Friday, January 25th, 2008

County moves to expand wastewater plant

Expansion needed to accommodate new jail to be built on state Route 29

By William Kincaid
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

A crew from Geotechnical Consultants of Westerville makes test borings at the proposed site of the new 100-bed Mercer County Jail along state Route 29 near the Mercer County Home. The 12 to 14 borings will provide information regarding the type and depth of footers needed. Plans call for bid advertising to take place in late April or early May with groundbreaking anticipated in August or September. Sheriff Jeff Grey expects the $12 million facility to be ready for prisoners in the fall of 2009.

Mercer County commissioners took the first step toward expanding the county's wastewater treatment plant on Thursday morning as they agreed to pay Fanning/Howey Associates, Celina, $23,500 for preliminary engineering.
The county wastewater plant, located on state Route 29 west of Celina near the Mercer County Home, will need to be expanded to accommodate the new Mercer County Jail to be built next door, according to Commissioner Jerry Laffin. Laffin did not know how much of an expansion would be needed for the new jail.
The Mercer County Jail will be built on a portion of the 50-acre county home property that currently is being farmed.
The county treatment plant, according to Laffin, currently processes wastewater for the county home and some of the other facilities on the property, as well as the Silver Lakes housing development.
According to the agreement with Fanning/Howey, an engineer will complete the design flow calculations, show the location and layout of the proposed expansion and sanitary sewer extension to the new jail and submit the drawings to commissioners for review during the schematic design phase.
The construction documents will be completed within the next 120 days and sent to the Ohio EPA for approval.
The firm also will assist in advertising for construction bids and evaluating the bids for the award, as well as act as the construction administration.
The jail will be funded by a 0.5 percent sales tax, with collection to begin in April. The jail setback will match neighboring Foundations Behavioral Health Services, and preliminary plans call for the county home driveway to be widened to accommodate the sheriff's department, meaning there will be no additional outlet onto state Route 29.
Additional online stories on this date
A Celina man will spend time in prison after pleading guilty to one count of child endangering for injuring a toddler while wrestling with him.
The charge stems from an April 27 incident resulting in injuries to a 21-month-old boy. [More]
ST. MARYS - While free throws don't exactly bring a crowd to their feet or make the highlight reels during the 11 p.m. sports, more times than not, the menial task has an interesting way of helping to determine the outcome of close contests. [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
OAK HARBOR (AP) - State wildlife officials say a two-week survey showed a record number of American bald eagles in Ohio.
The state's Division of Wi
Bids for Union City Road improvement construction lower than anticipated
Bids for the Union City Road improvement project came in significantly less than originally estimated, as Mercer County commissioners on Thursday awarded the contract to VTF Excavation, Celina, for $1.44 million.
MARIA STEIN - Making the busy intersection of state Routes 119 and 716 safer for walkers and bicyclists is the goal of a school travel plan being undertaken in the Marion Local school district.
Jean and Roger Siegrist, Coldwater, were surprised to receive one award Thursday night, let alone two during Thursday night's 17th annual Mercer County Cattlemen's Association banquet in Celina.
Minster, New Bremen, and New Knoxville mayors tout towns
NEW KNOXVILLE - Mayors from the "Golden Triangle" reviewed past accomplishments and looked toward the future during the annual State of the Villages Breakfast on Thursday.
The Rev. Ed Bray, the new pastor at St. Paul's United Church of Christ, 301 N. Perry St., St. Marys, began his career in a tiny, country church in Greenwich in 1973 at the age of 22.
Celina took care of its business at the Fieldhouse, and with a little help from Ottawa-Glandorf, the Bulldogs now stand alone on top of the Western Buckeye League standings.
MARIA STEIN - Marion Local saw a 10-point lead cut down to three by Coldwater in the fourth quarter, but solid free-throw shooting down the stretch gave the Flyers their sixth win of the season in a 49-41 triumph over the Cavaliers in The Hangar.
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
The Versailles Tigers ensured themselves of at least a share of their first MAC title in girls basketball in beating New Knoxville 56-25 on Thursday night at Ranger Gymnasium.