NEWS RELEASE
DEFIANCE
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2012
The Board of
Russ Herman, Defiance County Assistant Prosecutor, met with the
Commissioners for an update on various pending legal matters.
The Commissioners met in General Session and approved and signed
various resolutions, contracts and documents.
The Commissioners also reviewed the calendar of events and discussed
upcoming meetings.
Warren Schlatter,
Defiance County Engineer, met with the Commissioners for the bid opening for 2012
Microsurfacing. The Engineer’s Estimate was $46,838.50. The following bids were
received: Roadway Services, Inc. - $65,541.80; DG Slurry Seal of Toledo, Inc. -
$43,838.25; American Pavement, Inc. - $44,592.15; Strawser
Construction, Inc. - $64,219.37. The Commissioners took the bids under
advisement and will award at a later date.
Larry Woods, First
Insurance and Investments, and John Brownlee, CORSA, met with the Commissioners
to discuss the CORSA renewal.
Greg Reinhart,
Defiance County Wastewater Operations Director, met with the Commissioners for
an update. Greg reported the following repairs: new breakers installed at the
Christy Meadows pump station; installed new heater at DMP pump station; cleaned
pumps out at Christy Meadows; greased and oiled all plants and pump stations;
programmed new auto dialer at Express Sewer pump station; replaced coupler at
Middle Gordon Creek on blower line. In March there was $59,178.94 billed out,
$77,007.36 collected, and $49,942.24 in expenses.
Bruce Clevenger
and Teresa Johnson, Defiance County Ohio State Extension, met with the
Commissioners for an update.
Ag Natural Sciences: A Farm
Drainage workshop was attended by 85 participants reaching over 30,000 acres of
cropland. Controlled Drainage is currently installed on 4.4% of the
participants' cropland and an additional 25% of their cropland could adopt controlled
drainage. The Ag Educator taught Ohio Livestock Care Standards (OLCS) to 35
members of the Tri-State Dairy Goat Association. Thirty eight area farmers
recertified their Private Pesticide Applicators License by attending a Defiance
County training session. Over 170 farmers are licensed in Defiance County and must
obtain 3 hours of recertification every three years. The Impact of Water
Quality on Pesticide Performance is critical for agricultural producers. The Ag
Educator taught over 230 farmers how important water pH and hardness is when
applying pesticides. Computerized farm recordkeeping workshop with Quicken® was
attended by 37 farmers. During January, February and March, over 140 phone
calls and/or personal visits were made to the county agriculture/natural resources
educator and staff. The Defiance County Master Gardener organization is
offering a $1000.00 one-time college scholarship. Applicants must have declared
a major in Agriculture or an Agricultural related field and have completed two years
of undergraduate studies. Applications are due July 1, 2012 and available at: http://defiance.osu.edu/.
Family Nutrition: The Family
Nutrition Program presented 103 educational sessions with 456 participants
attending the first quarter 2012. Topics included: When In Doubt: Throw It Out,
Are You a Safe Cook?, Growth of a Germ, and USDA
Choose MyPlate.
4-H Youth
Development: The 4-H Educator made a presentation to 65 individuals at the
Ohio Fair Manager's Conference in January on "Cowboy Ethics. Participants learned
what the 10 principles of the cowboy code of ethics called the "Code of
the West". Presentation was based on the book Cowboy Ethics: What Wall
Street Can Learn from the Code of the West by James P. Owen. 4-H was promoted
by the Annual 4-H Mall Show at the Northtowne Mall in Defiance. Over
seventy-five 4-H projects were on display. The 4-H Teen Leaders made
presentations to every 3rd grade class in Defiance County and dropped off
promotional materials to all county 3-5th grades. Our current 4-H enrollment
for 2012 has leaped to 603 youth members. This is up 35 members from 2011. 4-H
After School Robotics Program continues at Holy Cross Catholic School utilizing
the 4-H Robotics equipment. This year 12 students participated in the program. In
order to conduct a safe and educational camping experience for Defiance County
4-H campers ages 8-14, teens must receive comprehensive training and
participate in planning the camp program. 136 teen counselors from NW Ohio
participated in a full day of direct instruction. 23 Defiance County 4-H camp
counselors received additional training the night before in at a Lock-In with
Williams County camp counselors. The Defiance County 4-H Educator was
responsible for the Rookie 101 session where 74 first year camp counselors
participated. Defiance County 4-H 2012
Award Recipients-- Silver Tray Winners: Abigail Friend & Kaitlyn
Rethmel; 4-H Endowment College
Scholarships: Kaitlyn Rethmel, Ryan Singer & Megan Wiles; Ohio 4-H Ambassador: Gabrielle Friend
& Abigail Friend.
Sandra Schappert,
Defiance County Child Support Enforcement Agency Director, met with the
Commissioners for an update. Sandra reported 73 Court or Administrative
Hearings (Jan-March), 40 paternities, 102 Interstate actions and 22 genetic
testing. Collections through March 2012 were $1,753,712.00 with a caseload of
2,919 compared to $1,846,022.00 with a caseload of 3,104 for March 2011.
Through March 2012 there were $181,963.36 in Expenditures and $35,676.82 in Administrative
fees.
Rick Weaver,
Poggemeyer Design Group, met with the Commissioners to discuss the Auglaize
River Sewer Project.
The Commissioners
held an Elected Officials’ meeting.
Release Approved: ____________________________________________________
Thomas
L. Kime, Defiance County Commissioner