From the News-Herald:
As Wickliffe Mayor Thomas Ruffner drives down Euclid Avenue each morning, he can't help but admire the improvements that have been made to the street over the past few years... Ruffner, his administrators and owners of many businesses on the street have worked together to turn it into a town center, complete with new streetscaping, improved signs and colorful planters.
But when Ruffner gets to 29553 Euclid Ave., his smile quickly fades. The former Ponderosa Steakhouse building has been the eyesore of Euclid Avenue - and the monkey on Ruffner's back - for years. With boarded-up windows, overgrown bushes and graffiti scrawled across the front, the building, in Ruffner's mind, is the one thing still holding the city back.
"It's the ugliest thing," Ruffner said. "It's been a longtime nightmare for the city." ...
"On behalf of the residents, business owners, City Council members and passers-by who judge our city by its main street, I implore the owner of the properties in question to immediately tear down your dilapidated buildings so we can all toast a new Wickliffe," Ruffner said. "Euclid Avenue will never be completed without action taken to improve this vital piece of real estate."
