News

New Director of Veterans Services and Housing

News /
The Guernsey County Community Development has initiated a new program designed to assist Veterans in obtaining affordable permanent housing, temporary or transitional housing and providing assistance in transitioning into civilian life. This program was made possible thanks to Steven Ashby, himself a Veteran, who came to our executive director, Ron Gombeda, with his idea and desire to help Veterans.
Steven, called Steve-O by his friends, was born and raised in Marietta, Ohio and graduated from Marietta High School. He proudly served our country in the U.S. Army from 1999 to 2014. His jobs included equipment operator and construction supervisor. After retiring from the military he owned and operated a HVAC company in Pennsylvania.
Feeling alone and like there must be more to life; he adopted his loving companion dog, Karma. He said, “I rescued her and she rescued me and at this point in my life I am very appreciative of the beauty of nature, and that is a true blessing.”
Hi passion is to encourage other Veterans to transition into civilian life by offering support for happy, healthy, permanent lifestyle changes. Steven said, “I am prepared to assist other Veterans by building a community where they can belong, too. Veterans are special and deserving of the best life has to offer, which includes housing for these true heroes.”
In Steven’s new position as Director of Veterans Housing & Services he will work with local businesses, government agencies and other nonprofits in acquiring houses and funding that will be used to rehab houses by the CDC staff and volunteers and then provide those homes to Veterans.
Please join us in welcoming Steven on board and for starting this new program.

New Director of Veterans Services and Housing Read More »

Tire Cleanup and Removal

News /

On November 3rd we received a call from the Sheriff’s Office about some illegally dumped tires, so today Paul Dickson and Dylan Tope went out and picked up the tires that were dumped at the intersection of Broadhead Rd. and Coats Rd. They picked up a total of 37 tires, which will be disposed of by Liberty Scrap Tire Service.

Tire Cleanup and Removal Read More »

January 2021 Update

News /
The Guernsey County Community Development (CDC) has so much going on to start 2021, I feel amazed and blessed at the same time. Honestly, I don’t know where to start, but let me give it a whirl. We are currently rehabbing one of our buildings in Byesville. The building will be home to a new business that will be a welcome addition to downtown Byesville. This will be the fifth business in Byesville that operates in one of our buildings. Plus, we also just purchased another building in Byesville that will also be rehabbed and available for another future business. Our workforce development program is proceeding and we currently have two young gentleman involved in the program. They learn critical skills in the fields of carpentry, mechanics, landscaping, time management and much more.
I’m working in cooperation with the City of Cambridge, OMEGA and the county to connect the The Great Guernsey Trail  with downtown Cambridge, which will help bring more tourism dollars to our county. Today, I started work on a grant to install electric vehicle chargers at the trailhead of our trail and I’m also working on holding another countywide tire and litter cleanup that will be funded by an Ohio EPA grant. In a few months we will bid out the work to resurface the first mile of our trail. We also have more trail maintenance projects planned for this summer.
Bobcat Run DGC will be finished this spring and (fingers crossed) ready for the public by summer. All of this is being done while still cleaning up illegal dumpsites, maintaining our beloved trail and everything else we do to make our county a better place to live and work.

January 2021 Update Read More »

Trailside Skate Park

News /
We are thrilled to announce that the Trailside Skate Park is now open for the general public to use. Located adjacent to the Great Guernsey Trail at 63500 Corduroy Rd. Cambridge, Ohio, the park is open from dawn to dusk. Parking is available in the gravel lot near the Guernsey Trail Archery Range. The park is free to the general public and is a “skate at your own risk” activity.
We strongly encourage the use of helmets, pads and safety gear. Any questions can be answered by calling the CDC at 740-439-0020 and asking for Ron.
[cs_image column_size=”1/1″ image_style=”frame-plane” cs_image_url=”http://guernseycountycdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Finished-Product-1.jpg” cs_image_url385742=”Browse”][/cs_image]

Trailside Skate Park Read More »

Shon Lenzo Nature Space

News /

We are very excited and pleased to post these pictures. What you see here is the The CDC’s newest park, the Shon Lenzo Nature Space. This project is nearing completion and when done, the citizens of Guernsey County will have a beautiful new open green space area of 70 acres that will provide people with opportunities to hike, mountain bike, explore and fish. The new addition is named after the previous owner that sold the property to the CDC and donated 25% of the appraised value to bring this deal to fruition. Keep an eye out in the next few weeks for updated information including address, more pictures and an opening date.

Also located on the property is the 18 hole Bobcat Run Disc Golf Course. This course is open and free to the public to enjoy.

This project was made possible thanks to a grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission’s Clean Ohio Fund

Shon Lenzo Nature Space Read More »

Updates to The Great Guernsey Trail and Coal Ridge Park and Trails

News /

Throughout the past few months our work crews have attempted to keep pace with necessary updates and repairs to The Great Guernsey Trail, our dog park and Coal Ridge Park and Trails. All along the trail you will notice that the old wooden message boards have been replaced with new sturdier display boards that are weather and graffiti resistant. At our dog park (located at the Corduroy Rd trail head), we installed some tires, a ramp and a fire hydrant for our four legged furry friends. There is still some more work to be done at the dog park, but we need the ground to dry up. Lastly we are finishing the second and last walking bridge that will connect the Great Guernsey Trail with Coal Ridge. All of these projects have been paid for by grants and private donations, without that monetary support, we couldn’t do what we do. As the year progresses we have a LOT more updates on the project books for our trail, including the resurfacing of the first mile of our trail, so keep an eye on the The Guernsey County Community Development’s Facebook page for updates.

 

 

 

Updates to The Great Guernsey Trail and Coal Ridge Park and Trails Read More »

Skate Park

News /
On May 5th we reached an agreement to complete concrete work for our skate park. This process has been many years in the making, going back to 2015, and has involved numerous people and various avenues of funding. Now, thanks to private donations, we have surpassed the dollar amount necessary to pour the concrete and provide a wonderful skate park for people to enjoy. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the history of our project, let me provide you with a little background. Back in 2015 the City of Cambridge donated to the CDC the skate ramps and equipment that had at one time sat on the old tennis court at the city park. Since that time the equipment has sat, unused, in our field next to the Great Guernsey Trail’s parking area on Corduroy Rd. But now, thanks to the dedication of our staff, the generosity of our donors and the support of the public, this equipment will once again be used by people who enjoy skating. Needless to say, I am so very excited for this project to come to fruition. This is just another example of how far the CDC has come and how much we truly care about our county, our neighbors and the future. Remember, when we work together, we can achieve anything.

Skate Park Read More »

Long Overdue Update

News /
Greetings Folks, WOW! We had one busy November and December is shaping up to be just as busy. First and foremost, thanks to a $40,000.00 donation from Utica Resources LLC we bought a new hybrid van for our military veterans transportation program and quite frankly, it’s amazing. This is going to save the CDC a FORTUNE on fuel. Speedy Print is designing a fantastic looking warp for the van and once I give it final approval we will post a picture. Our projects are piling up, but we are starting to make some headway. Our employees, Dick Dailey, Paul Dickson and Melissa West completed the install of the Quaker City play pod and swing set. This project was made possible thanks to an ODNR NatureWorks grant written by the CDC on behalf of Quaker City and the use of our in-kind labor. There was an illegal dumpsite in the parking lot of the former Kmart building. People were dumping unwanted items in front of the Special Olympics donations bins, and the amount of material was quite large. We partnered with Jackson Township and the City of Cambridge to dispose of the items and we paid for the disposal fees. This year’s winner of the Willard Tipple Memorial Award is Mick Balogh. Mick is a longtime supporter of the CDC and has made multiple donation so the CDC over the years. This includes donations of money, bicycles, and more. In addition he buys tickets to the Sportsman’s Bash and is a very vocal supporter of our organization and what we are trying to accomplish. As always, if you have any questions on any of the information provided in this report call or email me.

Long Overdue Update Read More »

12k’s of Christmas Run For Veterans

News /
We had a first 12k’s of Christmas Race for Veterans. The proceeds from the race will go towards funding our veterans transportation service, which provides free transportation for veterans to and  from a variety of appointments. On hand for the race were 71 runners and walkers, which is a great turnout for a first time run on a cold December morning. The race was held in conjunction with a toy drive for Guernsey County Secret Santa. Individuals donated 6 bicycles, dozens of toys and a few board games. Overall we are extremely pleased with our results and our race, which we couldn’t do without the help of our sponsors, Muskingum Valley Health Services, Buckey Disposal, Classic Solutions, Mancan and the Byesville VFW Post. Thank you everyone that came out and supported our race. We can’t wait for next years event!

12k’s of Christmas Run For Veterans Read More »

Scroll to Top