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Commissioners Corner
A busy month in
Darke County
Can anyone believe that in a few short weeks the Great Darke County
Fair will be starting? July, like the rest of the year, has flown by
quickly. It seems that just a few weeks ago the farmers were planting
their crops, and the kids were getting out of school. Now, harvest time
is not far off, and school starts shortly. Where does the time go?
One reason for things moving so fast is that a lot is going on all
around us. This month has seen the celebration of our Country’s birth
on the 4th, numerous parades and fireworks, football teams starting
practice, baseball games, softball games, the Convention in Cleveland,
and of course the Annie Oakley Festival and the Gathering at Garst.
Quite a busy month!
The Commissioner’s office has been really busy, and that is just fine
with us. On the 6th, we had the Dayton Development Coalitions Economic
Development forum that was held at Whirlpool. Many different groups and
local officials attended and heard about the progress in our area.
After the Forum, a tour was offered of Whirlpool to those who had not
been there before. Once again, Darke County is one of the leaders in
job creation, retention, and workforce development. Thanks to Jeff
Hoagland and the D.D.C. for a great event, and to Ken Hossler and the
entire Whirlpool staff and employees for showing the area how things
should be done!
The 12th of July saw a Business First meeting being held in Darke
County at the Andersons/Marathon plant in Greenville. The meeting was
very informative, and was well received by everyone. We would like to
thank Ted Hafer and the entire staff at Andersons for hosting the event
in their conference room.
On the 13th, the 2017 budget was signed. This is a precursor to our
Appropriations we will do sometime in November. Thanks to all
department heads for keeping spending in check, and for giving us an
idea what will be needed at appropriation time. As always, they were
very gracious and willing to help, Thank You!
The weekend of the 15th -19th saw the Kings Royal at Eldora, and
according to some accounts, there was a very large crowd, one of the
biggest some had seen. Following that on the 20th was the Nascar truck
race with another large crowd. Eldora Speedway is a very valuable and
vital part of the Darke County entertainment scene, and is a huge
economic booster here. Thanks to Tony Stewart and the good folks at
Eldora.
The weekend of the 21st of July saw Mayor Mike Bowers appointed as the
new Darke County Economic Development Director. Mike will officially
take office at the end of August. Mayor Bowers is a great pick for the
job as he and Marc Saluk worked very closely together the last few
years, and their success has been noted by the job retention and
creation that has happened in the County. Please, when you see the
Mayor, wish him continued success in his new position.
July 22nd saw the annual Elected Officials cookout with the courthouse
employees. Mike Rhoades and Mike Stegall cooked hamburgers and hot
dogs, while the employees brought carry-in dishes. Everything was very
good, and a good time was had by all. Thanks to those who made
something and to those who were able to attend.
On the 26th, Commissioner Mike Stegall, along with Mike Bowers, gave
Mr. Tristan Navera from the Dayton Business Journal a tour of Darke
County. Mr. Navera was very interested in what we have going on here,
and I think he was really impressed by the companies, and especially
the people of Darke County. We want to thank Mike Bowers, Lisa Wendel,
and Melanie Nealeigh, all of the E.D. office, and Dave Keiser,
Partnering for Progress president, for a great presentation to Tristan
in their office. A special Thanks to Matt Staughler, Darke County
Visitors Bureau, Amber Garrett of Main Street Greenville, and Betsy
Ward of A&B Coffee and Cake Company, whose talking with Tristan
left a great impression of our Town and County. Thank You very much!
The highlight for Tristan was the meetings with Karl Weidner and Aaron
Guggenbiller of Midmark, who impressed Mr. Navera so much he talked of
doing a special story on Midmark, and likewise with Randy O’Dell of
JAFE Glass. Thank You gentlemen for taking the time out of your busy
day to promote your businesses and to promote Darke County. Your input
was invaluable!!
As you can tell, July has been a very busy month in the County. Darke
County continues to be blessed with good fortune. One way to find out
what is happening in the county is to attend one of our public
meetings. We meet every Monday and Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in the
Commissioner’s Office, 520 S. Broadway in Greenville, just south of the
Courthouse. Hope to see you there!!
The Darke County Commissioners
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