Wednesday, April 10th, 2013

With right qualifications, jobs can be found locally

By Christine Henderson
Photo by Christine Henderson/The Daily Standard

New Bremen Economic Development Director Angela Hamberg speaks at the St. Marys Community Library Business Person's Breakfast.

ST. MARYS - To retain graduates, Grand Lake area business leaders, the community and parents should promote available jobs and the skills needed to fill them, a local economic official advised.
Angela Hamberg, New Bremen economic development director, discussed the Workforce Development program operated by local businesses and the Mercer and Auglaize counties' development departments during the Business Person's Breakfast on Thursday at St. Marys Community Public Library. About 30 business, school and government leaders learned good-paying employment is available in this area. College graduates do not need to move to big cities, Hamberg said.
High school students often are not aware of the number of job openings and pay scales for the careers they want to pursue. The Workforce Development program provides job availability information and business mentoring assistance.
Students also may look at Hometown Opportunity and JobsOhio websites for available jobs. Older workers may also want to check the websites to learn which skills they should obtain for a better job, she added.
"Businesses in Auglaize County and Mercer County just became stronger" as a result of the national recession, she explained.
Many local employers are seeking entry-level employees, but they are having difficulty filling the spots with qualified people.
The top Mercer/Auglaize employment areas are advanced manufacturing, agriculture and health care. Jobs are available in engineering, marketing and sales, information technology, customer service, maintenance technology and advanced CNC manufacturing
However, many applicants for these job openings are not qualified or "there is, unfortunately, a drug issue," she explained.
When seeking a position, Hamberg said, "Students need to set themselves apart." They need both education and practical experience in the career. She recommended students become involved in mentoring, summer work and internships.
She asked educators and local business owners to promote job shadowing, internships and other efforts to show students available jobs.
Library officials in 2012 updated public access computers, purchased new books and audio-visual materials and completed maintenance projects with funds from a 0.75-mill levy. A variety of new programs with speakers and activities also were held.
The 2013 goals include an electronic book clinic, exploring home-school programming and updating the library's website and Facebook page, library director Susan Pittman said. The library also will receive a donation of local history books from George Neargarder.
Additional online stories on this date
A 54-year-old Celina man died Wednesday afternoon at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton of injuries sustained in a weekend truck-pedestrian accident. His death is the year's first traffic fatality in Mercer County. [More]
CELINA - Participation in youth sports programs organized by the Celina Department of Parks and Recreation is expected to increase this year, director Jeff Fortkamp says. [More]
ROCKFORD - The Parkway softball team avenged last year's district final loss to the eventual Division IV state champions with an explosive offensive performance en route to a 13-3 five-inning win over Crestview on Tuesday. [More]
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County cancels recycling deal; curbside service may be affected
The cost of recycling bags could rise and curbside services may cease after the county stops subsidizing Ohio Recycling of Chickasaw in June.
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CELINA - City officials are sending a message to the feds: Keep your hands off tax-exempt financing utilized by public bodies.
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WAPAKONETA - In happy times and misery, alcohol appears to be a frequent guest of area residents.
"We celebrate with alcohol and drown our sorrows
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CELINA - Real estate taxes on the city's 60-acre Celina Renewable Energy Center off Meyer Road have jumped 800 percent since the property was rezoned from agriculture to industry.
NEW BREMEN - The search for a new police chief is nearing an end.
Mayor Jeff Pape said two interviews were conducted prior to Tuesday night's council meeting and another took place afterward. Seventeen applications were received.
ROCKFORD - Parkway school board members on Tuesday hired a new boys varsity basketball coach after meeting in executive session for one hour and 25 minutes.
ST. HENRY - A 6-year-old girl struck by a pickup truck in the village on Saturday afternoon has been upgraded from critical to serious condition at Children's Medical Center, Dayton.
Mercer County Sheriff's deputies arrested 12 people and seized 29 grams of heroin with an estimated street value of $2,900 to $4,000, a handgun, ammunition, suspected drugs and assorted paraphernalia during a roundup Tuesday.
COLDWATER - School board members on Tuesday commemorated the retirement of three longtime elementary educators and a veteran maintenance worker.
Th
CELINA - A medical spa offering treatments for lines and wrinkles and selling professional skin care products opens Monday in Celina.
Ciao! MedSpa,
CELINA - The Celina softball team started its quest for back-to-back Western Buckeye League titles with a dominating performance on Tuesday at Bill Feth Diamond.
Local Roundup
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
The Parkway baseball team scored single runs in the fifth and sixth innings en route to a 2-1 win over Crestview on Tuesday in Rockford.