Story by Joshua Keeran
What’s your favorite vacation spot and why?
We have been going to Hilton Head Island off and on for about 12 years. It is a wonderful family-oriented vacation spot. We try to visit other places every other year and some of the more memorable trips have been to New York City and last summer in which we traveled up the coast of Southern California from San Diego to L.A., and then across to Sequoia National Park, Vegas, the Grand Canyon, and ended up in Sedona. To me, vacations are about making memories with your family and giving the kids something to remember for the rest of their lives.
What’s your hidden talent?
I can’t juggle, perform magic, or do Jedi mind tricks if that is what you are asking. My wife tells me that I am a “chameleon” and that I can blend into almost any crowd; whether it is a rock concert or a black-tie affair … not that we attend many of the latter.
What’s the one food you just have to buy at a fair or festival?
Cheese on a stick, for sure. If that’s not available, then French fries are a close second – but only if they are fresh cut and really thin. I manage the Buckeye Valley fair booth at the Delaware County Fair, so I am surrounded by fair food all week. I usually get my fix in early and then I can generally resist for the remainder of the fair.
Cats or dogs — or neither?
My political answer is “I love all animals,” but honestly, I prefer dogs. We have the world’s best dog — Lucy, and she is a goldendoodle. We also have a bunny named Alfie.
Have you ever met a celebrity?
I met John Glenn a few years ago, and he is probably the friendliest man to ever live. I also “bumped into” Bill Clinton in New York City when he was running for president around 1992. I’ve also met a couple rock stars that no one reading this would probably recognize.
Favorite TV show and why?
I could give a very long answer to this one, but I’ll focus on four shows. “Twin Peaks” was a genius show that started the whole serial TV genre that everyone loves today. The show was made in the 90s but still holds up today, and Showtime did a Part 3 within the last year or so. “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is probably the funniest show ever made. There has been a lot of criticism against “Game of Thrones” lately regarding the final season, but I still loved that show and I think they ended it the best they could. However, the best series, start to finish, was “Breaking Bad.”
What do you love most about your community?
I have lived in Ostrander since 2007. The first thing that drew us to Ostrander was the quintessential “small town feel.” The residents are down to earth and most everyone takes pride in our little village. Although I am not a lifetime resident, I have established relationships with many people in the village and have grown to consider this home.
There are two events I invite everyone to experience in Ostrander. The first is our Fourth of July celebration, which is the truest example of small-town Americana. We start with a parade that anyone can participate in, which generally lasts about and hour and winds through the streets of downtown Ostrander. We follow that up with a chicken BBQ lunch. The rest of the day includes various events, music, and food vendors. Around 10 p.m. at night, we have fireworks that rival anyones in the area. The residents rally around to clean up the town, decorate their homes, and get our village looking great for the celebration.
The second event is Halloween. Ostrander always has trick-or-treat on Halloween. Again, the residents rally to spruce up the village and adorn their homes with spooky and macabre decorations. A few homes even set up haunted houses for the children to visit, if they dare. The scene of the children on the sidewalks going from house to house all dressed up is straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting.
The secret is out, and Ostrander is facing growth. Everyone seems to want a piece of the small-town Americana pie. We have nearly doubled in size in the last 10 years and more growth is coming. We can’t really stop the growth, but we can try to control it so that the new homes and businesses help maintain, and contribute to all the things that make Ostrander great.
Mayor of Ostrander
ID, 'source', true); $sourcelink = get_post_meta($post->ID, 'sourcelink', true); $sourcestring = '' . __('SOURCE','gabfire') . ''; if ($sourcelink != '') { echo "
$sourcestring: $source
"; } elseif ($source != '') { echo "$sourcestring: $source
"; } // Display pagination $args = array( 'before' => '' . __('Pages:','gabfire'), 'after' => '
', 'link_before' => '', 'link_after' => '', 'next_or_number' => 'number', 'nextpagelink' => __('Next page', 'gabfire'), 'previouspagelink' => __('Previous page', 'gabfire'), 'pagelink' => '%', 'echo' => 1 ); wp_link_pages($args); // Display edit post link to site admin edit_post_link(__('Edit','gabfire'),'','
'); // Post Widget gab_dynamic_sidebar('PostWidget'); ?>