Dredge Day - Year in Review
September 18, 2009

The annual Dredge Day was held Friday afternoon at Fox Island near Russells Point. Local and state leaders reiterated how important Indian Lake is to our region. Regional Park Manager Frank Giannola served as the emcee. He said Indian Lake has seen many improvements over the last several years, including the ongoing dredging of the lake. Giannola said the shoreline improvements are evident around the lake, too. Despite the sluggish economy, millions of visitors continue to enjoy the lake and the state park. The Indian Lake State Park Campground was sold out for eight consecutive weekends this summer. Environmentally, the lake is doing very well; EPA tests show that the lake is free of algae and other harmful contaminants. Giannola formally recognized volunteers of the state park campground. Marietta and Merrill Geyer of London were presented a plaque for their volunteer work. The couple has been volunteering at the campground for 20 years. Giannola praised the Geyer’s for their selfless effort to make Indian Lake a better place.
Excerpts from WPKO

State approves funding for improvements at Indian Lake State Park
July 28, 2009 - State Senator Karen Gillmor (R-Tiffin) reports that the state Controlling Board has approved $810,800 for repairing and repainting elevated water storage tanks at four state park facilities, including a 100,000 gallon tank at Indian Lake State Park.

"Indian Lake State Park is a popular destination for visitors and their families from across Ohio," Gillmor said. "These improvements will modernize the water tank at Indian Lake, allowing park officials to better manage and protect the water supply at the park's facilities."

The funding will be used to complete any needed structural repairs, paint the tank's interior and exterior surfaces, install a modern safety climbing system, upgrade the electrical system and perform other restoration at the water tank's location. The project should be done by January 2010.
WBLL Bellefontaine

Wild turkey harvest numbers are up. Logan county reports 156 turkeys taken this season over 140 in 2008. For more information click here.

Financial State of Logan County Headlines Mayors' Association Meeting
Written by Matt Hull
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Logan County Auditor Michael Yoder was the feature of the meeting, when he gave a financial update on the county.  "I'm optimistic as to what is going on," stated Yoder, "I truly believe that the amount of money pushed into the economy by upcoming stimulus packages will cause a period of higher inflation and level out our economy."

Yoder also spoke about the Logan County Health District, which failed its third attempt to pass a levy.  According to Yoder, the Ohio Revised Code states that because of the failed levy; the municipalities and townships of Logan County will be required to pay funds to keep the department running.  The amount that the Logan County Auditor's Office and the Health District agreed upon was $500,000 for 2009.  The City of Bellefontaine will cover over 22% of those funds, while Stokes Township will be required to cover nearly 14.5%  (full breakdown below).

Another big topic was in regards to the Logan County sales tax.  Sales tax was down about 5% in 2008.  All together in 2008, the county collected (less used moneys) $438,870.60 (full breakdown below).

Finally, during Yoder's report, he spoke about the housing market.  "Property sales are not that bad in Logan County.  They are not as bad as TV makes it sound," said Yoder.  "In Logan County we had over $59 million dollars in sales in 2008."  The foreclosure rate in Logan County was 6.7% lower in 2007 than in 2006 and when the 2008 reports comes out it is expected to be an up tick.  "We had 34,000 parcels in 2008," said Yoder, "and only 149 foreclosures.  So as you can see, it's only a small percentage."

Indian Lake sewer system work planned
By Reuben Mees
Examiner Staff Writer
10/01/08
Indian Lake area residents could see reduced flooding and improved sewer service in the next two years after an approximately $10 million project at the area’s wastewater treatment plant.

The project, which is divided into two phases, will include approximately $8.8 million in work to improve the efficiency of the aging wastewater treatment plant and up to $1.5 million to pump floodwater from the slough that separates Lakeview and Russells Point and to the wastewater plant after heavy rains, Garis Pugh, general manager of the Indian Lake Water Pollution Control District, said.

He, Logan County Commissioners and Logan County Engineer Scott Coleman met Tuesday with Russells Point Mayor Greg Iiams and village employee Don Walters to address issues affecting the village.

The first phase is driven largely by changes to wastewater treatment regulations expected to be released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the next few years, Mr. Pugh said. The work includes installation of a septage receiving station, an equalization basin, an ultraviolet and disinfecting process and an aerobic digester. It will be funded through a loan against the district’s expected customer revenue.

The second phase will install a pump-driven force main through the slough, which is a wetland formed by the backwaters of a larger body of water. It could be funded by a low-interest loan through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but work on that project will likely not begin until sometime in the spring.

The Russells Point officials were largely concerned with how the project might affect the floodplain. The floodplain is an issue they have tried to control by passing an ordinance that requires anyone who builds in the floodplain in a way that displaces water to displace an equal amount of earth to minimize changes to the floodplain.

“We need to make sure our floodplain is not affected,” Mayor Iiams said. “(The Federal Emergency Management Agency) is on our backs constantly about the floodplain.”

Commissioners said they would check with the engineering firm doing the work to make sure potential water displacement issues were addressed before construction begins.

They also had concerns about water usage from the village’s municipal water supply, but officials said the majority of the new water processes would utilize non-potable water which does not have to come from the municipal source.

'Angels' honored for Indian Lake rescue
By Jessie Balmert
Staff Writer for Springfield News-Sun

Saturday, August 02, 2008

LAKEVIEW — Last summer, Rick Hayman nearly drowned in the waters of Indian Lake State Park.

More than a year later, Hayman, formerly of Springfield but now a Florida resident, is left with no injuries and one sentiment — gratitude.

"I'm so grateful to be standing here today," Hayman said.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources presented a group of people with a lifesaving commendation award on Friday, Aug. 1.

Indian Lake staff nominated them for the award, said John Hunter, assistant chief of Ohio State Parks.

"They were our angels in the water," Hayman's wife, Charlene, said.

Hayman was on a pontoon boat on July 8, 2007, in Indian Lake when he saw that a sailboat had tipped over.

Hayman climbed onto a jet ski to help, but was knocked from the craft and landed in the water without a life jacket, he said.

Adrienne Henry, Alicia Jobe and Helen Spurgin were in a boat nearby, going to get ice cream with Alicia's father, Randy Jobe, and Charles Fralick.

After assisting the sailboat, the group then heard screams from one of Hayman's friends on the pontoon boat and saw Hayman's body floating face-down.

The women and Fralick jumped in the water while Randy Jobe shot off flares to attract the attention of emergency personnel.

They propped Hayman up on the jet ski of a trained emergency medic who had stopped to help.

The unidentified medic gave Hayman mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while Alicia Jobe, who is a nurse at Miami Valley Hospital, performed chest compressions.

"The odds that three people who knew what to do were there is infinitesimal," Hayman said. "It cannot be just an earthly thing."

By that time, Brian Cornell and Whitney Cornell saw the commotion and steered their boat over to help.

The Cornells pulled Hayman onto their boat and took him to shore.

Hayman was flown to St. Rita's Medical Center in Lima where he spent part of his nine-day stay in an induced coma to prevent brain swelling, Charlene Hayman said. He was released with a clean bill of health soon after.

"I am grateful for everyone because I truly understand what could have happened," Hayman said.

Indian Lake officials busy recruiting hotel, retail businesses

By Reuben Mees
Examiner Staff Writer
05/21/08
Next year at this time, the possibility of attracting a hotel to the Indian Lake area could be more than just talk if the seeds a group of business leaders are planting this week begin to mature.

“Any of this stuff will probably take two years, but we have planted a lot of seeds,” said Indian Lake Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Pam Miller, who is in Las Vegas this week pitching the idea of a hotel and other retail development at a major convention.

The event, the International Council of Shopping Centers’ Global Real Estate Convention, or RECon, is one of the largest annual conventions of the year that brings together an estimated 1,800 to 2,000 major real estate developers with thousands of potential clients.

The goal is to meet developers who work in Ohio and hone in on the ones who like small towns or resort towns.

Then to reel them in, the chamber is relying on not only the face-to-face contact, but also a three-part presentation that was developed using a $7,600 grant that was funded through grants available through the Logan County road and bridge tax.

The presentation, which was created as a computer slide show, begins with Indian Lake’s historical claim to fame as the “Million Dollar Playground” tourist destination when hotels, dance halls and amusement parks were abundant.

“We started by going back in time because I wanted to show that we were big at one time. We had big hotels we could support and we still have that potential,” Ms. Miller said prior to leaving for Las Vegas last weekend.

The presentation then provides statistics about the 5,800-acre lake, the approximately 70,000 residents in a 15-mile radius and more than 5.5 million tourists in a 100-mile radius. To make the pitch appealing to hoteliers, the presentation points out there are approximately 3,000 recreational vehicle campsites and numerous cottages that rent from $500 to $2,000 per week around Indian Lake.

It also includes information about traffic and efforts to promote the lake, which includes a second $7,500 grant through the road and bridge tax program that allows the chamber to reach into larger Dayton and Columbus advertising markets.

The final part of the presentation lists at least 16 sites that are large enough to hold a significant retail development, have views of the water that would be attractive to hotel developers and are accessible to the area’s main roads.

Ms. Miller and her four traveling companions, Dave Caserta, Scott Duff, Jason Duff and Susan Shaner, who paid their own travel costs, are returning home today after three days passing out the information.

They had already distributed about 30 electronic versions of the presentation, numerous booklets and business cards to interested developers who were showing at the Las Vegas Hilton convention, Ms. Miller said in the Tuesday afternoon interview.

She said developers were impressed by the fact that the contingent took the time to prepare the pitch and deliver it personally — not to mention the surprise they get when first opening the presentation.

“We are so glad we did it,” she said. “The comments on our marketing package is that this is really nicely done. They love when they open it up and it plays the Indian Lake song.”

The package includes hardware similar to that used to play songs in greeting cards but slightly more complex, Ms. Miller said.

Coast Guard Auxiliary works to keep lake safe

The Loch Ness Monster has not yet been spotted at Indian Lake, but Phil Clem of the Coast Guard Auxiliary will probably be among the first to see it if it happens. Mr. Clem and his fellow volunteers on the Indian Lake's Coast Guard Auxiliary are always on the look out, usually for stranded boaters or distressed swimmers, during the summer season.

Mr. Clem has towed plenty of broken down boats and pulled a few wet and tired boaters aboard his boats in his 10 years of service.

Patrol on Memorial Day included two other suxiliary members: David Fries of St. Paris and Burl Shulaw of DeGraff.

The auxiliary’s mission is public education, vessel inspections, patrols and fellowship. Its 24 members don’t cite boaters, but they do try to spread safe boating practices.

While on the water the Auxiliary will remind boaters to slow down in “no wake” zones or to not swim off their boats. Crews look for boating hazards as well and will remove litter, logs and limbs.

Auxiliary members supply their own uniforms, boats and equipment. There is some reimbursement for fuel and meals, and the Coast Guard will send surplus supplies to the auxiliaries.

This will be the Indian Lake Coast Guard Auxiliary's twenty-first year at the lake. .Visit the Auxiliary's web page at http://indianlake.com/coastguard.htm