February has certainly been a mixed bag, hasn’t it? This winter, and particularly February, has been schizophrenic; it could not decide if it wanted to be a full continuance of winter, or an early start to spring. A few times it was both in the same day! I don’t know about you, but I am thankful it is over, and I am totally ready for Spring!
February seemed to be the month in the office where we prepared for all upcoming events, and it looks like March will be busy. We know that in March we will be doing the county schools FFA Banquets and other meetings. These are all set up in February for us. We know they are coming, just waiting on the dates.
We have been working on several projects, some for quite a while, and they seem to be getting closer to becoming reality. Hopefully, we can make some good announcements in March. Our County Financial Audit was completed and once again we had a strong report from the State Auditor. Due to the performance of Carol Ginn and her department, the State Auditor has confirmed that Darke County continues to operate in a very sound financial manner. Thanks to the Auditor’s Department for a job well done…..again! The CHIP (Community Housing Development Program) had its first hearing in February, and the second hearing is set for March 25th at 10:00 a.m. in our office. If anyone is interested, please call our office.
Two new employees were added in February, Scott Naas as the Airport Manager, and Carl McCullough, who is the new Facility and Maintenance Manager. Scott has been on board now for about a month, and has shown to be a good hire and asset for the Airport Manager Position. His previous experience with other airports and aircraft related businesses will be invaluable as he takes over the airport operations. Carl has an extensive background in the military, and has many practical, mechanical and leadership skills that will assist him in the performance of his job. We welcome Carl on board as a county employee. The man he replaced, Rodney O’Connor has left to go back to his old job, and we wish him well as he did a great job for the county while he was here.
In other news, Whirlpool was in an article in the Wall Street Journal the last week of February. The article is titled “KitchenAid’s Key Ingredient: Investing in Workers. ‘It’s not just a dead-end job anymore’”. The article focused on plant manager Jenni Hanna and the entire Whirlpool team in Greenville. This makes the third or fourth time that Whirlpool or Darke County has been featured in the premier business newspaper for our accomplishments in the economic development arena. Congratulations to Whirlpool and all of our great employers who have made Darke County a continuing manufacturing bright spot! Midmark is moving along with their expansion, and BASF recently just completed an update on their facility. Darke County sees this growth continuing into the near future.
Our office is gearing up for another good year for Darke County. Why don’t you become a part of it by coming to a meeting? The meeting times have stayed the same, 1:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays in the Commissioner’s office at 520 South Broadway in Greenville. Hope to see you here!
The Darke County Commissioners
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