Fulton County Ohio Media

After a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Swanton Fine Art Exhibit and Sale (FAES), presented by the Swanton Chamber of Commerce, has returned. Widely regarded as one of the best juried art exhibits in Northwest Ohio, the Swanton FAES has received critical acclaim for the quality of the art, the variety of the categories, the number of pieces displayed, the cash prizes awarded and the venue, the luxurious banquet room at Valleywood Golf Club on Airport Highway.

Now in its seventh year, this exhibit features 154 pieces of artwork by 58 artists from 20 different communities competing in six separate categories, Acrylics, Oils, Water Colors, Drawings, Photography and Mixed Media.

The artwork will be adjudicated by a panel of highly knowledgeable, experienced, talented and well-respected judges.  They include Head Judge Timothy Van Beke, Associate Professor of Art and Program Coordinator at Siena Heights University, Judge Alison Prielipp, an artist and entrepreneur who holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Eastern Michigan University and Judge Mad Mohre, an artist/designer who is also an Associate Professor at Siena Heights University.

The Swanton FAES was founded in 2014 with a five-fold purpose in mind. 

Develop and promote achievements of artistic talent in the Swanton area and beyond.

Encourage greater visibility and interaction between schools and institutions of higher learning through the awarding of scholarships to our youth.

Enrich the cultural life of our community and its larger community through our open juried fine art exhibit.

Serve as a liaison with the private sector in support of our annual exhibit and build strong relationships among Swanton Chamber members, individuals, corporations, businesses and foundations.

Strengthen and promote visual literary skills with opportunities for get-togethers and sharing of expertise with local and regional innovators and art experts to increase fluency in the language of images.

The exhibit will be open to the public on Saturday, October 9^th from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM and on Sunday, October 10^th from Noon to 5:00 PM.  ADMISSION IS FREE.

Pictured:  Art Exhibit Venue, Valleywood Golf Club on Airport Highway

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Band photos are from the Delta homecoming, featuring the Delta HS Band with alumni and the Archbold HS Band. Click on the link above to access all photos. Photos are in the jpg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for free courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

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Click on the link above to access all photos. Photos are in jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for no charge courtesy of fultoncountymedia.com.

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Click on the link above to access all photos. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for FREE courtesy of fultoncountymedia.com.

Recently, the Village of Swanton received reports from neighbors regarding what appeared to be a rotting tree on private property at 109 Parkside with concerns that it posed a hazardous situation.  The neighbors said they had tried to resolve the problem with the residents but were unsuccessful.  Members of the Swanton Tree Commission were sent to inspect the tree and recommended it be removed.

Attempts to contact the occupants at 109 Parkside by Village Administrator Rosanna Hoelzle were also unsuccessful which then required Ms. Hoelzle to ask Village Council for authorization to send a letter informing the occupants of their responsibility per Ordinance 2009-24.  The Ordinance states, in part, “It shall be the duty of any person owning or occupying property bordering on a right of way upon which property there are any trees or shrubs which are designated by the Tree Commission as dead, dying, diseased or hazardous or deemed a menace to the public health, safety and welfare of the people of Swanton, to remove or cause to be removed said tree(s) and/or shrub(s).”

The Ordinance also states that failure to comply with the order grants the Village the right to take steps to remove the hazard and assess the owner/occupant double the amount charged for the work.  The tree in question is deemed too tall to be removed by Village-owned equipment and will require the services of an outside contractor.

The Village has announced the following proposed tree planting locations.  They are 219 Clark (Resident Request), 222 Woodland, 228 Woodland, 210 Larch (Resident Request), 110 Peachtree, 110 Redbud.

Since 2001, the Village has had 10-year agreements with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife regarding fishing at the Swanton Reservoir.  The Village sets all regulations as controlling authority on boats, hours of operation, etc. and the ODNR manages the fishery in the reservoir such as annual rainbow trout drop.  The current agreement expires on December 9, 2021.  Council voted to renew the 10-year agreement.

In personnel news, two full-time Swanton Police Department officers submitted their resignation and requested to be moved to part-time status.  John Trejo resigned effective September 18, 2021 and Ed Marckel resigned effective September 26, 2021.

A Third and Final Reading of Resolution 2021-XX, authorizing the Village Administrator to submit an application to participate in the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Grant Program and to enter into any agreements as required was approved.

Also approved was Emergency Resolution 2021-XX, authorizing the submission and support of an application to the Gametime Playground Grant Program for the replacement of playground equipment.

The next meeting is September 27, 2021 at 7:00 PM in the Swanton Municipal Office Building at 219 Chestnut Street.

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The Northwest Ohio Athletic League (NWOAL) held its girls and boys league tournament on Friday at Auglaize Golf Course in Defiance with the Archbold Lady Blue Streaks capturing the girls’ title and the Bryan Golden Bears taking the boys’ title.

The Lady Blue Streaks shot a 399, defeating Wauseon (402), Patrick Henry (453), Evergreen (488) and Delta (498).  Archbold junior Brayton Huffman fired an 89 to grab medalist honors.

The Golden Bears won their third consecutive title by shooting a 337, topping Swanton (342), Archbold (348), Wauseon (348), Patrick Henry (373), Evergreen (422), Liberty Center (433) and Delta (436).  Archbold junior Luke Rosenbrook took medalist honors with a score of 76.

Click on the link above to access all photos from the tournament. Phots are in jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for FREE courtesy of fultoncountymedia.com.

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The Swanton Lady Bulldog JV volleyball team beat the Paulding Lady Panthers 2-1 (18-25, 25-18, 25-23) and the Swanton varsity beat the Paulding varsity 3-0 (25-18, 25-22 25-16).

Click on the link above to access all photos. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for no charge courtesy of fultoncountymedia.com.

The following is a reprint of an article that appeared in the Swanton Enterprise for the reopening of the Swanton Sports Center on September 25, 2013.

Bowling Returns to Swanton

Bowling is back in Swanton and Fulton County.  A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Friday for the recently reopened Swanton Sports Center on North Main Street in Swanton.

Tracy Ratliff, former Swanton resident and current Toledo businessman, has a large and unique antique car collection that includes a 1981 DeLorean.  This iconic automobile does not come with a flux capacitor but that has not prevented Tracy from traveling back to the future, as he has resurrected and reopened the Swanton Sports Center, formally known as KC Lanes.

The 20-lane bowling center, which also includes a bar and grill and large banquet hall, shuttered its doors at the end of 2010.  It sat empty until Tracy, looking for a building to house his car business, bought the dilapidated structure in August of 2012.

He charged two of his employees, son Boyd Ratliff and grandson Kevin Ford, with the task of getting the facility in shape to open as a body and engine repair shop.  The task would include extensive roofing, electrical work, plumbing, cleaning and painting.

However, as work began, residents passing by saw vehicles in the parking lot and pulled in to see what was going on.  They all had the same question, “When are you going to open up the bowling alley?”

After dozens of the visits in a short one-month period, Tracy gave in to the will of the people and decided to restore the building to its original purpose.  The lanes are open and the bar and grill has been converted to a sports bar and grill.  There is an arcade room and adjacent pool room.  The banquet hall is available to rent as well as the meeting room next to it.  Future plans include bring back league bowling for all ages.

The first big event at the Sports Center will be a tribute to Dick Slawinski, the man who owned the business from 1956 to 1992.  Slawinski, along with his wife Norma and their eight children brought a great deal of joy and fond memories to the area and this event, to be held on November 10^th from noon to 5:00 PM, will honor his contributions.  All proceeds will be donated to the Swanton Rotary Scholarship Fund and Odyssey Hospice.

Pictured (L to R):  Ted Haselman, Jeff Schlade, Ann Roth, Charlene O’Connell, Bill O’Connell, Kevin Ford, Boyd Ratliff, Hal Stine, Mary Slawinski Stine, Neil Toeppe.  (Photo by Drew Stambaugh)

Earlier this year it was discovered that the Village of Swanton was inadvertently charging several businesses the residential monthly rate for storm water sewer charges of $3.00 instead of a commercial rate determined by a calculation of the total impervious area on the property.  One such business was Foertmeyer Greenhouse located on Hallet Avenue which, after a Google Earth survey discovered the business covered 168,000 square feet, was charged a new monthly rate of $589.89 then reduced to by 30% by Village Administrator Rosanna Hoelzle.

The discounted monthly charge of $412.93 was disputed by the greenhouse’s owner Mark Foertmeyer who claimed most of the rainfall on his business property flows east into a creek, away from the Village.  A public hearing was held to allow him to plead his case.  Mr. Foertmeyer asked that he be given time to have the topography of his property professionally surveyed to determine how much storm water falling on the greenhouse property actually flowed into the Village’s storm water system.

At the September 13^th Village Council meeting, results of that survey, taken by Natural Resources Management (NRM) of Sylvania were presented by Chip Tokar of NRM.  Mr. Tokar explained that his staff was able to get the most recent topographical information from the county and United States Geographical Survey (USGS) to use for the study.

“What we were able to do is overlay those topographical contours onto the property itself.  We were able to show that the topography flows from west to east starting at the street,” he said.  “So, the highest elevations on Mr. Foertmeyer’s property are right at the street edge, parallel to the street north and south and generally slopes west to east from there.”

Mr. Tokar also pointed out that the Village’s catch basins are located on the edge of the street and most of the storm water that enters those comes from the street itself.  He did say that the driveways on the greenhouse property sloped toward the street and contributed to the Village’s storm water. 

When asked by Councilman Dave Pilliod what he thought would be a fair charge, Mr. Tokar said, “In all fairness, all the storm water going on to his property is going to his own catch basins and his own drains and draining into a ditch back there.  If I had to guess, just based on this topography, it’s probably five percent of this whole area that you’re looking at that would drain to the (Village).”

Assuming the five percent estimate is accurate, the recalculated charge would fall into the $30.00 range.  Now that the Village has the topographical survey data it will need to consult with its engineers before settling on a final charge.  With the next round of water bills due to come out just two days after the meeting, the Village said it would charge Foertmeyer Greenhouse $412 for that bill and would hope to have a firm answer in time for the next Council meeting on September 27, 2021.

Pictured:  Chip Tokar of Natural Resources Management presents topographical evidence to Council