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Trustees seek end to sludge By Larry Limpf News Editor news@presspublications.com
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Smiling at S.C.R.A.P
At left, a long parade of tractors heads to White Star Park, Gibsonburg, for the annual S.C.R.A.P. (Sandusky County Restorers of Antique Power) Festival. (Photo courtesy of Amanda Shammo). At right, Sophia Krotzer is all smiles as she rides on a tractor with her dad, Bryant Foos. Sophia was one of the winners in the kiddie tractor pull. (Photo courtesy of Denny Betts www.dennybetts.photo)
Oregonians get to know judicial candidates By Katie Siebenaller Press Staff Writer katiesieb@presspublications.com The Oregon Republican Club held the first-ever Oregon Municipal Judge Candidate Forum Sept. 7 at the Oregon Municipal Complex. Club president Diana Skaff and secretary and treasurer Lynn Gibbs were pleased with the turnout, which included community members, current court staff, and family and supporters of each of the candidates. The club’s goal for the event was to help voters get informed and meet the four candidates for Oregon Municipal Judge ahead of the Nov. 7 election. Attorney Jeff Lydy served as moderator. “I think that you should all be very pleased – I think we have four very qualified people; Whoever wins the election, I think will probably do a great job for Oregon,” he said. The candidates – Scott Winckowski, Lou Kovacs, Anne Brossia and Clint Wasserman – were each given two minutes to answer questions which were pre-selected by the League of Women Voters of Ohio and given to candidates in advance. Questions included topics of knowledge, character and job effectiveness. Part of a city municipal judge’s job is management, including overseeing staff and budget. With cost always being a concern, the candidates were asked how they would reduce costs the court faces. Brossia believes converting to electronic record-keeping and utilizing spe-
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Whoever wins the election, I think will probably do a great job for Oregon.
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A resolution asking the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to cease allowing the application of Class B biosolids on farmland in Lake Township has been approved by the township trustees. The trustees Tuesday unanimously approved the resolution, which states the sludge can run off from fields into creeks and rivers that drain into Lake Erie and exacerbate the lake’s algae problem. Also, the township’s urbanized areas have increased and “are not suited for the original agricultural intent of land application of the biosolids,” the resolution says. “It’s a state-regulated issue but it becomes a local government problem,” Mark Hummer, township administrator, said. The trustees were informed recently by the Ohio EPA that residue from the City of Toledo’s Bayview waste water treatment plant can be applied to a 73-acre field in the township. The field is located on the south side of Ayers Road, east of I-280. The OEPA said it considered the site’s soil type, distance from residences, ground water conditions and proximity to waterways and wells in making its decision to authorize the application of Class B biosolids. The OEPA defines biosolids, which are often reused as fertilizer, as treated solid, semi-solid or liquid residue generated during the treatment of domestic sewage. The biosolids may contain micro-organisms after treatment. Hummer reported to the trustees during their Aug. 1 meeting that a resident adjacent to the field had contacted him with concerns when the application started. The resident claimed he hadn’t been notified prior to the application starting. “He also had some questions about the field’s proximity to Ayers Creek,” Hummer said at the time.
cial online databases for law practitioners could help the court system save money. Kovacs proposed better management of civil cases; making sure they are handled quickly and not left open too long through better scheduling and creating tighter deadlines. Both Winckowski and Wasserman focused on the idea of cutting incarceration costs. Winckowski favors alternatives to jail, such as house arrest and work release programs as a means to cut spending. “The court is a service to the community; it’s not a business,” Wasserman said. “It doesn’t maximize profits that minimize expenses. It protects the community – it’s where the community can go to find justice.” When asked if they believed there’s such a thing as a “victimless” crime, Winckowski, Brossia and Wasserman all answered no. Kovacs, interpreting the question as
asking whether there is “a victim on the other side,” answered yes, giving drug abuse, possession of drugs, underage consumption, and prostitution, among other scenarios as examples. “Somewhere down the line, whether it be shoplifting, drug abuse, drug paraphernalia – somebody suffers, even if it’s not the defendant; somebody’s going to suffer,” Brossia countered. Hate crimes, free speech The candidates were also questioned about hate crimes and the challenge of balancing rights to free speech and controlling offensive activity. Hate crimes cases are typically heard in federal courts, but each candidate agreed that if speech or activities incite violence, speech must be censored. “There is no freedom of speech if the speech poses a danger to the community,” Kovacs said. Upon arrival, audience members could write a question for the candidates, which were read by Lydy after the first round of questions. One audience member asked candidates to address the opioid crisis that’s sweeping Ohio and the rest the nation. Kovacs discussed sentences a judge can carry out in cases of drug addiction, including probation and mandatory treatment for offenders. Having seen patients with drug addictions as a nurse, Brossia said she did not believe these drug offenders should be able Continued on page 2