Growing Lucasville Opportunities (GLO) has become a household name to many in Scioto County over the past few years, as they’ve taken a grassroots approach to community development of the Lucasville area, focusing on seasonal events, bringing back the drive-in for limited time engagements, and the development of the first ever community park their home has ever had.

Recently, they broke ground on the amphitheater and veteran’s memorial expansions of their growing park after a major win, securing $200,000 in support for the project from Kubota.

The money raised will go directly to their park development, which will ultimately see a covered shelter, construction of an amphitheater, playground, and scenic multi-use path through the woods. They’ve raised nearly $600,000 to date, including the $200,000 already received from Kubota.

“The groundbreaking went great,” Kenny Boldman, of GLO, said. “We had a great turnout and the weather turned out great, despite raining that morning. We had a cookout at the Masonic Lodge with hot dogs and burgers and baked beans and all sorts of good stuff, then we went to the park and broke ground.”

Boldman was very pleased by the amount of support they had at the ground breaking for the veteran’s memorial and amphitheater.

“We had Terry Johnson, state senator; all three Scioto County Commissioners; all three township trustees and clerk,” Boldman said. “We had high spirited, enthusiastic community members all there, too.”

The group also paid tribute to Kubota by using their equipment to break ground, rather than shovels.

Scioto County Commissioner Bryan Davis was very happy about the event.

“It was amazing,” Commissioner Davis said. “All credit goes to GLO and their volunteers for all their hard work and dedication on making Lucasville a better place to live and glow. To be named a top five community project, then, to be named number one, nationally, is a huge win for our area! Our entire county should be proud.”

Moving forward they have two options for the next steps. Which includes the playground and the walking path.

“We’re unsure of which we will go with first,” Kenny Boldman of GLO said. “There is another grant we’re currently working with, and our decision will ultimately be based on what grants are available and what makes the most sense moving forward.”

The multi-use paved path will be a quarter mile, six-foot-wide, and will go into the wooded area of the property. It will be handicapped accessible and welcoming to wheelchair users.

“It’s very beautiful woods and will be a very nice way for people to walk, get exercise, and enjoy nature,” Boldman said.

As for now, Boldman says he is shocked to see how fast development is moving along.

“The contractor, Scott Reiser, from West Portsmouth, worked with us on Sunday to break ground, but then went back Monday and started working on the amphitheater.” Boldman said. “They removed the topsoil and began hauling things in and out. They’re working on it.”

GLO started in 2019 with smaller activities, events, and functions in mind, but quickly grew.

“One of the things we quickly realized was that Lucasville has never had a community park or greenspace. When Covid was running rampant, and things began closing, about that time, we realized how bad the need was. Restaurants were closed, and then, when reopened, had no inside seating,” Boldman said prior to winning the final $100,000 from Kubota. “So, people had to get food and sit in their cars, because there was no picnic shelter or anything like that. At that, we took on the park project. We’ve pursued grants and other fundraising to make this happen. In two years, we’ve raised half a million dollars, which is very nice, but it only gets us about halfway to our goal.”

Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at [email protected], © 2023 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved.