Thursday, June 01, 2000
Germans get a full tour
Factory sites, government ways examined
By Walt Schaefer
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A partnership that blossomed on Wednesday would have been impossible 12 years ago.
Ilmenau, Germany and Blue Ash, newly joined Wednesday as sister cities, were separated by ideology and the Berlin Wall until it fell in November 1989.
A delegation of 20 of Ilmenau's government leaders, business owners and educators began a five-day visit to Blue Ash Wednesday with a tour of city hall and a bus ride through the community.
They stopped at the city square and Veterans' Memorial, Raymond Walters College of the University of Cincinnati, and businesses — Procter & Gamble and Metalex.
A contingent of Blue Ash officials led by Mayor Jim Sumner and City Manager Marvin Thompson visited Ilmenau in February, forming the sister city partnership.
Ilmenau has a population of 31,793, and was founded in the 13th century in a mountain valley on the Ilm River in the former East Germany.
After Mr. Sumner welcomed the German delegation, his counterpart in Ilmenau — Oberbuergermeister Gerd-Michael Seeber, said through an interpreter: “We are very excited to see Blue Ash — the people from our city and from our university and our businesses. We are excited to see firsthand how government in the United States works.
“We want to see why there is little unemployment, how the community develops jobs, trains labor for technical support.”
Among the delegation were owners of a German robotics and automation company and of a laser technology firm; a banker; and Horst Puta, vice rector for science of the Technical University of Ilmenau.
The visitors were dazzled by Blue Ash fire apparatus, the police division's fitness facilities, the community center swimming pool and recreation center and the new science and health building which opened last September at Raymond Walters.
“I see a very well kept, very well cared for city with very high social standards,” Herr Seeber said.
As the tour progressed, Ilmenau officials asked numerous questions — many focusing on city operations and how earnings taxes fund most city services and how such taxes are collected from Blue Ash residents and others who work in the city.
At the Veterans Memorial, Herr Seeber placed a flower arrangement below the Stars and Stripes. Nearby were bronze statues honoring the American soldiers who lost their lives in conflicts from the Persian Gulf war to the Revolutionary War.
“I would not let this trip go by without paying honor to the American soldiers of World War II and thank the American people for what they have done after World War II. Their concern was with Europe to be here as it is today,” he said.
The delegation also will be treated to an Ohio River cruise, a Cincinnati Reds game, a country western hoedown, a trip to a mall or the art museum and a trip to Paramount's Kings Island.
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