DUKE CENTER — At the monthly meeting of the Otto Township supervisors, two Otto-Eldred High School students requested the supervisors’ permission to complete their required school project on township property.
The two, under the guidance of faculty advisor Kristen Ramsey, will both be doing arboreal projects. Sophomore Brett Taggart’s project will be tapping maple trees, collecting the sap, and processing maple syrup. Ezelea Issacs, a senior, wants to create a walking path with placards identifying the many indigenous trees on the grounds. The two, along with Mrs. Ramsay, will meet next Wednesday with supervisor Mike Ogilvie and Sharon Schwab, owner of adjacent property, to finalize the projects.
The annual Cash Bash, sponsored by the Old Home Days Committee to raise funds for their always spectacular fireworks display, will be held on April 18, with doors opening at two o’clock. Schwab asked the supervisors for help with the project and chairman Chris Claycomb agreed to have township personnel there to help. Anyone wishing to donate their time or money to this cause should contact Schwab at 558-4973 or any other Old Home Days Committee member.
The supervisors are looking to expand their work area on Brooklyn Street in Duke Center, in order to erect a storage building for sand/salt mix. Resident Jeff Duke has agreed to meet with them and discuss the possibility of selling them the requested property. Rixford resident Pete Everly raised questions about the Depot Street bridge project behind his house. Claycomb assured him that when the project is initiated he will be kept informed.
Roadmaster Jeremy Delong reported that one truck has been repaired and another one is in the shop at the present. However, due to the less than normal amount of snow, the roads have been kept plowed. Mike Spencer, a school bus driver, requested that the intersections in Duke Center be cleared more thoroughly to ensure visibility of Main Street traffic. With spring “just around the corner,” Supervisor Mark Palmer stated that cold patching will be started whenever weather permits.
Ten residents received the initial letters from the recently-formed blight committee stating their properties are not in compliance with the township code. The committee will continue to monitor these properties and take the necessary steps to see that the owners are cooperating. The supervisors agreed that one property in the township may be required to secure a permit to operate a junkyard. Claycomb will proceed looking into the requirements and talk to the landowner. The memorial banners, to be hung on Main Street in Duke Center and Looker Mountain Trail in Rixford, are being manufactured and will be erected this spring. Anyone desiring to honor a veteran with a banner should call Ogilvie at 966-3758.
