Office of Fleet Management wins award for alternative fuels

State of Ohio wins national award for alternative-fuel-use scorecard

Efforts by the State of Ohio to increase the use of alternative fuels in state vehicles has captured national recognition.

The Ohio Department of Administrative Services’ Office of Fleet Management has been named a winner of the 2009 Larry Goill Memorial Quality Fleet Management Idea Award from the NAFA Fleet Management Association for the creation and use of a scorecard measuring the use of alternative fuels in state vehicles.

This international competition recognizes creative ideas that improve productivity and/or favorably impact bottom-line cost savings.

“This national award further confirms that the State of Ohio has made great strides during the past two years in our efforts to increase the use of alternative fuels. There is more work to be done, but we accept the responsibility of being a leader among our peers,” said Director Hugh Quill of the Ohio Department of Administrative Services.

The Ohio Revised Code mandated the use of alternative fuels in capable state vehicles in October 2006. The code spelled out the minimum amounts of biodiesel and E85 fuel required to be used annually. To illustrate usage in an easy-to-read format, in 2007 the Office of Fleet Management created a scorecard indicating each state agency’s alternative fuel use and its progress toward reaching its goal. The scorecard has been shared with agency fleet managers and posted to the State of Ohio Web site at http://das.ohio.gov/gsd/Fleet/pdf/E_85_Bio_Feb_09.pdf.

The results of the implementation of the scorecard have been astounding. During calendar year 2008, E85 use increased 701 percent and biodiesel use increased 2,364 percent.

The State of Ohio was one of two winners of the 2009 Larry Goill Memorial Quality Fleet Management Idea Award. Applications were accepted from anyone employed in a vehicle management role by any company, utility, government agency or not-for-profit organization in the United States or Canada.

The awardees were announced April 27 at the NAFA Institute and Expo in New Orleans.

Underground Railroad Lantern Tour

If you have never taken the Underground Railroad Lantern Tour offered by the Metroparks of the Toledo area? I highly recommend it and it is coming up this May 2nd:

Take a walking tour at an actual site where runaway slaves hid on their journey to freedom. Historical figures will transport you back in time to share two very different stories during the Underground Railroad Lantern Tour, Saturday, May 2 at the Lathrop House, located inside Harroun Community Park on Main Street in Sylvania.

Join Metroparks and Friends of the Lathrop House for a night of dramatic history and discover northwest Ohio's important role in battling slavery. You will hear two very different stories that span generations: one follows a slave family from Africa to Canada, while the other chronicles an abolitionist family's difficult journey from England to Sylvania, Ohio. These very different stories are fated to collide in northwest Ohio.

Available time slots from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Fee: $5. Register Here or call 419-407-9700.

Arts organizations celebrate legacies and the future

Recommended article by Christine Senack in this week's Toledo Free Press on Arts organizations celebrate legacies and the future. Part of what was shared there as it relates to upcoming events:

Upcoming Events

May 2 Paw Hoorah. Enjoy cocktails and your gourmet grazing delights while bidding on hundreds of silent auction items at. Proceeds benefit Planned Pethood’s low-cost spay/neuter programs. Tickets are $60 with a cash bar. Country club casual attire. Call (419)826-fixx or visit plannedpethood.org for more information.

May 16 Raise Some Cash. Back for a second year, this event is organized by members of Augsburg Lutheran Church to benefit the Feed Your Neighbor pantry in the 43612 zipcode. The will be held at the Blarney and features several popular local bands, and each act is slated to perform at least one song by Johnny Cash. Casual attire. $5 cover charge. For more information call 419.410.1117.

Glass City Rollers "full contact musical chairs"

This sounds like a fun one!

The Glass City Rollers are putting on the skates Friday, April 24, 2009 for full-contact musical chairs at Mickey Finn’s Pub, 602 Lagrange Street in Toledo. There will be a 50/50 Raffle and official Glass City Rollers merchandise on sale. Members of the all-women flat-track roller derby league will be available for questions about the team throughout the evening starting at 9:00 p.m. The Glass City Rollers are always seeking skaters, staff, and sponsors to keep them rolling! Friday night’s music will be provided by The Zimmerman Twins.

Visit www.glasscityrollers.com for more information.

Artomatic419! Has begun!

It's that time again Toledo for Artomatic 419! Presented by the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo Artomatic 419! starts this Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. and ends Saturday, May 2, 2009 at 11:00pm. The location for 2009 is right next to the Oliver House at 201 Morris Street and there is no admission cost. Visit the website, www.artomatic419.org for more information and there is a commercial done by Above the Shop Studies after the fold...

Earth Day event sponsored by Black Swamp Conservancy

In via e-mail:

Black Swamp Conservancy to hold Earth Day event at Forrest Woods

Perrysburg, Ohio (April 7, 2009) - Black Swamp Conservancy will host an Earth Day celebration at Forrest Woods Nature Preserve on April 25, 2009, at 10:30 a.m. The celebration will include a seed planting and nature walk. There is no charge to attend and the event is open to the public.

Forrest Woods Nature Preserve, a state nature preserve owned by the conservancy, is located near Antwerp in Paulding County, Ohio. The preserve is one of the few sites that retain the characteristics of the historic Great Black Swamp, which once stretched from Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Ohio’s Lake Erie shoreline. A variety of native plants and animals call Forrest Woods home, including many rare, threatened and endangered species.

Along with its partners at the Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves and at Defenders of Wildlife, the conservancy has been restoring several fields in the preserve to a natural condition. The fields, which had been farmed before the conservancy acquired the property, are being allowed to revert back to woodland. In an effort to maintain the local genetics of the land, the conservancy collected several hundred tree seeds from the old growth woods last fall. The seeds were stored over the winter and will be planted during the Earth Day event.

After the planting, participants are invited to join the conservancy on a nature walk through the preserve. John Jaeger, former director of natural resources for Toledo Metroparks, will lead the walk. Known for its brilliant spring wildflower displays and diverse bird population, Forrest Woods Nature Preserve was named the “best spot to step into spring” by Ohio Magazine in 2007.

Those interested in participating in the Earth Day event should meet in the parking lot of Bethel United Methodist Church at the corner of Paulding County Roads 73 and 192, at 10:00 a.m. on April 25th. Participants are encouraged to bring a shovel or spade with them for the planting. The conservancy also suggests that you dress appropriately for the weather and cautions that it may be muddy in the restoration areas and on the nature walk.

For more information about the Earth Day celebration, please call Rob Krain at Black Swamp Conservancy, (419) 872-5263.

Black Swamp Conservancy, founded in 1993, is a non-profit land trust whose mission is to conserve and protect natural areas and farmland in northwest Ohio for the benefit of future generations. The conservancy has permanently protected 7,522 acres of family farms, woods, meadows and wetlands at over 70 locations in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. The conservancy’s territory covers the Oak Openings region, one of Ohio’s biologically most unique areas, as well as the area of the former Great Black Swamp. More information about the conservancy is available online at www.blackswamp.org.

19th Annual Heartwood Forest Council

This in via e-mail describing last years event:

Just days after the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division Of Forestry revealed plans to initiate major burning in the Shawnee State Forest , local, state and regional environmental groups announced the convening of the 18th Annual Heartwood Forest Council. The event, which will take place, Memorial Day Weekend, May 23-26, 2008, is to be held at Boy Scout Camp Oyo in the Shawnee State Forest near Portsmouth, Ohio. The theme of this year's Forest Council is "Burning Issues: Climate is a Forest Product."

The Heartwood Forest Council is the largest annual gathering of citizens from across the Eastern, Midwestern, and Southern United States who care about the health and well being of our nation's forests. This will be the second time this event has taken place in Ohio, the first being at Camp Oty Okwa in 1992.

“We are expecting more than 200 participants from communities in Ohio and nearly two dozen other states,” said Andy Mahler of Heartwood. “We had hoped to showcase the beauty and splendor of the Shawnee State Forest. With the threat of these burns, we are not sure what we will encounter in the Forest."

“We will focus on threats to our region and to human and community health, in an atmosphere of collaboration designed to form stronger personal and organizational connections,” Said David Maywhoor, Executive Director of Buckeye Forest Council. “While addressing the issues we face and celebrating the work that we do, the Forest Council will offer participants an opportunity to identify lasting solutions and proven action steps that will move us as a community toward a shared vision of a healthy, just, and sustainable society.”

The program will begin the afternoon of Friday, May 23, and continue through mid-day, Monday, May 26 (Memorial Day), and will be interspersed with ample social time, leisure, lively local music, dancing and great food. The Forest Council will be family friendly - kids of all ages are encouraged to attend.

“This year's Forest Council will explore how we can nurture sustainable local and regional networks and a culture of cooperation and care,” said Mr. Mahler. “Together we will identify viable alternatives to the dominant economy and its toxic legacy of waste and prepare ourselves with the knowledge and tools to protect ourselves, our communities, and our planet.”

“Since the 2003 ice storm, Shawnee State Forest has been devastated with nearly 7,000 acres of logging and now an open-ended experimental prescribed burning plan which could last decades.” said Cheryl Carpenter, Voices for the Forest. “In the first five years alone, 7,868 acres are scheduled to be burned. This Forest Council will bring this issue front and center nationwide.”

“This Council has something for everyone, environmentalist or not.” Ms Carpenter continued, “On Friday, Dr. Andrew Feight, Shawnee State University Associate Professor of History will be sharing the history of the Scioto River Valley and Dr. Tula Cora Watters, Chief of the Shawnee Nation, Blue Creek Band, will be speaking on the Shawnee Nation. Additionally Jenny Richards and Kevin Bradbury, Shawnee State Park, will offer a colorful presentation on the flora and fauna of Shawnee State Forest. On Saturday, there is an array of talented, local musicians including Steve Free, John Simon & Band and Mothman. And one of Ohio’s best naturalists, John Howard will lead a hike on Sunday.

The program will consist of three days of workshops, discussions, keynote speakers, and field trips. Key program elements will include:

Forest Issues: public lands management, roadless and other special areas, prescribed burning on state and national forests, genetically modified trees, sustainable forestry and low impact logging, land certification, and land management strategies and opportunities including the value of non-timber forest products.

Coal, air, energy and climate issues: coal mining and processing, including mountaintop removal, room and pillar, and longwall mining, coal-fired power plants, air pollution and global climate change. We will also talk about resurgent efforts to promote nuclear power, the alternatives to fossil fuel such as wind, solar and hydropower, and the connections between forests and energy production including cellulosic ethanol and biomass.

Sustainability issues: creating viable communities and taking responsibility for our own future; localized economies, permaculture, local and regional food production and distribution, alternative energy and transportation, traditional uses of plants and their preservation, religion and environmental protection, alternatives to the corporate control of food and seed supply; and how to sustain our minds, bodies and spirits as we seek environmental justice and transformational change.

Hosts for this year’s event include Heartwood, the Buckeye Forest Council, Save Our Shawnee State Forest, Voices for the Forest, Meigs Citizens Action Now, Protect Biodiversity in Public Forests, EarthWatch Ohio, Sierra Club, Ohio Chapter and Ohio Environmental Council.

This year's event will be held at:

We would like to invite you to the 19th annual Heartwood Forest Council, to be held Memorial Day weekend, May 22-25, 2009, at Camp McKee near the Red River Gorge in Appalachian Kentucky. The theme of this year's Forest Council is Defending the Earth, Sustaining Ourselves.

Camp McKee, is a great location just seven miles south of Mt. Sterling, with over 800 acres of forests and trails, a large lake, and sits adjacent to Pilot Knob State Nature Preserve and just a stone’s throw from the beautiful and unique Red River Gorge.

Visit www.heartwood.org/forestcouncil for more information and how to sign up.