Tuesday, July 23rd, 2013
By Shelley Grieshop
CELINA - Mercer County is on its way to a third-straight, record-breaking year for sales tax collections.
Sales tax revenue in the general fund this month is up 15.3 percent over July 2012, and year-to-date figures are 5.1 percent higher than last year. [More]
By Betty Lawrence
CELINA -   Grace Stammen of St. Henry is the 2013 Miss Lake Festival Queen.
Four contestants, the smallest number ever to compete in the annual pageant, took to the stage Monday night in a full evening of competition interspersed with the Miss Outstanding Teen and Princess Camp pageants at Romer's Westlake. [More]
By Amy Kronenberger
ST. MARYS - Greg Foxhoven is the city's new safety service director.
Foxhoven has been serving as interim director since February. He had been denied the permanent position in a four to three vote during the July 8 council meeting.
Council president Dan Hoelscher told members during their regular meeting Monday that he would like them to reconsider the ordinance to hire Foxhoven that previously failed. [More]
Obituaries on July 23rd, 2013
"Terrible" Ted E. Shelby, 57, Mendon, passed away July 17, 2013, after losing his long battle with cancer. [More]
Bernard J. "Bud" Bergman, 76, St. Henry, died July 22, 2013, at Mercer County Community Hospital in Coldwater. [More]
Ward Horner, 75, St. Marys Township, died July 22, 2013, at his residence.
Ar [More]
Martha E. Kohlhorst, 87, St. Marys, died July 22, 2013, at her residence after a brief illness. [More]
Local pictures on July 23rd, 2013
Subscriber stories on July 23rd, 2013
CELINA - Many developments are occurring on Grand Lake, but new equipment is not producing expected benefits, Milt Miller, manager of the Lake Restoration Commission told city council members on Monday night.
CELINA - The Miss Lake Festival Outstanding Teen and Miss Lake Festival Princess Camp pageants were held in conjunction with Monday's Miss Lake Festival Scholarship pageant at Romer's Westlake.
A St. Henry man who faces multiple sex charges wants to maintain his not guilty plea and go to trial instead of taking a plea deal.
Christopher A.
CELINA - City council members likely will donate $2,000 from the general fund to the Governor's Cup Regatta Committee to help offset advertising costs.
CELINA - The Celina Fire Department will not be authorized to travel long distances outside of the area to assist other fire departments during emergencies.
CELINA - Two classified positions in the district have been eliminated.
Board of education members on Monday night agreed to the staffing reduction as approved by the Ohio Association of Public School Employees.
ST. MARYS - The city and its utility workers union have finalized a three-year contract.
The agreement, effective immediately, offers lump-sum bonuses in lieu of pay raises this year and 2014, and a pay raise in 2015.
ST. HENRY - Profits from the village's 175th anniversary celebration last year will pay for landscaping, a welcome sign and a new shelter house.
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COLDWATER - A new position of assistant finance director was established Monday night.
Council members unanimously passed an ordinance creating the temporary job that comes with a salary of $35,000-$45,000.
The CarCash Mudsummer Classic presented by CNBC Prime's "The Profit" at Eldora Speedway has had the motorsports community buzzing since its announcement last winter.
MINSTER - Beneath gray skies at Four Seasons Park on the west edge of Minster on Saturday afternoon, the bustling noises of the Minster Baseball Classic fell to a gradual hush.
Much like the cross-tipped architecture of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, the century-long footprint of New Idea and the enduring hometown charm of the Ben Franklin store, longtime residents of Coldwater would probably declare former mayor Mauri Cron an institution.
COLDWATER - The unique name of this celebrated village has for years prompted humor and corny jokes.
"Many kids look at the water tower that has 'Coldwater' painted on the side and ask 'Where is the hot water tower located?'" quipped village administrator Eric Thomas.
COLDWATER - If clothing from bygone days could talk, what stories it would tell about life in and around a community marking its 175th birthday.
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Numerous activities and displays are planned to mark Coldwater's 175th anniversary. The celebration begins Sunday and continues through the weekend of the annual community picnic Aug. 2-4.
COLDWATER - The history of Coldwater Exempted Village Schools can be traced back to 1848 - 10 years after the town was founded.
The student body h
By BETTY LAWRENCE
blawrence@dailystandard.com
The first Coldwater Community Picnic was held in 1961 when residents Bob Hibner Sr. and Don Luken organized the first summer get-together.
Churches have served village from early years
COLDWATER - Three farming families in Coldwater came together in 1867 to form and build Holy Trinity Catholic Church. Today, the church has grown to serve 1,850 faithful families.
Churches have served village from early years
COLDWATER - Coldwater United Methodist Church is the earliest organized house of worship in the village and has survived through many changes.
The
Longtime friends now residing at Briarwood Village in Coldwater recently spent an afternoon reminiscing about the "good old days."
Urban Buening, 87, was born on the outskirts of town in 1926. He didn't graduate from high school, he said, because his parents didn't believe in education.
COLDWATER - New Idea is a name that became synonymous with Coldwater during the agricultural manufacturer's long and storied presence in the village. Roughly 14 years after the factory here closed and relocated, memories preserve its local legacy.
New Bremen artist commissioned
In accepting a commission to create a mural in honor of Coldwater's 175th anniversary, artist Dan Keyes took on an imposing project - figuratively and literally.
At the edge of the village limits, a large sign boasts the championship accomplishments of the Coldwater Cavaliers.
For the past 30 years, the ath
The unemployment rate in Mercer County rose 0.3 percent from May to June but it remains the lowest of all 88 counties in Ohio for the 20th consecutive month.