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.
Special Weather Statement issued March 19 at 4:15AM 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 37° Today 37° chance 25° 25° scattered Tomorrow 52° Tomorrow 52° 33° 33°
Friday, August 16th, 2013

County soil, water conservation agency hires Tobe for post

By Nancy Allen
The Mercer County Soil and Water Conservation District hired a new watershed coordinator to replace Laura Walker, who has resigned to pursue a teaching position.
The board accepted Walker's resignation on Thursday at the regular meeting. Following a 30-minute executive session, board members hired her replacement, Abbey Tobe, who currently works as a manure management technician through the SWCD office. Tobe will earn $16.60 per hour; she starts in the new position Sept. 1.
Walker's last day in office was Wednesday. Walker, who was hired in 2007, took another position at Sinclair Community College teaching fire science classes.
SWCD administrator/education specialist Nikki Hawk said she will talk to Ohio Department of Natural Resources officials next week about the possibility of getting another manure management technician to replace Tobe once she becomes the new watershed coordinator.
Tobe is one of two manure management technicians working with Grand Lake Watershed farmers to help them comply with distressed watershed rules. The new rules resulted after the state designated the watershed distressed once humans and animals were sickened by algae toxins in the lake in 2010.
The two temporary manure technician positions are being funded by the ODNR. The state has twice allocated additional funding to keep the positions intact after SWCD and lake officials argued the posts should be made permanent.
Watershed farmers' nutrient management plans need redone every three years, which includes soil tests and livestock numbers. The plans will continue to need updating as long as the distressed designation remains. The technicians and other state officials will also start on-farm visits this year to check for compliance in record keeping and other areas. There are 156 livestock operations representing 270 farms in the lake watershed.
Board members on Thursday also approved Family Leave Act time for assistant conservation technician Charles Heckler from Aug. 15 to Oct. 25, unless he is cleared by a doctor to return earlier. He is recuperating from a non-work-related leg injury. The board also approved allowing technician Matt Heckler to donate 80 hours of paid sick leave to his father, whose paid sick leave has run out.
For its last personnel item, the board authorized maternity leave for SWCD engineer Theresa Dirksen from Aug. 9 to Oct. 7.
SWCD board members also,
• learned SWCD and state officials are proposing several more exploratory trenches be dug at the David and Joe Johnsman farm to locate faulty tile that could have caused a pollution incident reported on May 31. Rye leachate is suspected of originating from a silo on the farm and entering Twelve Mile Creek on Fairground Road just east of Fleetfoot Road. The case has been turned over to the state, and SWCD officials are monitoring it.
• reviewed one invalid allegation of improper manure application and three invalid pollution complaints.
• learned the SWCD office will receive 80 percent in state matching funds totaling $131,952 for the 2013-14 year, a decrease of about one percent from last year.
Additional online story on this date
The majority of trees in Celina's Eastview Park are ash and nearly 80 of them are infested with the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB).
"Last week we marked t [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
Coldwater teen joins siblings in showing champs
CELINA - Mitch Siefring was groomed to raise steer. His older siblings, Ben, 20, and Paige, 17, both earned titles at previous Mercer County Fair livestock auctions, with the former boasting two grand champions.
CELINA - Macy Gehle is determined not to let cystic fibrosis keep her from doing the things she loves - and it certainly didn't this week during the Mercer County Fair.
NEW KNOXVILLE - Business at the Neil Armstrong Airport has remained strong this summer, with revenues double what they were last year.
Airport mana
A former Auglaize County man has been charged with fraudulently collecting Ohio workers' compensation benefits after posting Facebook photos showing him at work in Arizona.
A 17-year-old area boy remains in serious condition at a Dayton hospital following an accident that caused a pickup truck cab and bed to separate.
The mishap occurred at 5:22 a.m. Aug. 15 along Huwer Road east of Homan Road in rural Maria Stein, according to Mercer County Sheriff's Office reports.
Honda's Project Drive-In could be the ticket the owner-operators of Starlight Drive-In Theatre are looking for to stay in business.
For over 20 yea
Local Roundup
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
Johna Walls' round of 88 helped Celina clinch third place at the Defiance Girls Golf Invitational at Eagle Rock.
The Bulldogs shot a 399 to make it two top-three finishes at four invitationals this season.