By JOE SHOUSE • Progress Correspondent

It’s been nearly 25 years since the Ohio legislators created open enrollment as a pilot program. Four years later in 1993 the inter-district open enrollment policy took effect in Ohio. In short, open enrollment is when a certain school district allows a student to attend their district who lives outside their regularly assigned school at no cost to the student.

Most Ohio school districts have open enrollment with 64 percent offering statewide open enrollment while 14 percent allow open enrollment with adjacent districts only.

In Paulding County, all three districts (Paulding, Antwerp, and Wayne Trace) allow statewide open enrollment opportunities.

By NANCY WHITAKER • Progress Staff Reporter

PAULDING – Last Tuesday, Feb. 26, a hearing was conducted on a motion to seek relief filed last week by an attorney representing Vancrest of Antwerp LLC. The court granted all the requests.

After the hearing, Mark White, president of Vancrest Management Corp., said, “The financial situation for the Manor House has been an unfortunate situation and we feel that court guidance was appropriate given the number of parties involved; however, I believe everyone has the staff and residents’ best interests at heart.”

By JOE SHOUSE • Progress Correspondent

The Paulding Exempted Schools recently selected their new superintendent to lead them in the future.

William Hanak, high school principal at Wauseon High School since 2008, agreed to a three-year contract and will begin on Aug. 1.

Hanak is excited about his new position and is looking forward to the move. “I am looking forward to this opportunity. It’s been my goal to become a superintendent and I believe Paulding is a good school district,” said Hanak.

By BILL SHERRY • Progress Correspondent

PAULDING – Paulding Village Council heard details of a planned convenience store on the north side of town during  its regular meeting Monday, March 4.

Jack and Paul Grewal from Napoleon are interested in developing the former Paulding-Putnam building location on North Williams Street into a convenience-store type of facility. The C-store would have truck/auto diesel and gas pumps with a 5,000-square-foot building.

SEUSSICAL COMING MARCH 15-17 – The Wayne Trace Performing Arts Association is pleased to announce the upcoming musical, “Seussical,” presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International, New York. This energetic musical by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens is guaranteed fun for everyone. Remember the Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant, and all the well-loved characters in Dr. Seuss’s classic books? The Wayne Trace Jr./Sr. High School students will bring them to life with a twist. Under the direction of Miss Sharon Spinner, this 56-member cast has been working hard to bring audiences an evening of entertainment. Join them on Friday, March 15 and Saturday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 17 at 2:30 p.m. at Payne Elementary Auditorium. Doors open 45 minutes before performances and doors into the auditorium 30 minutes prior. There is a handicap accessible door on the east side through the cafeteria and elevator in the hallway to the second floor. Ticket prices are $7 for adults and $5 for children through high school students.

By Jim Lopshire • OSU Extension educator

PAULDING – Nutrient management is a critical topic for anyone involved in agriculture. A concern is the wise use of nutrients to maintain agricultural production levels while protecting water quality. Paulding County OSU Extension and the Paulding County Farm Bureau are sponsoring a nutrient management seminar program for anyone who buys, sells or manages manure or uses fertilizer.

The program will be held on Monday, March 18 in the Paulding County Extension meeting room located on the fairgrounds. Registration and a light dinner will be available beginning at 6 p.m. with introductions at 6:30 p.m.

This seminar will focus on managing nutrients that are being applied to the ground and setting up a basic nutrient management plan.

Speakers for the Paulding County nutrient management seminar include Larry Antosch, senior director of policy development and environmental policy with the Ohio Farm Bureau, and Joe Nester, owner and consultant with Nester Ag.

Antosch will be covering the high phosphorous level that has caused the harmful algae bloom in Grand Lake Saint Marys and is also an issue on Lake Erie. He will be looking at the importance of the 4R’s, impact of nutrients on water quality, the benefits of using manure as a nutrient and its role in water quality, voluntary action versus regulatory action, and developing trust with the public regarding this issue.

Nester will be promoting the use of best management practices (BMPs), availability of cost share programs to address this specific issue, and how to set up a basic nutrient management plan for a farming operation.

The cost of the program is free to Ohio Farm Bureau members and $5 for non-Farm Bureau members. Please RSVP by March 13 by calling 419-523-5874 or by email at paulding@ofbf.org.

Continuing education units for certified crop advisors are being applied for.