Batavia Township Administrator Rex Parsons reported to township trustees regarding the need for hiring additional personnel in the service department at the meeting on Monday, May 4. He had a breakdown of summer and winter hours worked in the department. In 2008, the department worked a total of 7,254 man hours. The hours are expected to increase in 2009 to 8,785.

Although no cases of the H1N1 virus (Swine Flu) have been reported in Clermont County, local health care providers are on the alert. According to the World Health Organization, the virus has brought the alert level to a five which means that the virus has caused sustained community level outbreaks in at least two countries in one WHO region. At phase five a pandemic is considered imminent.

The annual June in Olde Williamsburgh Festival is scheduled June 5 – June 7, to be held on West Main Street at Fifth Street in the Village of Williamsburg. The event will include carnival rides, food, vendor booths, live music and fireworks on Saturday night.

The shortage in the general fund in the Village of Bethel has resulted in some changes in the police department. Bethel council members voted to eliminate one full time police officer during their meeting on Monday, May 11. In view of a recent state audit revealing an accounting error dating back to 2004, the general fund in Bethel has been depleted and council members are taking steps to help with the recovery.

An Amelia man was arrested Thursday, May 7 in Clermont County and taken to the Warren County Jail on charges of criminal child enticement. Lonnie Gene Kennedy, 54, of Amelia, is being held in the Warren County Jail on a $350,000 bond.

A crowd of residents, government officials and local pastors gathered on the steps of the Clermont County Courthouse Thursday, May 7 to pray during the 58th annual National Day of Prayer observance.

Some of the top seniors at Amelia High School were recognized Friday, May 1, as they signed letters of intent to attend the colleges of their choice. The event was held in the Performing Arts Center. Representatives from area colleges were on hand to welcome the students and meet with their family members during the event. Representatives from each of the colleges were at the event to welcome the students and presented them with T-shirts from their future schools. Many of the students had been accepted at a number of colleges and universities and were required to make their selection by May 1.

A community of grateful Clermont County citizens was given an opportunity to show their respect to Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Mark “Tony” Wojciechowski last week. SSgt. Wojciechowski, 25, died on Thursday, April 30, while supporting combat operations in Anbar province, in Iraq. He was part of a Marine Corps bomb squad and died as a result of a bomb blast.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, about 150 billion tons of tomatoes will be grown in the world this year. Some 120 million tons of those will be grown in America.

When I was a kid we called it Decoration Day and our family would literally spend the day going from cemetery to cemetery decorating the graves of my grandparents, aunts, uncles and close family friends.