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ELIDA — On the May 7 Primary Election ballot, Elida Local Schools will make a request for new money, its second request in the last year.
After claims in the past that school funding is too reliant on property taxes, Elida tried for something different with a 5-year, 0.75-percent Earned Income Tax Levy. The levy wouldn’t have affected income generated by pensions, retirement, interest or capital gains, yet 60 percent of voters said no.

This time, Elida hopes voters will pass a 5.95-mill property tax levy, which would provide some financial stability for the next five years, generating $2.1 million annually. After the failure of November’s levy, the school board approved a $465,569 reduction plan that will still go into effect regardless of whether or not May’s attempt succeeds.

If it fails, more reductions will be made. District officials are stumped as to where those reductions will come from.

“It’s an impossible task to say what’s next because anything less than what we have now will be devastating to our district,” Diglia said.

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DELPHOS — When I&K Distributers closed last year, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Sarah Brotherwood, who was employed there for 13 years. Searching through job openings in the paper led her to the clerk position at the Delphos Public Library. After reading the description, she knew it was the perfect job for her.
Brotherwood was hired on March 14 and is enjoying settling into her busy routine.

“The day-to-day varies but usually I come in and pull books for the consortium, get those scanned and put them on a shelf for us to get ready,” Brotherwood said. “I also spend time making flyers for upcoming events we have planned. I help check books in and out and I also put books away. I’ve been taking care of our iTunes account and downloading the CD’s we need for story time. We got an iPod, thanks to the Dienstberger Foundation, and I’ve been downloading the CDs into playlists, so we have them all in one place and don’t need to flip through them all.”

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DELPHOS — This past March, Wesleyan Church voted in its newest senior pastor, the Rev. Rodney Shade, who has been the interim pastor for the church since June 2012.

He was saved in October 1974 and was sanctified in the Wesleyan Church in Bradford in 1975.

Throughout his 30 years of ministry, Rev. Shade has remained in Ohio. He began his ministry in 1982 in Troy, where in his five-year tenure with the church, the congregation doubled in attendance. Five years later, Shade became the assistant pastor in New Miami, where he led a congregation of 120 people, was in charge of the church’s Christian School and created a program of how to minister to those not attending the church’s services.

“It’s kinda like PR (Public Relations) in sales,” Shade mused.

Shade experienced a short tenure in New Miami due to the senior pastor’s resignation, which required him to resign his assistant pastor position. In 1988 while in Sidney, Shade’s ministry went really well. In 13 years, the church tripled in attendance, quadrupled in finances and led to the building of a 4,400-square-foot parsonage.

One Year Ago
Tom Grothous, a member of the Delphos Optimist Club, gave a presentation on his recent trip to Australia and New Zealand to his fellow Optimist members. He shared pictures, stories and other memorabilia. Grothous is also Dean-college of technologies at UNOH and “Mr. Wheels” on the call-in “all about your car” radio program on WIMA on Saturday mornings.

25 Years Ago – 1988
Changing Times League of Ohio Child Conservation League held installation of officers at the home of Diane Mueller. New officers for 1988-89 are president, June Korte; vice president, Mary Ellen Hemker; secretary, Alice Davey; treasurer, LaVera Hanf; and reporter, Alice Arnzen. Raffle gift won by Diane Mueller was donated by Marilyn Wagner and Gwen Rohrbacher.

Catholic Ladies of Columbia held their monthly card party at the Knight of Columbus Hall with Ruth Eickholt and Edna Baldauf as chairladies. Winners in euchre were Catherine Miller and Bea Osting; pinochle, Rose Deitering and Gertie Schwertner; grocery certificates, Octavia Grone, Dottie Grothouse, 50-50, Esther Jostpille, Leona Berelsman, Ruth Calvelage and Mary Hughes.

The Delphos Kiwanis Club recently made several donations to local organizations and endeavors. Jeff Koverman from the Delphos Little League accepts a donation from Kiwanis Barb Mesker.