehouse last month.

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