The Swanton Village Council met in a special meeting on June 6, 2022 at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the hiring of six individuals for positions, three part-time and three full-time, in the Swanton Fire and Rescue Department (SFRD). The hiring recommendations came from Fire Chief Ed Dziengelewski in order to alleviate the excessive amount of overtime and shift shortages within the SFRD. The Council voted unanimously to approve all the recommendations.
The three part-time hirings, effective June 6, 2022, were Jayme Large at $15.00/Hour, Jillian Bozarth at $15.00/Hour and Nicholas Rohrs at $16.00/Hour. Each hiring is contingent on a successful completion of a drug screening and background check and will be subject to a six-month introductory period. All individuals agreed to work a minimum of 24 hours per month.
The three full-time hirings, effective June 12, 2022, were Ashley Terry at $15.60/Hour, Colin Fessenden at $15.60/Hour and Brian Groves at $17.00/Hour. Like their part-time colleagues, each hiring is contingent on a successful completion of a drug screening and background check and will be subject to a six-month introductory period. These individuals understand they must reimburse the Village for the expenses of the drug screening and background check if they leave within 24 months of their hiring date. Mr. Fessenden has also agreed to earn a State of Ohio Paramedic license no later than December 31, 2024.
This meeting was live-streamed on the Village’s Facebook page per the Village of Swanton’s new live-streaming policy. It will remain available to the public for viewing until June 6, 2023.
This past Sunday afternoon, just two days after the grand opening of the Heavy Wheelhouse Brewery in Oak Openings Metropark, a second on-site brewery, Oncore Brewing, held a soft opening for family members, friends, investors and several local business owners.
The owners are Keith Baker and Dale Black, both of whom have been home brewing for many years. Keith serves as the Head Brewer as well as the business’s contractor, having been in the construction and contracting industry since 1999. Dale provides a lot of financial backing in addition to his brewing experience.
The name of the business, Oncore Brewing, is a tribute to Keith’s late father, Kenny, who was a drummer in local bands around the Rising Sun, Ohio area. Both Keith and Kenny shared a passion for music and beer. At the end of a gig, Kenny’s band would play an encore after he would announce, “One More N We’re Goin!” The “E” in encore is replaced by an “O” which represents the power button on the sound equipment used by the band members.
You can see more of the tribute reflected in the interior design and their outside marquee and with their beer tap handles, which are all drum sticks. The grand opening will take place sometime in July once they receive their occupancy permit. Oncore Brewing is located at 14249 Airport Highway in Swanton in a small strip mall just west of McDonalds that also includes Subway, Twisted Nutrition and Ko’s Garden restaurant.
Click on the link above to access photos from the soft opening.
After being unable to use first, the grounds at Swanton High School and later, the grounds at Faith Lutheran Church on County Road H, the Village of Swanton has settled on a third and firm location to celebrate the 2022 Independence Day, with their annual spectacular fireworks display. The event, considered one of the best in Northwest Ohio, will take place at Memorial Park with the launch area situated up on the hill in the parking lot close to the softball diamond.
For many years the fireworks were shot off on Swanton Schools property, however, some of the falling debris would land on the roof of the high schools, causing damage over time. This damage was partially responsible for the roof needing to be recently replaced at a cost of $375,000. To protect the new roof from further damage, school officials declined to host the event this year and going forward.
Faith Lutheran Church, with their new location and spacious property, offered to host the popular display. However, after the Village accepted their gracious offer, the church’s grounds plans, which included a pollinator prairie and garden, were implemented which changed the fireworks’ launch location. The American Fireworks Company reevaluated the new launch location and determined it did not meet the 350 feet distance from structures and advised the Village a to search for another site.
With little time to work with, the Swanton Village Administration along with the Fire Department and the Police Department began looking for a new site that would not only allow the fireworks to be shot off but also allow the public adequate parking and observation areas. Many area businesses surrounding the park area were contacted and agreed to allow the public to park on their private lots. Plan “C” is now in place for July 2, 2022 with the first launch scheduled to go off at dusk.
At tonight’s Village Council meeting, Mayor Neil Toeppe gave an update on the fireworks event. He stated he understood the school’s position on wanting to protect their facilities and he thanked the members of Faith Lutheran Church for stepping up to host the event even though, ultimately, it did not work out.
“I cannot speak highly enough about the work that’s been done by the Fire Chief, the Police Chief, Public Services, the folks in the office in trying to arrange everything in finding a location, working with American Fireworks, talking to the vendors to find a proper location for water and electric hookup,” said Mr. Toeppe. He also thanked Councilwoman Sam Disbrow for designing a map (below) showing parking and viewing locations in the Village. More information will soon be posted on the Village’s Facebook page and website.
Oak Openings Preserve, the largest of Toledo’s Metroparks, is widely known for its miles of exciting and challenging bike trails, beautiful lakes, lodges and shelter houses, walking trails, horse trails and of course, the Cannaley Tree House Village. After this weekend, you can now add the Heavy Wheelhouse (Beer) Brewery and Black Kite Coffee to its long list of activity and entertainment offerings.
As explained by Head Brewer and self-described “Risk Taker” Dave Alying, the “Heavy” in the name of the brewery was inspired by his attitude and mind-set when it came to taking the scary leap into a new business and career. “Our mantra is ‘Heavy into It’. Don’t go into something lightly. If you’re going to do it, go all the way,” said Mr. Alying, who has 15 years of experience brewing beer.
A public park may seem like an unusual place for a brewery, but, by all accounts, it is a welcome addition to the uniqueness that is Oak Openings. “This is a partnership between the Toledo Metroparks and Toledo Spirits,” said Mike Keedy, Director of Enterprise Development for the Metroparks. “I’m working with Heavy to develop this establishment. It is a collaboration between Heavy Brewing Company and Black Kite Coffee. There will be coffee service in the morning and the beer is brewed right on his site.”
The facility is located on the Beach Ridge Bike Trail which comes off State Route 64 or 3520 Waterville-Swanton Road, just south of Airport Highway. It is also conveniently located for guests staying in the Cannaley Tree House Village which sits a couple of hundred yards to the west, deeper in the woods.
Currently, the Heavy Wheelhouse is open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM. They can be contacted by phone at 419-662-9521.
Click on the link above to access photos of the new brewery.
At tonight’s Delta Village Council meeting, Council members had to vote on the First Reading of Ordinance 22-09, Prohibiting the cultivation of marijuana; processing of medical marijuana; marijuana wholesalers; marijuana retailers; and “medical retail marijuana dispensaries” in the Village of Delta, Fulton County, Ohio.
Language in the ordinance referred to the legal right of the Village to prohibit marijuana-related activities despite medical marijuana being legal in the State of Ohio and stated, “The Council for the Village of Delta has reviewed the pros and cons of allowing these activities and finds it would be in the best interest of the Village of Delta and its inhabitants to prohibit such activities.”
This particular legislation came about after Delta resident Beth Thomas solicited Mayor Frank Wilton at the May 16th Council meeting to have it drafted by the Village Solicitor, Kevin Heban, and presented to Council after Delta residents voted 346-207 against allowing marijuana activities on an advisory ballot on May, 3, 2022.
Prior to the vote on the ordinance, there was no discussion by Council. When the vote was taken, Council members Lynne Frank, Mike Tanner and Art Thomas voted “Yes” to allow the ban to become law. Council members Ashley Todd, Tony Dawson and Chad Johnson voted “No” to oppose the ban. According to Delta’s Rules of Council, all tie votes are settled or decided by the Mayor. Mayor Wilton then voted “Yes” and the First Reading passed.
Two more readings with the same result will need to be passed followed by a 30-day waiting period before this ordinance can be enacted. The next Council meeting, and the Second Reading, will take place on June 20, 2022, and a possible Third Reading will be July 11, 2022.
Yesterday, the Swanton Chamber of Commerce held the first what will be five Downtown Markets this year on a closed-off Zeiter Way at the Main Street intersection. The events, which run from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, are scheduled on the first Saturday of the month with July 2nd, August 6th, September 3rd and October 1st still to come. There will be many local vendors and a food truck at each one. Attached above is a link to photos from the day.
For many decades, internships in businesses or other organizations were almost exclusively given to college students looking to learn more about a chosen career and further their employment chances, possibly where they served that internship. Recently, many high schools have gotten into the act, giving juniors and seniors an opportunity to see what may be involved in a particular career or industry or, more specifically, a job and what type of educational requirements may be needed.
Swanton Village Administrator Rosanna Hoelzle is a strong proponent of internship programs and has brought in Swanton High School (SHS) students in the past during her six-year tenure, including this year. “I feel very strongly about public service. I don’t think people understand public service so, I really try to engage as much as I can so people have an understanding,” said Ms. Hoelzle. “Some of the struggles that we’ve seen is not necessarily that we have to agree on things but that people just don’t understand so they get frustrated and once they understand that kind of changes the tune. I feel if we start with high school students to have an understanding of what your local government does, what public service is, the next generation will have a better understanding.”
This year Ms. Hoelzle and the Village welcomed Swanton HS senior and The Ohio State University (OSU) bound, Riley Bellner. It could not have been a better match. It allowed Ms. Hoelzle, with her experience and her passion for teaching civic engagement to mentor Riley, a very intelligent (Class of 2022 Valedictorian) and eager-to-learn student who will be enrolled in the John Glenn College of Public Affairs while at OSU on a full four-year academic scholarship.
Earlier in her high school career, Riley considered majoring in Veterinary Medicine in college. But it was her mother, Heidi, who said to her one day, “Why do you want to be a Vet when I’ve never seen you light up, the way I see you light up the way you do when you talk about public service and justice and things like that?” Apparently, mother knew best.
“Literally, at that moment, it clicked,” said Riley. “This is what I want to do. I don’t want to be a Vet. I want to do something for the people. I want to make the world a better place, if that doesn’t sound too corny. Since then, I’ve been on that track.”
Ms. Hoelzle also pointed out that she treated Riley, just like she treats all interns, as one of her staff. She gears the assignments to their interests, which at times includes multitasking, but also expects the assignments to be completed. “I think it’s important to treat them like it’s going to be when they get a ‘real’ job,” emphasized Ms. Hoelzle. I’m not sugarcoating anything,” she said.
Riley was able to sit in on meetings discussing the Village’s sewer separation projects and the related road construction that came along with it. “It’s been amazing,” said Riley describing her time with the Village. “There have been so many things that I’ve gotten to do. I sat in on a lot of meetings with the big sewer split. I happen to live off Garfield, on Allen, right in the middle of it all. So, it’s been really nice to get explanations to all the stuff I see when leaving my house and coming home every single day. It’s even nice to be able to explain it to my mom or people around me because there’s so much frustration with the people because they don’t know or they don’t understand. It’s a lot easier to go over the potholes and not get angry if you understand what is going on.”
Riley was able to spend some time in the field with the Village’s Code Enforcement Officer and had the opportunity to write a few “notices” for nuisance properties that were discovered. “It was important for her to understand in terms of if you want a community to develop, you want to have a community that follows what the rules and regulations are,” explained Ms. Hoelzle.
The most important lessons Riley may have learned from her time as a Village intern may have come from observing Ms. Hoelzle’s management style, her interpersonal relationship skills and her overall professionalism. “She knows so much. There have been so many other things I’ve learned from her other than just public service,” said Riley. “Every task she gives she doesn’t just give it and say do it. She explains thoroughly, why we do what we do and why this is happening and why this decision should be made.”
Academic opportunities made available through SHS have allowed Riley to earn enough college credits to walk on to the OSU campus as a sophomore. She plans to attain a Bachelor of the Arts in Public Management Policy and Leadership with a specialization in Environmental Policy. Her long-term goal is to one day be working for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which would be an ironic choice given it was an EPA mandate that was responsible for the sewer separation project that made her neighborhood streets virtually impassable for a short time.
In late August, Riley travels to Columbus to begin the next major chapter in her life. In the meantime, she will be working a part-time summer job, getting her hands dirty in the interest of public service on the maintenance crew for, who else, the Village of Swanton.
Swanton Village Administrator Rosanna Hoelzle and SHS Intern Riley Bellner
In late February of this year, the Village of Swanton announced the launch area of their annual fireworks display was being relocated from the grounds of Swanton High School to a field adjacent to the new Faith Lutheran Church on County Road H, on the west side of the Village. The date was scheduled for July 2, 2022. Parking, viewing areas and space for the food trucks would continue to be at the school.
The reason given for the change was a new roof had just been placed on the high school and school officials were concerned about falling fireworks debris causing damage to the roof resulting in leaks. Fireworks damage incurred over the years was one of the reasons the roof had to be replaced.
This week, however, it was determined the church property, which now includes gardens, does not have the required 350 feet of distance from the launch area which disqualifies the site from being used. The position of the Swanton Local School District on the issue did not change after a second request from the Village.
Village officials are now looking to place the launch site up on the hill at Memorial Park, in the area of Harding Fields, possibly on the softball diamond. Food trucks and entertainment kiosks would be situated along the Park’s driveway, much like they are during the Swanton Corn Festival. Village safety officials are working with representatives from the fireworks company on this proposed site.
To begin, let me say that I believe in the Second Amendment, or at least what I believe is the spirit of the Second Amendment. “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” People in our country should have a right to defend themselves, their family and their property from harm and do so with “arms”.
Unfortunately, the Second Amendment is one of the most vaguely worded and ambiguous legislative pieces of the United States Constitution and is so wide open to interpretation, anybody, especially politicians, can mold it to perfectly align it with their own value system, moral code and political agenda. Along with the advancement of weapon technology since it was adopted in 1791, it goes a long way in explaining why we are where we are today, a nation divided between our Constitutional right to own a weapon, how powerful and lethal that weapon can be and what, if any, restrictions should apply.
I am so tired of hearing the self-rationalized excuse for not regulating guns, “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” Of course, they do. Every person “murdered” in the history of mankind was killed by another person. Whether it be with bare hands, poison, knives, guns, hammers, cars or nuclear weapons, it does not matter. Human beings are always responsible for murdering other human beings. The question is “Why do we make it so damn easy?”
No matter how it is worded or defined or applied, the Second Amendment is not absolute. Common sense limitations must be included for our own protection. Even the First Amendment’s right of free speech, one of our most sacred rights, has its boundaries. The law does not allow anyone to yell “fire” in a crowded venue or falsely and maliciously slander or libel a person’s character with impunity.
We first need to specifically define what “arms” are with respect to the Second Amendment. To leave it so vague, it could be argued that it can include bazookas, grenade launchers, flame throwers, etc. as well as assault rifles. You can see where I am going with this. Where is the cut-off?
At the same time, we need to implement background checks across the board and a minimum waiting period for any gun purchase. I do not understand the opposition to this. Are background checks that much of an inconvenience to law abiding citizens that they would not want them to help protect their own families from those bent on killing for whatever reason? Try getting a good job today without a background check.
Many opponents to this type of legislation argue we should focus on mental health issues instead. I argue that we should do both. We need to help people with psychological deficiencies, especially at an early age, but we also need to be aware of their possible mental health status when they want to buy a lethal weapon.
Should we allow individuals that have been radicalized through the internet or through an affiliation with an anti-American organization to stockpile an armory without any sort of investigation?
A lot of our political leaders in Congress, Republicans mostly, claim they cannot stop the mass shootings with legislation and it would be a waste of taxpayer money to try. It is a feeble and irresponsible excuse perpetuated by the National Rifle Association (NRA) in order to validate and sustain their own existence. They never offer a solution, only thoughts and prayers. These same people also claim that “gun control” means the government takes away all your guns. It is a scare tactic. One, that unfortunately, is very effective, but not at all true.
Sadly, this latest mass shooting, at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas will not be the last. Two teachers and 19 young children were gunned down despite the thoughts and prayers that were disingenuously sent from Congress to grieving families and communities after Buffalo, El Paso, Pittsburgh, Aurora and Columbine in Colorado and Newtown, Connecticut and on and on and on. Some of the bodies of the dead children in Uvalde were so mangled because of the “legally” purchased type of weapon and ammunition used that DNA testing had to be used for identification.
The NRA’s response to the Uvalde massacre was to go on with their annual meeting, ironically also in Texas, and have Republican King, Donald Trump, read off the list of the deceased, mispronouncing their names along the way while a gong sounded after each victim. Trump finished his speech with a little dance, a little jig to show how much he cared. He may as well have been dancing on the 21 graves that had yet to dug.
The majority of Americans believe and will support common sense gun legislation. Most have grown sick and tired of what has become a uniquely American phenomena, an American epidemic of gun violence, too often punctuated by mass murders of our children, all facilitated by lax gun laws and apathetic self-serving law makers.
Turning schools into fortresses and teachers into armed security guards will not work. Think about the teachers you had in school. How many of them would be capable of holding off an active shooter? And it is not just schools we have to worry about. It is shopping malls and grocery stores and movie theaters and festivals and any large public gathering.
More guns are not the answer. Our elected officials need to find another way and if they cannot we need to find some that can.
Swanton American Legion Murbach-Siefert Post #479 conducted the Memorial Day Tribute to all fallen service men and women who gave their lives in defense of the United States of America. The event began with a parade that started at the Church/Main Street intersection and proceeded down Main Street, turning into Memorial Park in front of the WWI Doughboy Statue. Legion commander Rick Maynhart gave the opening remarks and John Schmidt gave the opening and closing prayers. Air Force Master Sergeant Helen Wheeler was the keynote speaker. The Swanton High School Marching Bulldogs was on hand to play the National Anthem, the anthem for all branches of the military and concluded the ceremony by playing Taps.
Click on the link above to access the photos from today’s ceremony. Photos can be downloaded to your computer for no charge.
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