DELPHOS — The Delphos Public Library enjoys a healthy patronage of 10,000 users and in 2012, circulated nearly 200,000 items.

During National Library Week April 15-20, the resource center will offer special programs to say “thank you.”

1st Ward council seat

nspencer@delphosherald.com

DELPHOS — Local Republicans will decide if Spencerville native Andrew Daley or Kalida native Andrew Knueve will appear on the Nov. 5 General Election ballot for the open 1st Ward seat on Delphos City Council. Both men have moved their families to Delphos and would like to become active in decisions affecting their new home.

“City government is the closest to the people,” Daley said. “This is where my family works and my children will grow up and go to school. I want to provide my children with a hometown that is growing.”

Daley would like to start with the city’s budget.

“We need to get the budget where it needs to be,” he began. “We need people to come into the city to live, shop, go to school and prosper so the city prospers. We need responsible leadership to promote growth and work with all groups to see what we can do here.”

The Auglaize River has left its banks in Fort Jennings and flooded the park. State Route 190 was still passable at 10 a.m. today. The flood warning has been extended for the Auglaize River near Fort Jennings until Sunday evening. It is expected to fall below flood stage around 6 p.m. Saturday.

sgroves@delphosherald.com

DELPHOS — The Driving Instructors at Tri-County Driving School have logged thousands of hours of in-classroom and in-car instruction for both student and adult drivers.

Tom Osting became a driving instructor and training manager after retiring from school bus driving. He was certified in 2001 after completing 62 hours of training through a program administered by the Ohio State Highway Patrol in Columbus. Osting averages 15-25 hours of in-car instruction and filling in when needed in the classroom setting.

Trena Proffitt Bartz has 32 years experience in law enforcement and began teaching classes in 2010. She typically logs over 80 hours of drive time in a three-week time-frame and teaches in the 24-hour classroom 6-7 times a year. She believes her acquired teaching certifications and relevancy enables a solid learning environment for her students.

Rick Reaver, who retired from the Highway Patrol in 2007, has been a driving instructor off and on for over 30 years and is a licensed driving instructor and certified training manager. As a trooper, he instructed cadets and police officers at the academy with maneuvering, pursuit driving and high-speed backing. He has also been a driving instructor for the law enforcement program at Apollo. In addition, Reaver teaches Saturday traffic school for first-time juvenile traffic offenders for Allen and Van Wert County juvenile courts.

COLUMBUS GROVE— Raymond Harner, owner of CG Pro Bikes in Columbus Grove, has been a serious cyclist since he was 13 years old and has always had a dream of one day racing in Italy. On April 28, he will realize his goal when he rides in the Fizik Granfondo race in Marostica, Italy.

The Granfondo race is 154 km (a little more than 95 miles) and 2,970 elevation meters in the Alps of Italy. The event is hosted by Fizik, an Italian manufacturer of racing shoes and saddles. Every year, Fizik chooses a handful of their shoe dealers to take part in this race and Harner was chosen for 2013. He told the Vidette he has never been in a challenge like this before, although he has participated in many races over the years.

The story leading up to this chance started when he was young teen. Harner began repairing bikes and then he would ride them back and forth between his parents’ houses. When he was fixing the bikes, he became fascinated about changing gears and was always riding at different speeds. He now credits this to how he became faster on the bicycle.

“I didn’t realize it at the time but it was kind of like speed training. Because of that (experience), I trained myself to go fast,” said Harner.

It was not long after that when Harner purchased his first professional racing bike, which he bought from a friend. After experiencing the difference between riding a professional bike and a normal one, he was able to increase his speed even more.