The Transcript

As construction went underway for Merrick Hall and the Simpson-Querrey Fitness Center, Buildings and Grounds removed several trees and shrubs from the surrounding areas to create more space for expansion and work.

Delaware city ordinance requires that trees with a diameter of 6 caliper inches or more at chest height must be replaced. This excludes trees cut down because of disease or trees that came down on their own. .

Due to the number of trees removed, B&G needs to replace a total of 180 caliper inches, according to Peter Schantz, the director of physical plant for B&G. They plan to replant 90, 2-inch diameter trees to meet that goal.

“We are developing a plan over the next three years to monopolize on the tree planting seasons, one of which is in the fall and one in the spring, to plant 15 trees each opportunity,” Schantz said.

The lilac bushes along the path outside Merrick are not part of the replanting project. The bushes and other shrubs are not wide enough to fit the six inch rule.

“In a couple of cases there were things that were the only one on campus, such as one [shrub] by the fitness center,” David Johnson, professor of botany-microbiology, said. “We will probably look for some other way to have that return to campus outside of this project.”

A horticulturist, Mike Ecker, from Dawes Arboretum visited campus Oct. 9 to help determine locations for the replanting, according to Johnson.

“We had decided back in the summer to have a consultant come and look at the situation and what we needed to do,” Johnson said.

“We’d like to add to the diversity of tree plantings on campus through this project,” Johnson said. “Anytime you plant too many of one thing it’s a scenario for having any kind of disease or pest problem wipe them out.”

In the past, all 65 ash trees on campus became infested with Emerald Ash borer and died.

The Ohio Wesleyan campus itself is a small arboretum. It contains a collection of species of plants and trees that are labeled. The botany-microbiology department produced guides through student research for visitors to use as they explore the Jane Decker Arboretum on campus.

The Endangered Species Record Store, the self-proclaimed last record store on Earth, is moving to a new location starting Sept. 28 to 11 W. Winter St.

Endangered Species first opened its doors at the current location on 12 N. Sandusky St. in November of 2010. Pat Bailey, the owner of Endangered Species, has been in the record-selling business for at least 29 years. He cited his reasons for moving in an earlier interview with the Delaware Gazette as mainly expansion. They published the article on Sept. 4, 2014. Stacey Kess wrote.

“We’ve been bursting at the seams for two years,” Bailey told the Gazette. “When we are done with the move, we will be the largest record store in central Ohio, if not the state.”

A few weeks ago, the sale of physical album saw its worst decline to date, as only 3.97 million of them were sold according to Rolling Stone and Billboard magazines. Overall, album sales for this year are down 14.6 percent and digital albums are also declining with a drop of 11.8 percent. Many believe this is due to the affect that online streaming and free downloading sites—both legal and illegal—have on the music industry.

This doesn’t appear true for Bailey and Endangered Species, however. According to the Delaware County Auditor, the new site he is moving to has 5,324 square feet instead of the 2,483 square feet at his current location on Sandusky St.. This represents an increase of almost 3,000 square feet.

According to the Gazette, Bailey said he wants to have 30,000 albums out for customers every day. Most importantly, he noted the expansion could also bring the possibility of a few new jobs.

“The goal is to be the destination record store in Ohio—and we’re in the heart of Ohio,” he told the Delaware Gazette.

Endangered Species is moving next to Choffey’s Coffee and Confections and right across the street from Bun’s Restaurant. If you would like to help Pat Bailey move to his new location then please call the store at (740) 417-4776.

This story was updated on Sept. 26, 2014.

Patricio Plazolles is the Program Officer for the Woltemade Center for Economics, Business and Entrepreneurship and spends his summers building businesses and other opportunities for disadvantaged communities in Peru.

The effort began in 2001 as part of Ohio Wesleyan’s Spring Break Mission Week program where a group of students travel abroad to do charity work in other countries every March. Plazolles would travel to areas surrounding Lima, Peru, with 10 students to learn about the culture and do work for the betterment of those communities.

“The students used their backgrounds to contribute to the communities,” Plazolles said. “We had an arts major with us who taught welding to some students there, others taught English in the evenings. Then the students themselves would learn to milk cows and just get to know the people there…The point was to understand the conditions of those people.”

With more funding, Plazolles and the Peru program built classrooms in a school outside of the second largest city in Peru, including a new kitchen with industrial appliances where cooking staff had previously used a tin shack with a hot plate to prepare meals. As if the transformation weren’t enough, Plazolles explained how jump starts like these in the community could lead to fundamental changes in people’s lives.

“They started a soup kitchen in the new facility and charged very little, as much as the people there could afford,” Plazolles said. “Then they bought a DVD player…then a TV…and now they have movie nights.”

For Plazolles, the point of starting these businesses is not turning a profit; money and materials he donates to schools and startups are just that, not loans. Enabling people to work for themselves without having to worry about paying anyone back for giving them that second chance is at the center of his philosophy.

“Why would I take back something I gave you after you’ve built this for yourself?” Plazolles said. “It is sustainable, they will alway have this, and they don’t have to pay any interest or things like that.”

The last Peru trip took place in 2004 before the program was cancelled, but Plazolles has continued to travel to Peru and do work every summer. Most recently, Plazolles started a bakery in a school for developmentally disabled people that allowed the school to provide occupational opportunities for the students. With more funding, Plazolles would like to open the program to students who are too old for the school, rather than them having to return to homes with few opportunities.

In 2011, Plazolles was awarded the  Peruvian Pride Award for Peruvians abroad who have made great contributions in the U.S. and Peru. The money Plazolles collects for the equipment and other charitable efforts comes from individual donations. OWU alumni and students have all contributed and Plazolles keeps notes of the students and where they are from to show people in Peru where their donations come from.

Donations made are used to buy equipment before turning it over to communities in Peru, they do the work from there themselves. Donations can be left in the urn in Plazolles’ office that he calls the “Tree of Wishes” and any amount — pennies or dollars — is welcome.

When asked about the Peru trip making a return to Mission Week, Associate Chaplain Chad Johns, who is in charge of the Mission Week program, responded in a statement echoed by Chaplain Jon Powers.

“My assumption is that the Peru team hit a lull in interest and then faded from student consciousness. As far as I know, there have been no recent attempts to revive the team.” Johns said. “However, since I’ve been here, we have had teams to El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti and Belize.”

With enough interest and a formal proposal, the trip could make a return, and OWU students could once again accompany Plazolles on one of these trips to make a difference in the Peruvian community.