Area business leaders got together this morning for the July edition of Wake Rattle and Roll at the Veterans Memorial Civic and convention center.  The topic of conversation was energy saving measures that the city of Lima has taken, and ideas they have for the future.

Mayor Dave Berger says that they would like to use trash to Lima’s advantage by suing methane capture technology to create electricity.

The same process is already used at a waste water treatment plant.  Berger also said initiatives like changing traffic lights from incandescent bulbs to LED’s will save the money on its electric bill.

You won’t be seeing as many commercial trucks on Reservoir Road anymore.  County and Proctor & Gamble Officials cut the ribbon to officially reopen Thayer Road to commercial traffic today. 

Todd Huffman is the P&G plant manager, and was on hand for today’s ceremony.  He says aside from the safety benefits for the community, the opening of the road will save the company money, as trucks will travel fewer miles to get to the plant.

The expansion project widened Thayer between 81 and the new Procter and Gamble Warehouse.  Truck traffic is expected to come to the plant from State Route 81 now.

Just a day after city officials addressed gun violence in the city, more shots rang out in Lima last night.  The police were involved in a short pursuit on the city’s east side just after 10:30 Thursday.  An 18-year-old man from Lima fired shots at police as he attempted to avoid arrest near the intersection of Harrison Avenue and Linden St.

A short chase followed, and the man, who hasn’t been identified yet, was taken into custody in the 700 block of Albert St, just south of Kibby.  No one was injured.

Sheriff Dan Beck met with representatives from area media outlets in his office on Thursday- to go over conduct and rules and regulations- before the trial of Lima Police Officer Joseph Chavalia starts next week...

The sheriff talked about the smaller size of the allen county courtrooms- and urged anyone planning on attanding to get there early..

No cellphones will be permitted inside the courtroom as well..A pre-trial is set for tomorrow at 1:30pm- and jury selection is set to begin next week..

The Lima post of the state patrol and several other area emergency crews

responded to a truck accident and fuel spill that occurred on U-S 30 and

Bear Creek near Delphos just before 11 o’clock this morning…

Several gallons of diesel ended up in the water- and the driver- 52 year old Robert Davis of Wayne Indiana- told the patrol he must have dozed off- and lost control of the semi...

Davis was taken to St Rita’s Medical Center- and admitted to be treated for injuries...

One east-bound lane of U-S 30 is still closed- as clean-up by the EMA and EPA continues- and it could take up to 3 to 4 days...

In their regular meeting Thursday morning, the Hancock County Commissioners voted unanimously to impose a three-quarter percent sales tax increase rather than putting the issue before voters in November.

Yesterday, the commissioners conducted a final public hearing on the issue and heard differing points of view from residents in the community.

The tax is expected to generate $7.5-million dollars per year which would be used for  efforts to reduce flooding and other county projects and operations.

Juvenile offenders in the areas of drinking and driving were the focus of an exercise that took place Thursday afternoon at Lima Memorial Hospital...

Teens got to drive a computer-controlled vehicle in one of the hospital's parking lots- and simulate what it's like to drive under the influence of alcohol..

Lieutenant Robert Phillips with the Perry Township Police conducted the exercises and explained the learning program..

The program- called Project Reality- has been around since 1996...

A boost to the local economy and employment numbers is only a few weeks away in Auglaize County- with the opening of a new Lowe's home inprovement store..

The store is scheduled to open for business in Wapakoneta on August 12th...

Stats from data-monitor say the store will bring an investment to the community of 12-million dollars and will create at least 120 new jobs..

More dates were filled on Allen County Common Court Pleas Judge Richard Warren’s schedule today.  In what was to be the final pretrial hearing for Garrett Turner, one of the suspects in the drive by shooting of Wendy Westergaard, another final pretrial hearing was instead scheduled. 

Turner will now appear in court for a final pretrial on August 4^th, and his jury trial has been set for the same day.  He faces charges of complicity to commit aggravated murder and complicity to discharge a firearm on a roadway.

The parent company of one of Lima’s largest employers reported huge earnings in the second quarter.  According to Canada.com, Husky Energy made nearly 1.4 billion dollars in profit.  Company president John Lau credited high oil prices, U.S. production, and a partnership with British Petroleum for the successful quarter.

The report credited the conceptual reconfiguration of the Lima refinery to handle heavy crude from Canada as part of the reason why things are looking up for Husky.  The company is also working with the BP refinery in Toledo to modify how it refines certain feedstocks.

While the conceptual redesign of the Lima refinery is done, the Toledo Blade reports that Husky Energy is still trying to decide the best way to move forward with the Lima facility.  Company officials say they still need more planning, and there is no timetable or dollar figure on the project.

The report indicates that it could cost Husky 2 or 3 billion dollars to reconfigure the Lima Refinery to handle heavy crude. 

Authorities in Putnam and Hancock Counties are hoping that daytime break-ins will be down now that three people have been arrested in Wood County.  The Toledo Blade reports today that detectives in the three counties have been working together to solve the rash of crimes.

A total of five people have been arrested this month in Wood County for taking jewelry and electronics from homes.  Hancock and Putnam county officials believe the people may be connected to thefts from the area as well.

It’s believed that the thieves were trading the stolen goods for heroin.

There’s no golf course inside the Delphos city limits, but that won’t stop you from seeing golf carts on the roads there.  The city council approved a plan this week to allow the carts on city streets.

The carts do have to be registered, and have to have certain equipment installed, like seatbelts and headlights.  They also have to be driven by a licensed driver, and can only be driven on roads that have speed limits of 25 miles per hour or less.

The Allen County Engineer’s Office wants to make sure you don’t get caught up in a construction zone you may have been getting through up until now.  The bridge on Eastown Road between Musser and Neely roads is now completely closed, effectively cutting the construction are in half.

The support beams are being taken out, but the engineer’s office won’t be scrapping them.  Engineer Tim Piper says they are in good enough shape to be used on future bridge projects, possibly saving the county thousands of dollars in the long run.

A 3-car accident resulted in one dead- and 2 others injured yesterday morning on state route 117 near Westminster and the Lima airport..

The state highway patrol reported the accident occured around 11-30am when the truck of 63 year-old Thomas McElroy was struck from behind by a minivan driven by 21 year-old Kevin McGraw..Mac-elroy's truck was then hit by a semi at the intersection of 117 and Cool Road..

McElroy was killed- and a passenger- 75 year-old Lydia McElroy was taken to Lima Memorial with serious injuries..McGraw was also taken to LMH with minor injuries..The driver of the semi- 38 year-old Troy Matthews- was not injured..

At Last night's meeting of the human resources committee of city council- chairman Tommy Pitts announced that he was deferring his decision to fight mayor Dave Berger's proposal to have the charter review group and others take the lead on civil services issues..

Mayor Berger told WIMA this morning he feels it's the right decision for the city to move forward..

The issue is sure to be brought up again at the next city council meeting in 2 weeks..