Friday, December 28th, 2018
Area's top 10 stories of 2018
By Daily Standard Staff
Extreme highs and lows buffeted the area in 2018.
The economy purred along smoothly as Mercer County maintained its hold on the state's lowest unemployment rate and many of the area's largest employers expanded or planned to do so.
Meanwhile, the efforts to clean up Grand Lake finally appeared to be paying off, and local opposition helped prevent an easing of rules in distressed watersheds - at least for now.
However, tragedy also struck as law enforcement officials investigated three homicides, responded to serious accidents and chased suspects at high speeds.
Here is our look back at the top 10 stories of the year.
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard
Francy Majo, center, sits in Mercer County Common Pleas Court with his lawyer Steven Chamberlain, right, and court appointed Marshallese interpreter Francis John, left. Majo is accused of purposefully causing the death of Sandra Renner.
Three homicides occurred in the area this year, one of which is still being investigated and two others for which arrests have been made.
Sandra Renner, 47, was found dead in her Coldwater apartment at 914 N. Elm St. by her mother on Jan. 3. When officers arrived, they suspected foul play, and search warrants were executed for two separate residences. Francy Majo, 20, of 912 N. Elm St., was interviewed by police with the assistance of an interpreter fluent in Marshallese. According to court documents, he initially denied any involvement in Renner's death, but when presented with evidence collected from a dumpster, he said the items were his and he had discarded them.
According to court documents, Majo then said that a few days prior - he believed it was Jan. 31 - he had walked to Sandra Renner's apartment, had stabbed her to death and then left the scene.
Majo was arrested and is being held at the Mercer County Adult Detention Facility on $1 million bond. He is charged with aggravated murder and two counts of murder, all unclassified felonies; and rape, aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary, all first-degree felonies.
On April 11, a father and son each were hospitalized with gunshot wounds after a shooting at 10988 State Route 364, St. Marys. At about 3:22 a.m., a male had called 911 stating he'd been shot. Emergency personnel found two men with gunshot wounds.
Dexter Lee Turner, 47, was transported to St. Rita's Medical Center, Lima, where he later died of his injuries. Alim Amir Turner, 25, was transported to Lima Memorial Hospital and has since recovered and been released.
Auglaize County Chief Deputy Mike Peterson told the newspaper the case is still being investigated, and deputies are still taking tips. He confirmed that Alim Amir Turner was not a suspect in the case.
On Oct. 3, Joe Hunter, 56, was transported from his St. Marys home with a stab wound to the chest and later died of his injury. His girlfriend, Karen D. Fontenot, 54, Dublin, was later arrested and has been charged with aggravated murder. She is awaiting a January hearing on her competency to stand trial.
Photo by Ryan Snyder/The Daily Standard
This aerial view shows the 4,500-head dairy under construction northwest of Neptune. The operation is expected to open this fall.
The local economy experienced an explosion of commercial and agriculture-related expansions in 2018, while farmers were caught in President Donald Trump's trade war with China and other countries.
Mercer County has had the lowest unemployment rate in the state for quite a while with a 2.7 percent jobless rate as of October. Auglaize County, meanwhile, has an unemployment rate of 3.2 percent. Rates in neighboring counties that month were up marginally with 4 percent in Allen, 3.7 percent in Darke, 3.6 percent in Shelby and 3.4 percent in Van Wert.
Crown Equipment Corp. was one of several business to undergo expansion projects this year as construction is underway on a 500,000-square-foot facility estimated to cost $40 million. The facility will provide much-needed warehouse space while freeing up space for manufacturing, Human Resources Vice President Randy Niekamp said.
Crown also is nearing completion of a 57,000-square-foot addition to its New Knoxville facility to be used for manufacturing, Niekamp added. As Crown continues to expand its footprint, Niekamp said officials plan to add 563 employees at the two new sites, 63 in New Knoxville and remainder in New Bremen.
In St. Henry, Mercer Landmark is constructing a $26 million state-of-the-art feed mill and processing plant. The new operation would add 43 jobs, increasing its total employment in the St. Henry area to 59.
The Fremont Co.'s $27 million, 150,000-square-foot storage warehouse in Rockford is nearing completion. The expansion also will spur 70 new full-time jobs.
Ferguson Enterprises in Celina in May completed a pipe yard operation beside its distribution center. The operation includes a 60,000-square-foot building and 6 acres of outdoor storage. Officials said the new operation will supply pipes to 110 Ferguson branches in more than five states.
Ferguson invested $13.16 million in the project, $10.9 million for the actual pipe yard operation, $2.01 million for the purchase and installation of new machinery and equipment and $250,000 for furniture and fixtures.
Versa Pak in Celina underwent an expansion. The $10 million, 34,000-square-foot project added much-needed storage space, president Michael Brunswick said. In July, he planned to hire 20 new staff members to help meet demands, adding $1.2 million to the payroll.
Celina Tent is expanding into the former Kmart on Indiana Avenue in St. Marys. Company officials have said the expansion will create several jobs.
Wendel Poultry in Fort Recovery has added a truck wash to its operation housed in a 5,000-square-foot building and also purchased equipment, improved infrastructure and hired five new employees as part of the project.
ALDI has expanded by adding a freezer section, allowing for more product lines.
Dollar Tree is planting new roots on Havemann Road. The 9,750-square-foot store located in the plaza behind Peel's Pit Stop is scheduled to open early next year, company spokesperson Kayleigh M. Painter said.
Craft beer is becoming more popular in the area. Moeller Brew Barn officials are expanding their facility in Maria Stein and adding a second location in Troy. In Celina, Brew Nation has started an in-house brewery, Lake Rat Brewing. Gongoozlers Brewery is being built on West Monroe Street in New Bremen. Officials said it is expected to be open next year.
MVP Dairy, a 4,200-head farm northwest of Neptune, began operating in mid-November. The 82-acre operation is a partnership between VanTilburg Farms of Celina and McCarty Dairy LLC of Colby, Kansas. The farm is providing non-GMO milk to Minster's Dannon yogurt plant. Officials said the dairy will employ about 30 people.
Officials from farm advocacy groups said they were grateful for a $12 billion aid package announced by the Trump administration to ease the pain of the trade war, but that the funds provide only short-term assistance rather than a real solution.
Photo by Dan Melograna/The Daily Standard
Bruns Building and Development has nearly completed the structure of the Harley C. Jones Memorial Rotary Amphitheater in the Bryson Park District along Lake Shore Drive. Concrete seating, sidewalks and steps will be installed next spring. Bruns was awarded a $491,033 contract to construct the facility and install the foundation, concrete, sidewalks, lighting and the sound system.
A slew of government or education construction projects were either started, completed and/or planned in 2018.
In February, Wright State University-Lake Campus opened its $3 million Agriculture and Water Quality Education Center that houses labs and classrooms dedicated to these interrelated subjects, a release noted. More than 65 students study in these areas.
"This new state-of-the-art facility will further cement Lake Campus' role as a leader in agriculture education and the study of water quality," Wright State University President Cheryl Schrader said before cutting the ribbon.
Across the street from Lake Campus, much headway was made on the $25 million Tri Star 2.0 building on State Route 703 that is expected to be ready in time for the 2019-2020 school year. The approximately 101,000-square-foot, two-story complex will house Tri Star Career Compact's 15 programs in 19 classrooms and laboratories currently located at six different locations in Auglaize and Mercer counties.
New Bremen school district voters in May approved the construction of a new school building that is planned to be ready for the 2020-2021 school year.
The 7.46-mill New Bremen schools construction levy and 1-mill permanent improvement levy passed to help construct a new $20 million K-8 building adjacent to the current high school. The state will cover 28 percent of the project cost - about $5.6 million - and $14.4 million will be funded locally.
Also in New Bremen, a new police/EMS building was constructed at 217 N. Walnut St. The new building has 10 rooms, including a three-bay garage, a separate garage area for EMS vehicles, a training room, a shared kitchen/break room, locker rooms, evidence room, armory, lobby, offices for the chief and a lieutenant, two interview rooms with video-recording capability and space for future expansion.
Thanks to an outpouring of community donations, St. Henry EMS personnel opened a new $900,000, 8,100-square-foot facility. Also making their debut this year were new swimming pools in St. Henry and at Grand Lake St. Marys State Park campgrounds.
Minster Local Schools officials in August unveiled the $10.3 million upgraded middle/high school to the public.
St. Marys' new multimillion-dollar water-treatment facility is under construction at the intersection of County Road 66A and Koop Road on the city's south side.
Work on Rockford's wastewater treatment plant remains on schedule. Shinn Brothers employees soon will install aeration pipes and should be done by February. Plans for the $2.23 million project include completely upgrading the plant.
In Celina, most of the work was finished on the structure of the Harley C. Jones Memorial Rotary Amphitheater in the Bryson Park District, with the stage and surrounding concrete to be poured by a contractor by May.
City officials also are pursuing the seating portion of the amphitheater, which should be completed sometime in the spring, city safety service director Tom Hitchcock told the newspaper.
The newly constructed $24 million Sanderell Family West Wing at Mercer County Community Hospital opened in Coldwater on Oct. 22.
"The new Sanderell Family West Wing includes a new surgical center on the third floor, new private inpatient rooms on the second floor and an all-new outpatient center on the first floor, including our new dining space and atrium," said Mindy Kremer, senior director of development, marketing and community relations.
Mercer County commissioners in December approved the general plan to proceed with the Carthagena Area Sewer System project.
They also awarded Shinn Brothers Inc. of Celina a $1.68 million contract for the project, which likely will begin in February and should wrap up by the end of 2019.
It involves installing 26,540 linear feet of sewer line, a lift station to transport wastewater to the Montezuma Club Island Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Work has also begun on a new water plant and tower in Chickasaw.
Photo by Ed Gebert/The Daily Standard
People enjoy an outing on the 13,500-acre Grand Lake on a hot and sunny afternoon despite the continued presence of no-contact signs.
As cleanup efforts have begun to show some positive effects on Grand Lake, Lake Improvement Association members earned a legislative victory this year when the Joint Committee on Rule Review rejected the Ohio Department of Agriculture's proposed rule changes earlier this month.
Included in the rule changes was lifting the ban on spreading manure on fields between Dec. 15 and March 15. The proposed changes are part of an effort to designate the Western Lake Erie Watershed, which covers northwestern Ohio, as distressed.
LIA members felt the rule changes were unenforceable and the changes would have been unfavorable to both Grand Lake and producers in the watershed, association president Nick Rentz has said.
Rentz previously said the LIA wants to continue to enforce the manure ban because research conducted by Dr. Steven Jacquemin of Wright State University-Lake Campus has shown water-quality improvements as a result.
The ODA had 30 days to revise and refile the revisions, JCARR Executive Director Larry Wolpert told the newspaper.
Six area educators passed away this year.
Aaron Rose, 40, Celina, was in his second year as Mercer County Educational alternative school director when he died in a May 16 two-vehicle accident on U.S. 127.
MCESC Superintendent Shelly Vaughn said Rose cared deeply about kids and redefined the alternative school program, focusing on meeting all the students' needs, including connecting them to community resources, helping them get their driver's licenses and supporting students in securing employment.
Joshua Bruns, 37, New Bremen, was heading north on U.S. 127 in a 2015 Isuzu box truck sometime before 2:40 p.m. when he reportedly drove left of center for an unknown reason and struck a southbound 2005 Chevrolet sports utility vehicle driven by Rose.
The Celina City Schools community was devastated when teacher Kimberly Gause died of cancer in April. She had graduated from Celina High School in 1990 and had been employed by the district since 1995. Superintendent Ken Schmiesing described her as a teacher everyone could count on with a positive, can-do attitude.
Longtime Celina teacher and coach Jack Clouse died in September. He had served the district from 1967-2006. He had many happy memories of the football, basketball and baseball programs and the many students and athletes he was honored to teach and coach, his obituary read.
His brother, Parkway teacher William Clouse, 77, died earlier this month. He was hired to teach science and driver's education and went onto teach physics for 10 years before transitioning into teaching vocational agriculture in the new high school building and becoming an FFA adviser. His obituary said the highlights of his teaching career always centered around his students, feeling a sense of deep pride as he watched them succeed and reach their dreams.
Marion Local community members endured the deaths of two beloved educators. Remembered for his caring smile and personality, Stan Wilker has been missed in the Marion Local community. He passed away in July surrounded by his family. Wilker had taught for 33 years for Marion Local Schools and served as athletic director for 32 years. Community members described him as a hard-working man who could have a conversation with anybody.
Outside of school, he was a longtime member and trustee of the Lake Improvement Association. President Nick Rentz had described him as the motor of the group, who had genuine love of the lake and the community as a whole.
Marion Local teacher Dan Thobe lost his battle with cancer in November. At the age of 46, he died surrounded by family members. He had worked for the district for three years and community members described him as a tremendous teacher and football and track coach. He also taught at Vandalia-Butler City Schools and Fort Loramie Local Schools.
Photo by Ryan Snyder/The Daily Standard
Students from all the Midwest Athletic Conference schools as well as Celina and St. Marys form a shield with a number 9 to show support for Coldwater football player Shane Homan, who suffered a serious injury during a junior varsity game on Saturday.
The community has rallied twice this year after severe accidents left several Coldwater student athletes hospitalized.
In September, 17-year-old Shane Homan fractured a vertebra during a junior varsity football game, and local residents rallied to show their support, donating their time and money and sending the family their thoughts and prayers.
The phrase #ShaneStrong went viral, and signs were posted in the yards of businesses and residences alike to show support immediately after Homan's accident. His family received donations of time, money and supplies for his treatment and to help make their house more handicapped accessible.
Homan has since returned home and is training with Community Sports and Therapy Center staff to use a robotic exoskeleton, which would allow him to walk again.
A Dec. 7 accident between a van and tractor injured six people, five of them Coldwater students. Emily Prenger, 17, had been driving a GMC SUV home from swim practice with schoolmates Laci Schritz, Brianna Burrows, Naomi Cervantes and Keaton Freeman when her vehicle struck the back of a tractor operated by Hubert Homan.
Swim team coach Matt May told the newspaper the support the team has received from the community and other area swim teams, including gift packages and messages of thoughts and prayers, has been unbelievable.
St. Marys City Schools officials were able to stave off a looming financial crisis while those with Marion Local Schools were sent back to the drawing board due to results of the Nov. 6 general election.
St. Marys voters approved their district's 1 percent earned-income tax levy issue with more than 55 percent support.
Consequently, school board members scrapped a list of planned budget cuts totaling $2.6 million that would have been enacted had the issue failed at the polls.
Marion Local voters rejected a proposed 8.5-mill bond issue that would have collected $16 million over 25 years to fund the construction of a new school facility.
"We don't have any specific next steps established right now, but we are committed to both maintaining and advancing the level of excellence that our community and students have come to, and should, expect from our school," board member Phil Moeller said at the November meeting.
Celina's North Main Street business owners and residents let out a collective sigh of relief as the protracted water-line project draws to a close.
The project entailed replacing water lines, sidewalks, storm sewers and other miscellaneous work on Main Street from Fulton Street to Summit Street. The Ohio Department of Transportation is set to resurface the stretch in 2020.
Work, which was often delayed due to rain, dragged on from June to December, hassling motorists and homeowners alike. Yet many along the stretch said they know the work was necessary.
Also, the East Livingston Street project involving the complete reconstruction of the thoroughfare from Main Street to the railroad tracks had been planned for this year but was pushed back to 2019 due to higher-than-anticipated material costs and a busy 2018 work season for contractors.
This year saw workers die on the job in Mendon and New Bremen.
On Feb. 16, a Mendon village employee was killed in an industrial accident at the water treatment facility when he reportedly climbed into the bed of a dump truck filled with salt and slipped into the auger.
Officials from the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation investigated the incident and reported four conditions that failed to meet Ohio Public Employment Risk Reduction Program standards.
The village was cited for,
• not establishing a program for servicing and maintaining the dump truck salt auger/spreader.
• allowing an employee to perform maintenance on the salt auger/spreader while it was still running.
• leaving the equipment with a 7 1/2-inch opening unguarded.
• not maintaining incident report forms according to instructions on the forms.
An Ohio BWC official said all the issues have since been corrected.
In August, Crown Equipment employee Travis Temple was struck by a lift truck. St. Marys Fire Chief Doug Ayers had said Temple had been lying on the ground outside the plant on a loading dock and was being treated by factory nurses when the emergency squad arrived.
Although a fatality occurred, an Occupational Safety and Health Administration official said earlier this month no compliance issues had been found. OSHA issued no citations.
Law enforcement engaged in three high-speed car chases over the year.
On Jan. 21, Jason D. Amspaugh, 31, Union City, Ind., was arrested after a police chase in which he reportedly tried to run over a Mercer County Sheriff's detective.
Celina police were called to Bud's Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram on South Main Street to a report of someone looking under the hood of a truck. They spotted a 2011 Dodge pickup that had been seen in the areas of other property crimes in Mercer and surrounding counties. While officers were checking the vehicle, Amspaugh started the truck and accelerated toward Detective Chad Fortkamp who was able to get out of the way.
Amspaugh sped away southbound on Murlin Avenue before crashing into a parked car, crossing Schunck Road and coming to a rest in a ditch. He was arrested and now faces 53 charges, including 35 felony charges, and has pleaded not guilty.
On April 19, Chris Thornton, 39, Phillipsburg, was arrested after reportedly stealing a Jeep from a gas station in St. Marys. After a police officer pursued and Thornton failed to comply with the officer's attempts to stop the vehicle, a two-county chase that reached speed of 80 mph began.
New Bremen police finally deployed stop sticks and brought the vehicle to a halt, ending the pursuit in the 1100 block of Goettemoeller Road. After Thornton was arrested, a juvenile related to him was found to be in the vehicle with him.
Thornton has since pleaded guilty to theft of a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony; fleeing and eluding, a third-degree felony; and child endangering, a first-degree misdemeanor.
On Oct. 12, Lucas Jackson, 37, Toledo, was involved in a crash on Hoenie Road, and when someone stopped to help at the scene, he stole that person's vehicle and led police on a high-speed chase before crashing again along State Route 707.
In dash-cam video taken from Rockford Police Chief Paul May's patrol car, a voice can be heard saying he'd reached 75 mph. East of Erastus-Durbin Road, a flatbed tow truck with its amber lights lit tried to slow down Jackson. Jackson reportedly lost control of the stolen vehicle and made a sudden, sharp right turn, apparently to avoid hitting the tow truck, and went off the road. The stolen vehicle flipped onto its hood and entered a field.
Jackson recently waived his right to a speedy trial. He faces seven felony and three misdemeanor charges.
Correction:
The manure ban in the Grand Lake Watershed is Dec. 15 to March 1. The error was made in reporting.
