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Drawing attention to child abuse By Larry Limpf News Editor news@presspublications.com
After the fire
Mary Pierce and her daughter Amanda Neer, with Amanda's daughter, four year old Sophia Pierce, and all that remains after a fire took their home at 6401 N. Martin-Wiliston Rd. Amanda rescued Sophia and Amanda's sister Samantha from the fire. See story on page 5. (Press photo by Ken Grosjean)
Oregon
Power plant noise rankles neighbors Some residents living near the Oregon Clean Energy electric power plant at 816 N. Lallendorf Road have raised concerns about a loud noise coming from the facility, which is about to begin operations. A resident who lives about a half mile from the plant described the noise as “extreme,” and likened it to a “jet engine.” “They fired something up last Friday, and it’s been going on at least eight hours per day,” he recently told The Press. “Multiple people in the community are asking questions. People should be allowed to know what’s going on and how long it will go on. If it’s a permanent issue with the power plant, people should know it.” Another resident who lives in the same area said the noise was “intense.” “If it’s this loud with our windows closed in the winter, what will we have to endure when the windows are open in the summer? Nobody warned us about this. I was happy to hear about the project, but I never thought it would disrupt the quiet of the neighborhood and our peace of mind,” she said. “What will it be like when the second power plant gets built next door to the first plant? Are they both going to be mak-
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The power plant will last over 40 years and will be a very good neighbor, but for a three week period, it will be a noisy obnoxious neighbor.
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By Kelly J. Kaczala Press News Editor kkaczala@presspublications.com
ing that noise?” she asked. Temporary City Administrator Mike Beazley said he’s heard similar concerns from the public, but added they shouldn’t worry. He wants them to know the assault on their eardrums is only temporary. The power plant is required to test its equipment before it starts operations, which is expected this year. The noise will discontinue afterwards.
There are two rounds of the tests. One was just completed, and another phase is coming up, said Beazley. “There’s about three weeks of horrible noise that comes out of the plant during the construction phase when they’re required to blow steam. We had the first 10 days of it that ended about a week ago, but there’s another 10 day period coming up in a couple of weeks. After that, the testing – and the noise - will end,” said Beazley, who also described the noise as sounding like “a jet plane landing in your backyard.” A good neighbor The facility is “a very quiet and emissions-free plant,” said Beazley. “But during the construction phase, it’s a required part of the commissioning to do that testing of the steam system. It’s just very noisy, for two 10-day periods. People have called wanting to know why they have to listen to this horrible noisy thing. The power plant will last over 40 years and will be a very good neighbor, but for a three week period, it will be a noisy obnoxious neighbor. People can hear it from miles away. But it’s not going to be like that for 40 years.” The construction of the multi-million dollar, 800 megawatt energy generation facility, which will convert clean natural gas to electricity, took three years to complete.
An increase in the number of reports of child abuse/neglect last year in Wood County can be attributed to problems families face with opiate addiction, according to Maricarol Torsok-Hrabovsky, special projects manager with Wood County Job and Family Services. Torsok-Hrabovsky gave a presentation Tuesday to the Lake Township trustees about the agency’s efforts to increase awareness of abuse/neglect. In 2016, the county saw an increase of 176 reports of child abuse/neglect from the 2015 total of 718, she told the trustees. Last year in the township, there were 47 cases reported and investigated; 26 in the Village of Walbridge and 21 in the Village of Millbury. To raise awareness about the issue, the agency will hold Pinwheels for Prevention April 12 in the county but this year there will be a change. Instead of placing blue pinwheels just in the Bowling Green area – as was the practice in the past, with each pinwheel representing one abuse/neglect report – pinwheels will be placed in towns and school districts throughout the county. “We normally would set up a display in Bowling Green. This year we’ll be taking the project on the road,” Torsok-Hrabovsky said. In Lake Township, pinwheels will be placed at Frienship Park next to the administration building. The agency has set a goal of having foster parents in each school district throughout the county and bolstering a donation fund that can be used for items not allowed by government funds. The trustees approved a resolution recognizing April as Ohio Child Abuse Prevention Month. Pinwheels will also be placed in the cities of Northwood, Rossford, Perrysburg and Perrysburg Township, and Eastwood, Elmwood and Otsego school districts, said Sandi Carsey, children services administrator at Wood County JFS. In other business, the trustees opened four contract bids for a columbarium to be Continued on page 2
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