Ohio's March Unemployment Rates
Ohio's unemployment rate was 8.9 percent in March, down slightly February. The U.S. unemployment rate for March was 8.8.
In the Region:
Athens: 8.9
Hocking: 10.5
Meigs: 14.1
Monroe: 12.4
Morgan: 14
Noble: 13.4
Perry: 12
Washington: 8.5 |
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Buckeye Hills Announces Grants Application Process
Regional Project Profiles Being Accepted for Funding Consideration
Buckeye Hills is committed to assisting the counties across the region with securing grant funding for projects. For consideration of funding from The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and The Economic Development Administration (EDA), applicants should complete a Project Profile. The Profile is now available at
www.buckeyehills.org or by calling 740-374-9436.
The simple, self-explanatory project profile form collects basic information about the project, including: contact information; project description, type and readiness; regional impact; funding sources and total project costs; and project partners.
Qualifying state and local agencies and governmental entities, local governing boards (such as county councils), and nonprofit organizations (such as schools and organizations that build low-cost housing) may apply for the competitive grants programs. Representatives from these organizations may draw from the expertise and assistance available from Buckeye Hills to navigate the grants process.
Applicants complete the form and submit it to Buckeye Hills. Based on the project information provided, staff will determine the proper potential funding source (ARC, CDBG, EDA, etc.) and begin the process of assembling budgets and requesting full project applications.
"Over the past year, the Development staff secured financing for projects that have a positive impact on residential and commercial sectors," said Executive Director Misty Casto. "These projects improve the quality of life for the people of the region. In 2010, total costs for development projects across the region were approximately $61,429,118 million creating 533 jobs and retaining 488 jobs."
Projects must serve residents in one or more of the region's eight counties: Athens, Hocking, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Perry, and Washington. While each funding source with has specific goals, they generally address the following issues: create/retain private sector jobs (ARC, EDA); extend or upgrade water or sewer services (ARC, CDBG); provide quality health care (ARC); provide job skills training; and/or develop or improve infrastructure for residents (ARC).
The project profile is available on the BH-HVRDD web site at www.buckeyehills.org. The project form can be completed electronically or by hard copy. All Project profiles are due to BH-HVRDD no later than 5 p.m. Friday, June 10, 2011. For answers on questions regarding the project profile process call Charmel Wesel at (740) 374-9436.
Find Buckeye Hills On Facebook  Buckeye Hills and its Area Agency on Aging (AAA8) both have Facebook pages. Join us there for updates on programs and services across the region. Click below to be a fan! Be a Fan of BH-HVRDD Facebook Page |
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Buckeye Hills Releases 2010 Annual Report
Buckeye Hills-Hocking Valley Regional Development District (BH-HVRDD) hosted its Semi-Annual Meeting where it released the 2010 Annual Report to the District's eight-county region (Athens, Hocking, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Perry and Washington). In addition, a new slate of officers was announced and includes: President: Ron Moore, Morgan County; Vice-President: Virgil Thompson, Noble County and Treasurer: Cora Marshall, Washington County.
Nearly 100 representatives from the region and state and federal agencies attended. Leaders from Buckeye Hills and its Area Agency on Aging (AAA8) provided annual updates on programs in the region. To view the 2010 Annual Report visit http://www.buckeyehills.org
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Shown receiving the award is Co-op Secretary & Treasurer Rebecca Jenei of Genesis Caregivers.
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Buckeye Hills Honors Home Healthcare Co-operative
The Buckeye Hills Simcox Leadership Award recognizes a current or past District Board member, business, community or county leader who exemplifies the principles of vision and leadership and commitment to the success of the region.
"The Buckeye Hills Area Agency on Aging (AAA8) network of providers delivered more than $11.8 million dollars of services across the region last year," said AAA8 Director Rick Hindman. "They served more than 250,000 home-delivered and congregate meals and provided homemaker and caregiver services to meet the needs of our nearly 1,150 PASSPORT clients throughout the year." In 2009, AAA8 worked to formalize a cooperative for its rural health care providers - The Home Healthcare Provider Co-operative (HHPC).
The Home Healthcare Provider Co-op leaders worked with a variety of regional home healthcare provider representatives to form with the purpose to "work together to benefit members with shared resources to strengthen the home health workforce."
The goals and vision for the Home Healthcare Provider Cooperative are: to reduce employee turnover in home health agencies; to partner with educators to provide standardized training (resulting in a higher quality of care for the patient); to reduce replacement costs and training overhead, in order that employers will be able to offer improved worker benefits and an incentive for individuals to enter and remain in the home healthcare field; and finally, to create a career ladder model in the home health industry.
The Co-op is led by Mike Gordon of Fosterbridge, President; Angie Robinson of Valley Home Care, Vice Pres. and Rebecca Jenei of Genesis Caregivers, Secretary/Treasurer. Accepting the award was Jenei. To learn more or to join the co-operative, visit its web site at www.hhpc.biz.
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Shown above is Beth Shaver of the Meigs County Council on Aging with Rick Hindman, AAA8 Director.
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Area Agency Announces Partnership Award
The Area Agency on Aging 8 Partnership Award recognizes a current or past Buckeye Hills AAA8 Regional Advisory Council member, provider, community or county leader who exemplifies the principles of vision and leadership and an ongoing commitment to the mission of AAA8 in the 8-county region.
"This year's award goes to someone who is hard at work every day serving seniors," said Rick Hindman, AAA8 Director. "Since 1987 she has had a role with Seniors in Meigs County planning and implementing programs and being a staunch advocate for funding and services."
As the Director of The Meigs County Council on Aging agency serving older adults and their families in Meigs County, Shaver is a key partner in the community. She is always thinking of new and exciting programs. New bakery services for the community at the holidays, Friday meals for businesses, catering events and a Community Wellness Center, just to name a few.
AAA8 was pleased to honor Beth Shaver of the Meigs County Council on Aging with the Area Agency on Aging Partnership Award.
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Shown from left are: Tony Logan, USDA State Director, Michael Rutherford, USDA Area Director, Washington County Commissioner Cora Marshall and Buckeye Hills Exec. Director, Misty Casto. |
Michael F. Rutherford to Serve as Marietta Area Director for USDA Rural Development
Michael F. Rutherford of Sarahsville, Ohio was recently selected to serve as Area Director for USDA Rural Development by State Director Tony Logan. As Area Director in Marietta, Rutherford will serve as an advocate for rural communities and citizens in eighteen Southeastern Ohio counties. He recently met with Washington County leaders at the Buckeye Hills office in Marietta.
Rural Development has a national network of 6,100 employees and 500 offices, a portfolio of business, housing, and infrastructure loans totaling $132 billion, and provides an estimated $20 billion annually to support economic and community development in rural America.
In Fiscal Year 2010, Rural Development-Ohio provided $935 million in loans, loan guarantees and grants. Rural Development programs assist rural areas include housing, business and industry, community facilities, and renewable energy programs.
Rutherford previously served as the Chief Lending Officer, Senior Vice President for Nevada National Bank where he managed the commercial lending and SBA programs for the bank. Previously, he worked as a lending specialist for Huntington National Bank in central Ohio. His education includes Bachelors from The Ohio State University and a Masters in Business Administration from University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Rutherford currently serves as a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy Reserves. He was recently deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2010 as the Executive Officer for U.S. Forces Iraq J2 Chief of Staff where he served as an Intelligence Officer at Camp Slayer, Baghdad.
Michael is married to Julie Rutherford formerly of Pataskala, Ohio. They have four children and will be living on the family farm in Sarahsville in Noble County.
Rutherford can be contacted at USDA Rural Development, 21330 State Route 676, Suite A, Marietta, OH 45750 or by calling 740-373-7113, or by e-mail at michael.rutherford@oh.usda.gov
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Around the District:
Athens County: ACEnet Receives Funding for Facility Enhancments
The Economic Development Administration grant for $315,000 and the Ohio Department of Development support will provide a total of $525,000 to enhance the Nelsonville ACEnet facility, formerly the Rocky Brands distribution center. Funding will expand parking, provide interior and exterior enhancements and repairs to the roof.
Ohio Univ. Voinovich School Receives Grant
The Voinovich School at Ohio University received $894,358 in federal funds from The Economic Development Administration to leverage private investment, expand busieness assistance, create jobs and bring new products to market, as well as improve the economy of southeastern Ohio.
Hocking County: Logan Goes "Green"
With support from a Clean Fuel Ohio grant and loan, Logan Mayor Mike Walsh and Logan City Council added a new truck to its fleet - the first natural gas street sweeper sold in the Midwest. The machine will be fueled by natural gas from a station located on the campus of Hocking College Energy Institute. The savings are estimated to be $200 each time the tank needs filled.
Meigs County: Meigs CIC Receives Funding for New Spec Industrial Building
The Community Improvement Corporation was awarded $1 million in loan and grant funding for a new 35,000 sq. ft. building at Tuppers Plains. It will be marketed to light manufacturing companies, specifically emerging advanced energy businesses from Ohio University. The state awarded $500,000 in Rural Industrial Park Loan funds and a $500,000 Rural Development Initiative grant estimated to create at least 40 jobs.
Pomeroy Receives $500K
The Ohio Department of Development awarded $500,000 to the Village of Pomeroy from the federally funded Water and Sanitary Sewer Program for critical wastewater and sewer system improvements. The grant will include 2,500 linear feet of sewer lines, replacing two lift stations and upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant.
Morgan County: Tourism Can Help with Budget Gap The Morgan County Convention and Visitor Bureau joined other tourism representatives in Columbus as part of Ohio Tourism Legislative Day. For every tourism advertising dollar spent, state and local governemnts realize a combined $13 return. The Ohio Assoc. of CVBs says that Tourism accounts for 437,000 jobs in Ohio as visitors spend $36 billion in Ohio with a $2.5 billion revenue impact for state and local governments. | |
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Aging & Disability Resource Network (ADRN) Unveils Community-Based Web Site for Seniors, People with Disabilities, Caregivers & Service Providers
As part of the Southeast Ohio Aging & Disability Resource Network (ADRN), at its semi-annual meeting, Buckeye Hills and its Area Agency on Aging 8 (AAA8) introduced a breakthrough solution - The Network of Care website (
www.networkofcare.org) that empowers seniors and people with disabilities, caregivers and service providers with comprehensive long-term care services, information and education available in the eight-county region. The Southeast Ohio version may be accessed directly at http://SEOhioADRN.oh.networkofcare.org/aging.
"Our goal is to give individuals the tools they need to age with dignity and to assist their caregivers in the process, said Rick Hindman, AAA8 Director. "The Network of Care site helps people find the right services at the right time. It is a great resource for folks to find information, resources, and even confidentially manage their personal medical information on the free personal health record."
The Network of Care will help people find resources without having to waste a lot of time searching. As a resource of Southeastern Ohio Aging and Disability Resource Network, the site will also enable service providers to help clients connect to the resources they need through better inter-agency communications.
The President of Trilogy Integrated Resources, Inc., Bruce Bronzan, the company that created The Network of Care, helped AAA8 launch the site at the Semi-Annual meeting.
"The Network of Care is a great resource for providers. It is like a multi-million dollar piece of community resource on their desk," said Bronzan. "It is a major rolodex and a 'best-in-class' health library, as well as a free personal health record."
PASSPORT Program Featured on Legislator Visit
 | | At their home in Noble County, AAA8 PASSPORT client Don Hesson (seated) is shown with his wife, Marlene. Standing are AAA8 Director Rick Hindman; Summit Acres Home Care Director Chris Singer, RN; Ohio Rep. Andy Thompson (93rd District); and AAA8 PASSPORT Case Manager Jim Hooper, LSW. |
Surrounded by the tranquility of the countryside and the day-to-day sightings of wildlife on their farm, Don and Marlene Hesson are enjoying their 60th year of marriage together at home. Following a hospitalization and stay at a nursing facility, Don is now at home thanks to the state's PASSPORT program.
To learn more about how PASSPORT is helping families in his region, Ohio Rep. Andy Thompson visited with the Noble County residents who are taking full advantage of the state's In-Home Care for people age 60+.
"It is such a big help to us," said Marlene. "No one knows how much until you need it. The girls who come to care for Don are like part of the family"
Don just celebrated his 80th birthday and is glad to be at home. To stay there, the PASSPORT program provides support to his primary caregiver, Marlene, through an emergency response system and the necessary medical equipment as well as critical personal care services.
"Funded through Medicaid, last year PASSPORT allowed about 1,200 seniors in our region to remain at home for a fraction of the cost of a nursing home placement," said Rick Hindman, AAA8 Director. "This in-home program serves as a substantial cost-saving measure for the state, as well being the much preferred choice for seniors. Don's care plan will cost $10,610 this year as compared to the average annual nursing home costs of $60,000."
According to AARP, nine out of 10 people surveyed would prefer to receive long-term care services in their own home or community.
Anyone interested in learning more should request a free in-home consultation and details on PASSPORT or Assisted Living options by calling AAA8 at 1-800-331-2644 or by visiting www.areaagency8.org .You can also find us on Facebook. AAA8 serves Athens, Hocking, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Perry and Washington Counties. |
| | AAA8 Participates in Statewide "Save Senior Services" Legislative Event
Advocates for the aging laud Gov. John Kasich's plan to increase by 15 percent the number of elderly and disabled persons who will receive home care, but contend that his administration underestimates the funds needed to achieve that objective.
"We share the goal to keep more older and disabled Ohioans in their homes for as long as possible to slow the growth of Medicaid spending and provide consumers with an array of choices," said Larke Recchie, executive director of the Ohio Association of Area Agencies on Aging.
"But at the same time, the budget cuts senior services by 23 percent over two years, reduces staff who connect people to home and community care by 15 percent, and decreases payments to service providers by 3 percent. The math doesn't work. You can't serve more people with less money," Recchie said.
"Area Agencies on Aging have 30 years' experience making this system work, and we believe the administration underestimates what's needed to serve more people at home and in the community," she said. "The Kasich Administration and aging advocates see the same target, but their aim is off."
About 36,000 older and disabled Ohioans currently are enrolled in Medicaid-funded programs, including PASSPORT and Assisted Living, administered by Area Agencies on Aging. PASSPORT is already the lowest cost of any long-term care options. Recchie noted that there is no "play" in an individual's care plan costs.
Area Agencies on Aging are local, not-for-profit organizations that operate on very lean margins. We aren't large public-sector bureaucracies. The new administration hopes to save public-sector costs through pension reform and health-care program changes. Unfortunately, these savings don't benefit the not-for-profit network of Area Agencies on Aging," Recchie said.
The agingassociation has calculated that cuts in staff positions for care managers and assessors may result in a waiting list that could grow to more than 11,000 people trying to get into programs. Many who might have been able to remain at home will turn to more expensive nursing homes to get the care they need.
"The services we provide are basic, but essential. What do we take away? Bathing? Medication? Transportation to the doctor? At what point are the supports so diminished that the frail elderly have no option but to move into a nursing home that costs taxpayers three times the cost of keeping people in their homes?" asked Recchie.
Area Agencies on Aging shared this message with state legislators at the annual spring conference in Columbus coinciding with the start of budget hearings in the Ohio House of Representatives.
Advocates for the AAA8 region met with legislators and their staff to work toward a budget that reaches the common goals of expanding consumer choices, protecting seniors' health and safety, and providing value to taxpayers.
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Shown at left is AAA8 Home Care Director Jane Skeen, LSW; Ruth McElfresh, AAA8 Regional Advisory Council Member; AAA8 Director Rick Hindman; Rep. Bill Hayes (91st District) and Misty Casto, Buckeye Hills Exec. Director |
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Shown at left are Casto, McElfresh; Hindman; Rep. Andy Thompson (93rd District) and Skeen. |
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Shown at left are Skeen, McElfresh; Hindman; Casto and Meredith Tucker from Rep. Debbie Phillips office (92nd District) |
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