P
The
Since 1972
Clay on top of game See Sports
Woodmore to pay $29K in settlement
RESS September 28, 2015
FREE
Serving More Than h 33 33,000 000 H Homes & B Businesses i iin 4 C Counties ti
Eagles-Cats Game of Week See Sports M
By Larry Limpf News Editor news@presspublications.com
Continued on page 2
Q
uote
of The Week
Don’t complain. Don’t whine. Don’t make excuses. Bryan Golden See page 10
Jazz it up
Reggie Page, of the group 496 West, took his sax to the audience at the Great Lakes Art and Jazz Festival held last Saturday on the grounds of the National Museum of the Great Lakes. (Press photo by Ken Grosjean)
Lake Twp., Northwood affected
Northwestern Water district issues advisory By Larry Limpf News Editor news@presspublications.com It’s almost becoming a quarterly ritual for residents living in the eastern half of the City of Northwood and in Lake Township, including the Village of Millbury; notices arrive from the Northwestern Water & Sewer District advising them the allowable levels of a disinfectant by-product have been exceeded. Notices were distributed earlier this month to consumers along the district’s waterline 200, which is linked to the City of Oregon’ s distribution system. The advisory informs consumers the average level of trihalomethanes during the four quarters prior to the July 1 – Sept. 30, 2015 monitoring period was 0.10 mg/L (milligrams per liter). The allowable standard for TTHM is 0.08 mg/L. The average level over the four quarters preceding the April 1 – June 30 2015 monitoring was 0.086 mg/L and the average during four quarters prior to the Jan. 1 – March 31 monitoring was 0.092 mg/L. Environmental Protection Agency rules require informing the public each quarter of the rolling average for the prior year, Dan Wickard, the district’s superintendent, said.
“
As they do one thing it causes something else to happen. Every third quarter is when we hit the high numbers.
“
Members of the Woodmore school board agreed Tuesday by a 4-1 vote to a payment of $29,000 to Cara Brown, a Woodville resident, who filed a lawsuit alleging the board repeatedly violated Ohio’s open records and meeting laws. A settlement was reached in July by mediation in Ottawa County Common Pleas Court. Board president Steve Huss cast the sole no vote. In addition to the payment, the board has undergone a training session by the Ohio School Boards Association and OSBA will monitor future board meetings. Jeff Chambers, a spokesman for the OSBA, said two staff members of the association were present at Tuesday’s meeting. A settlement agreement signed by Brown states OSBA will attend Woodmore board meetings until the OSBA determines the board: • Has prepared adequate agendas for its meetings. • Has prepared and provided sufficiently detailed minutes of meetings. • Has provided reasonable notice for scheduled board and committee meetings as well as work sessions or organizational meetings. • Has prepared agendas and minutes for committee meetings. • If applicable, has not appeared to discuss or deliberated privately in advance of a meeting unless in accordance with an appropriately-conducted executive session. On Thursday, Brown said she was satisfied with the resolution of her complaint. “As long as the board is making progress so that the entire district can move forward then that is satisfaction,” she said. “For me the long-term goal was to keep the board progressing. Public money means public business conducted in open meetings.” During Tuesday’s meeting, Corinna Bench, a board member, said she’s reviewed the board’s policies and said mem-
He said the warmer summer temperatures create the conditions for harmful algal blooms and other problems. “The (Oregon) water plant has to increase chemicals such as chlorine which can kill the algal bloom but as a by-product we can still get organics that come through the plant. When they react with the chlorine that’s what produces the TTHM,” Wickard said. “As they do one thing it causes something else to happen. Every third quarter is when we hit the high numbers. The following quarters may be lower but the rolling average isn’t below the threshold.” According to the City of Oregon web-
site, the city is investing in an ozone treatment process that will allow it to remove and treat for organics with much less chlorine. The upgrade is expected to be completed early in 2017. “They’re working out the process to put in some high level treatment that will take care of both the algal bloom and TTHM problems,” Wickard said. “We’re very confident in what they’re going to do.” The notices state that the TTHM levels don’t pose an immediate health risk but advise anyone with specific health concerns to consult their doctor. Long-term consumption – “over many years” – may result in liver, kidney or central nervous system problems and an increased risk of cancer, the notices say. “You have to have a chlorine residual to make sure the water is disinfected and you don’t have bacteria of fecal material present,” Wickard said, adding the district is conducting maintenance efforts such as flushing to keep fresher water in the system. “The longer the chlorine has contact with the organics the more TTHM is likely to be created,” he said. “So if we do more flushing we can try to reduce that long detention time.” According to the federal EPA website, Continued on page 2