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Written by JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN Sentinel County Editor
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Wednesday, 15 May 2013 10:36 |
NORTH BALTIMORE - The CSX rail hub in Wood County was built to be expanded in the future. But few expected the future to be so soon.
Just two years from the opening of the $175 million site in Henry Township, CSX officials plan to spend another $42 million on an expansion. Tuesday morning, CSX officials held a conference call with the Wood County Commissioners to explain their plans and seek county support for a federal grant to pay for half the project.
"We always anticipated expansion," said Rusty Orben, director of public affairs for CSX Transportation.
"We've filled the capacity a little bit faster than we thought," said Carl Warren, director of strategic infrastructure for CSX.
The 500-acre site currently employs nearly 300 people, and handles more than 30 trains a day, with an annual capacity of 2 million containers.
The proposed expansion will fit in the existing 500 acres, and will require more employees, though it is not known how many more, according to Duke Acor, the rail hub manager.3
The expansion will extend the processing area 2,300 feet to the west, and require the installation of two additional cranes. The five existing cranes are 100-feet high and span 306 feet, covering all eight tracks underneath them.
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Help wanted: Local youths sought for summer jobs |
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Written by JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN Sentinel County Editor
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Wednesday, 15 May 2013 10:03 |
Help wanted: Young people eager to work, and employers willing to teach them.
Pay: Up to $10/hour, paid for by the federal government.
Wood County has $300,000 to use for a Summer Youth Employment Program, paid for by the federal program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
The program is designed to help youth get a start in the workforce, at no cost to local employers.
"We are recruiting employers to take on some of our kids for the summer," said Mary DeWitt, director of the JobSolutions program which organizes the youth employment program at Wood County Job and Family Services.
"We can always use more," she said of employers willing to participate.
"We have the funds, so we're going to try to get as many youth employed this summer," DeWitt said. She would like to see at least 75 youth working in the program. "I would consider that a success."
The "stumbling block" to success is finding employers willing to take on the young workers.
"It's finding that match," DeWitt said.
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Lake Twp. to share garden plot |
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Written by DEBBIE ROGERS Sentinel Staff Writer
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Wednesday, 15 May 2013 10:33 |
MILLBURY - Visitors to the Lake Township Food Pantry and monthly giveaway may be able to pick up cereal, bread and soup on a regular basis. But in-season, fresh fruits and vegetables are hard to come by.
Not anymore.
Two area women are planting a "compassion garden" on property donated by the Lake Township Trustees on Lemoyne Road. The trustees approved the donation at last week's meeting.
"We just want to do something for the community," said Melanie Lutman, who is heading up the project with Kimberly Boos.
The food pantry, which is open once a month at the Walbridge fire station, helps 120 people regularly.
"They should be able to come in and get healthy food for their kids," Lutman said.
She added that usually it is cheaper and more convenient to pick up a burger and fries, than fresh fruits and vegetables.
"It is easier to eat fast food than go buy some vegetables."
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Elmwood may go back on ballot |
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Written by MARIE THOMAS BAIRD Sentinel Education Editor
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Tuesday, 14 May 2013 10:00 |
JERRY CITY - The school board is hinting at going back to voters in November to try again to renew its two income taxes.
Superintendent Tony Borton asked school board members at their meeting Monday for their opinion to try again this year or wait until 2014.
An attempt earlier this month to pass the district's 0.5-percent and 0.75-percent income taxes for a continuing time was soundly defeated, with 58 percent of voters voting against each request.
Borton said he thought residents' biggest concern was the taxes were going to a continuing status rather than the five-year limit they've had since first being passed in the early 1990s.
Both income taxes were last approved in 2009 by 62 percent of the vote.
The 0.5- and 0.75-percent income tax levies are set to expire in 2015 and 2016, respectively, and combined generate $1,590,000 for the district, or about 14 percent of Elmwood's operating budget.
Borton said the biggest concern with waiting until 2014 is if the taxes don't pass that year, the district will get into "crunch time" to get them approved.
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