8 The Herald Tuesday, December 31, 2013 www.delphosherald.

com
(Continued from page 1)
Nov. 4
The Museum of Postal History
held a fundraising Gala Art Auction
presented by Marlin Art of New
York, which drew an intimate crowd
of close to 100 people vying for the
purchase of fine art.
Nov. 6
Voters turned down a .25-percent
income tax increase Tuesday 799-
571. The city was looking to increase
revenue in the General Fund to help
minimize a more than $860,000 loss
in the Water and Sewer funds that
was left by the closure of Resers
Fine Foods in September.
The city will need to fill the
safety service director position soon.
Greg Berquist announced his intent
to retire with Nov. 29 his last day.
The news came during Mondays
council meeting after a 25-30-min-
ute executive session.
Allen County voters supported
the .3-mill, 5-year replacement
Senior Citizen Services levy on the
ballot Tuesday night.
Nov. 8
The Canal Days Core Committee
has announced the profit from this
years event was down about $4,000
from last year. The weekend festival
totaled $37,879.
Nov. 9
The Jefferson High School
chapter of the National Honor
Society inducted 16 new members
on Wednesday during a candlelight
ceremony held in the high school
gymnasium. New members includ-
ed Libby Spring, Taylor Sheeter,
Kelli Kramer, Desteni Lear, Emma
Wurst, Kelsie Gerdeman, Katie
Berelsman, Lucas Miller, Carter
Mox, Harrison He, Gaige Rassman,
Austin Carder, Jacob Hamilton,
Chase Getz, Brenton Erman and
Ross Thompson.
Nov. 10
Delphos Herald reader Tom
Odenweller sighted a bald eagle on
Sunday. The eagle was first observed
landing in a nearby field, apparently
hunting for something to eat.
Loyal patrons filled the dining
room in the basement of St. John the
Baptist Catholic Church in Landeck
and kept the carry-out line busy
Sunday during the parishs annual
sauerkraut and sausage dinner.
Nov. 11
Nearly two dozen veterans
attended the program at Ottoville
Schools Monday.
Delphos residents and veterans
braved the cold, windy weather to
commemorate all who served the
country during the Veterans Day
ceremony held at Memorial Park.
Nov. 14
Delphos Public Library Director
Kelly Rist announced library per-
sonnel have the facility ready to
become the newest training site
for DigitalWorks, an initiative of
Connected Nation, Inc., the par-
ent organization of Connect Ohio.
The DigitalWorks training program
includes five gates: recruitment,
screening, training, placement and
mentoring; and focuses on customer
service representatives and comput-
er programming.
Nov. 15
Van Wert Police were still look-
ing for a shooting suspect at press
time Thursday night. The suspect
was identified after two persons
were shot at a residence in Van Wert.
One victim was pronounced dead of
injuries just before midnight. Police
received a call just after 6 p.m.
Thursday that two persons had been
shot at 223 S. Fulton St. in Van Wert.
The suspect was said to be a family
member of the two victims. That
person left before police arrived at
the scene. A man and a woman were
taken to Van Wert County Hospital
for treatment. One of the victims
was taken by helicopter to a Fort
Wayne hospital.
Nov. 16
The legal case against Tamara
K. Menke in the shooting death
of Barbara Robinson began with
an initial appearance in Van
Wert Municipal Court. Judge Jill
Leatherman ordered Menke held
on a $1 million bond. Menke was
apprehended just before 10 a.m.
Friday morning in a barn on her
property on Brittsan Road. She
had managed to elude law enforce-
ment since shortly after 6 p.m.
Thursday when she allegedly shot
her mother in the chest and her
father in the thigh before fleeing
their South Fulton Street home
with an empty .22-caliber rifle.
Nov. 18
National and state officers from
the Fraternal Order of Eagles visited
Delphos for the local lodges 110th
anniversary celebration.
Nov. 20
The front entrance of St.
Barbaras Church was the only wall
standing after an F2 tornado leveled
the church. The Holy Family shrine
and the St. Barbara statue were still
intact in the back with votive candles
still burning. St. Barbaras Catholic
Church rectory was badly damaged
by major storms that hit the small
community Sunday evening.
Nov. 22
Vancrest Healthcare Center held
its Thanksgiving dinner for residents
and their family members Thursday
night. Dinner for 400 was served
and included turkey and all the trim-
mings.
Nov. 23
Susan Wagner will serve as the
Spencerville Elementary principal.
Wagner was hired at Thursdays
board of education meeting.
Wagner accepted the position
beginning on Wednesday for a
two-year, 8-month contract.
Nov. 27
City Administrative Assistant
Sherryl George can add another
plaque to her desk for a while.
Mayor Michael Gallmeier named
George the citys temporary safety
service director.
Nov. 29
Twelve days after two storms left
destruction in their wake, Putnam
County was on the road to recovery.
The poster child for this recovery
is the small village of Cloverdale,
ground zero for one storm cell which
spawned a Category EF2 tornado
on Nov. 17. Four families who rode
out the storm in the Cloverdale
Community Club made the Oak
Haven Residential Care Center,
at 152 Main St., Cloverdale, their
home for a few days after their own
homes were lost.
Volunteers prepared meals dur-
ing the annual Thanksgiving Dinner
for the Knights of Columbus who
delivered the meals to people around
the community on Thanksgiving
morning.
DECEMBER
Dec. 2
St. Johns High School Alumni
Association inducted its 10th class to
the Hall of Fame Sunday. Inductees
included Cyndi Kemper (accepting
for the late Jerry Kemper - Service
to Mankind), Fran Voll Service to
St. Johns, Barney Altman Arts/
Athletic Achievement and Bob Kill
Professional Achievement.
Dec. 4
Next year will be a little bet-
ter for local non-profits and those
they serve after the Arnold C.
Dienstberger Foundation doled out
$315,000 in grants. This was the
16th annual distribution of money
raised from investments held by the
not-for-profit foundation headquar-
tered in Delphos. With Tuesdays
awards, the foundation has topped
$3.6 million in grants.
Dec. 5
On Wednesday, Trinity United
Methodist Women and a multitude
of volunteers got busy in the church
kitchen preparing for the annual
church bazaar. This year, church
volunteers have prepared enough
beef, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy,
noodles, green beans, coleslaw, rolls
and pies to serve over 700 dinners.
Proceeds from the bazaar will be
used for outreach programs.
Dec. 7
Sherry Subler learned her
16-month-old Neapolitan Mastiff
Carlisle was accepted to compete in
the Westminster Kennel Club 138th
annual Dog Show, which takes place
Feb. 10-11.
Santa Claus and his reindeer
arrived in Delphos Friday to official-
ly light the Christmas tree and hear
local childrens wishes. The Delphos
Kiwanis Hometown Christmas drew
a crowd to East Second Street as
festivities got underway, including
an ice sculptor; dancing elves; warm
refreshments, and of course, visits
with Santa.
Dec. 14
Unverferth Manufacturing
announced it expects to add
15-20 new jobs as the result of
a 70,000-square-foot expansion
to the Delphos facility. The facil-
ity was chosen for expansion after
an agreement was finalized with
AEP Ohio for relocation of a section
of subtransmission that crosses the
west side of the Unverferth property,
which is where the addition will be
located. New machinery and equip-
ment will be added in the expanded
area.
Dec. 19
Fort Jennings Superintendent
Nicholas Langhals announced at
Wednesdays school board meeting
that all nine Putnam County school
superintendents are now connected
via Ohio MARCS (Multi-Agency
Radio Communications) radios,
which is a high-tech statewide sys-
tem that allows first-responders to
easily talk to any agency with the
radios.
Dec. 20
Jefferson and St. Johns stu-
dents braved the cold rain and
volunteered their time to assist
with the Delphos Community
Christmas Project by delivering
gifts and food baskets to residents
in the city. Project Coordinator
Edna Fischer said private indi-
viduals and businesses responded
to the needs of the residents and
donated enough of everything to
provide 148 families and 352 chil-
dren with toys, bikes, clothing,
food and paper goods. In addition,
136 fruit plates were delivered to
home-bound Delphos residents.
Dec. 23
Zulama will be the new buzz
word at St. Johns High School
for the second semester of this
school year. The school will add
the online program which engages
students with a topic they love
video games. Zulamas online
program for middle- and high-
schoolers was created by faculty
who teach these subjects to mas-
ters students at Carnegie Mellon
Universitys Entertainment
Technology Center. The semester-
long courses are delivered through
a browser right into the class-
rooms. Zulama provides in-depth
teacher training to ensure their
success teaching the relatively
new and largely-unfamiliar areas
of game design, programming,
3-D art and digital storytelling.
Dec. 24
Legislation flew off city coun-
cils agenda Monday night during
a special meeting called to address
contract negotiations and finances.
Council passed four ordinances,
including fire and rescue protection
for Marion and Washington town-
ships, the police union contract and
fund transfers to address interest due
on deferred loan payments from the
water and sewer funds.
Dec. 26
Cintas Corp. moved forward
with the demolition of the former
Van Dyne Crotty building at the
corner of Fifth and Main Streets.
In 2006, Cintas Corporation of
Cincinnati purchased Van Dyne
Crotty and maintained the local
facility. Not long after the acqui-
sition, the Delphos location was
closed. The property will remain in
the possession of Cintas.
The Cloverdale Recovery Fund
received a big boost from KMI
Manufacturing, Inc., in Kalida. The
major Putnam County employer
presented Cloverdale with a check
for $10,000 to aid the village in
tornado recovery efforts.
Dec. 29
Spencerville said adieu to
Superintendent Joel Hatfield who
is retiring. Hatfield marked 35 1/2
years with the district.
Dec. 31
Millie Spitnale and John Nomina
were named the 2013 Tri-county
Woman and Man of Year.
Wrapup
The front entrance of St. Barbaras Church was the only wall standing after high winds leveled the church. The Holy
Shrine Family shrine and the St. Barbara statue were still intact in the back with votive candles still burning. (Delphos
file photo)
Nomina Spitnale
(Continued from page 1)
We had a large group two nights a week
and Saturdays from early spring through the
fall, Nomina detailed. It was awesome. I
had to have it all coordinated to make it hap-
pen.
Nomina said the initial plan was to put up
new things but the recession hit and the deci-
sion was made to re-utilize many of the exist-
ing components. In the first year, the club
worked on the fields underground irrigation
system and goal posts. Year two saw the revi-
talization of the home side of the stadium,
including re-opening the tunnel and removing
the existing bleachers, sealing and painting
the concrete structure and then replacing the
bleachers. During 2012, the away side of
the field was garnished with new bleachers
and work was completed on the fencing and
gates.
Of all his successes, Nomina said his great-
est accomplishment is making it all work.
Finding the time to make it all come
together balancing and maintaining family,
work, and volunteering is great! Nomina
said.
Nominas most recent appointment came
with the Arnold C. Dienstberger Foundation
where he has served for three or four years
as a trustee managing funds and determining
monetary distributions in the Delphos School
District.
Im more involved in the investment end
of things, Nomina explained. Its not a
tremendous amount of work and I get to help
local projects in many ways.
As a trustee for The Stadium Club, Nomina
is responsible for getting projects like the
Stadium Park football field up and running.
After John (Dickman) passed, Clare
(Hanf) and I got involved, he detailed. Its
been 15 years.
During his 10 years as a member of an
investment sub-committee for the St. Johns
Parish Foundation, Nomina served as presi-
dent for a few years. He also served two
9-year terms as a member of St. Johns
Finance Committee and was a member of
the City School District Advisory Board.
In addition, during the construction of the
new Interfaith Thrift Store building, Nomina
helped the stores management personnel
with some financial advisement.
In 2004, Nomina was recognized for all
his achievements with The Stadium Club
by being inducted into the St. Johns Hall of
Fame with a Service to Community award.
Nominas professional expertise has prov-
en very beneficial to both The Stadium Club
and Arnold C. Dienstberger Foundation.
Each are dependent on accounting and
committees want to be a well-rounded group
of trustees, Nomina summed it up. Financial
people help a great deal.
Nomina said the last 12-15 years have
been very busy and he has received a lot of
support from his office staff and his family.
My wife, Arlene, helps me a lot, Nomina
detailed. Shes hands-on and isnt shy about
making sure things look like they should
look.
Nomina explained that Arlene is the firms
office manager and keeps the day-to-day
business functions running while he is not in
the office, which allows him the latitude to do
a lot of different things.
I want to continue to volunteer, Nomina
said. Its a combination of Arlene and myself
that makes it possible.
(Continued from page 1)
An old maid, May Davis, asked me to
go with her and she was my first Sunday
School teacher there, she said.
Spitnale has remained a member of the
church ever since and participated in its
choir for 67 years.
My husband and I and all four children
have sung in the choir, she said of why
she enjoyed it. Its such a family thing.
Spitnale also became a Bible School
teacher at the church from 1950-56.
I took all the neighborhood kids and
rode bikes there, she said of one of her
favorite memories. I didnt drive and I
still dont drive; I prefer not to.
Spitnale has participated in Mothers
Club for 63 years, which is her second lon-
gest membership in a community organiza-
tion. This year, she decorated the groups
tree at the Delphos Canal Commission
Christmas Tree Festival and all the decora-
tions were donated to the Thrift Shop after
taking it down.
Spitnale returned to volunteering with
the Girl Scouts after a brief time to start
a Brownie Troop for her daughter, Laura,
and the girls in Lauras first-grade class in
1967. From 1967-82, Spitnale acted as the
neighborhood chairman for the Scouts.
She enjoyed getting to be a leader for
her daughter and the other girls and orga-
nizing all the troops, all while riding her
bicycle to get the materials they needed.
In 1968, she started volunteering and
giving blood to the American Red Cross.
Spitnale loves her children and when
they were younger, a couple of them
needed blood transfusions. The Red Cross
provided the blood to help her children
and that was something Spitnale and her
husband wanted to repay.
I want to thank them for what they
gave to me, she said.
She still volunteers at blood drives by
directing people where to go.
Her love for children doesnt stop at her
own, though.
In the early 70s, Spitnale and her friend,
Gladys Risch, organized a bike-a-thon for
UNICEF, the United Nations Childrens
Fund, which works to improve childrens
lives through a variety of means.
She volunteered at Franklin School in
the special education department starting
in 1970 for three years. Through Mothers
Club, she would organize holiday par-
ties for the children, which she simply
describes as rewarding.
The most precious thing was the thank-
you letters from the children, she said.
Spitnale also worked at the local voting
polls for almost 50 years and helped orga-
nize the Jefferson Alumni Choir.
Its fun to sing with all the former stu-
dents and teachers, she said. Last year, I
was the oldest one.
When her husband retired, they both
started volunteering at St. Ritas Hospital
weekly. Spitnale took care of abused chil-
dren who were staying at the hospital.
One of her favorite memories of vol-
unteering at the hospital was when she
wrote poems with one of the little girls
there. Spitnale enjoys writing poems and
has written many about her time spent
volunteering, so to share that with the girl
was special.
It has been those kind of memories that
have made her volunteering worth it. As
Spitnale wrote in one of her poems, I was
so rewarded, they have changed my life.
Spitnales son, Mark, remembers his
mother never had an approach to only
doing things that she would be paid for.
She indicated the world is not all about
having money, that it is all about being
happy, he said.
For Spitnale, spending 64 years with
her husband has made her happy and she
wants to try to help others be happy as
well.
Spitnale and her husband are now
retired but she now volunteers at the Thrift
Shop and attends church regularly.
Im really needed, Spitnale said, so
she keeps on volunteering.
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