By SHELLEY GRIESHOP
sgrieshop@dailystandard.com
Maintaining operations with a tight budget appears to be the
biggest worry for candidates seeking seats for clerk and trustee
in the Montezuma, Fort Recovery and St. Henry areas.
Franklin Township
Incumbent Evart Dorsten, who’s held the position of Franklin
Township clerk for 16 years in the township surrounding Montezuma,
is being challenged for the position by Douglas J. Klosterman.
• Dorsten, 72, of 7721 Ohio 219, Celina, is retired and
currently handles the clerk position as a full-time job.
“I’m in good health and I like to stay active, that’s
why I’m running,” Dorsten said. “It also keeps
me abreast of township business.”
Dorsten, a Franklin trustee in 1960, said in the early ’90s
he converted the township’s bookkeeping from a manual
process to the Uniform Accounting Network (UAN). His experience
and training with UAN has led him to train 20 to 30 other township
clerks across Ohio, he said.
Dorsten’s goal as clerk is to work on ongoing zoning issues
and stay within a budget that has been reduced recently by state
cuts.
“So far we’re getting along all right, but we have
to be conservative about it in the next few years,” he
said.
• Klosterman, 31, of 7647 County Road 219A, Celina, said
he will bring his accounting education and experience to the
clerk position. With a degree in accounting and a master’s
degree in business administration, “I have the skills,
talents and qualifications to serve the people,” he said.
“I also have over 10 years of experience in the automotive
industry,” said Klosterman, who is a plant controller
at Federal Mogul Corp. of Van Wert.
Although he’s held no other public office, he does handle
budgeting at the Van Wert plant, he said.
“The biggest problem facing the township is the reduction
of state funding. It’s critical we stretch the tax dollars
and make a more aggressive approach for grants to address the
shortfalls,” Klosterman said.
Gibson Township
Incumbent Don Kahlig is being challenged for the position
of trustee by Ed Link for the Fort Recovery-area township of
Gibson. There appear to be no controversial issues facing the
trustees who currently are working on road widening projects
throughout the township.
• Kahlig, 46, of 611 Union City Road, Fort Recovery, is
in his eighth year as trustee. A private contractor, he said
road widening throughout the township began four years ago and
will continue despite budget cuts.
“We have a lot of things to get done. Some of the road
projects we’re doing ourselves to cut costs,” Kahlig
said, adding that he believes the nature of his occupation is
an asset to the people of Gibson Township.
Zoning issues were solved the last couple years, and Kahlig
said he hopes the voters are happy with his work so far.
• Link, 42, of 1587 Sharpsburg Road, Fort Recovery, believes
the township has been in good hands and wants to protect the
way the finances are handled.
“I think the goal is to get the job done while staying
within the budget,” said Link, a poultry farmer.
Link said he’s never held public office before but would
like to follow in his father’s footsteps. His father,
Aloys Link, was a trustee for Gibson Township in the late ’70s
and early ’80s, he said.
“My goal is to keep Gibson Township a nice place to live
and protect homeowners’ property rights,” he said.
Granville Township
A clerk and trustee seat are both open in Granville Township,
which includes the St. Henry and Burkettsville areas.
Running for clerk are John Dippold and Randy Evers.
• Dippold, 54, 512 Linn St., St. Henry, has held the job
as township clerk for 30 years and loves the involvement with
the community, he said.
“It really is something I enjoy,” said Dippold,
who operates a print press at R&R Fabrications Inc. of St.
Henry.
Dippold also said he is up to the challenge of facing the state
budget cuts that face all local townships.
“I hope the voters support me for another four years,”
he said.
• Evers, 40, has never held public office before but would
like to try his hand as clerk, he said. His experience as a
real estate broker and auctioneer will help him fill the position,
he said.
“I’ve worked with the trustees on land leases, notarizing
documents and building regulations, and I think it will be interesting,”
said Evers, of 672 Dorothy Lane, St. Henry.
Evers said he feels things are running pretty smoothly in Granville
Township, which has the “best trustees in the state,”
he added.
Running for trustee are newcomers Linus Clune and Thomas Schwieterman.
Whoever wins the seat will replace retiring trustee Dennis Schwieterman.
• Clune, 65, of 2841 Ohio 118, St. Henry, said he’ll
be retiring soon as an equipment operator for Matt Schwiet-erman
& Sons, Coldwater, and will have a “lot of time on
my hands.”
“I really would like to just keep up what’s been
started and work on improving bridges and widening roads,”
said Clune, who also is a farmer.
Clune said he lost a bid for trustee two years ago but decided
to run again. His experience of more than 40 years in road and
sewer construction will help in maintaining roads and side ditches
throughout the township, he said.
• Schwieterman, 57, of 81 Jefferson St., Burkettsville,
was a zoning inspector for three years in Granville Township.
His interest in the position of trustee is to maintain the good
work completed so far, he said.
“I have no axe to grind,” he said chuckling. “I’m
just interested in the well-being of the township.”
The current trustees have “done an outstanding job,”
he added.
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