News Briefs
Rep. David P. Joyce (OH-14) has joined the Great Lakes Task Force. "The Great Lakes is one of the jewels…
Joyce Joins Great Lakes Task Force
Rep. David P. Joyce (OH-14) has joined the Great Lakes Task Force.
“The Great Lakes is one of the jewels of the United States. It contains 20 percent of the world’ssurface fresh water and it’s imperative that we protect it for its environmental significance but also because of its economic might,” Joyce said.
He added, “Studies have shown that more than 1.5 million jobs are directly connected to these five lakes, generating $62 billion in wages. For these reasons and many more, I want to work on policies to protect the lakes from invasive species and to pump up their economic might.”
The House and Senate Great Lakes Task Forces are bipartisan working groups within the Northeast-Midwest Congressional and Senate Coalitions. Members of the Great Lakes Task Forces work together to build support for key regional programs to enhance environmental quality and economic development throughout the Great Lakes basin.
Ohio’s 14th congressional district has 82.5 percent of its area in the Great Lakes basin.
Health District Seeks Board Member
Geauga County residents who would like to get involved in management of the county’s public health services are invited to apply for appointment to the Geauga County Board of Health.
Appointment is for a term of five years and is a volunteer unpaid public service.
The board of health consists of five members who are responsible for working cooperatively with Geauga County Health Commissioner Robert Weisdack and his staff, and elected local government officials to ensure both the environmental and personal health services the county health department provides are in compliance with state law, meet the public health needs of residents and stay within the budget of the department.
Appointment to the board of health is made by the 22 members of the Geauga County Health District Advisory Board (HDAC).
Members of the HDAC are the chairman or chairwoman of each board of township trustees in the county (16), the mayor of each village or president of city council (5), and the president of the Geauga County Board of Commissioners.
Resumes or comparable information on background and work experience should be mailed to: Gerald R. Mitchell, Chairman of the HDAC, c/o Troy Township, 13950 Main Market Road, Burton, OH 44021.
Deadline for submitting information is Feb. 8.
Dog License Tag Deadline Jan. 31
Dog owners are reminded the deadline for 2013 dog license tags is Jan. 31.
Licenses purchased on or before Jan. 31 are $10. A $10 penalty is added to all licenses purchased after the deadline. Checks should be made payable to Geauga County Auditor.
Applications and licenses are available at the auditor’s office, at various locations throughout the county, by mail or online at www.co.geauga.oh.us. Send the application, $10 fee and a self-addressed stamped return envelope to: Geauga County Auditor, Courthouse Annex, 231 Main St., Suite 1A, Chardon, OH 44024.
The auditor’s office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
For more information, call the auditor’s office at 440-279-1604.
Griswold Creek Erosion Meeting
Residents interested in learning more about an opportunity to receive financial assistance to address erosion issues along Griswold Creek are encouraged to attend a 7 p.m. meeting Jan. 30 at the Russell Historic Town Hall, 14890 Chillicothe Road.
Griswold Creek is a cold water habitat stream that flows through Chester and Russell townships, and enters the Chagrin River in Hunting Valley. The creek maintains a unique biological community and a cold stream temperature due to significant amounts of groundwater feeding the stream, Keely Davidson-Bennett, program associate at Chagrin River Watershed Partners, said.
Ohio EPA has determined that Griswold Creek is in partial attainment of the cold water habitat use at Fairmount Road, but the lower reach at Falls Road is in nonattainment, Davidson-Bennett said.
Griswold Creek has been experie-ncing continuous erosion and down cutting of the channel, according to CRWP.
In 1989-1990, two privately owned dams were breached. These dam breaches and other watershed development have caused downstream reaches to change due to the change in stream hydrology, according to CRWP.
Numerous areas of Griswold Creek exhibit channel instability through stream bank erosion and down cutting stream channels, Davidson-Bennett said.
In late 2012, CRWP was awarded funding from two sources: a Lake Erie Protection Fund grant from the Ohio Lake Erie Commission to complete stream surveys and conceptual stream restoration design, and a Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control grant to assist landowners with streambank stabilization efforts.
The Jan. 30 meeting will explain these grant opportunities and provide information about streambank stabilization techniques, Davidson-Bennett said.
