Baltimore competing for Reader's Digest grand prize - Other Community News - Ohioans for Responsible Rural Development

Lancaster Eagle-Gazette
Published January 31, 2012

By Jeff Barron

BALTIMORE -- Mayor Robert Kalish is urging residents to get out and vote. No, not for the local or presidential races, but for the Reader's Digest We Hear You America Sweepstakes.

The village is competing with about 10,000 other municipalities for the $50,000 first prize to see who has the best community support.

"We can win this if all of our residents vote and those no longer living here vote," Kalish said.

Besides the grand prize, Reader's Digest will award two $25,000 prizes, five $10,000 prizes and 10 prizes of $5,000.

The idea of the contest is to help residents put money back into their communities for various projects.

Downtown Restoration Committee Chairwoman Judith Cosgray said any winnings would go toward helping businesses improve their building facades and to the restoration of an old vaudeville theater above City Hall.

She signed the village up for the contest after hearing about it from a friend a little more than a week ago. The contest started Nov. 16 and will end March 1.

"We got off to a late start, but we still have over 1,000 votes," Cosgray said. "I put it on Facebook and that's about the only publicity we've had with it. It's just a matter of getting the word out about it."

Baltimore is at 210th place nationally with 1,031 online votes cast and is in eighth place statewide. Ashtabula, with 112,000, has the most Ohio votes. The name of the leading national municipality was not available.

Read the full story on the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette website.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR BALTIMORE!