Darby Creek Advocate Volume 11, Issue 1  January 2003

DCA trustee named an “Ohioan of the Year”

DCA trustee Paul Dumouchelle was recently named one of several “Ohioans of the Year” by the
Cleveland Plain Dealer. Dumouchelle won the award for his leadership in the Darby petition drive to halt urban sprawl in western Franklin County. He is president of PEER, the group that organized the drive.

The Plain Dealer credited the PEER effort with convincing Columbus politicians to embrace
planning in the environmentally critical watershed.

“While its beauty and biodiversity warrant Big Darby’s designation as a state and national scenic
river,” the newspaper said, “those two attributes also whet the appetite of real estate developers, especially around that boom town of Columbus. Big money took a back seat to Big Darby Creek...when Paul Dumouchelle...led a grassroots initiative that forced Columbus to adopt a two-year moratorium.”

Congratulations Paul!