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Thursday, February 22nd, 2007

First water freezes up, then no gas

By Timothy Cox
Photo by Shelley Grieshop/The Daily Standard

Dominion workers and a local firefighter stand near a reported gas leak on Ash Street in Celina on Tuesday. Although a strong smell of natural gas was detected at the scene, no one was evacuated from the residential and business neighborhood. A crew from the Celina City Water Department were attempting to help a resident with frozen water pipes when they struck the improperly marked gas line, said Mike Sudman, superintendent of the water department. The street reopened Wednesday.

Celina city water crews ran into serious problems while trying to help a resident with frozen water pipes on South Ash Street this week.
While working on the problem, a piece of machinery ruptured a natural gas line, forcing a response from Dominion East Ohio and temporary closure of the street.
Todd Hone, an assistant operator at the water plant, said crews responded to some type of frozen pipes complaint in the neighborhood, but did not know the exact nature of the problem. Water Superintendent Mike Sudman was out of the office and unavailable for comment Wednesday and today.
A relative of the affected residents on Ash Street said the home had been without water service for 11 days. City officials could not confirm that.
"If there is any problem in the distribution system, people need to let us know; we'll make up a work order and check it out," Hone said.
The city is not responsible for frozen water pipes or other problems located on private property, Hone said. The city does accept maintenance responsibility for the stretch of water line between residential water meters and the tap-in to the water main, he said.
Although the strong odor of natural gas was present Tuesday, the neighborhood was not evacuated and Dominion eventually made the necessary repairs.
Even though the gas line was struck by city-operated equipment, city officials say they are not responsible for the damage. The placement of the gas line was improperly marked, Hone said.
City leaders have gone out of their way in recent years to avoid cutting into newly installed pavement. Water lines and the Dominion gas line underneath Ash Street were replaced when the street was completely rebuilt a couple of years ago.  
The reconstruction of parts of Ash and Logan cost $810,000, including the rebuilding of the street surface on Ash from Market to Logan and on the single block of Logan Street that runs between Ash and Main streets. The (Continued from page 1A)

Ohio Department of Trans portation contributed $550,000 toward the work and Issue II money provided another $220,000. The city spent $40,000 in general fund money designing the project.
Furthermore, city officials crafted an ordinance that requires public or private utilities that dig into the street to pay a fee for doing so. It remains unclear who will be billed for the cuts into the pavement to repair the water and gas lines.
Safety-Service Director Jeff Hazel was out of the office an unavailable for comment Wednesday and today.
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MINSTER - Village employees will begin paying 10 percent of their health insurance premiums as a result of action taken by Minster village council Tuesday night. [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
An EPA consultant said water quality tests show most streams in the Grand Lake and Beaver Creek watersheds need significant reductions in nutrient and bacteria levels to meet Federal Clean Water Act regulations.
Grand Lake area school districts will be making up weather days
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Most school districts across the Grand Lake area have reached or exceeded their state allotment
There will be another Crown Equipment Corp. office in New Bremen's future, but rezoning efforts have been postponed pending finalization of plans by the company. The matter had been scheduled for village council consideration Tuesday night.
A 20-year-old Indianapolis man, who came to Celina to pick up a shipment of marijuana, is headed to prison following a Wednesday morning appearance in Mercer County Common Pleas Court.
ROCKFORD - More than 3,000 bicyclists from throughout the United States will make a morning stop in Rockford during Community Days this year as part of the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure (GOBA).
6:30 p.m. Friday - Redskins Gymnasium
Tip-Offs: Marion Local has played well of late. Unfortunately, the Flyers have run into some buzzsaws. Last Friday saw Marion take MAC champ New Knox
6:30 p.m. Friday - Wildcats Gymnasium
Tip-Off: The Cardinals extended their win streak to three with another nail biter that saw another Scott Steineman game-winner. New Bremen will look to equal a season-best four-game win streak on Friday in the annual Battle of Route 66.
6:30 p.m. Friday - McBroom Gymnasium
Tip-off: The Roughriders have been hot of late, winning three straight and five of the last seven. A win on Friday gives them their longest win streak of the season.
6:30 p.m. Friday - The Palace
Tip-Off: Coldwater rebounded from a last-second loss at New Bremen with a convincing win over Wapakoneta on Saturday night to ensure coach Mike Kanney's his first double-digit win season at his alma mater.
6:30 p.m. Friday - Wapak High School
Tip-Off: Celina has continued to improve as the season has gone on picking up wins along the way. Celina held off a late Defiance charge on Friday before giving a tough LCC squad all it could handle before losing by six on Saturday night.