Summary of news stories last updated March 9th, 2010 - listen to Tiger Country, 97.5 FM WTGR for up to the minute news coverage.

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SLAMMERS TAKE TITLE

On Sunday, the Darke County Slammers beat the Columbus Comets 60-50 for their 2^nd state basketball championship in 3 years. The Slammers are the school age team for Darke County Special Olympics.  In the game 7 out of 13 players scored and the entire team played tough defense to lead the squad to another championship.  The Darke County Warriors, the adult team, fell in the sectional semi-final game. Both teams saw great success after scheduling conflicts limited the teams home games and juggled the team’s practice.  Even with the scheduling woes, the two teams had great seasons and the Slammers are champs again.

FEBRUARY WEATHER EFFECTS BLOOD DRIVES

 Mother nature canceled quite a few events for February.  Due to the snow and extreme conditions the Darke County Blood Center had to cancel two drives for the month of February.  On Tuesday, the Blood Center will hold a drive at the Moose Lodge in Greenville.  The drives for February will not be made up, but the hours for the blood drive at the Moose Lodge has been extended because of the cancellations in February.  The drive will be from 10:30 AM to 6:30 PM at 1200 Sweitzer St. in Greenville.  People who register to donate blood before March 17^th will receive a free limited edition St. Patty’s Day green t-shirt. Darke County Blood Center will be holding 3 more Blood Drives this month.  Schedule an appointment and become a donor by calling 997-2199 or visit www.donortime.com

PARKING CHANGES AT WAYNE

On Monday Wayne HealthCare will open its brand new $46 million expansion.  With the new building opening at Wayne HealthCare, parking changes will take place. Effective this Monday all visitors and patients should park in the lot north of the new building.  Before visitors and patients used Central Avenue for parking and entered in the back of they hospital.  Now, visitors and patients are asked to park in the lot north of the new building and use the new main entrance facing Switzer Street. Overflow parking for patients and visitors will be the lot located on Central Avenue. Construction is still going on at Wayne HealthCare.  The new parking lot has 75 parking spots.

BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS ON THE BALL

The theme this year for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters largest fundraiser is Bowl For Kids' Sake. On Friday from 5:00 to 6:00PM at Bel Mar Lanes in Sidney and Sunday Noon to 4:00 at Bel Mar and Mc Bo's Lanes in Versailles, will be the fundraiser for Big Brothers and Big Sisters. The money raised goes directly towards establishing one-to-one mentoring relationships between caring adults and kids in need.  Last year alone the agency served over 500 children with Shelby and Darke County.  All funds stay in the county in which they are raised. Participation is open to the public and community members are asked to form 4-5 member teams.  The minimum to participate is $40 and it gets the roller one free game of bowling, t-shirt, free food and entry into many prize drawings, including an Ipod Touch, Ninetendo Wii and 2 Airline Tickets. If interested in forming a team or getting involved as a company call 492-7611 or 547-9622 or visit bigbrobigsis-shelby-darke.org.

NEW BUILDING, NO PROBLEM

Sunday was a very busy and unique day for the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department. Around 1,700 people participated in an open house to see the new adult detention facility and the old jail.   On that same day the Sheriff’s Department moved inmates from the old facility to the new building on SR 29 West in Celina.  It was a big change and after the first week the staff is still getting situated with its new facility.  The New Jail can hold up to 110 inmates, the old jail held only 15 inmates.  It was a very busy and stressful Sunday, but Sheriff Grey called the move in a huge success. The Sheriff’s Department reported no major issues during the first 5 days.  The staff was pleased to have participated in training that allowed citizens to stay over night at the new facility on February 5th and the 19th.  Sheriff Grey said that training session was valuable because the staff changed the way they served food to the inmates and altered some other small things. I huge change from the old facility to the new Facility when looking at size and technology, but so far so good for the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department.

FAIRBOARD HITS HOMERUN WITH LADY A

On Wednesday night the Darke County Agricultural Society held their monthly Fairboard meeting. One of the items on the busy agenda was discussion on ticket sales for the anticipated concert with headliner Lady Antebellum.  The board debated on whether there should be a transaction limit when purchasing the tickets for the concert. The final decision was there would not be a limit to the amount of tickets an individual can purchase.  Lady Antebellum is having a huge 2010.  Just 2 months into the New Year, Lady A has accomplished more in 62 days than most artist accomplish in a career. The hottest ticket around will go on sale for the hottest group in the country in just 16 days at DarkeCountyFair.com. The next Fairboard meeting will be April 7th, at the Darke County Fairgrounds. 

COOK PROMOTED AT COMMISSIONERS MEETING

John Cook walked into the Darke County Commissioners meeting as “Business and Safety Coordinator” and walked out with the title “Business Administrator”.  At the regularly scheduled meeting, the Commissioners abolished the position’s “Loss Control Coordinator” and “Business and Safety Coordinator”. Then, adopted the position description for the position of “Business Administrator”.  Cook was hired in 1997 under the title “Loss Control Coordinator” he then adopted the title “Business and Safety Coordinator”.  On Wednesday, those two positions were abolished and a new position was created.  The commissioners recognized Cook for his hard work.  Commissioner Terry Haworth said Cook is a “valuable part of the team”.  Commissioner Diane Delaplane appreciated Cook’s services to the county.  The new job description is 2 ½ pages long, but Commissioner Delaplane called the job a combination of what Cook has already been doing.  The next Darke County Commissioners meeting is Monday, March 8th at 1:30 PM and is open to the public.

MARCH MARKS RED CROSS MONTH

At Monday’s Darke County Commissioner’s meeting, the Commissioner’s signed a proclamation making the moth of March, Red Cross Month. For the month the Red Cross will be recognizing and thanking the supporters and volunteers whose efforts enable the Red Cross to respond to disasters down the street, across the country and around the world. The American Red Cross provides shelter, food, comfort and hope to survivors of nearly 70,000 disasters each year; helps prepare communities for emergencies; is the largest single provider of the nation’s blood; teaches lifesaving skills to more than 5 million people a year; supports military members and their families, and provides international humanitarian aid. The Darke County American Red Cross will be holding “Save a Life Saturday” on March 13^th at Greenville Junior High School at 8:30 AM. The Adult CPR/AED Training is The Chapter’s most popular course offering. Certification lasts for one year. For more information on the Darke County Red Cross visit www.darkecounty.redcross.org.

60 NEW SPACES

At the regularly scheduled Darke County Commissioners meeting on Monday, the commissioners signed an agreement for site demolishing and parking lot design for Darke County Courts. Business and Safety Coordinator, John Cook was in attendance to hand off the agreement for Moten Associates Engineer Services. Cook also took questions pertaining to the project.  The project will call for the demolishing of 5 buildings behind the courthouse and administration building. The structures coming down are the old Visitors House and garage, the former D.A.R.E. House and the Albrict Home and garage.  That space will turn into parking for the courthouse, library and downtown Greenville.  Plans released included a total of 63 parking spots possibly being created. Cook said the project would most likely be completed in September or October of this year.  The buildings being demolished are not being used. Darke County Prosecuting Attorney Kelly Ormsby reviewed the agreement.  The next Darke County Commissioners meeting is Wednesday at 1:30 PM.