Summary of news stories last updated July 25th, 2008 - listen to Tiger Country, 97.5 FM WTGR for up to the minute news coverage. 

Bradford School Board Seeks New Member 

The Bradford Board of Education finds itself one short after they accepted the resignation of Don Selanders effective the end of last Monday’s meeting. According to Ohio law, his spot must be filled within the next thirty days and the board will be accepting applications through August 4^th.  Also at the meeting, several options were discussed to close the districts’ $500,000 2009 budget deficit.  Items currently on the table include removing the purchase of a new bus from the 2009 budget, not replacing elementary language arts books as scheduled, and cutting the number of field trips. 

Fair Board Cuts Ribbon on New Facility

The Darke County Fair Board and Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting ceremony at 5:30 yesterday (Wednesday) for the opening of the fair grounds new north end restroom facility.  The $183,000 project broke ground back in mid April and was completed on time and on-budget.  About 35 people attended the event and toured the facility on a picture-perfect afternoon.  Fair Board President Cindy Riffle presided over the ceremony and thanked all guests including engineer’s Mote & Associates and the ten contractors involved with the project.  Riffle emphasizes that the entire building in handicap accessible, including the shower facilities, and that another other highlight of the facility is the family restroom. 

Name of Deceased New Madison Home Owner Released

The Darke County Coroner has ruled that a man found dead at his Hollansburg home on Sunday committed suicide.  New Madison Police Chief John Kiser reported today that Robert G. DeLavergne, age 66, also left information behind that indicated the same.    DeLavergne, who lived at 124 East Union Street, had not been seen by anyone since July 12^th.  New Madison police discovered his body on a welfare check performed on Sunday at 7:15 PM.

Final Two Sentenced in Mercer County Drug Case

The last two people arrested in a November drug roundup in Mercer County have been sentenced in Mercer County Common Pleas Court.  Kyle D. Blake, age 22 of Celina, was sentenced to three years community control after pleading guilty to three counts of trafficking in drugs, all fifth-degree felonies.  Other terms include a six-month operator's license suspension and up to 90 days in the Mercer County.  Amber N. Yingst, age 22, of Sidney, received 16 months in prison with the understanding the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office would not oppose her on judicial release after completing five months. The court also imposed a six-month operator's license suspension on Yingst and ordered $200 in restitution.

Darke County Accepts Bid For Storage Construction

The Darke County Commissioners accepted the recommendation of the county engineer’s office to accept a construction bid from NuWay Builders of Greenville at Monday’s meeting.  NuWay was the lowest bidder at $130,700 for a project that will construct a new storage building for the engineers department.  The structure will be built next to the county highway department on Celina Road just North of Children’s Home-Bradford Road.  It will be used for equipment storage and will replace the departments’ current storage facility on Front Street in Greenville.

Friday to be Big Day in Historic Farmland

Historic Farmland USA will present "Fridays In Farmland," a town-wide celebration of locally produced food, arts, crafts and entertainment, on the second Friday of every month beginning in August. The events will take place in the downtown business district of Farmland from 5 to 9 PM and will include a local farmer's market, artisan booths, family activities and live entertainment.  Local businesses will also stay open late and offer special discounts for visitors. The events are free and open to the public. The first three scheduled dates for "Fridays In Farmland" are August 8th, September 12^th, and October 10th.

Randolph County Makes Major Courthouse Project Decision

A decision has been made in Randolph County regarding the courthouse project and the verdict is ‘stay the course’.  At Monday’s meeting, county commissioners voted 2-1 to proceed with the original courthouse plan as presented by project engineers and architects despite a number of recently explored alternatives.  The plan, which has repeatedly been shown to be the least expensive option at about $10 to $11 million, will renovate the existing courthouse and add a two story courthouse annex by it’s side in downtown Winchester. The dissenting vote on Monday came from Commissioner Ron Chalfant.