The Daily Standard
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CELINA - Mercer County Common Pleas Court will increase the availability and use of hand sanitizers and increase efforts to disinfect hard surfaces.
Personal attendance for court proceedings will be decreased in favor of proceedings done via telecommunication, including video proceedings done in partnership with the Mercer County jail for on-record proceedings.
Jury trials for civil and criminal cases will be continued on a case-by-case basis.
"During this public health emergency, the court believes it is necessary to maintain services to our citizens and provide them continuing access to justice through our court," common pleas court judge Jeffrey Ingraham said in a statement. "The court will entertain any reasonable requests for alternatives to maintain that end on a case-by-case basis."
Members of the public are still able to attend court proceedings, but they are asked to follow the 6-foot social distancing rule at this time.
The United Way of Auglaize County has announced the following changes to services in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
Residents of Minster and New Bremen school districts should call the school directly to learn of pickup locations. St. Marys weekly pickups are from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at Agape Ministries. The daily schedule in St. Marys was in Monday's Daily Standard.
The following agencies/events are continuing as scheduled:
• Agape Ministries - pantry days will continue on Tuesdays and Thursdays with additional hours on Saturdays
• Auglaize County Council on Aging - prescription meals and necessary trips to doctors will continue as scheduled. Plans are being made for additional meal and grocery deliveries.
• Mercy Unlimited - pantry services will continue as scheduled.
The museum will be closed to the public until further notice. The March 25 setup meeting and the March 29 New Idea exhibit have been canceled.
The library will be closed until April 6. Patrons are asked to visit stmarys.lib.oh.us or the library's Facebook page for updates. Staff continue to work behind the scenes to serve the community.
Staff can be reached by phone from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at 419-394-7471, email at stmaryshelp@seolibraries.org or the library's Facebook page to help with any questions or other needs.
Online research databases continue to be available 24/7 on the library's website. Databases cover everything from health to automobile repair, hobbies to home improvement, World Book encyclopedias to learning foreign languages.
EBooks and other digital materials are available online and may be downloaded to devices in spite of library closures.
The library's Wi-Fi service is accessible just outside the building. The city has provided picnic tables in front of the library for patrons to use.
Staff encourage patrons to explore lynda.com during this time. This database provides more than 6,600 free online courses. Learning paths are step-by-step structured courses, supported with quizzes, practice and learning reminders to encourage and support people as they make progress toward their goal.
The library book return remains open. However, overdue books are never fined, and due dates have been extended through the closure.
The PUCO today issued an order directing Ohio's competitive natural gas and electric providers to halt door-to-door and in-person marketing to avoid unnecessary social contact.
Customers of PUCO-regulated electric and natural-gas utilities continue to have the option to enroll with a competitive supplier of their choosing. The PUCO maintains its energy choice website at energychoice.ohio.gov to allow customers to compare offers from competitive suppliers.
Utility customers who have questions or concerns regarding their utility service are encouraged to contact the PUCO online at PUCO.ohio.gov/contact-us.
All local Social Security offices are closed to the public for in-person service. However, employees are still able to provide critical services.
Online services remain available at socialsecurity.gov. Local offices will also continue to provide services over the phone. The agency is working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state and local governments and other experts to monitor COVID-19 and will notify the public as soon as they can resume in-person service.
For help from Social Security, visit socialsecurity.gov/onlineservices. People can apply for retirement, disability and Medicare benefits online, check the status of an application or appeal, request a replacement Social Security card (in most areas), print a benefit verification letter and much more. People also can visit the online Frequently Asked Questions page at socialsecurity.gov/ask for answers to the most common questions.
People who cannot conduct their Social Security business online can visit the "field office locator" on the site for specific information on how to directly contact a local office. The local office still will be able to provide critical services to help people apply for benefits, answer their questions and provide other services over the phone.
Those who already have an in-office appointment scheduled will receive a call from the office to conduct the meeting over the phone.
People with a hearing scheduled also will receive a phone call to discuss alternatives. The call may come from a private number and not from a U.S. government phone. People are urged to remember that Social Security employees will not threaten or ask for any form of payment.
Those who cannot complete their Social Security business online should call the national number, 800-772-1213 (TTY 800-325-0778). This number has many automated service options people can use without waiting to speak with a representative. A list of automated telephone services is available online at socialsecurity.gov/agency/contact/phone.html.
CALL Ministries' new hours until further notice are noon-4 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The organization will operate as a drive-thru and will have volunteers meeting customers at their vehicles.
Additionally, only monetary donations will be accepted at this time. No donated items of any kind will be accepted until further notice.
Ketcham-Ripley's family of funeral homes will operate 24 hours a day.
Gov. Mike Dewine on Tuesday outlined recommendations for funeral homes in limiting attendance to visitations and funerals to immediate family only. Ketcham-Ripley will abide by these recommendations.
The funeral homes will provide live and/or recorded webcasting of all funerals on their websites - alspachgearhart.com and ketchamripley.com. Condolences may be expressed at these websites.
