Burkholder switches from Warehouses to Wall Building in Etna
Dateline November 2, 2023. The father of the Etna Warehouses (Burkholder was Trustee/President in 2004-2008 when built), only days ago, speaking to the Licking County Republican Women’s group now says he wants to build a wall, presumably an ideological wall which excludes people that are a valuable part of the community and the conversation. This is my hometown, my family moved to Reynoldsburg in 1965. My father died (1968) leaving my mom with a few hundred a month (SSI and VA) for 5 kids and the house. The people of Reynoldsburg saved my life. The Roshon family (and many others) often fed me. Mr. Bennett of Bennett’s Garage took me in and taught me business, manners, and to be honest. Mr. Bennett died in 2007. His son died in 2011. I wrote the song, My Old Reynoldsburg while sitting with Dave Bennett at the VA hospice. I get a little emotional about the attacks on my hometown. You can link to it through the Reynoldsburg Truro Historical Society RTHS.info or Mary Stoots YouTube page or here: https://youtu.be/m5Ns0m6BFa8?feature=shared (Google: My Old Reynoldsburg by Jon Hanson).
No one can be sure if Mr. Burkholder made his comment to the 60 women out of ignorance, insolence, arrogance, or that he is simply comfortable sorting and marginalizing groups that have different opinions.
It may be that Mr. Burkholder has never lived on the poor side of the door. Yet decency would require awareness of the lives and hardships of so many Burkholder seeks to silence and take for granted. True enough we move through the social economic levels by education, effort, and enterprise. My wife moved from waitress to successful attorney over the years. I moved from GED to MBA and beyond. There is no room for the soft bigotry of Gary Burkholder representing us in Etna Township Reynoldsburg as trustee.
I presume there would not be a toll to pass through the Burkholder wall for my many trips to Lowes and Massey’s Pizza; and of course, I have been at Reynoldsburg Baptist Church for 40 years. Perhaps an ideological toll, in the form of the continued drag on progress and dividing people into groups and fomenting hate and division? Maybe that’s what he is after.
I am asking Reynoldsburg and Etna not to allow the return of Burkholder and to the old-time-politics of division. Please consider Trent Stepp for trustee. No candidate is perfect. Trent Stepp is the only choice that has reached out to all communities.
Jon Hanson
Reynoldsburg Etna