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RESS September 10, 2018
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Serving More Than h 33 33,000 000 H Homes & B Businesses i iin 4 C Counties ti
• Cardinal Stritch • Clay • Eastwood • Genoa • Gibsonburg • Lake • Northwood • Oak Harbor • Waite • Woodmore
Dream Home Winners See Health A supplement to The Press Newspapers December 4, 2017
Jacob Plantz Cover photo: Genoa junior guard by Russ Lytle) p ((Press file photo
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By Larry Limpf News Editor news@presspublications.com
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Oil Barrel Trophy Smoker
No matter who won Friday's game, Wednesday's Oil Barrel Trophy Smoker at Bayside Boardwalk drew 150 fans celebrating the Waite-Clay football rivalry. At top left, Clay coach John Galyas (left) and Waite coach Brian Lee play "triangle football" with the winner getting half of $502 in 50/50 money donated to their athletic department. Lee won, 18-14. At top right, flanked by host and Clay assistant coach Troy McLaughlin, Waite athletic director Cris Lorton sings the Clay fight song because Clay won last year's game. Coaches Galyas and Lee show sportsmanship at left, Press Sports Editor J. Patrick Eaken was the keynote speaker. (Press photos by Harold Hamilton/ HEHsmugmug.com)
Oregon
Ozone treatment ensures safe water By Kelly J. Kaczala News Editor kkaczala@presspublications.com Oregon water customers may notice improvements now that the city has completed its $15 million Harmful Algal Bloom infrastructure project, which will prevent toxins from getting into the water supply. “Everything is pretty much done,” Public Service Director Paul Roman told The Press last week. “I think things worked out great. We’re in pretty good shape. We’re very well prepared for anything now.” The ozone treatment of water promises to be very effective in treating microcystin, the toxic algae that caused a two day tap water ban in Toledo in 2014. Ozone treatment will also improve disinfection and treatment of other organics, as well as lower disinfection byproducts from chlorination, which will have the added benefit of improving the taste of drinking water. Though Oregon was not affected by the microcystin that shut down Toledo’s tap water, it has taken a very proactive approach to improving water quality in the last several years.
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That was easily a $5 million savings in interest for the city.
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The Woodmore school board will invite a member of the state legislature to the board’s October meeting to discuss the tax ramifications the Nexus pipeline will have on the school district, board president Sean Rizor, said Thursday. Rizor said the board is seeking more information about how much tax revenues the district will receive once the pipeline is operating; but board members are also concerned districts along the pipeline route will have their revenues from the pipeline offset by a reduction in state funding. “What we’re really focused on is what will happen once we get those funds. What we’re hearing is we as a school district, or any entity affected by the pipeline, once the funds start coming in will be reduced in funding from the state,” Rizor said. “It will probably happen in the next biennium budget after we start receiving the funds. We’ve had some people up in arms about us not discussing Nexus but there is not much to discuss because we haven’t been given documentation that says definitively what we’re going to get.” He said an invitation will be sent to State Senator Randy Gardner. In a 2016 report, Public Finance Resources estimates Woodmore schools will receive about $5.3 million over five years from the pipeline. A valuation of the pipeline, on which property taxes would be based, could also be challenged by the company in court, Rizor said. Jason Mumma, of the Ohio Department of Taxation, told The Press in May that 2020 would likely be the earliest districts receive tax revenues from the pipeline. “If the Nexus pipeline is placed in service this year (2018), initial tax revenues collected and disbursed by the county to the school districts will occur in February 2020, as based upon the assessed values we will certify in October of 2019. We do not know what the valuation will be until the company files the annual report with us, and the earliest that will be is a year from
The project consists of applying ozone to settled water and modifying filters for Biologic Active Filtration (BAF). Ozone breaks up contaminants into very small particles, which are so small that the city’s filtration system was not enough to properly remove those contaminants from the water. BAF, which goes hand in hand with ozone, is the use of natural microorganisms that removes the contaminants and further oxidizes and removes material from the water. Less chlorine Ozone treatment also allows lower
Trihalomethanes (TMHs), a byproduct of chlorine, which is used to disinfect the water. Some studies have shown TMHs, in higher concentrations, can cause adverse health effects, including cancer. “It’s another benefit,” said Roman. “We don’t have to use so much chlorine. We’re using less of it. We have less byproduct. We noticed those concentrations have dropped quite a bit. Another benefit is that taste and odor have improved. I think people already have noticed a difference in taste. It’s a better product. It was safe the way we treated it before, but now it’s even better.” The city received a $1.6 million grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission to help fund the project. A zero percent loan from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency funded the remainder, said Roman. “That was easily a $5 million savings in interest for the city,” he said. Expansion The city is also considering expanding the water treatment plant to provide for future commercial and industrial developContinued on page 2