GALENA — It’s beginning to look a little like Christmas in the village, with lights being hung on the tree in the square on Tuesday.
Galena’s annual Tree Lighting ceremony is from 6-8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6. Santa will surely be on hand for the lighting as well.
Another holidays-themed event is currently taking place. The fourth annual Galena Drive is being done by local businesses until Dec. 16. Donations of canned goods and warm clothes can be dropped off at the Coffee Vault, Coldwater Consulting, Fountain Insurance, Sambuca’s and village offices.
Accepted items include canned and boxed goods, paper products, laundry products, and new warm clothes such as coats, gloves, hats, scarves and snow boots.
“All collected items will be donated to the local Big Walnut Friends Who Share … a local collection/donation center for all Big Walnut families in need,” an event notice states.
BWFWS has had several Sunbury locations over the past few years, including the Vans Valley Community Church. The nonprofit is currently located at 565 W. Cherry St., Unit B, in Sunbury.
Also in Galena, Mayor Jill Love recently posted on Facebook that the Miller Farms development on Vans Valley Road was seeking names for 16 streets. Love mentioned that the development had been in the works since 2007, and there would be an entrance by the Galena United Methodist Church. Comments included naming them after families who had lived in the Galena/Sunbury area, and different types of birds or wildflowers. Also named for a street was mudflats, a local feature at the end of Hoover Reservoir.
“The Galena area offers all sorts of opportunities for nature lovers, with a variety of habitats and viewing locations to see a variety of flora and fauna,” states the village’s website. “For birdwatchers, Galena is believed to have the largest population of prothonotary warblers in Ohio during the nesting season, mid-April to mid-August. When Hoover Reservoir’s water level is low, shorebirds find the Galena mudflats attractive during spring and fall migrations. There’s also a good chance of seeing ospreys and bald eagles.”
A good place to see osprey nests in Galena — the boardwalk at Hoover Reservoir — has been closed since July for repairs. It is operated by the City of Columbus Recreation and Parks Department.
In other village news, Talulas, a women’s clothing store at 39 Middle St., reopened again in May. The former 200-year-old building it had been located in was severely damaged in a 2018 fire.
