By: Patrick Troyer, Paulding SWCD
Recently, the Paulding SWCD held its 69th Annual Banquet & Supervisor Election “A Community Conservation Celebration”. The community came out to celebrate a year’s worth of many great accomplishments for the Paulding Soil & Water Conservation District in the areas of technical assistance, educational programming, nutrient management, ditch maintenance, and overall district achievements. The evening began with the election of supervisors with two candidates running unopposed for two spots on the board of supervisors. Candidates included incumbent Matt Stoller from Paulding and Gary Derck from Antwerp each running unopposed. Both Stoller and Derck were re-elected to a new term to commence January 1, 2019.
The Paulding SWCD would like to recognize all the businesses and individuals who donated towards the evening and or provided fantastic door prizes: Marco’s Pizza, Pond Seed, Cooper Farms, Trishe Wind Farm, Past Time Café, Ebel’s Butcher Shop, CJ Natural Meats, Chief Supermarket, Hartzog Lumber, Mercer Landmark, Baughman Tile, Ag Credit, Haviland Drainage, Williamson Insurance, Antwerp Exchange Bank, Kenn-Feld Group, Fortman Insurance, First Federal Bank, Schlatter Plumbing & Heating, Pendergrast Farm Drainage, Bradford Excavating, MacDonald’s Portable Welding, and the Paulding County Area Foundation.
Prior to dinner, Daniel Foust, District Administrator welcomed everyone in attendance and introduced Soil & Water and Ditch Maintenance Staff, as well as, distinguished guests. Dinner was prepared by Black Angus from Van Wert, OH and served by the Paulding FFA Officer Team. The Dessert Bar was graciously donated by VanCrest of Payne. A big shout out goes out to these individuals for a job well done!
During dinner, attendees had the opportunity to see the accomplishments and activities of the Paulding SWCD by watching a highlight reel and a highlight booklet. Conservation Education is just one of the many ways in which the Paulding SWCD reaches out to serve the people of Paulding County. Our office has a variety of programs that are offered to youth in all the school districts within Paulding County. Programs are offered to adult groups, 4-H clubs, and many more! Topics include: ecosystems, geology, soils, water quality, forestry, and wildlife to name a few. In 2018, our office gave 277 presentations to school or adult groups for a total reach of 5,204 people. In addition to classroom visits to Paulding County schools, we also had field trips to the Black Swamp Nature Center. We had students from Paulding Elementary After School, Paulding 4th Grade, and Boy Scouts come take part in nature center scavenger hunts/tours. Our annual 5th grade field day held in September brought in nearly 300 students from across Paulding County to the Black Swamp Nature Center and Paulding County Fairgrounds.
The Paulding SWCD was also busy at the Black Swamp Nature Center throughout the year in which some improvements were made to the area. The back driveway and parking lot was resealed thanks to Loop Paving of Cecil. Landscaping was done around the Nature Center Building and road sign. Trails were cut back to allow for enjoyment of the trail system. A pollinator prairie garden is also in progress on the lawn of the Nature Center with more to be seen as 2019 approaches. Cracks were also repaired by Bob Williamson on the walls of the main hall in the Nature Center building. The park kiosk was updated with current information and an informational trail guide has been developed for visitors to be informed about their nature center journey.
In the area of technical assistance, a majority of time was dedicated to drainage concerns. Currently, projects are in the works on Reynolds Ditch in Benton Township, John Russell Ditch in Jackson Township, Tucker Ditch in Latty Township, Road 87 in Paulding Township, and a railroad ditch in the village of Broughton. The office is also working on a few grassed waterway projects and installing a few blind inlets along with cost-share payments for VRT and soil testing. Altogether, Paulding SWCD paid out $255,495.28 in cost-share payments for conservation practices to the landowners of Paulding County! Coming soon to the Paulding Soil & Water Conservation District is a fertilizer placement tool thanks to a grant received from the US Environmental Protection Agency. The grant will cover costs to purchase the tool and tractor, in addition to costs associated with running the tool. Stay tuned for further updates on this project or call the office if you have any further questions.
The Ditch Maintenance division of the SWCD office was quite busy in 2018 as well taking upon many projects. The Ditch Maintenance division maintains approximately 277 miles of ditches throughout Paulding County. They perform annual inspections of ditches as well as daily maintenance to include such duties as vegetation management, erosion control, and dipout and reconstruction. In 2018, they cleaned 15.75 miles of ditches, cleared 5 miles of brush, and hauled 850 tons of quarried rock used for bank stabilization. Control structures at 14 sites were repaired including rock chutes, bank stabilization, and berm drains.
Prior to the entertainer for the evening, the 2018 Educator of the Year Award was handed out. This year’s recipient is Mrs. Katie Scharr, first grade teacher at Antwerp Elementary School. Katie has been a great friend to the Paulding SWCD education program by inviting us into her classroom each year to teach her students about the great outdoors to enrich her classroom curriculum. Students are always eager to learn and have great questions with each visit. In addition, the first grade at Antwerp does a phenomenal job teaching their students valuable citizenship skills with their “Popcorn Fridays” in which they sell popcorn and use the proceeds towards the charitable causes of their choosing. By instilling the important values of helping others in need, these students will not only prove to be outstanding citizens but also good stewards of the environment. Scharr received a framed certificate along with a $25 gift card to Amazon for her to use towards the purchase of supplies for the classroom.
Paulding County’s own Alan Seibert provided entertainment for the crowd with his “one-man band” routine. It was very nice to have this local talent entertain the crowd for the evening. Alan Seibert, “The Music Man!” Alan single-handedly brought our very favorite songs to life! He sang, he danced, and he played multiple instruments at once, often sounding like an entire band! The audience gave him their favorite popular request and he had no problem playing it!
While 2018 was a great year for the Paulding Soil & Water Conservation District, we are sure that 2019 will be just as good as we serve the residents of Paulding County. Don’t hesitate to call the office at 419-399-4771 or stop by if we can be of service to you! Also, be sure to keep up to date with our Facebook Page and website www.pauldingswcd.org for upcoming events and programs!
