ENID, Okla. Ernie Currier brought Monday evenings Enid Public Schools Board of Education meeting to order with sharp rap of the gavel.

Im a little more forceful than Molly at least with the gavel, Currier quipped.

Currier has served as Enid city commissioner, Enid mayor and chairman of the Greater Enid Chamber of Commerce board, along with being a member of the NWOSU/NOC Advisory Board, the Vance Development Authority and the Autry Foundation board.

Molly Helm, formerly board president, and Cheryl Patterson, formerly vice president, both resigned Monday. Helm was not present, having submitted her resignation in advance because her sister has been offered a teaching position.

Patterson has been appointed Garfield County Election Board Secretary. State law prohibits each of them from serving on the school board following those events.

Board members voted Currier president and Kyle Whitehead vice president. The search for two new board members soon will begin.

Henson Construction, Enid, was awarded the bid for renovation work on Carver Early Childhood Center. Hensons bid for the work was $257,212. Six classrooms will be redone.

Each classroom will have a different color, and each child will have a T-shirt in a color that matches their room, said Karl White, chief financial officer for EPS.

In other business, board members approved a long list of routine contracts and appointments for the upcoming school year, including:

Transfers among funds and a contract with Blunck Studios for school photography services for Adams Elementary School.

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Currier is voted new EPS board president

The late Robert E. Netzley, an Ohio House member for a record 40 years, was a Republican conservative from north of Dayton who walked his talk often as not, with a smile.

But Netzley's merry eyes could become gimlets when, as a veteran Controlling Board member, he confronted spenders. Among the watchdogs of Ohio's treasury, Bob Netzley was a purebred.

Netzley (1922-2010), of Laura, in Miami County, a decorated Navy veteran ofWorld War II, a Miami University graduate, was elected to the Ohio House in 1960. He served until Ohio's lunatic legislative term limits forced his retirement at the end of 2000. For decades, Netzley also chaired the Miami County Republican organization.

Last week, at a Capitol Square ceremony led by Netzley's close friend and conservative disciple, House Speaker William Batchelder, a Medina Republican, a Statehouse conference room (along the ground floor's north corridor) was named in honor of Netzley.

Netzley, for manyof his years in the House, had a work space the word "office" can't be stretched that far in the southeast corner of the Statehouse Annex's (now Senate Building's) ground floor. Heaps of clippings, legislative documents and budget spreadsheets grew like stalagmites on and around Netzley's desk.

For any question about Ohio's budget, or taxes, or the history of Controlling Board decisions, Netzley had the answer somewhere. What's more, he could find it.

As bystanders knew, Netzley could inspire fear when, at Controlling Board meetings, he cross-examined executive branch aides about their agencies' spending requests. But Bob Netzley also inspired respect. That was because he knew his stuff. That was also because, though Netzley was a committed partisan, he, unlike too many people on both sides of today's political divide, wasn't vicious. Netzley believed in checks and balances, not chokeholds and sucker punches.

To call Netzley a prophet might be gilding the cornstalk (the emblem of rural legislators' "Cornstalk Brigade"). But Netzley was a conservative who looked not just backward, but also forward. In 1965, for instance, when the General Assembly, with Republican Gov. James A. Rhodes' approval, passed a 100-word bill creating Ohio's Medicaid program, Netzley cast one of just three "no" votes in the entire legislature.

Then, Netzley was nearly alone in his concerns about Medicaid. But Netzley seemed to have a hunch about the future: Today, in the 60-member House Republican caucus, it'd be tough to get anywhere nearly enough "yeses" to match the 1965 Medicaid vote. That was proven by last year's fight over Medicaid expansion, finally accomplished when in one of the Statehouse's bigger political ironies expansion backers resorted to the very Controlling Boardwhere Netzley had been inquisitor-in-chief.

Netzley was a fierce opponent of Ohio's income tax, sought by Democratic Gov. John J. Gilligan. The income tax became law in December 1971 only because enough Republicans in the Republican-controlled General Assembly voted for it. Netzley wasn't one of them, and as late as the mid-1990s could still grouse about what he was too polite to call what he thought it was: A betrayal.

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The late Bob Netzley, an Ohio legislator whose lawn-mowing conservatism was both forward-looking and puckish: Thomas ...

Posted: Saturday, July 19, 2014 9:04 pm

Henricos extension office offers lawn program

HENRICO The Henrico County office of Virginia Cooperative Extension is enrolling residents in SMART Lawns, a program that provides customized plans for growing attractive, healthy lawns.

For a $20 fee, master gardener volunteers will visit a home, analyze the lawn, and prepare a plan for improving its condition, appearance and health. Participants will receive recommendations for fertilizer and lime, as well as suggestions for environmentally friendly weed control, mowing and watering practices.

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Henricos extension office offers lawn program

BAY CITY, MI A 62-year-old man police say mowed his lawn in the nude, in full-view of his neighbors, has pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor.

Bobby O. Blodgetton Thursday, July 17, appeared before Bay County District Judge Dawn A. Klida and pleaded no contest to indecent exposure, the only charge he faced. The count is punishable by up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine.

A no contest plea is not an admission guilt but is treated as such for the purposes of sentencing. Klida reliedon police reports to enter a conviction on the record.

According to thosereports, officers on the evening ofWednesday, May 21, responded to Blodgett's home in the 300 block of McDonald Street after Bay County Central Dispatch received a call of himmowing his lawn naked. The caller, 40-year-old Jason S. Linton, told dispatchers he yelled at Blodgett to put some clothes on, and that Blodgett had done so, police reports show.

Linton told an officer that he and his teenage son were visiting his mother-in-law in the neighborhood and that they were in her back yard when they heard a lawnmower start up.

"Then the guy came walking out and started cutting his lawn in the nude," Linton said. "I yelled at him and told him that he needed to put some clothing on."

Linton said that though there is a privacy fence separating the yards, there are gaps in it that one can see through.

Linton's mother-in-law, Nancy M. Mercier, told the officer that a similar incident happened the week beforehand when Blodgett mowed his lawn wearing only lady's stockings.

"I don't need to see that," Mercier said. "I know he has a privacy fence but I can see through it."

The officer spoke with Blodgett, who maintained Linton and Mercier were mistaken regarding what they claimed to have seen.

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Bay City man accused of mowing lawn in the nude pleads no contest

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Staff photo: Joshua Lucero Joris Landscape Maintenance worker Jacob Hurt of Portales uses a weed trimmer at a Norris Street property. Lawn services and code compliance officers with the city have been hustling to catch up with increased growth due to recent rains.

By Joshua Lucero Staff writer jlucero@cnjonline.com

Recent rain fall has lawn services and the City of Clovis playing catch up with the amount of growth the moisture has caused.

Marcus Brice, chief code compliance officer for the city, said he has written more than 200 violation notices for weeds and still has 100 complaints that need to be addressed. And thats just in the past month.

A majority of it (the number of violation notices) is due to increased rainfall and a little bit of it is the fault of people not maintaining their property. said Brice.

Brice said that his staff cant go to one house without finding additional code violations in the same area as the complaint.

We can go to inspect one house and find 50 violations on the same block, Brice said.

Brice said even the city is having a difficult time keeping up with the weeds.

It seems like they (weeds) can grow a foot over night. said Brice.

Weeds more than 12 inches tall are in violation of the citys code, according to Brice.

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Rain keeps lawn services, code compliance officers busy

Published: Sunday, 7/13/2014 - Updated: 4 hours ago

BY MAYA AVERBUCH BLADE STAFF WRITER

Eddie Butler has been booked in the Lucas County jail 297 times since 1987. Arrested repeatedly through the years as a drug-addicted homeless person, he has been to jail more times than any other offender in the county.

When the National Institute of Corrections released its assessment of Lucas Countys pretrial services in October, 2013, a problem population came to light: Repeat offenders like Butler who clog the jail daily.

Data from the sheriffs office showed that just 6 percent of the jails offenders a total of 996 people accounted for nearly a fifth of the bookings.

The group includes people who were brought to the jail three or more times in the year, often for nonviolent misdemeanors.

Butlers record, for example, includes countless charges of panhandling, public intoxication, drug possession, and disorderly conduct, with a few more serious offenses thrown in.

At the request of the Lucas County Sheriffs Office and Mental Health and Recovery Services Board, more than 40 representatives from jails, prisons, courts, and a variety of community agencies met at the end of March to map out the gaps in assistance for offenders with mental illness and co-occurring disorders, such as substance abuse.

Projects targeted at repeat offenders through intensive case management and prescription medication provisions are under way, but after only a few months, there is little data to measure progress.

These folks are cycling in and out of the courts so fast, nobody can catch up to them, said Scott Sylak, director of the mental health board.

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Repeat offenders pose difficulties

LAWTON, Okla._Lawton residents may be wondering why their neighbors lawn has become overgrown and why a lawnmower hasnt been seen in weeks, but fixing the problem isnt as clear cut as one would think.

The city of Lawton has issued almost 1,500 notices since the beginning of May for grass that's over twelve inches tall. Once the home owner is notified they have ten days to mow their lawn or the city will mow it for them, but then it will end up costing them a lot more money.

Joshua Doyle says it's frustrating to see the unkempt yard across the street when he works hard so keep his lawn looking good.

"We understand if they can't cut it every week, you know it's up for sale but since it's up for sale, you should be wanting to keep a nice neat clean appearance to try and sell it," said Doyle.

The whole process from noticing the problem to mowing the lawn can take up to three weeks. Lawton Community Services Director Richard Rogalski says in that time period the grass can get even taller.

"Some grass will start at twelve inches and get to sixteen and kind of stop but Bermuda grass doesn't really get much taller than that. But some weeds and grass can get like a tree by the time we're able to get out there," explained Rogalski.

Rogalski says he's sorry if you are one of those people that's called to complain but still looking at the overgrown lawn.

"We have six inspectors at the city and they cover the 58 square miles of the city of Lawton. We have 3,000 miles of streets that you have to drive up and down to patrol the city. And in a normal course, it unfortunately can take about thirty days to get around the whole city," said Rogalski.

Once they identify which lawns need to be mowed, the city only has three contractors to do all the work. Rogalski says they encourage people to call and complain because those six sets of eyes aren't enough, so people who call take priority and making those calls does seem to work. Over half of those 1,500 lawns that were called on were mowed by the property owners. He says proper lawn maintenance is a livability issue, which is actually an economic issue.

"Keeping the grass mowed supports the economy of our entire city. Beyond that on a personal level, I mean it's your home and your property value is affected by what your neighbor's do...that's why the city has this authority," explained Rogalski.

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Tall grass solution isn't clear cut

San Diego, Calif. It is officially summer. The sun is shining and the grass in your backyard is growing quickly. At home, mowing the lawn is one of summertime's most frequent chores and its no different for the solar industry.

Credit: Nihon Shokusei

Weed or vegetation management is particularly important for ground-mounted solar systems. Tall weeds growing around the installation can create shading, which can negatively impact system production. It can also cause hot spot heating if a part of the solar cell is shaded, the cell can heat up to such extreme temperatures that a module can burn out causing permanent damage.

After the feed-in tariff (FIT) program was launched in Japan a few years ago, many ground-mounted PV systems started popping up in the country where small residential roof-top solar systems used to dominate. System owners recognize that growing vegetation under and around PV systems must be minimized to protect their valuable investment.

There are several weed control methods used for PV ground-mount systems in Japan; mowing, spraying herbicide, grazing sheep/goats, and covering the area with weed control sheets, for example. Controlling weeds incurs additional operation and maintenance (O&M) expenses for PV system owners and the long-term costs and benefits need to be carefully examined.

Mowing is the most commonly used method in Japan at this point, but we are looking into other methods, said a project developer in Japan.

Mowing is very labor-intensive and needs to be repeated twice or three times a year. Besides hiring people or renting mowing equipment, there are fees for hauling and disposing the grass clippings. Another project developer commented that it costs between 100-200 yen (US $1-2) per square meter for a 2-MW system, which is typically about 40,000 square meters. Spraying herbicide is relatively inexpensive and requires a low initial investment. But spraying has to be done repeatedly over time and there are environmental concerns associated with certain chemicals in herbicides.

Herbivorous Animals to the Rescue

Last summer, Oita Sekiyu, a gasoline distributor and PV system reseller, built a 1.1-MW solar system on an old salt-pan site in Usa city, Oita prefecture. The company chose emu, the second largest bird in the world and native to Australia, to graze the vegetation growing under the solar system.

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Getting Out of the Weeds: How To Control Vegetative Growth Under Solar Arrays