Saturday, July 5th, 2008

Upgrade to begin for intersection

By William Kincaid
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

Vehicles travel along East Wayne Street this week. The intersection with Fountain Avenue will soon be improved.

A $77,000 infrastructure project slated to begin in two weeks along East Wayne Street and Fountain Avenue should improve both pedestrian and motorist safety, Celina Planning and Community Development Director Kent Bryan says.
It is a project that school officials, the city and the industry on that corner support, they have indicated.
City administrators recently awarded a contract to PAB Construction, Celina, to push back the northeast curb at the intersection, which is near Celina East Elementary School and the high school football field.
"(We) are increasing the radius to allow for bus and truck traffic to make the curve on Wayne safer," Bryan said, pointing out that new sidewalks also will be installed in the area. "We're not really doing a lot of road work."
The project is expected to be completed by mid-August before students return to school, Bryan said. He doesn't expect the road to be closed at any time. Cones and other forms of traffic control will be used, he added.
By pushing the curb back, trucks and buses heading east on Wayne Street will have more room to maneuver, he said.
Sometimes larger vehicles end up in the west lane of Wayne Street when rounding the curve, according to Bryan and Safety Service Director Jeff Hazel.
"We're happy because it will make it a lot easier to make the turns there with the buses," Celina Board of Education President Ken Fetters said, adding it also will improve safety.
Hazel said the improvements near the two roads - which were both constructed as residential streets - also will provide better truck access for Thieman Tailgates Inc., 600 E. Wayne Street.
The city got serious about the safety project after Thieman's second facility expansion last fall, which increased truck traffic, Bryan said. The expansion, which the city is thrilled about, created new jobs but also increased truck traffic.
Money for the project comes exclusively from a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) fund from Thieman's property, he continued.
Bryan said a power pole near the curb was taken down two weeks ago in preparation of the project. He also said Celina school officials will move the fence at the football field further away from the street to give students more room when waiting on the traffic light to change.
Additional online story on this date
ST. HENRY - Although not planned, it was appropriate that the Fourth of July included some baseball.
With Thursday's Mercer County ACME sectional games rained out, four teams got an early start at the Wally Post Athletic Complex in a pair of elimination games from the sectional. [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
A Maria Stein-area child is undergoing a series of rabies shots after being bitten by a stray cat that may have carried the disease.
According to o
They've been there well over a century - 14 Civil War soldiers resting for eternity in a little cemetery just north of New Knoxville. Two years ago, Arnett Cemetery on Moulton-Fort Amanda Road got some much needed tending.
COLDWATER - An elderly woman walking toward Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Coldwater on Thursday morning was struck by a straight truck at the intersection of Main and Second streets.
A former St. Marys auto dealer pleaded guilty Tuesday to scamming customers and the government of more than $200,000.
Brian K. Selby, 41, 234 Southway Drive, St. Marys, faces 18 years in prison and thousands of dollars in restitution upon sentencing, which was set for Aug. 13.
An itinerant man faces sex-related charges after he allegedly had sexual contact with a 12-year-old girl he met online.
John A. Walker Jr., 19, who
MINSTER - The fans who braved the unseasonable July crispness Friday afternoon at the Auglaize County ACME sectional elimination game at Hanover Street Park were treated to a dandy as the St. Marys Roughriders eliminated the Minster Wildcats 4-2 in 10 inning white knuckler.