ODNR chief Logan speaks

Sebring's mayor is the finance/executive committee chairman for 2007.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Sean Logan, newly appointed director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, says that by working together, state and local governments can make things happen.
Logan, a former Columbiana County commissioner, assumed the post in Gov. Ted Strickland's Cabinet on Jan. 8. He spoke Monday at the annual meeting of the general policy board of Eastgate Regional Council of Governments.
In introducing Logan, John Getchey, Eastgate executive director, said the agency is looking forward to working with the new administration, pointing out that they worked well with Logan and Strickland, a former Democratic U.S. congressman, in their previous posts.
Logan expects that to continue.
"We've enjoyed a close working relationship, and I'm confident that will continue but in a different way," he said.
Logan worked on a panel of people selected by Strickland before his appointment to speak to "stakeholders" around the state about the various state agencies and departments to identify problems and strengths.
"I never imagined I'd be writing a report to myself," Logan said.
What he learned about ODNR
He learned that ODNR's current staff is 30 percent lower than it was in 1992. But he's found that many ODNR employees have a passion for their work and the department's mission.
"That mission is protection and wise use of our resources for the benefit of all," Logan said.
He said the department wants to make Ohio a destination for hunters and anglers.
"I want to increase the access and the opportunity the public has to use the parks," Logan said.
Monday's meeting also saw election of officers for the finance/executive committee for 2007. The general policy board elected John Smith, Sebring mayor, as chairman, and Fred Hanley, Hubbard trustee, vice chairman.
Campbell Mayor Jack Dill; Mark Hess, of the Niles engineering department; and Struthers Mayor Daniel Mamula were elected at-large committee members.
A representative of the Twinsburg office of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency presented Getchey with a plaque for Eastgate's creation of the environmental planning advisory committee, or EPAC. The group deals with environmental issues including storm-water management.