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RESS May 12, 2014
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Serving i Th The E Eastern astern t Maumee M Bay Communities Since 1972
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Oregon
Union ordered to leave
Birders are here
Charlie Kahr, San Diego, California; Larry Gersbach, Hamilton, Ohio; and Bill Wilson, Oxford, Ohio spotted Warblers, Hawks, and Bald Eagles along the boardwalk at Maumee Bay State Park.
By Kelly J. Kaczala Press News Editor kkaczala@presspublications.com
Hundreds of birders, volunteers, and visitors came to the lodge at Maumee Bay State Park for the opening day of the Biggest Week in American Birding. Bottom left, township trustee Joe Kiss, left, proclaimed May 6-15 as birding week in Jerusalem Township. With him is Jim Zehringer, Deputy Director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Zehringer was also a guest speaker at the event. Bottom right, Kimberly Kaufman, Executive Director of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory, welcomed birders and thanked volunteers. (Press photos by Ken Grosjean)
Oak Harbor
EPA gives OK for sewer system relief State environmental officials, swayed by Oak Harbor’s plea for help, agreed to temporary regulation changes to relieve sewer system flooding while a long-term solution is sought. “They have given us the OK for everything we wanted plus some,” Mayor Bill Eberle told village council at its regular meeting Monday. “I was very pleased with Jones & Henry.” Eberle accompanied engineers to the April 23 meeting with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s Bowling Green office staff along with Interim Administrator Randy Genzman, Village Solicitor Jim Barney and Wastewater System Supervisor Jerry Neff. “I don’t want to say I was shocked but I was very excited,” Genzman said about the almost immediate results of the visit. For more than two years, the village has been battling to reduce sewer backups triggered by heavy rains. The problem is linked to a faulty combined sewer system overflow pond that council has been pouring repair money into for months. Last fall, council fired the engineer-
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I don’t want to say I was shocked but I was very excited.
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By Cynthia L. Jacoby Special to The Press
ing firm, Poggemeyer Design Group, and pinned its hopes on the Toledo office of Jones & Henry Engineering instead. Shortly after the Jones & Henry presentation, EPA officials gave Oak Harbor permission to open two more system regulator valves at the Portage Fire District station and at Church Street, Genzman told council. The presentation included information gathered in March from residents about the damage and health issues created by sewer water pouring into their basements and yards – in some cases repeatedly. “They also directed us to design a permanent combined sewer overflow point at the basin,” Genzman explained to council.
“We wanted that from the beginning.” A few weeks prior, the EPA had already given approval to re-open a regulator valve at Portage Street to allow overflow into the nearby Portage River. Officials had tried to get permission for months. That project, for which the village hired Castalia Trenching and Ready Mix, began May 5 and should be complete within a few days, Genzman said. Village leaders have said that opening the valves will not solve the problem completely. However, the re-openings will relieve a lot of stress on the system and reduce flooding while the search continues for a permanent fix. Councilwoman Sue Rahm wanted to know the cost for opening the other two valves. “Will the opening costs be the same?” she asked. Estimates will be sought immediately for the other two openings and, hopefully, they may come in lower than the $6,300 Portage Street CSO project, Genzman said. Some of the work may be done by village workers, the mayor said. Councilman Jim Seaman wanted to know what effect the Church Street regulator re-opening and others would have on
The Oregon school board has informed the Oregon City Federation of Teachers to vacate its office in the Wynn Center, owned by the school district, because the board never approved its lease. Dave Shafer, president of the Oregon City Federation of Teachers, told the board at a meeting last month that he received an email from Dean Sandwisch, the district’s director of business affairs, after Easter vacation requesting the teachers’ union leave the premises. Shafer said the group had been paying $100 per month to the district to lease the space. “I asked Mr. Sandwisch before the meeting if we’ve been bad tenants, if we have not paid our bills, if there is a problem, if there is something we can do, is there a reason we’re not having any discussion before we’re being asked to vacate the premises?” said Shafer. “I’m a little bit concerned. I think we have been good tenants, we have paid our rent. I guess I just wanted to know what was the rationale behind asking us to vacate that facility. To my knowledge, it’s not full. There’s space. And we are paying customers. There’s been no talk of negotiating a higher rate.” “I can answer that,” said Board President P.J. Kapfhammer. “You’re paying $100 per month. You’re not paying rent. Based on the space you’re using, if you can find anything comparable, I’d like to know where it’s at in this town. You can’t rent any kind of space for $100.” “We weren’t ever approached to pay more,” said Shafer. “Well, I look back and I don’t even know how this deal came about because it’s never been board approved that we can find,” said Kapfhammer. “Are all the tenants approved at the Wynn Center?” asked Shafer. “I don’t know,“ said Kapfhammer. “I
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