Fulton County Ohio Media

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Swanton’s Cole Mitchey sank four consecutive clutch free throws with under a minute remaining in the game to extend the Bulldogs’ two-point lead to six as Swanton held off the Wauseon Indians 29-23 at home Friday night in a critical NWOAL boys basketball contest for both teams.  With the Bulldogs holding a 25-23 advantage, Mitchey grabbed back-to-back defensive rebounds and was immediately fouled both times.  The junior guard went to the line in a one-and-one bonus situation and calmly netted all four attempts to go along with his two other foul shots from earlier in the quarter, giving him six in a row.

“Up by only two points, I knew I had to score and increase the lead to solidify the win,” said Mitchey.  In fact, he made eight of ten free throws in the contest and was the only player in the game to score in double figures with 13 points. 

“It was huge.  It was huge,” commented Swanton head coach Bruce Smith on Mitchey’s game-sealing performance at the end.  “We couldn’t score from the field, obviously, so we had to score from the line.  They were real big clutch free throws when you have to make them and you’re up there shaking like a leaf, but he knocked them down.”

Whether it was great defense, poor shooting or a combination of the two, both teams had trouble scoring.  The two teams’ best players, Jonas Tester of Wauseon and Nic Borojevich of Swanton, were assigned to guard each other and both succeeded in shutting down the other.  Borojevich was able to score only two points and Tester could only manage six.

With the two offensive leaders held in check, it was up to the other players to step up and provide the scoring.  “It was kind of surprising to us that they shut him down because usually he is a big part of our game so for us to step up was very important,” said Mitchey, commenting on key contributions of his other teammates.

Like in many of its past contests this season, Swanton jumped out to an early lead over Wauseon but would eventually allow them to claw their way back.  The Bulldogs led 8-2 after the first quarter and, after Hayden Callicotte scored on a put-back at the buzzer, 18-9 at halftime.  Less than 30 seconds into the second half, Luc Borojevich hit a three-point shot to give Swanton its biggest lead of the game at 12 points, 21-9.  It would be the last basket made from the field by the Bulldogs for the rest of the game.

Wauseon mounted a comeback aided by two baskets from beyond the arc by Tyson Rodriguez and four points from Jude Armstrong but could not score after pulling within 25-23.

Along with Mitchey’s 13 points, Luc Borojevich scored eight, Same Betz had for and Callicotte and Nic Borojevich added two each for Swanton. Rodriguez led Wauseon with eight points, Tester scored six, Armstrong had five and Landon Hines added two.

The win moves Swanton’s record to 3-0 in the NWOAL and 13-1 on the season.  Wauseon drops to 1-1 in the league and 8-6 overall.

Pictured: Cole Mitchey shooting a free throw.

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

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On Swanton Wrestling Senior Night, celebrating the careers of Bryce Marvin and Cody DeKoeyer, the Bulldogs pinned their way to easy victories, first defeating the Montpelier Locomotives 54-24 then beating the Maumee Panthers 57-21. Marvin and DeKoeyer led the way, combining to win all four of their matches, three by pins.

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

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The Wauseon Indian bowlers went on the road Tuesday and took both the boys and girls matches from the Delta Panthers at the Swanton Sports Center.  The boys won 2245-2126 and the girls won 2083-1835.

Parker Black bowled games of 214 and 169 for a 383 series to lead the Indians.  Other series scores were Kage Little with a 356, Riley Morr with a 333 and Kane Panico with a 320.  Ryan Marks threw a 211 game in the win.

Delta was led by Brody Waugh who rolled games of 179 and 200 for a 379 series.  Other series scores were Kaden Hawkins with a 371 including a 201 game, Gabe Syverson with a 364 and Paul McQueen with a 320. Dylan Stricker (115) and Brenden Pribe (130) combined for a 245.

The Lady Indians got a 398 series from Danielle Carr with games of 225 and 173 to lead all bowlers.  Other series scores were Jayde Ramos with a 383 including a 202 game, Natalie Stevens with a 367 including a 222 game, Sehera Roberts with a 244 and Ember Pahl with a 232.

Pictured:  Danielle Carr and Parker Black

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

ORDC Approves Grant Funding to

Nova Tube & Steel, Delta

On January 19, 2022, the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) approved a grant in the amount of $100,000 to assist Nova Tube & Steel (Nova Tube) with the installation of rail infrastructure at its new location near Delta, Ohio.  Nova Tube is in the process of constructing a $105 million facility in order to expand its capabilities in the Midwest. Nova Tube will hire over 102 new employees at the facility once complete and in full operation.  The cost of the new rail infrastructure for this project is estimated at $1,720,000.

A subsidiary of Nova Steel Inc., a Canadian company founded in 1979, Nova Tube remains a privately-owned Canadian based company, servicing the automotive, construction, mining, agriculture, transportation, plumbing and heating, HVAC, waste equipment, rail, and other related industries across North America.  Nova Tube manufactures square, rectangular and round hollow structural section tube in various thicknesses.

The new facility in Delta will consist of one new slitting line and two new Electric Resistance Welding tube mills. The company will produce hollow structural sections and standard pipe for a diverse number of industries from construction applications and infrastructure to mining, solar energy and defense. This project represents a $70 million investment for the company, a strategic position chosen to better serve its existing customer base and support the company’s overall growth strategy from the region.

Matthew Dietrich, Executive Director of the Ohio Rail Development Commission, said “This project is an excellent example of how public and private partnerships can work in tandem to assist companies expanding in Ohio.  The new rail infrastructure will be a tremendous asset to Nova Tube in helping to move its products.  We are proud to assist this company and support its employment efforts in the region.”

“Due to increased steel output locally the demand for steel haul trucking will also increase; we anticipate shortages or difficulties securing adequate trucking service to meet our requirements.  Supplementing our transportation needs with rail service will alleviate a portion of our trucking availability concerns.  Additionally, rail shipments will significantly reduce Co2, and other harmful emissions compared to trucking.  We appreciate ORDC assistance in this regard,” said Mike Droski, Project Manager, Nova Tube & Steel.

***

ORDC assists Ohio companies and communities in creating and retaining jobs by preserving rail ORDC assists Ohio companies and communities in creating and retaining jobs by preserving rail service to existing shippers and providing rail service to new customers.   In addition, the ORDC funds projects to improve railroad-highway grade crossings to increase safety to the traveling public.  Please remember, when around railroad tracks always expect a train.   Rail lines in Ohio are private property and trespassing is both strictly prohibited and extremely dangerous.

For additional information regarding this project or for additional information on ORDC, please contact Wende Jourdan at (614) 728-9497.

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Two of Fulton County’s best boys’ basketball teams met on Tuesday night when the 9-2 Fayette Eagles out of the Buckeye Border Conference (BBC) hosted the 11-1 Swanton Bulldogs from the Northwest Ohio Athletic League (NWOAL) with the visitors scratching out a tough 51-41 victory.  The 10-point margin was in no way indicative of how close the game actually was.

Both squads lived up to their stellar records in the first half with intense defensive play.  Swanton held an 8-6 lead after the first quarter but Fayette was able to outscore the Bulldogs 10-6 in the second quarter to put them on top 16-14 at halftime.  Down 21-20 early in the third quarter, Swanton went on an 8-0 run and took a tenuous six-point advantage, 29-23, into the fourth.

In the final eight minutes, both offenses, led by Swanton’s Nic Borojevich and Fayette’s Elijah Lerma, came alive with the Bulldogs scoring 22 points and the Eagles keeping pace with 18.  Borojevich had 11 of his game-high 25 points and Lerma put up 13 of his 23 team-high points in that last quarter shootout.  Fayette had pulled within 35-33 before Swanton was able to take control late in the contest.

In addition to Nic Borojevich’s 25 points, Luc Borojevich scored eight, Sam Betz added seven, Kayden Davis had five, Cole Mitchey had four and Lathan Pawlowicz had two for the Bulldogs.

Scoring for the Eagles, along with Lerma’s 23 points, was Quinn Mitchell, Wyatt Mitchell and Skylar Lester, all with five points and Demetrius Whiteside had three.

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

In March of 2020, when the State of Ohio issued COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings along with social distancing guidelines, the Swanton Village Council had to live-stream their meetings using Zoom and Facebook.  The live-streaming on Facebook gave access to Council proceedings to the entire Swanton community in real time and also recorded the meetings so they could be viewed by anyone at their convenience.

Eventually, another meeting venue was located that was large enough to accommodate the mandated social distancing guidelines and the Council chose to end the live-streaming.  Despite multiple requests from Mayor Neil Toeppe to resume the practice and bring transparency to Swanton’s Village Government, Council rejected the practice.

At the first Council meeting this year, with four new Council members now seated, Swanton resident John Schmidt gave a presentation of his and fellow resident Rick Maynhart’s efforts to implement live-streaming of all Swanton government meetings by way of a local ordinance voted into law by the Village citizens.  Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Maynhart circulated petitions to obtain enough signatures, 141 as required by law, of registered voters to place the ordinance on the ballot in November of 2021.

“Surprisingly, every single person I spoke with was for the live-streaming and it didn’t matter the demographics, old or young, married or single, retired or working, disabled or abled.  It didn’t matter,” said Mr. Schmidt relating his experience.  “Everyone knew what live-streaming was.  I was rather taken by surprise by that.  Every single one of them said ‘Yes. Let’s make sure that Council is aware that the citizens would like to see the live-streaming of Village Council meetings.’  Most were disappointed that it stopped after the emergency law expired and the streaming was suspended.”

Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Maynhart were able secure more than enough valid signatures to place the issue on the ballot, however, unlike petitions for candidates, it was required that their petition be reviewed by the Village before being resubmitted to the Fulton County Board of Elections.  Because Village officials were allowed 10 days for this review, the petition was not able to be submitted before the official deadline.  It was for this reason Mr. Schmidt addressed the Council.

“I’m here on behalf of the citizens of Swanton to say please consider and hopefully pass an ordinance that allows live-streaming of the Village Council meetings,” said Mr. Schmidt.  He went on to relate to Council some of the reasons different citizens said why they wanted live-streaming such as not being able to attend the meeting because of work, taking care of family matters, other commitments or just being unable to physically leave the house.  The biggest reason given was wanting to know what is going on in the Village.

Mayor Toeppe then asked Village Administrator Rosanna Hoelzle to place the issue on the agenda for the next Council meeting.  Ms. Hoelzle has been researching available live-streaming options and will bring them before Council.

Pictured:  Swanton resident John Schmidt advocates for live-steaming of Council meetings.

To open the new year, three individuals, John Schaller, Steve Brehmer and Kristina Oberheim were sworn in to begin another four-year term on the Swanton Board of Education (BOE).  Mr. Schaller was elected to the BOE in November to his first full term after previously serving twice by appointment to fill vacated seats.  Mr. Brehmer was re-elected to serve his third term and Ms. Oberheim will be serving her fourth consecutive term.

Following the “new” members taking their Oath of Office, nominations for BOE President and Vice-President were accepted.  Ms. Oberheim was nominated for President and was voted to the position unanimously.  Ben Remer was nominated for Vice-President and was also voted to the position unanimously.  Both Ms. Oberheim and Mr. Remer occupied the same seats in 2021.

The Board members proceeded to set dates and times for the calendar year of 2022.  All BOE meetings will take place on the third Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. with the following exceptions: The February meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 15, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. and the June meeting will take place on June 29, 2022 at 6:30 p.m.  There will be no meeting held in July and special meetings will be scheduled as needed.

District Superintendent Chris Lake provided the Board with an update for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  For the second year in a row the district has remained open for in person instruction every day for our students. Due to the widespread availability of testing and vaccines for ages 5 and up the district has maintained a mask optional approach this year. Additionally, the changes to the state quarantine protocol have allowed for more students to remain in school after a potential exposure by simply wearing a mask. Based on our internal data the greatest risk of exposure to COVID comes from outside of the school building and in particular family spread has led to the greatest number of cases. 

First Quarter:

1. Positive cases = 34

2. Quarantines = 106

Second Quarter

1. Positive Cases = 49

2. Quarantines = 51

The highest number of positive cases in the district happened in the week of 10/11 – 10/15 when we had 17 (1.3%) positive cases and 36 quarantines. Since that time the positive cases have ebbed and flowed but remained below the high of 17 with an average of 6.8 cases per week. This represents a positivity rate of roughly .5% for the district population each week. 

Regarding school taxes, Mr. Lake recommended the BOE pass the following resolution: A RESOLUTION DETERMINING TO PROCEED TO SUBMIT TO THE ELECTORS OF THE SWANTON LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT THE QUESTION
OF THE RENEWAL OF AN EXISTING TAX LEVY, PURSUANT TO SECTIONS 5705.194 THROUGH 5705.197 OF THE REVISED CODE.

The Emergency Levy is a fixed sum levy that will collect $825,000 each year for five years.  As property value in the school district changes, the millage amount will be adjusted so the levy will collect $825,000 each year.  Homeowners will continue to receive discounts for owner occupied residences – Rollback & Homestead amounts.  

For tax year 2021, payable in 2022, the $825,000 Emergency Levy is being collected at 3.2 mills.  The cost to the owner of a $100,000 home is $8.17 per month. The millage amount that will be listed on the ballot will be 3.2 mills.  

The valuation of the district has increased over the years, so the millage to raise $825,000 has dropped from 4.45 mills to 3.2 mills.  With the 2022 Minimum Wage increase in Ohio from $8.80 to $9.30, Mr. Lake recommended that the substitute rates for a few classifications be increased to $9.50.

The next BOE meeting will be held on February 15, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. in the BOE Offices on Main Street.

Pictured:  Re-Elected Board members John Schaller, Steve Brehmer and Kristina Oberheim

Delta junior Lexi Brown rolled an impressive 405 series with games of 181 and 224 to lead all girl bowlers but the Lady Panthers came up short, losing 2072-1894 to the Liberty Center Lady Tigers on Friday night at the Swanton Sports Center.  Other Delta series scores were Ciarra Flickinger with a 319, Maddie Johnson with a 289, Karsyn Gillen with a 274 and Serena Shelhart with a 233.  Gwyn Murrey led the Lady Tigers with games of 191 and 153 for a 344 series.

The Delta boys were close, but also fell short, losing to Liberty Center 2301-2240.  Brody Waugh led the Panthers, rolling games of 217 and 183 for a 400 series.  Other Delta series scores were Gabe Syverson with a 352 including a 201 game, Kaiden Hawkins with a 339, Paul McQueen with a 315 and Dylan Stricker with a 289.  For the Tigers, Tim Blaton bowled games of 244 and 248 for a 492 series and Landon Amstutz had games of 235 and 204 for a 439 series.

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Ryan O’Shea drained a shot from behind the three-point arc giving the Swanton Junior Varsity Bulldogs a 31-30 lead over the Patick Henry Patriots with 9.2 seconds left in the game. However, the Patriots worked the ball down low for a game-winning shot and drew a foul with just 0.4 seconds on the clock. After a heated exchange between a Bulldog player and a referee, a technical foul was called against Swanton. Patrick Henry sank three of four foul shots to win the game 33-31.

Charlie Wood led the Bulldogs in scoring with 10 points. O’Shea scored seven points and Brennon Mersing and Drew Smigelski had five points each.

Click on the link above to access all photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format and can be downloaded for no charge.

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For the second consecutive Friday, the Swanton Bulldogs had to hold their collective breath until a final shot at the buzzer fell harmlessly to the floor before being able to celebrate another NWOAL victory.  The Patrick Henry Patriots, who had rallied from a late 12-point deficit to pull within three, inbounded the ball from the far end of the court but their attempt to tie and send the game into overtime came up very short and the Bulldogs walked away with a 46-43 victory at home.

What looked like might be an easy win when Swanton jumped out to a 7-0 lead to open the game, quickly turned into a battle as Patrick Henry finally began hitting their shots to keep the score close. The Bulldogs led 9-4 after the first quarter, 24-18 at halftime and 36-26 and the end of the third and started to put the game away when the scored the first basket of the fourth quarter.

However, still holding a 44-37 advantage with just over 18 seconds left in the game, Swanton allowed the Patriots to jump back into it with a layup and converted foul shot followed by a three-point basket and suddenly the Bulldog lead was a shaky one point.  Needing to foul, Patrick Henry sent Luc Borojevich to the line where he sank one of two shots with 3.1 seconds showing on the clock.

Attempting to inbound the ball, the Patriots threw it across court and out of bounds and again had to foul Borojevich.  He hit one of two free throws for the 46-43 lead which went final following the missed three-quarter court shot.

Nic Borojevich scored a team-high 15 points for the Bulldogs.  Luc Borojevich was right behind with 14 points and Same Betz had 11.  The victory moves Swanton to 2-0 in the league and 11-1 overall.  Patrick Henry falls to 1-1 in the league and 9-3 overall.

Swanton travels to Fayette on Tuesday, January 18, to take on the Eagles then returns home on Thursday, January 20, for league matchup against Wauseon.

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