Stop by for a fry pie on Nov. 6, then vote
- Michelle Wood
- November 3, 2020
- 1134
Sure, the news is all about the general election, but that’s not the only election currently underway here in Holmes County. Soil and Water Conservation Districts have their own elections to select a board of supervisors.
The Holmes Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor election runs until 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 17, but an open house event will be held Friday, Nov. 6 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Ag Service Center, 62 W. Clinton St., Millersburg, to give people an opportunity to vote and learn a bit more about Holmes SWCD and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service programs.
We’re calling it “Stop by for a Fry Pie,” and it will be a substitute for our annual meeting, where the majority of voting traditionally takes place. We’ll have free fry pies and other goodies to share outside in our parking lot at the Ag Service Center. We’re planning on having a rainfall simulator demo, free posters and educational materials, and cover crop field signs for producers to display in their beautiful green fields.
Nov. 6 also is the last day to drop off milkweed pods for monarch butterfly habitat restoration efforts. We have gotten a tremendous response to this program and are well on our way to meeting our goal of filling a huge ag tote sack with milkweed pods.
If the weather is cooperative, we know many of our friends will be harvesting and are probably not going to take a break to come and see us. That’s OK. There are other ways to vote as well. Absentee ballot requests may be made by calling 330-674-SWCD ext. 3 or emailing holmes.swcd@gmail.com, and we will mail them. All ballots must be returned to our office by 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 17 to be counted. Voters do not have to be involved in agriculture or have dealt with our office to vote — all county owners and occupiers of land at least 18 years of age or older are eligible. And if you don’t want to vote but just want to stop by, that’s fine too.
SWCD supervisors are unique in that they are publicly elected officials but serve as volunteers. Current supervisors are Harold Neuenschwander (chairman), Jason Shumaker, Jason Biltz, Errick Flinner and Brett Barton. Supervisors serve three-year terms.
One supervisor will be elected with his term beginning Jan. 1, 2021. Candidates for supervisor are as follows:
Errick Flinner is the general manager at Moore’s Lawn & Garden in Millersburg. He is a lifelong resident of Holmes County. He grew up around his grandparents’ farms and continues to help out at Big Run Farms near Killbuck in their busy season.
When asked, Flinner said he is interested in becoming a SWCD supervisor to promote healthy farming practices in the county into the future. He lives in the Big Prairie/Lakeville area and enjoys hunting, golfing, and RZR riding with family and friends.
Flinner is finishing his first term as SWCD supervisor and has served as the fiscal agent for three years.
Ferman D. Wengerd has lived in Holmes County his entire life. He was raised on the farm he now owns near Walnut Creek.
Wengerd remembers his father, Alvin, receiving assistance from the SWCD office in the mid-’50s when he put in contour strips and sod waterways. Over the years Ferman Wengerd developed springs, watering troughs, a manure storage and an access drive. He was awarded the Holmes SWCD Outstanding Conservation Farm award in 2006 and has made his farm available for various conservation field days. He sows cover crops on most of the silage harvested fields. His family has been improving their 20 acres of woodland and tap 2,400 maple trees. Last year they collected 42,500 gallons of sap through a tubing system.
Wengerd is a member at Gospel Light Chapel and is very involved in church activities including assistant Sunday school superintendent. He is a member of Gideon’s International, currently serving as president and Gideon Card chairman.
“I enjoy being involved in conservation and improving the land and water,” Wengerd said. “I am also concerned about food quality and production.”
Wengerd served on the SWCD board from 2010-12. He and his wife, Fannie, have six children and 13 grandchildren.
Call Holmes SWCD at 330-674-SWCD if you have any questions about the open house or election process.