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Kovacs wins judge seat By Kelly J. Kaczala News Editor kkaczala@presspublications.com Louis S. Kovacs beat three contenders on Tuesday to become the new municipal court judge in Oregon. He replaces Oregon Municipal Court Judge Jeffrey B. Keller, who is retiring. Kovacs, according to unofficial results from the Lucas County Board of Elections, won with 2,478 votes, followed by Clinton J. Wasserman, who had 2,038 votes, Anne M. Brossia, with 699 votes, and Scott A. Winckowski, with 613 votes. On Wednesday following the election, Kovacs, who lives in Jerusalem Township, attributed his win to his extensive legal experience, as an acting judge, who has all the powers, duties and responsibilities of a judge. “The message we were trying to send is that I have had 29 years of legal experience as an attorney, and 12 years as an acting judge,” he told The Press. “It apparently resonated with a lot of people.” He received his law degree from the University of Toledo in 1988. He then became an assistant prosecutor in Defiance County. Kovacs has been employed with Gallon, Takacs, Boissoneault & Schaffer since 1989 as a general practice attorney, specializing in criminal, traffic defense, domestic relations, and consumer bankruptcy law. Since 2005, he has been an acting judge in the Oregon Municipal Court, serving under both Judge Ronald Z. Petroff and Judge Keller. “I’m still an attorney until I’m sworn
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Of all the fears, fear of failure tends to be one of the most limiting. Bryan Golden See page 10
in as municipal court judge in January,” he said, adding that he is “very much” looking forward to his new position. Once he becomes judge, he is required to leave employment at Gallon, Takacs, Boissoneault & Schaffer. “I’m giving my practice up. I can’t practice law when I become a full-time judge,” he said. New trustee There was an upset in Jerusalem Township with newcomer Beau Miller beating Ronald J. Sheahan, one of two incumbents who were running for re-election. Township Trustee David Bench, 67, was the top vote getter with 637 votes. He is a self-employed farmer with Bench Farms. Miller came in second with 360 votes, followed by former clerk-treasurer Julie A. VanNest at 337 votes. Sheahan came in last with 272 votes. Miller, 36, attributed his win to some residents saying they felt ignored by trustees. “When I was campaigning, many people said there really was no communication with the trustees. I think they want someone to talk to, to answer their questions and work with and for them,” he said. “They want a phone call back when they have questions. People said they weren’t getting calls returned. A lot of people said that.” He said Bench is one of the most popular trustees in the township. “Dave gets the ball rolling on a lot of projects,” said Miller. “He takes the bull by the horns and runs with it.” Miller said he was surprised he beat Sheahan, since he has never before run for public office. “It’s been very humbling to win. It was a total shock on the night of the election. Some people said they knew I would win. But I couldn’t tell who voters were leaning toward,” he said. Miller has been a member of the Jerusalem Township Fire Department and dive team for 13 years. He is partner/owner of Ottawa Products Company in the township. Uncontested races Incumbents in the Metro Press area who Continued on page 2
Penta to host open house
Eastwood High School students Kaylee Dudley, left, and Stephanie Brockschmidt work with poinsettias at the Penta Career Center greenhouse. The two are students in the Floral Design/Greenhouse Production Program. Penta's "Petals and Flowers," a flower and gift shop operated by students, will host a Holiday Open House on November 16 from 9:00am-7:00pm, and November 17 from 9:00am4:00pm. For more information about the holiday open house call Carrie Grames at 419-661-6344. (Press photo by Ken Grosjean)
Soil from Luckey clean-up not going to local landfill By Larry Limpf News Editor news@presspublications.com At least one waste stream from the clean-up project at the former Brush Beryllium plant site near the Village of Luckey won’t be disposed at the Evergreen landfill in Northwood In a project update, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it would not dispose of soils from the plant site at the landfill, which is operated by Waste Management. Arleen K. Kreusch, a spokesperson for the Corps’ environmental project management team, said the decision was made af-
ter a “thorough evaluation.” The Evergreen facility was one of two disposal sites the Corps had been considering for disposal as soils and other contaminated materials are removed during the project; the other site, the U.S. Ecology Wayne Disposal Facility, Belleville, Mich., received approval from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to receive soils. Kreusch said some soil and materials have already been transported to the Michigan facility. “We completed removing several non-hazardous soil and debris stockpiles from the (Luckey) site,” she said. “These materials were safely shipped and disposed
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at U.S. Ecology Michigan. We began limited excavation of lead-contaminated soils to support site setup activities. The soils are being transported to the U.S. Ecology facility by trucks hauling lined dump trailers. The soils will be treated at the facility before they are placed in the landfill.” The Corps in 2015 contracted with Portage, Inc., a company based in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to be the prime contractor for the clean-up project. The site is a former beryllium production facility the Atomic Energy Commission operated in the 1950s as part of the national defense program. The Corps has identified soils contam-
inated with beryllium, lead, radium-226, thorium-230, uranium-234 and uranium-238 for removal. The 40-acre L-shaped parcel includes several trenches, lagoons and waste areas where solutions and sludge from the operation were stored, as well as manufacturing facilities, warehouses and utility buildings. Forum cancelled A public forum scheduled for Nov. 14 to discuss the clean-up project has been cancelled. The forum was to be held in the auditorium at the Northwood schools complex but was cancelled by Mayor Ed Schimmel.
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