Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

Voters approve building renovation levy

Fort Recovery schools

By William Kincaid
FORT RECOVERY - Voters in the Fort Recovery school district on Tuesday sided with school officials' proposal to renovate the high school.
They approved a 2.7-mill levy that will generate $3.4 million for the project.
"We're thrilled," superintendent Shelly Vaughn said Tuesday night at the Mercer County Courthouse. "This needs to be done."
"I'm just happy it passed for the community," board of education member Ginny Fortkamp said.
School district residents in Mercer and Darke counties voted 950 for the levy and 709 against, according to unofficial results from the counties' boards of elections.
The $5.07 million renovation project will be funded by the levy, a $240,570 loan through an energy conservation program and $1.4 million of the school's permanent improvement fund. A resident with a $100,000 property will pay $82.69 annually on the 23-year levy.
Some of the planned upgrades include a new energy efficient heating and air conditioning system, roof replacement, a new electrical system, new plumbing and fixtures and a fire alarm upgrade. The renovation proposal was created with help from local contractors and experts.
The energy conservation program of House Bill 264 allowed the school to borrow $240,570 to make energy improvements that will be paid back in energy savings. Energy improvements include lighting retrofits, air filtration systems and kitchen exhaust automation.
Also, Fort Recovery Athletic Boosters will spearhead an effort to create a weight room/athletic complex on the east side of the school, possibly near the band practice field.
The 1935 section of the high school containing the old gym will be demolished after the project is finished. It will be used as swing space during the project.
Major construction will be pursued in the summers, starting in 2012 and finished by 2014.
The renovations will add another 30 to 40 years of life to the building, school officials have said.
Voters last year overwhelmingly rejected building a $10.8 million high school onto the elementary/middle school. That project would have been funded with $5.3 million in local tax dollars and $5.5 million from the Ohio School Facilities Commission.
Additional online stories on this date
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The state's collective bargaining law - Senate Bill 5 - was overwhelming axed by voters statewide Tuesday, but local results were quite different. [More]
Under new leadership
CELINA - Former city safety service director Jeff Hazel was elected mayor of Celina on Tuesday.
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Subscriber and paid stories on this date
Under new leadership
By AMY KRONENBERGER
and JANIE SOUTHARD
newsdept@dailystandard.com
ST. MARYS - City voters have selected a new mayor.
Republican candidate Patrick McGowan ousted incumbent Greg Freewalt, a Democrat, by 61 votes on Tuesday.
By AMY KRONENBERGER,
MARGIE WUEBKER,
BETTY LAWRENCE
and WILLIAM KINCAID
newsdept@dailystandard.com
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The issue was d
Rockford mayor
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Unofficial results show incumbent Mayor Amy Joseph defeating challenger Robert King by only three votes. A mandatory recount will not be known until provisional ballots are counted.
Minster schools
MINSTER -  Voters in the Minster school district continued a tradition on Tuesday, handily renewing an .8 mill permanent improvement levy.
Unofficia
Coldwater schools
COLDWATER - Board members on Tuesday approved placing a new operating levy on the March primary ballot.
Treasurer Sherry Shaffer was to submit the resolution today to the Mercer County Auditor's office to certify the exact millage, which the board is expecting to be 4.22 mills.
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That was the advice given Tuesday by Auglaize County Medical Director Dr. Juan Torres while discussing the complications of diabetes.
Coldwater, Minster council races
By MARGIE WUEBKER
and BETTY LAWRENCE
newsdept@dailystandard.com
Two council seats were up for grabs Tuesday in Minster and Coldwater, with each having three contenders.
MARIA STEIN - A Marion community business is seeking a revolving loan from the county to purchase the lot and buildings it now leases.
Mercer Count
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Casandra Gale, 41, was listed in fai
A Celina woman escaped her burning home today after she was awakened by a smoke alarm.
Cora Williams, 607 Hoying St., was awakened shortly before 3:20 a.m. to the sound of the alarm and fled through a back door after smelling smoke.
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Cosmetologist Tara Branstetter, who was born and raised in Rockford, opened Vanity Kept this year inside the Magic Mirror Styling Salon at 147 S. Main St.
Cami Lefeld and Kylie (Elking) Huelsman know the feeling of winning a state volleyball championship from their playing days at St. Henry.
They can root for the Redskins now, but earlier in the season, both Lefeld and Huelsman were trying to get a win against St. Henry.
Last Curtain Call
Four years into his new head-coaching gig at Minster High School in 2001, Rick Carter was on a roll as he had methodically increased the Wildcats' win total in each of his first three seasons.