Wednesday, October 17th, 2007

Mercer County engineer: Office addresses safety not water quality

By Nancy Allen
The Mercer County engineer's job is to address issues involving public safety, not water quality.
That's what county engineer Jim Wiechart told members of the Lake Improvement Association's Lake Restoration Committee on Monday night.
LRC members queried Wiechart about why the engineer's office doesn't do more to keep farmers from infringing on road rights of way with crops. Doing so would result in a wider grass strip between farm fields and roadways. These grass strips help keep excess sediment and nutrients from running off into ditches and the lake, sort of like a small filter strip, LRC members have said.
Wiechart said his office simply does not have the resources to police this, and he feels the grass strips do little to filter runoff. There is runoff from multiple places in farm fields, and underground tile also carries much of the runoff away, he said.
LIA member Bill Ringo proposed a trade-off. Let farmers continue to illegally plant crops in the road rights of way, but plant grass in large recharge areas, low-lying spots in fields where water runs to before going into a culvert or ditch, to help filter out sediment and nutrients.
"My revenues are predicated on public transportation and safety, not water quality," Wiechart said. "Is there any benefit in using gas tax revenues for water quality? My answer would be 'no.' "
The county engineer's largest revenue stream is taxes from gasoline and license fees, which can be spent only on public roads and transportation, Wiechart said.
County engineer employee Vern Eichler said such an area would have to be mowed and maintained, adding that "we can't even keep up with the mowing we have now."
Wiechart said the only time his office enforces any right of way infringement is if crops obstruct line of sight on roadways and can be considered a safety issue.
"If we have a problem with crops growing and causing visibility problems, we notify 'em and give 'em three days to do something," said engineer's office employee Mike Borns. "If they don't, we mow it."
Borns said the office receives six to eight complaints a year of this nature.
Wiechart said he also has concerns about a two-stage ditch design proposed as a way to decrease soil erosion. The design mimics a natural, meandering stream, which in theory slows down water and lessens bank erosion, but makes it more difficult to maintain a stream.
"My concern is if you get too much brush growth, it may choke off the ditch and flow," Wiechart said. "In areas with enough grade they may be self-cleaning, but in a lot of these flat areas we have here, I don't think it (two-stage ditch design) would work."
The county engineer's office is charged with maintaining county roads and bridges and petitioned ditches. The office also has 13 snow-plowing routes.
The next LIA meeting is 10 a.m. Nov. 3 at the Loyal Order of the Moose Lodge in Celina, and the next LRC meeting is 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19 at the same location.
Additional online stories on this date
NEW BREMEN - Dale Fallat, chairman of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, believes the state's business future is bright given its diversity and bounty. [More]
Celina, St. Marys will have rematch on Saturday
SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP - Two soccer matches. Two goals scored and two differing styles of action.
In the opening match of the Division II boy's soccer sectional, Celina got a goal early in the first half, then kicked the ball around for the remaining 57 minutes en route to a 1-0 win over Wapakoneta. [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
ROCKFORD - Parkway Local Schools board members learned Tuesday night that the cost of providing electricity to the new 235,000-square-foot school in fiscal year 2007 has more than doubled the amount expended at the old buildings.
COLDWATER - Two incumbent Coldwater Exempted Village Schools board of education members will be challenged at the November general election.
Curren
NEW BREMEN - Two seats on the New Bremen Local Schools' board of education are up for grabs this November, as current board members James Luedeke and Norm Holcomb will not seek re-election.
Southwestern Auglaize County Chamber of Commerce Director Jim Coons has reason to smile - the organization has gained 25 new members during the past year, endorsed some new programs and scheduled numerous upcoming events.
The Ohio Department of Development has committed more than $270,000 in incentives in an attempt to lure a Minnesota company to the area.
State offi
Rockford village officials continue to study ways to improve traffic safety in the vicinity of Parkway Local School.
A recent accident and some oth
FINDLAY - The Celina girl's soccer team lived up to its number-one seeding on Tuesday afternoon as the Bulldogs scored three goals in the first 13 mi
ROCKFORD - It wasn't a successful regular season by any means for the tradition-rich St. Henry volleyball program, but that doesn't mean a postseason run is out of the question this year.
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
Minster continued its hot streak in volleyball, eliminating last year's Division IV state runner-up New Knoxville in three games at the Division IV sectional at New Bremen's Cardinal Gymnasium on Tuesday.