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RESS March 10, 2014
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Serving i Th The E Eastern astern t Maumee M Bay Communities Since 1972
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Residents have chance to tell their flood woes By Cynthia L. Jacoby Special to The Press
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The total project may go into the summer, but most of the work will be done within the next two months. Dayne Bihn See page 3
Danny Nelson assists Jordan Blausey, of Oregon, at an exercise class at Vail Meadows. (Press photo by Ken Grosjean)
One year after fire
Oregon’s Vail Meadows still going strong By Melissa Burden Press Contributing Writer news@presspublications.com After surviving the catastrophic loss of beloved animals to a fire, Vail Meadows, located in Oregon, is still working hard to provide much needed services to the community. In the early morning hours of March 21, 2013, the century old 10,000 square foot barn went up in flames. Harley, a retired Toledo Police Mounted Patrol horse, along with Cherokee, Buddy, Roxie, Mary Legs, T.J., Harley, Pusher, Midnight, Taz, and Chico all died in the fire. According to Earnie Dickens, director of Grounds, Events, Horse Boarding, Arena Rental and Public Relations, that night is still very much alive in his memory. “It was every horse owner’s nightmare,” Dickens said. “You feel so helpless when it happens because there is nothing you can do. We were told it was an electrical fire, but we don’t have the exact cause.” Even after the devastation, staff and volunteers at Vail kept the horse therapy program up and running. “We had to keep doing what we do,” Dickens said. “We kept the therapy program going because that is our purpose. We kept focusing on the therapy. I am very
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We just kept plugging along as hard as it was.
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Flooded out in Oak Harbor recently? Here’s a chance to speak your mind. Engineers from Jones & Henry Engineering Toledo office are gathering flooding data from 5-8 p.m., March 13 at Eagle’s Nest Community Hall, 210 Jefferson St., in the village. The engineers are collecting information that’ll be used to persuade the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to approve a short-term solution to the village’s flooding woes related to its combined sewer overflow system. Flooding has intensified over the last two and half years in the wake of problems with the village’s new overflow pond. Village officials hope to get permission soon to open a regulator at Portage Street as well as three or four other sites to relieve stress on the system during heavy rainfalls. The damages to local homes that endanger both health and personal property are likely the key to securing that request to modify the village’s current permit, Dan Miller, a Jones and Henry representative told village council earlier this month. The public meeting will include stations for engineers to meet individually with residents, interim village administrator Randy Genzman said. “I want the engineers to be able to concentrate on the residents and the residents to concentrate on the engineers,” he said. Residents can expect to fill out forms that will ask for name, address, flooding dates, flooding damages and bills incurred. Genzman and wastewater system superintendent Jerry Neff met with Jones & Henry engineers Feb. 27 to discuss proposed solutions, Genzman said. Councilman Jon Fickert wanted to know if the people who had contacted the village about flooding had been personally sent a letter about the meeting. Genzman said they had not but said notices had been sent to all area media about the meeting. Fickert still asked that those people be notified. Genzman agreed to do so. But Sue Rahm said she was aware of
proud that in the midst of tragedy, we kept that program going for our clients. We just kept plugging along as hard as it was.” Dickens said the staff and the Vail family were all overwhelmed by the support and kindness of the community and by strangers. Monetary donations as well as the donation of horses has allowed Vail to continue its programs. “We were surprised,” he said. “It was amazing. The outpouring of support from the community was more than we could ever imagine. It was amazing how much people wanted to support us. It showed us how much Vail is appreciated. We were overwhelmed to say the least.”
Along with monetary donations and donations of saddles, Vail also received hundreds of offers to donate horses. One half of the barn has been rebuilt, Dickens said adding the other half will be completed this spring. “We had hundreds of horses offered to us,” he explained. “Everybody really did have the best of intentions, but not every horse can be used as a therapy horse. We tested many of them.” In the end, after running many horses through testing and classes, Vail now has several new therapy horses as well as Yuma, the lone survivor of that fateful night. “We had seven horses donated to us and one is on loan to us,” Dickens said. “These were calm horses when they were given to us. The horses were trained to become therapy horses. Simba is on loan from the Gentry family, from Gibsonburg, Dickens explained. Foxy came from West Virginia, Red is from Stryker, Klinger and Duke are retired Toledo Mounted Patrol horses and Cheyenne came from Michigan, he said. Vail currently has 35 individuals involved in therapy programs. Riders range in age from 5-60 years old. The therapy sessions can help with many different disabilities including autism, Multiple Sclerosis,
Serious illness raises tough questions. Let our experts help with what’s weighing on your mind. ToughQuestionsStraightAnswers.org © 2014 Hospice of Northwest Ohio
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