Wednesday, September 16th, 2015

Legal action possible

Counties' officials unhappy with slow logjam removal

By Jared Mauch
WAPAKONETA - Officials from Auglaize, Shelby and Allen counties may pursue legal action against a contractor if the Auglaize River log removal project is not completed by Oct. 15.
Rahrig Tree Co., of Forest, started the project in June 2013 and was originally scheduled to finish it in April 2014, Auglaize County Commissioner Doug Spencer said Tuesday.
Inclement weather has delayed the project, Auglaize County engineer Doug Reinhart said this morning. One or two inches of rain can postpone the removal by a couple of weeks due to rapidly moving water. This year's wet spring and summer slowed the project.
The company will receive no further extensions past October, Spencer said after the meeting.
Spencer will draft a letter notifying Rahrig officials that they have until Oct. 15 to complete the removal across the three counties.
Officials from the three counties held an executive session for an hour and 16 minutes Tuesday concerning pending litigation over the project.
Rahrig started the project in June 2013 in Allen County. It had been in the planning stage for about 10 years.
The contract includes legal action county officials may take if the project is not completed by the deadline, Auglaize County prosecuting attorney Edwin Pierce said this morning. He did not elaborate on what action could be taken.
The project is nearly complete, Spencer said.
The project covered 55 miles of the river and seven and a half miles of Two Mile Creek.
About 4.25 miles of the Auglaize River remain to be cleared, Reinhart said. The creek portion of the project is complete.
The company submitted a low bid of $294,000 in 2012 for the project. The project had been estimated to cost $770,000.
Auglaize County property owners along the river paid a minimum fee of $25; costs increased with the size of the property.
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MINSTER - Minster volleyball coach Cami Garman labeled last Saturday's victory over Celina as an early-season "momentum-changer" for her girls.
For those who witnessed the Wildcats tangle with the St. Marys Roughriders in Minster Tuesday night, there was little doubt Garman was exactly right. [More]
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CELINA - A Lima appeals court has ruled a local judge erred in rejecting former city police chief Dave Slusser's appeal to get reinstated.
Slusser'
FORT RECOVERY - A shortage of district bus drivers has led to some late buses and overworked drivers.
Transportation director Kurt Wendel told school board members at Tuesday's meeting that he has struggled to find bus drivers to cover extracurricular activities and regular routes.
MINSTER - Drivers will soon need to slow down on a stretch of state Route 119 in town.
Village council members Tuesday night approved an ordinance
ROCKFORD - A chance meeting two years ago led to Rockford's newest business, Heart-N-Soul Massage Therapy, which on Saturday celebrated its grand opening.
CELINA - Celina boys soccer coach Ryan Jenkins felt his team was evenly matched with unbeaten Ottawa-Glandorf.
However, after spotting the Titans two goals, the Bulldogs found the equalizer hard to come by in a 2-1 Western Buckeye League loss on Tuesday at the soccer stadium.
CELINA - Amy Sutter still didn't have an answer as to why her Celina volleyball squad looked sluggish on Saturday in a loss to Minster, but she was very happy with how they responded Tuesday night.
Area Roundup
Compiled by Colin Foster
St. Henry remained unbeaten but had to go the distance with Lehman in a five-set volleyball contest in Shelby County on Tuesday night.