“This is really an exciting, straightforward way to show the streetscape improvements that will be coming to downtown, and to allow the public to supply their input and comment,” said Lima City Engineer Ian Kohli.
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Pictured: Construction team members working. Hard hat on table at construction site.
It's offering a new route to repay federal loans under far more generous terms. President Joe Biden announced the plan in August, but it was overshadowed by his sweeping plan to slash or eliminate student debt for 40 million Americans. Education department officials today called the new plan a "Student Loan Safety Net" that'll prevent borrowers from getting overloaded with debt. The President is moving forward with the repayment plan even as his one-time debt cancellation faces an uncertain fate before the Supreme Court.
With the placement of the last truss, the senior patrol leader of Scouts BSA Troop 304 James Hedrick and Scout Tyler Kogan were on hand to lash a pine sapling to the last truss for a topping out ceremony. A topping out ceremony is a construction tradition that has been occurring in some fashion for centuries as a celebration of a project milestone. Traditionally, this ceremony occurs when the final structural beam is raised into place, completing the building's frame.
Mayor Dean Meyer gave a state of the village address at the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce meeting. He talked about completing a strategic plan for Ottawa. The plan was put together by an outside company from recommendations from council members and residents. It will focus on public spaces, neighborhoods, streets, and trails for the next 5 to 10 years. He says it is good to have a plan moving forward.
Outgoing Ohio Speaker of the House Bob Cupp had reached his term limit as a representative and is leaving a long career in public service. As a State Representative, he was key to finding a solution to the state’s school funding problem. For years, the funding formula was considered unconstitutional, and for three years Cupp and other law makers met with school officials and financial experts around the state to develop a plan that would be considered fairer to all school districts. The plan was adopted in 2021 as part of the two-year state budget and looked at both local incomes and property values to determine how much of the schools budget the district can cover on its own, before the state puts in their share.
Gov. Mike DeWine is continuing his support for fixing the weed problem in Indian Lake in 2023. In October, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources unveiled a plan to deal with the excessive growth of two different kinds of aquatic vegetation that affected 75% of the lake this past summer. For part of the solution, Aqua Doc Lake and Pond Management was hired to use herbicides to target the specific vegetation to control its spread.
Cupp has served as an Allen County Commissioner, a judge on the 3rd District Court of Appeals, an Ohio Supreme Court Justice, and as a State Senator and Representative. Since 2020, Cupp has been Ohio’s Speaker of the House, but he has hit his term limit and will be out of office at the end of the year. But we had to ask, is that the end of a long political career?
If you are 65 and older, don't forget the Medicare open enrollment deadline is this Wednesday, December 7.
Allen County Commissioners are advertising to receive qualifications for design professional services for the building that will house non-judicial county offices. The property is currently owned by the Allen County Port Authority. ARPA funds will be used to fund the projects and the design professional will take all the county's needs for the space into account to see what is needed for the project.