Wind Advisory issued March 15 at 9:34PM EDT until March 16 at 8:00AM EDT by NWS Wilmington OH (details ...)
* WHAT...South winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50 mph becoming west southwest.
* WHERE...Portions of east central and southeast Indiana, northern Kentucky, and central, southwest, and west central Ohio.
* WHEN...Until 8 AM EDT Monday.
* IMPACTS...Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.
Severe Thunderstorm Watch issued March 16 at 1:20AM EDT until March 16 at 4:00AM EDT by NWS Wilmington OH (details ...)
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 61 REMAINS VALID UNTIL 4 AM EDT EARLY THIS MORNING FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS
IN KENTUCKY THIS WATCH INCLUDES 9 COUNTIES
IN NORTHEAST KENTUCKY
LEWIS
IN NORTHERN KENTUCKY
BOONE BRACKEN CAMPBELL GRANT KENTON MASON PENDLETON ROBERTSON
IN OHIO THIS WATCH INCLUDES 29 COUNTIES
IN CENTRAL OHIO
DELAWARE FAIRFIELD FAYETTE FRANKLIN HOCKING LICKING MADISON PICKAWAY UNION
IN SOUTH CENTRAL OHIO
ADAMS HIGHLAND PIKE ROSS SCIOTO
IN SOUTHWEST OHIO
BROWN BUTLER CLERMONT CLINTON HAMILTON WARREN
IN WEST CENTRAL OHIO
AUGLAIZE CHAMPAIGN CLARK GREENE HARDIN LOGAN MIAMI MONTGOMERY SHELBY
THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF ABERDEEN, ADA, ALEXANDRIA, AUGUSTA, BEAVERCREEK, BELLEFONTAINE, BELLEVUE, BLANCHESTER, BROOKSVILLE, BURLINGTON, BUTLER, CAMP DIX, CHILLICOTHE, CIRCLEVILLE, COVINGTON, CRITTENDEN, DAY HEIGHTS, DAYTON, DELAWARE, DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI, DOWNTOWN COLUMBUS, DOWNTOWN DAYTON, DRY RIDGE, ERLANGER, FAIRBORN, FAIRFIELD, FALMOUTH, FLORENCE, FORT THOMAS, FRANKLIN, GEORGETOWN, GREENFIELD, HAMILTON, HEAD OF GRASSY, HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, HILLSBORO, INDEPENDENCE, KENTON, KETTERING, LANCASTER, LANDEN, LEBANON, LOGAN, LONDON, MANCHESTER, MARYSVILLE, MASON, MAYSVILLE, MIDDLETOWN, MILFORD, MINSTER, MOUNT CARMEL, MOUNT OLIVET, MOUNT ORAB, MOUNT REPOSE, MULBERRY, NEW BREMEN, NEWARK, NEWPORT, OAKBROOK, OXFORD, PEEBLES, PICKERINGTON, PIKE LAKE, PIKETON, PIQUA, PLAIN CITY, PORTSMOUTH, RIPLEY, SEAMAN, SIDNEY, SPRINGBORO, SPRINGFIELD, ST. MARYS, SUMMERSIDE, TIPP CITY, TOLLESBORO, TROY, URBANA, VANCEBURG, WAPAKONETA, WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, WAVERLY, WEST JEFFERSON, WEST UNION, WHEELERSBURG, WILLIAMSTOWN, WILMINGTON, WINCHESTER, WITHAMSVILLE, AND XENIA.
33° 33° Mon 36° Mon 36° chance 18° 18° chance Tue 28° Tue 28°
Friday, January 15th, 2010

Commissioners pull the plug on Web site video

Assistant prosecutor reviews video matter, says it would be illegal

By Shelley Grieshop
Mercer County commissioners on Thursday decided to nix the creation of a video for their Web site after discovering it would violate state law.
The proposed contract for the service - which commissioners thought would help promote the local area - was recently reviewed by Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Amy Ikerd, who determined it would violate a section of the Ohio Revised Code dealing with counties and commercial advertising.
The company the commissioners planned to contract with, CGI Communications, offered to create the video/audio stream and place it on the county Web site at no cost. CGI would recoup their expenses by soliciting advertising from local businesses, who in turn would receive advertising space on the Web.
The arrangement could be classified as a "joint venture" with the advertisers, which is not allowed by county governments in Ohio, Administrative Clerk Kim Everman explained during the meeting Thursday.
The video's purpose was to highlight Grand Lake, museums, restaurants and hotels, hospitals and other locations to spark tourism and bring businesses to the local region.
Commissioners had hoped to link the video to other Web sites such as the Auglaize-Mercer Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Celina-Mercer County Chamber of Commerce and the county's Economic Development agency.
All three commissioners voiced disappointment after learning the proposal was awash.
"I thought it was a wonderful idea," Commissioner Bob Nuding said.
Commissioner Jerry Laffin noted that CGI - based in Rochester, N.Y. - likely hoped to use a letter of support from the board of commissioners to gather advertising.
Laffin told Everman to notify CGI about the change of plans. He suggested the local visitor's bureau and/or chamber office may still wish to proceed with CGI's service.
Additional online stories on this date
By JANIE SOUTHARD and WILLIAM KINCAID
newsdept@dailystandard.com

Parkway, Fort Recovery, Celina and New Knoxville are the only school district [More]
A pair of Grand Lake rivals met on Thursday night with a share of the Western Buckeye League lead hanging in the balance.
Celina kept its unblemished league record intact with a 55-39 victory over St. Marys in their annual Battle of Grand Lake at the Fieldhouse. [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
Retiring Lake Campus dean calls his time in Celina his most enjoyable
His dream as a young boy was to replace Mickey Mantle in the Yankees' center field. Didn't happen. However there are many career fields and he spent his in higher education. Lake Campus Dean Jim Sayer is heading for home plate with his retirement announcement for late June.
FORT RECOVERY - The school district's finances are holding steady for now and board members may be able to avert placing an operating levy on the ballot this year, Interim Superintendent Pat Niekamp says.
ROCKFORD - School board members approved the job description for a talent show advisor. Formerly a volunteer service, it is now a supplemental position, which may have adverse effects on the annual talent show at the school.
Celina and Maria Stein
The Ohio Department of Agriculture is accepting public comments on draft Permits to Operate (PTOs) for two local farms whose existing 5-year permits are set to expire.
FORT RECOVERY - In a game that featured plenty of turnovers and missed baskets, Fort Recovery stayed perfect in Midwest Athletic Conference play, using a scoring burst to start the third quarter to pull away from Coldwater, 44-28, on Thursday night at Fort Site Fieldhouse.
ROCKFORD - The Minster Wildcats used a pair of huge scoring spurts to push their overall record to .500 again, as they defeated the Parkway Panthers, 57-41, on Thursday night at Panther Gymnasium.
MARIA STEIN - The Marion Local Flyers used a gigantic first half and then survived a rough second half to hold on and defeat the Versailles Tigers, 58-51, on Thursday night in Midwest Athletic Conference action at Marion Local High School.
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
A cold spell spanning the third and fourth quarters by St. Henry allowed Division IV top-ranked St. John's to go to
Several local parishes are building relationships with other parishes across the world in a practice called "twinning."
Twinning - which is support