Special Weather Statement issued March 19 at 4:28AM EDT by NWS Wilmington OH (details ...)
Gusty winds from 35 to 40 mph this afternoon could blow around unsecured items. Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicle. Secure outdoor items.
Today 53° Today 53° 32° 32° Tomorrow 41° Tomorrow 41° 21° 21°
Monday, July 3rd, 2006

Summit to address water quality, lake level

By Nancy Allen
Mercer County Commissioners are planning a public lake summit meeting for sometime in July, Commissioner Bob Nuding said at Saturday's Lake Improvement Association (LIA) meeting.
Nuding said the summit will focus on two issues: water quality and the lake's water level.
He stressed that commissioners will only be facilitating the event, not promoting any side.
"We won't run the meeting, but only act as facilitators to get the right people there," Nuding said. "Everyone knows the key word in this whole process is money."
Key officials from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, state and perhaps federal legislators will be invited, he said.
Local farmer Steve Zumberge has been urging the LIA and commissioners to support a lake water level drawdown policy and to push the issue with ODNR, which manages the lake. He farms land west of the lake that floods and is among five farmers who sued the state over farmland flooding they say has been worsened by the new spillway.
Zumberge attended an LIA meeting and a meeting of the LIA's Lake Restoration Committee in recent months to ask for help promoting the issue. He also asked commissioners during their June 6 meeting to hold a public meeting on the matter and said it was an issue the county should get involved in.
The state discontinued its drawdown policy for Grand Lake after the new West Bank spillway opened in 1997. The new spillway has tubes in it that can be opened to let water out of the lake. Rain overflow water from the lake enters Beaver Creek via the West Bank spillway and then flows into the Wabash River.
The state now maintains a "hands off" policy, allowing nature to dictate the level of the lake.
Additional online story on this date
Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Sam Speck is expected to respond to a request from local lake groups for funds to clean up Grand Lake in the next week or so. [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
Celina's lakefront walkway project is expected to move forward soon following a series of setbacks and delays.
City officials say they are nearing
Celina City Council last week adopted a set of emergency response standards, but some council members said they felt like they were bullied by the federal government into doing so.
What would happen if a terrorist group introduced a crop disease or contagious animal sickness that attacked Mercer County crops or livestock?
No o
Minster earned itself a place in the district tournament after winning both of its weekend games and taking a spot in the championship game set for Tuesday after action at the Auglaize County ACME sectional held at Hanover Street Park in Minster.
Slavik throws second no-hitter this summer
COLDWATER - It's tough to beat a team four times in one season.
That was the mission Parkway had on Sunday in the winner's bracket of the Mercer County ACME sectional at Veterans Field in Coldwater.
The Grand Lake Mariners led 1-0 on the road against the Lima Locos when lightning and rain forced the postponement in the top of the second inning at Shawnee High School on Sunday night.