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Commissioners Corner - County Employees Dedicated & Honorable
Mike Stegall, Darke County Commissioner

While on the campaign trail, I expressed an interest in having the Commissioners put a monthly column in the paper and on the internet to keep everyone informed as much as possible about the goings on in the county. The other 2 Commissioners, Diane Delaplane and Mike Rhoades, quickly agreed that this would be a great way to connect with the citizens of the county. 

As with most new ideas and plans, we are not really sure how this will work out.  By that I mean some months we may have an abundance of news to relate, and some months maybe not so much.  Either way we want to keep the community involved as much as possible.  We realize that government can and should be accountable to the people who elect them, and with that in mind, this will be one way to start down a path that eventually leads to more trust in our elected officials. 

One thing should be noted here, this will be a complete collaboration from this column forward between all the Commissioners and I hope to relate any news our elected officials in the courthouse can contribute.
    
In my short time as Commissioner, I have found that we have a very dedicated and honorable group of elected people and their staffs in the courthouse.  Most of them are never thought about until election time, and that is a shame because I can tell you that everyone who works in the courthouse is very hard working, and always willing to help.  We are going through some tough economic times right now, and every department has helped contribute to the financial stability the county has at this point.  I would like to publicly say “Thank You” to those people for really making the county work, and for helping me to understand how things work.
    
Now, for the county news, I can tell you that the Commissioners have had several meetings with our Senators and Representatives on what to expect the 2nd half of this year.  As of now, all we are hearing is that for the next 2 years, things are going to be tough.  We are told to expect cuts in every program and that nothing is exempt. This theme has been repeated to us several times, so we have taken steps accordingly.  We are going to assume the worst possible case and anything better than that will be a bonus. 

It is not all doom and gloom; however, it seems the business climate in Darke County is on the rise. The new Continental Carbonic plant is moving along, as is the new American Plastics Recycling on Jaysville -St. Johns Road.  Welcome to these new members of Darke County. 

Our Economic Development Director, Marc Saluk, is working very hard on job retention and new job procurement.  Right now, our Economic Development Department is working with about 15 companies on new jobs and job retention. Along with the Partnering for Progress group, the Chamber of Commerce, and the C. I. C., the job climate in the county is looking up.  This is a collaboration between private enterprise and government that is proving to be more successful than we could have hoped.  Marc is very positive at this point that we will have some good news in the next couple of months.
   
We hope that this column becomes a source of information and discussion for the people of Darke County.  All of the Commissioners believe that communication with our elected officials and the citizenry is key to developing a trust and confidence in local government. We invite everyone to come to a Commissioners meeting anytime.  We meet publicly every Monday and Wednesday at 1:30 in the Commissioners office located at 520 south Broadway in Greenville.  Hope to see you there!


 
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