HEREABOUTS virginia burroughs
Sandy and Joanie Lotterer, who grew up in Northridge, are among many Dayton area transplants who live on Grand Lake St. Marys and are witness to its devastating condition.
“Our family always came here to fish,” said 69-year-old Sandy, who retired from Northridge schools after 30 years as a physical education teacher and counselor.
“We liked it here because of the restaurants, and it was so close to Dayton. It only takes an hour and a half to get here, so when I thought about buying a place on a lake, I thought about Celina.”
In 1977, she bought a small house in Highland Park, on the north side of the lake, right across from a channel.
“I came up during school breaks and on weekends,” she said.
Joanie, who worked for Auto Owners Insurance, didn’t get as many vacations, “but I came up about every other weekend.”
Throughout the years, the sisters made repairs, expanded and furnished the house, and, when Joanie retired in 1999, the two sold their Northridge family home and moved to the Celina lake home.
“We fished, and would play in the lake in school bus tire inner tubes,” said Sandy. “After I’d mow the lawn, I’d always go over and jump in the channel.”
But, they haven’t been in the lake for six years, when they noticed that “it looked dirty,” said Sandy. “And, we haven’t caught crappies in the channel for four or five years; we used to catch them as quickly as we could put the poles in the water. This year, I didn’t fish because it was too depressing — way too many dead fish, and this is the first time we’ve seen dead ducks in the water.”
For the past two years, toxins have been found in the lake, caused by algae primarily from phosphorous in farm and private property runoff, and warnings have gone up to avoid contact with the water. Unfortunately, fish and waterfowl are found floating in blue-green scum in channels and on beaches.
The sisters have no plans to move, though. “There’s no resale value on lakefront homes now,” said Sandy, “so we’ll sit on our cesspool and watch the algae grow.
“It never should have been allowed to get this way. The state spends millions advertising for Ohioans to stay in Ohio for their vacations, but ignored the state of its vacation spots.”
And, in spite of recent meetings by various groups to clean up the lake — due to widespread publicity, the stench and visible signs of death — she’s afraid that “there’s not enough leadership here to get the job done.”
Celina, which wraps around the northwest side of the lake, is county seat for Mercer County, Ohio’s largest in agriculture.
“Our representatives need to speak up, because no one will listen to our little voices,” says 67-year-old Joanie.
Contact this columnist at virgburroughs@gmail.com.
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