NEWS
RELEASE
DEFIANCE
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2014
The Board of Defiance County Commissioners met in regular session at 8:30
a.m. on Thursday, July 10, 2014 in the Conference Room in the Commissioners’
Office at 500 Court Street, Suite A, Defiance, Ohio
43512. Chairman Otto L. Nicely called the meeting to
order. Also present were Commissioners Thomas L. Kime and James E. Harris,
Jr., Sherry Carnahan, Finance Manager/Administrator, and Stephanie Metz, Clerk.
The Commissioners met in General Session and approved and signed
various resolutions, contracts and documents. The Commissioners also reviewed
the calendar of events and discussed upcoming meetings.
The safety of the users of Defiance County public buildings is a high priority to the Board of Commissioners. The presence of animals in public buildings may cause an allergy, hygiene or other safety concerns. To help eliminate these concerns in Defiance County public buildings, the Commissioners passed a resolution to adopt the following policy - “No animals shall be permitted inside any building owned and maintained by the Defiance County Commissioners. Effective immediately, service animals are permitted in county buildings when accompanied by the animal’s owner. “Service animals” are domestic animals whose sole purpose is to assist the owner with a medically recognized disability. Animals may also be brought into county building by an authorized police department’s K-9 Unit and the Defiance County Dog Warden’s Office.”
Sherry Carnahan,
Finance Manager/Administrator, met with the Commissioners to provide her
monthly update.
Bruce Clevenger
and Teresa Johnson, Defiance County OSU Extension, met with the Commissioners
to provide a quarterly update.
Agriculture/Natural Resources:
·
A new field crop insect
pest has been identified and confirmed in Defiance County – the Asiatic Garden
Beetle (AGB). AGB is white grub that typically feeds on roots of turfgrass on
golf courses; however AGB has been found feeding on grass type field crops such
as corn and wheat. Plant populations of field and sweet corn can be reduced or
stunted during emergence through approximately V5 growth stage. Fields that
have been found with AGB are sandy fields or ridges in fields. AGB white grubs
pupate into a beetle similar to a May/June Beetle or a Japanese Beetle. OSU
Extension and OARDC is currently conducting field research to establish control
strategies. AGB in field corn is not wide spread throughout Ohio, only a few NW
Ohio counties.
·
The Defiance County
Master Gardener Volunteers hosted a plant sale in May and an eight-stop Garden
Tour in June. They offered education and advice on the use and installation of
the plants. Funds raised by MG events support the MG/OSU Extension college
scholarship. The $1,000 scholarship is awarded to a student that has completed
two years of college and is pursuing an agriculture/horticulture related
degree. The 2014 application deadline is September 1.
·
The 2014 class of Master
Gardeners have completed their 50 hours of horticultural training. Sixteen
intern Master Gardeners each volunteer 50 hours of community service to become
certified. Master Gardeners and office staff answered over 45 phone calls or
personal visits made to the OSU Extension office from residence seeking
horticultural information and recommendations.
·
The Defiance County
Farmers Markets began May 3rd following a winter vendors' meeting supported by
OSU Extension. Market is open in Defiance on Tuesdays 2-6pm, Thursdays 11-3 pm
and Saturdays 9-1 pm, and Hicksville Tuesdays 7:30-11:30am and Saturday 8-12.
Markets continue through November 1st.
·
During April, May, and
June, more than 140 phone calls and/or personal visits were made to the county
agriculture/natural resources educator. These calls were requesting information
on crop and livestock production, horticulture, pond management and/or farm
management.
SNAP Ed:
·
The SNAP Ed Program
presented 44 educational sessions with 533 participants attending.
·
Topics included: Food
Safety, Think Drink, Eat a Rainbow, Fruit & Veggie
Train, and The Power of Protein.
·
With Think Drink,
participants measured out the amount of sugar in various drinks. Participants
were surprised at the amount and agreed that water is the best drink.
4-H Youth Development:
·
The 4-H Educator
developed and conducted six Quality Assurance programs for 421 FFA & 4-H
Youth and 6 Senior Fairboard Livestock Committee members. Three additional
Horse Rule Sessions and Quality Assurance sessions were conducted for 46 youth
and their parents. The Educator also trained two volunteers who conducted an
additional three sessions. These educational programs are for youth livestock
exhibitors and addresses the 10 Good Production Practices (GPPs) and involve
interactive activities that reinforce at least 3 GPPs. Exhibitors must
understand that they are responsible for the health and well-being of their
project livestock even if someone else is caring for the animal at various
points in time. These youth are producers and must ensure that their animal
enters the food chain as a quality product.
·
The 4-H Educator
coordinated project related workshops and day camps. The following sessions
were offered ....Fairview Elementary at
4-H Camp Palmer - The 4-H Educator facilitated a two day field trip for the
Fairview Kindergarten classes for a total of 94 youth. This included a nature
craft, leading camp songs and also teaching camp line dances. 4-H Officer and Advisor Training - 89
youth and 8 adult volunteers received training regarding their specific role as
an advisor or 4-H club officer/advisor. The Defiance County 4-H Advisory
Council members and 4-H Teen Leaders conducted the officer training. The
Fairview FFA Officer team conducted a Parliamentary Procedure demonstration for
all of the youth. Cloverbud Day Camp
- This day camp was conducted at Diehl Park where 17 Cloverbuds received
astronaut training and learned about our solar system. Seven camp counselors
provided additional support. Clothing
and Food Project Workshop - The 4-H Educator worked with the Fashion and
Nutrition Board in providing educational information related to project
completion and judging for the clothing and food projects. 34 youth attended
the sessions.
·
Real Money, Real World - This is an active
hands-on experience that gives young people the opportunity to make lifestyle
and budget choices similar as those of an adult. The curriculum builds
awareness of the connection between education, occupation, income and financial
choices. This program utilizes 15 business and professional volunteers from the
community in providing the real life simulation experience. Defiance County
conducts this program in Tinora and Hicksville School systems. Ayersville will
start the program in the fall.
·
Recently 58 girls
ranging from first to fifth grades attended 4-H Cowgirl Princess Camp. The
sixth annual Princess Camp was hosted by four OSU 4-H Extension Professionals.
Teresa Johnson, Defiance County, Laura Rohlf, Henry County, Staci Hiler,
Paulding County and Jill Stechschulte, Fulton County who planned, organized and
conducted the event held at 4-H Camp Palmer, Fayette, Ohio on May 17th.
The focus of the program included lessons on self-esteem, self-confidence,
table manners and etiquette. Activities included making horse shoe crafts,
leather coin purses, rodeo games, a barn dance, and tea party. The day ended
with a very special Princess Graduation Ceremony where participants were
presented with a certificate and embroidered Cowgirl Camp napkin. The Guest
Speaker was Susan Hill Pieper, an accomplished horsewoman, who started riding
at age five and has trained horses and given riding lessons in Alabama, Texas
and California. At age 19, she was named Tennessee Valley Rodeo Queen and went on
to compete in the Miss Rodeo U.S.A. pageant in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Today, Susan
Hill Pieper is the director of the Paulding County Carnegie Library and still
maintains a passion and deep love for all things horses.
City
Representatives met with the Commissioners to provide updates to each other and
to continue the open dialog. Both entities will continue to research
opportunities for shared services and projects that can be completed as a joint
effort.
Release Approved: ____________________________________________________
Otto L.
Nicely, Defiance County Commissioner