Fulton County Ohio Media

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Julia Benfield of Benfield Wines and Cat Kania of CK Sweets, Swanton small business owners and active members of the Swanton Small Business Association (SSBA), spoke before the Swanton Village Council last Monday night asking the members for help in bringing other businesses to the downtown area to boost the local economy and support the existing businesses on Main Street. 

Both Ms. Benfield and Ms. Kania have experienced the Council’s rejection of Mayor Neil Toeppe’s initiative to form an all-volunteer Economic Development Commission several times to the point where Council President Craig Rose will no longer allow the topic to be placed on the Council meeting’s agenda and were appealing to the Council to find another option to help the struggling downtown businesses.

“We would like to re-open the conversation about what the Village can do to help support the businesses,” said Ms. Benfield who spoke first.  “We would like some ideas about how maybe some of the Village’s ordinances can be changed to help new businesses coming in, similar to what Delta is doing, similar to what Grand Rapids is doing.  And we can look at some of those other villages to see what they are doing to bring businesses in and mimic or emulate some of that.”

Ms. Benfield, who works full-time as a nurse in addition to running the business with her husband Rob, told the Council she and her fellow SSBA owners have been working very hard to build up business in the downtown area and have done relatively very well but are struggling under the weight of the pandemic impact on the economy.  “I know the Economic Development (Commission) has been a bone of contention but we need to figure out something else to do to hype businesses to Main Street and other parts of Swanton as well,” she explained. 

One idea Ms. Benfield suggested was establishing a DORA (Designated Outside Refreshment Area) in the downtown area to bring in people from outside the community similar to what other communities are doing.  “That brings a ton of businesses into town,” said Ms. Benefield.

Ms. Kania, who is also a Master Sergeant in the Ohio Air National Guard stationed at the 180^th Tactical Fighter Wing at Toledo Express Airport, spoke next and informed the Council that not only do potential customers living in the surrounding communities not know of downtown Swanton businesses, many Swanton residents remain unaware of what Main Street has to offer and believe local businesses only exist on Airport Highway.  Before she and her husband Derek opened CK Sweets they spoke with Village Administrator Rosanna Hoelzle and then mayor Ann Roth about what the Village was doing to help local businesses.

“We came and spoke with Rosanna and the previous mayor and we were told that ‘Way Finding Signs’ were something they wanted to do.  To put on Airport Highway to point, ‘Hey, Benfield Wines is this way, Posh Pallet is this way,’ We haven’t seen that.  We haven’t heard of anything like that happening,” said Ms. Kania relating one of the reasons they chose to open their business in Swanton.  “That is something that could help us.  This community is super supportive.  They want to help us.  They want us to stay open but we need your support too.”

Generally speaking, most of the Council members seemed receptive to the requests from the two business owners, several ideas were discussed and there appeared to be a sense of cooperation developing.  However, that changed after Mr. Rose spoke on the issue.  “So, your assessment, the way everything is right now, it’s impossible to run a successful business on Main Street?  Is that what we’re looking at?” he asked.  The reaction from the two speakers was quick and pointed.  “I don’t think anybody said that,” countered Ms. Kania.  “Nobody said that.  That’s not at all what we said,” added Ms. Benfield.  “There are ways to run a business on Main Street in the current atmosphere.  I’m just asking,” said Councilman Rose.

“We’ve all been working really hard.  There were things that were put forth before that the Council talked about doing and all we’re doing is asking to revisit those things,” said Ms. Benfield.  “I think we want to do that,” said Mr. Rose.  “Yes, we do,” said Councilwoman Kathy Kreuz.  There was no further discussion on the issue and no official statement made for the record when the issue would be revisited. 

Pictured: Julia Benfield speaks to Council with Cat Kania

Five players from three Fulton County Schools filled half the DIII roster of the District 7 Basketball Coaches Association Girls All-Star Game but scored over three-quarters of the points in leading the Division III Team over the Division IV Team 42-30.  The five players, Kylie Sauder of the Archbold Blue Streaks, Braelyn Wymer and Brooklyn Green of the Delta Panthers and Aricka and Averie Lutz of the Swanton Bulldogs, accounted for 35 of their team’s 42 points, or 83.3% of the total offense.

The game was played with a two 20-minute half college-rules format versus the traditional four eight-minute-high school game to allow for plenty of court time for all the players.  Both squads used a full five-man rotation when substituting players.

The D3ers jumped out to an early 9-2 lead on a short baseline jumper from Green, a three-pointer and lay-up from Averie Lutz and another lay-up from Sauder.  The D4ers managed to pull within two points at 12-10 but a 7-0 run put the D3 Team ahead by nine points in route to a 24-14 halftime lead.

The second half saw the margin hover around the 10-point mark until the final buzzer sounded.  The Woodmore duo of Brooke Allen with 12 points and Ava Beam with seven points kept the D4 Team in the game but could not overcome the balanced scoring by the D3 Team.

Green led the D3 Team with 10 points and was awarded the game’s Most Valuable Player trophy.  Aricka Lutz and Keirsten Cline of the Fairview Apaches each scored seven points.  Sauder added six, Wymer had five, Averie Lutz had three and Sadie Estle of the Paulding Panthers had two.

Pictured:  Most Valuable Player, Brooklyn Green of Delta

On this day, Saturday, March 27, 2021, the Swanton American Legion Riders, Swanton Mayor Neil Toeppe, television news crews from Toledo, friends and family gathered at the home of Marion Lehman to celebrate and commemorate his 100^th birthday as well as his service to his country.  Mayor Toeppe honored Mr. Lehman with a proclamation on behalf of the Village of Swanton which had been read at the Village Council meeting this past Monday and entered into the Village’s official records.

Marion Eugene Lehman was born in a house on Independence Street, now Lincoln Avenue, in Swanton on March 27, 1921.  He lived on West Garfield Avenue until he was 10 years old and later graduated from Fulton Centralized School in 1940.  Seaman First Class Lehman served in the United States Coast Guard from October of 1943 until February of 1946, stationed on the USS Marine patrolling the northeast coast of the United States providing convoy escort and weather support.

Following the war, Mr. Lehman returned home and began to farm, got a job at the Willys-Overland Company (Jeep), got married and raised a family.  In 1960 he built and moved into a home on County Road 4 where he still live today.

Mayor Toeppe read the Proclamation which ended with, “Whereas the Village of Swanton wishes to honor Marion Lehman on the occasion of his 100^th birthday, for his service to his country and the Swanton area by his example, his indelible impact on the community and its citizens and the quality of life we enjoy.  Therefore, on behalf of the Village of Swanton and the people of Swanton, I, Neil Toeppe, Mayor of Swanton hereby honor Mr. Marion Lehman for his exemplary life well-lived and wish him many more.”

Pictured:  Veteran of WWII, Marion Lehman receives a Proclamation from Swanton Mayor Neil Toeppe on his 100^th birthday.

Not long after graduating from Delta High School this Spring, multi-sports star Regan Rouleau will be traveling to Transylvania later this summer.  Just to be clear, it is not the same Transylvania we’ve all heard of, a region of Romania made legendary and infamous by Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula”, but there will be bats involved, lots of bats and lots of at bats.  Reagan has signed a National Letter of Intent to continue her education and softball career at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky.

Excelling in three different sports, volleyball, basketball as well as softball as a Lady Panther, Reagan could have chosen either of the other two but went with her passion.  “It’s always been my go-to.  It’s always been the sports that makes me the happiest,” she said.  “I’ve always enjoyed it and I’m anxiety free.  I love doing it and I love getting better.”

Ms. Rouleau’s high school softball resume definitely backs up her college sport of choice.  She has been a four-starter for Delta, team Defensive Player of the Year in 2018 and team Most Valuable Player in 2019, the same season she led the NWOAL in stolen bases.  Reagan has been the team Captain the past two years, a leadership role she has also held with the volleyball and basketball teams.

“She’s one of a kind.  We’re so thankful she is on the team,” said Delta’s head softball coach Kelsey Gillen who has been with the Lady Panther program for nine years.  “She’s primarily our shortstop but she’s one you could put anywhere.  She can bat right-handed or left-handed, equally great at both.  She is a very talented player and a great team captain.”

Reagan’s versatility on the softball field was also on display in her other two sports.  In volleyball she was a four-starter and her tall stature allowed her to dominate at the net with blocks and spikes while her quickness let her cover the backcourt.  In basketball she was a force on the boards with rebounding and scoring but could also fill the net from three-point range.  Reagan has received All-NWOAL and All-District honors in all three sports and All-Academic NWOAL Awards as well.

Athletically and academically, Reagan felt Transylvania University was a good fit for her.  “The athletic facilities are really nice and the academics are really high level.  It’s really disciplined and I really need that.  I want to be good at my career that I want,” explained Reagan, a National Honor Society member with a 3.867 GPA who plans to major in psychology and become a child psychologist.

Relocating from Delta, Ohio with a population of just over 3,000 to Lexington, Kentucky with a population of over 300,000 will be somewhat of a culture shock for Reagan but she is looking forward to the experience.  “It’s in a big city but it’s a small school so it has the opportunities of a big city.  We live in a small town now so, it’s like small school stuff with a big city right there,” she said.

Reagan is definitely well prepared and has all the tools to be successful at the college that shares its name with the land of Dracula.  You can Count on it.

Pictured:  Reagan Rouleau signs with Transylvania University as her mother, Amy Jo and father, Ron look on.

Ryan Ripke is stepping down as the Head Girls’ Basketball Coach at Delta High School after 11 seasons.  “I want to thank the Delta administration, community, and parents for all their support.  In my opinion, I had the best coaching job at Delta because of the hard-working and selfless groups of young women that I had the privilege of coaching,” said Coach Ripke.  “So, I have to thank all those girls for buying in to our philosophy, and it is because of them, I coached for so long.  I also want to thank the assistants who supported me and helped us succeed: Larry Bruce, Kelsey Girlie, Jon Mignin, Nate Ruple and Ron Rouleau.”  

In his 11 seasons, the Delta Lady Panthers won 182 games, three NWOAL championships, eight Sectional titles and two District Championships.  Ripke coached six 1,000-point scorers, six different All-State players, five players who went on to play at the collegiate level as well as others who played college volleyball, soccer and softball.  “I was privileged to coach many talented basketball players,” he said.  “A few of them achieved great individual accomplishments, but there were many others who contributed just as much to our success but didn’t get the recognition as the others.  These 11 years were definitely a team effort and everything we did was ‘as one’.  Thank you.”

Pictured:  Coach Ripke cuts down the net just after claiming his second OHSAA DIII Girls District Championship with his final victory with the Delta Lady Panthers.   

Swanton Village Council President Craig Rose, opened the March 22^nd Council meeting by relating the first of several decisions made during the Committee of the Whole (CW) meeting held earlier in the evening, and informed all in attendance that the Village would be using Hennes Communications for public relations work when required.  Hennes Communications is a North American firm that is exclusively focused on crisis management and crisis communications and deals with a litany of issues including social media attacks.

“We would like to give Ms. Hoelzle (Administrator Rosanna) the approval to contract with them.  We’re only going to be using them for certain instances when we need it,” said Mr. Rose in the CW.  And, we only get billed as we use them.  This is not a contractual or monthly obligation.  We’re only giving her permission to use them and we also, as we discussed, have final approval on anything that is written or put out by this PR group.  So, we’d like her to move on with them.”

Dave Pilliod was the only Council member to voice an objection with the decision.  “I don’t think it’s a good idea.  Why do we need them?” he said.  “There’s going to be a lot of instances where we’re going to need them coming in the future here as well.  We’re going to need a professional group to respond,” said Mr. Rose explaining the decision.

“Why can’t we respond?” countered Mr. Pilliod.  “It’s because none of us are professional PR folks here.  That’s not what we do,” answered Mr. Rose.  “And when we get into a situation where we feel we have to have them, we want to have these people on board to do that.  We’ve already contacted them and we’ve discussed fees and all those good things.  And when we decide we have a situation which arises that we’ll need professional help they’re going to be the folks going to deal with.” “Who’s paying for this?” asked Mr. Pilliod.  “The Village is going to pay for it,” said Mr. Rose.

No current or potential future specific instances were identified that would make the employment of Hennes Communications necessary and no monetary amount for their services was discussed during the meeting.  However, a follow-up email was sent to Administrator Hoelzle asking what fee might the Village be charged for services.  “If/when a need arises, Hennes Communications will assist with communication material; they charge $400 per hour,” she wrote back.

Pictured:  Swanton Village Council President Craig Rose

During the Public Comments portion of the March 15^th Delta Village Council meeting, Delta resident Kyle Comers addressed the members, giving his opinion on his preferred direction of the Village and how it differed from the Council’s.  Mr. Comers was one of three candidates interviewed for the recent vacant Council seat that was eventually given to Art Thomas.  He explained he was there to better express his views on the future of Delta than he was able to do during the interview process.

“I just want to give a statement of my views of the path forward for the Village or how I would like to see the Village run.  I understand it’s different on how the Council sees it, said Mr. Comer.  “I just feel the purpose of municipal government, especially a small village like ours, is to provide very general services and public safety.  Actively pursuing a policy of population growth and trying to get people to come here, I just don’t see that as a requirement of small municipal government.  I look at villages like Fayette, Lyons and Metamora that manage to stay small and grow and aren’t doing what we’re doing.”

Mr. Comers did admit he was unaware of the policies of those other local governments or what their respective visions were for their future, but he did say he was essentially counting on Delta to remain small when he moved there.  He also said that an increased tax base gained from an increased population would not be enough to maintain an already stressed infrastructure, especially when some of the population growth is fueled by tax abatements.

Also questioned by Mr. Comer was the Council’s perceived direction the citizens of Delta wanted to go versus his perceived belief of the direction Village residents want to be taken.  As an example, he brought up the plan for a municipal electric company the Council had placed on the ballot several years ago that was “soundly defeated” by the voters.  “I have a sense the people are not 100% on board with what’s going on,” said Mr. Comer and further stated that the Council had chosen someone, in Mr. Thomas, who they knew was on board with their agenda to fill the vacant seat just to protect their agenda.  There was no response to Mr. Comers other than to thank him for his comments.

In other news, Village Administrator Brad Peebles related some details of a recent Zoom meeting conducted with the District liaison from Senator Sherrod Brown’s office regarding the Biden Administration’s Recover America program.  The program includes funding for USDA projects which allows the Village to proceed again with applying for the Grant/Loan program to assist with the reconstruction of Fernwood Street from Wood Street to Taylor Street

Another benefit of President Biden’s program is the likelihood of a stimulus payment to the Village without stipulation.  The initial draft of payments based upon census population indicate Delta may receive as much as $610,000.  There was no established time frame for these payments and it was clear this could change before actually taking place.

Pictured:  Kyle Comers addresses Council on Delta’s future direction.

The Swanton Board of Education (BOE) held a relatively short meeting on March 17, 2021 before entering into an executive session.  In his Superintendent’s Report, Chris Lake commented on the efforts of the Fulton County Health Department in administering the COVID-19 Vaccination Program for the District.  “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Fulton County Health Director Kim Cupp and her entire team at the health department for their efforts in getting our staff vaccinated a couple of weeks ago,” said Mr. Lake.   “The level of organization for the event was very impressive and everything ran like clockwork. Everyone who worked the clinic was incredibly professional and kind and took great care of all the Swanton employees who were there. I can’t thank them enough for putting on the event and for helping us to get one step closer to a return to normal.”  Swanton Schools have been in session since the beginning of the 2020-2021 academic school year.

Treasurer Joyce Kinsman presented a list of donations for a variety of funds to the District. The District received $10,000 from Swanton Athletic Boosters to Permanent Improvement Fund (003), $119.38 from Lifetouch to Recreation Program (013), $130.23 from Lifetouch to Swanton High School Principal’s Account (018/9330), $124.51 from Lifetouch to Swanton Middle School Principal’s Account (018/9391), $2,200 from Swanton Athletic Boosters to Athletic Fund (300/0000) and

$1,000 from Soaring Software Solutions to Baseball Team Fundraising Account (300/9511).

The BOE approved an agreement with Perry ProTech for sixty (60) month lease for multifunction printing units and the maintenance terms.  The agreement calls for 60 monthly payments of $1549.35 or a total of $92,961 over the length of the contract.

As part of his Middle School report, Principal Matt Smith said that Mr. Mike Remer, Career Class Instructor, has been working hard with our 7th grade students to get them to think about their future options. The students all give their “dream job” presentations. Students are asked to research the qualifications, education, salary, etc. It is great that the students are starting to think about those options at this point. Mr. Remer starts by giving them some aptitude tests and personality quizzes to get them started.

The Swanton High School Data Team has created a “homeroom period” immediately after 4th period for the purpose of assisting those students who have been affected by quarantine issues due to Covid. Students are able to meet with teachers to get extra help, and those who do not need this assistance are participating in SSR (silent sustained reading) which we believe will help in our goal of improving literacy at SHS. Teachers and students are also creating videos and other media content to help students navigate high school.

The next BOE meeting will take place on April 21, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. in the Central Board Office at 108 N. Main Street in Swanton.

Pictured:  Swanton Local School District Superintendent Chris Lake