Rocky Fork Lake cleanup days April 12, 26

Commissioners Shane Wilkin, Tom Horst and Jeremy Shaffer on Wednesday, March 26 proclaimed April as "Clean Up, Fix Up and Pick Up Month" at Rocky Fork Lake.

Paint Township Trustee Randy Mustard accepted the proclamation on behalf of the Rocky Fork Lake Community Alliance.

This is the seventh consecutive year for the spring lake area cleanup. Mustard said the Alliance also is considering another cleanup in the fall of 2014.

Volunteers typically collect more than 500 bags of trash and debris from around the lake and state park community.

You do not have to live in the Rocky Fork Lake community in order to volunteer.

This year's theme is "Don't pass it up, pick it up."

"Neighbor to neighbor, everyone can make a difference," Wilkin said, in reading the proclamation.

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• In other action, commissioners voted, 3-0, to move forward with repairs to the Highland County Courthouse roof, particularly in an area above the county prosecutor's office.

Commissioners said they would request a complete estimate from General Preservation Corporation of Columbus. Additional repair work will be done by Harley Maines of Hillsboro, Wilkin said.

"Judge (Rocky) Coss has 'encouraged us to get this taken care of," Wilkin said.

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• Commissioners voted, 3-0, to approve $5,000 in funding for Grow! Highland County.

According to the resolution, funds will be made available as soon as a new facilitator is in place.

Brad Elmore of Grow! Highland County told commissioners they are still looking for a replacement for Sharon Bedard, who recently resigned. The program assists small businesses with various aspects of startup and potential expansion.

Wilkin said that after attending last week's economic development forum in Marietta, he was in favor of supporting Grow! Highland County.

"One important thing they shared was the need to promote entrepreneurship," Willin said. "(They asked) How does your county support local entrepreneurs."

Grow! Highland County's primary focus is on small business.

"I've never seen anything wrong with supporting Grow! Highland County," Horst said. "It's just a matter of working it into our budget."

"Our biggest concern was reporting and accountability," Shaffer said.

Elmore pointed out that while there was some need for confidentiality, all the statistical information about the program is available.

Commissioners agreed to fund the program at $5,000 a year on a year-by-year basis.

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• Commissioners also met Wednesday with Debra Jones, co-president of NCB, FSB, and Mike Lozano, interim executive director of the Highland County YMCA.

Jones said they were meeting with the board in order to bring more awareness to the YMCA and discuss its commitment to the community.

"We're trying very diligently to turn the Y around," Jones said. "We have faced some financial difficulties. Some programs and hours were cut. We're trying to turn that around for the community."

"We think the Y is a big part of improving the quality of life in Highland County," Lozano said. "We feel that we can be the glue that holds the community together. Any way you can support us would be appreciated. 

While commissioners did not make a funding resolution for the YMCA, they did say they would participate in a reduced membership plan for interested county employees.

A re-grand opening event is planned for the weekend of April 26.

For more information, go to http://www.highlandcountyymca.org.

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• Commissioners also encouraged the community to support the annual Ernie Blankenship Radio Telethon for the Highland County Society for Children and Adults. Tonight's event begins at 6 p.m.

For information, go to: http://highlandcountypress.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=20&ArticleID=21902.