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TRANSCRIPT
8 The Legend—September 2014
District 3 Employee News
Dates to Remember
9/3 Combined Charitable
Campaign began
10/13 Columbus Day
(ODOT Closed)
11/11 Veterans’ Day
(ODOT Closed)
John R. Kasich
Governor
Jerry Wray
Director
Allen C. Biehl, P.E.
District Deputy Director
September 2014
What’s inside…
DDD Corner
New Crawford Garage
Customer Kudos
Amazing ODOT
Employees
Employee News
One Team Up—One ODOT
The Legend District 3 Employee Newsletter
New Hires
Ian Wallace, Highway Technician 1 in Erie
County.
Brian Maxwell, Highway Technician 1 in
Medina County.
Gregory O’Connell, Highway Technician
1 in Medina County.
David Morlock, Highway Technician 1 in
Medina County.
Nathan Berry, Highway Technician 1 in
Medina County.
Mark Donohue, Highway Technician 1 in
Richland County.
Todd Gerlach, Highway Technician 1 in
Wayne County.
Promotions
Chris Kocher to Transportation Manager
in Crawford County.
Nicholas Foster to Transportation Engi-
neer 2 in Planning & Engineering.
Mike Titus to Transportation Engineer 2
in Construction.
James Wade to Transportation Engineer
2 in Construction.
Jason Sutherland to Safety & Health
Program Consultant in Business & Human
Resources.
Craig Goodnight to Transportation Engi-
neer 1 in Planning & Engineering.
HT Series Updates
Pretesting dates have been announced
for September 16 and 30. Requests must
be submitted by either a TM or County
Manager for approval.
Mike Weidrick to HT3 in Medina County.
Retirements
Judy Caiola, Transportation Engineer 2 in
Construction, with 30 years.
Brenda Vozar, Transportation Manager 1
in Facilities, with 30 years.
This month’s banner is a photo of
the painted plow by Lexington High
School on display at Team Up ODOT.
Pictured at right: Lisa Pawlikowski
judges the Loader competition dur-
ing the Director’s Cup while Medina
County HT Greg O’Connell competes
in the event.
New App Available For ODOTers The new “ODOT Work Zone Pocket Guide” app is now available for ODOT employ-
ees, contractors, and anyone else needing to set up work zones in Ohio. ODOT’s
Offices of Roadway Engineering and Traffic collaborated to develop the app, which
creates a mobile version of the Department’s Guidebook for Traffic Control in Work
Zones. The handy information is taken directly from the Ohio Manual of Uniform
Traffic Control Devices and provides a quick reference to customers. Employees us-
ing ODOT-issued smart phones can download the new app, which is available for
both Apple and Android devices.
Clockwise from top: Medina County HT 1 John
Kwiecien competes in the Director’s Cup Roadeo;
HTs from Ashland County learn about District 4’s
tow plow from Larry Poage during the Team Up
ODOT event; and Bill Wright, Lorain County HT3,
explains the Crew Leader Academy to another HT
from District 2.
Teams from around the state came to-
gether to share information and bench-
mark with others at this year’s Team Up
ODOT event at the Ohio State Fairgrounds
in Columbus earlier this month. In con-
junction with the event, the Director’s Cup
Roadeo is also held where
ODOTers across the state
compete against each other
for the chance to win a trip to
the regional Roadeo event.
Participating in the Director’s Cup
Roadeo event were the 1st and 2nd place
winners of District 3’s Truck and Loader
competition, including Billy Workman,
John Kwiecien, Joe Estepp, and Greg
O’Connell. Painted plow blades were also
on display around the fairgrounds from
District 3 as well, and one was even
mounted to the truck in the Roadeo com-
petition.
Helping to judge the Roadeo from
District 3 were Lisa Pawlikowski, Cindy
Zocchi, Matt Simon and John Borsick.
While the fun went on outside, D-3
also had a booth
inside where other
Districts could learn
more about the Crew
Leader Academy.
The academy was
held earlier this year,
and was a two-fold
learning opportunity
for employees moving through the HT
series focusing on leadership and
ODOT-specific knowledge.
Wrapping up the day-long event
were Total ODOT Performance (TOP)
Awards, and this year two were handed
out to deserving recipients in D-3. The
Ashland County Garage won the System
Conditions Award for their efforts in im-
proving the system conditions as meas-
ured by the Critical Success Factor. Alt-
hough the act of replacing a culvert falls
within the job duties of this group,
the ability to successfully replace
45 culverts within the summer, in
one county is out of the ‘norm’ for
the group. Crew Leaders were
asked to take a leadership role in planning
and organized the resources, allowing the
Transportation Manager to coordinate the
detour routes.
The other TOP award was given to
Matt Blankenship who won the Shining
Star Award for consistently demonstrating
outstanding achievement. Matt has lon-
gevity at ODOT, filling nearly the same
role for more than 20 years. While long-
term may describe his longevity or past;
long-term really defines his philosophy in
his strategic planning for the District’s fu-
ture, making him the epitome of a shining
star. Congrats to Ashland County
and Matt Blankenship!
Check out photos below and on
the back page from this event.
7 The Legend—September 2014 The Legend—September 2014 2
Against a chal-
lenging backdrop,
the District 3 Planning
& Engineering team de-
serves major accolades for
their contribution to achieve the
Department’s Critical Success Fac-
tor goals for the record $2.4 billion
Capital Program delivery as they wrapped
up Fiscal Year 2014 recently.
Their outstanding achievements in meeting the
Critical Success Factors include:
Awarding 96.6% of the ODOT-let projects on time
(Goal is 90%)
Local-let projects were 88% awarded on time (Goal is 85%)
Additionally, the group met all the Plan Package delivery goals,
with even more impressive results:
District 3 came in at 100% for filing ODOT-let projects on time,
being one of only two Districts in the state to achieve that mile-
stone (Goal is 95%)
Local-let Plan Package delivery for FY 14 was 92% (Goal is 90%)
This team has truly overcome a year of adversity, as during this
same period a search was on for a new Administrator, and the
office was seeing long-term employees retire while welcoming
many new faces to the “second floor.” This includes eight em-
ployees separating from ODOT along with seven new hires, all
within the past twelve months. This year, they also were thrown
more projects their way to deliver with the initiation of the Ohio
Bridge Partnership Program. The program, which they were not
expecting, added six bridge replacements to the mix with an ad-
ditional 22 in the next two fiscal years. The team also saw the first
Ohio Turnpike-funded TRAC project sell with the State Route 57
project in Elyria.
Up against adversity, the team found a way to pull it all to-
gether, and I’m thankful for their hard work and efforts. Regard-
less of who you are or what work unit you are in, next time you
have a chance, stop up on the second floor and thank those folks
for their continuing efforts to keep our system conditions in top
shape in District 3.
Stay safe.
Al
Breaking ground in Bucyrus
Employees from the Crawford County maintenance garage officially broke ground on a new Full Ser-
vice Maintenance Facility recently in Bucyrus. The team joined Director Jerry Wray and District Depu-
ty Director Al Biehl in turning the dirt for the new building, located just north of
Bucyrus in the Crossroads industrial park, in close proximity to US Route 30.
“ODOT’s mission is to create a long-
term, reliable, and professional organi-
zation,” said Director Wray at the
ground breaking ceremony. “If you are
professional, you have the right materi-
als, equipment and the right facilities.
We are here today to ensure the team in
Crawford County has the right facility.”
The new $6.6 million facility will be
34,000 square feet, which is nearly three-times larger than the antiquated facility now housing the group. It is the hope of
the contractor to have the work completed in twelve months.
Lorain County Mechanic Makes
Dreams a Reality
John Yaworsky is a talented mechanic with a big heart.
As a father of a child with special needs, John wanted to
help his son show animals at the local county fair. There
was just one thing that stood in the way—his wheelchair.
John’s son Austin has cerebral palsy and spends much of
his time in a wheelchair. His niece also has cerebral palsy
and she too wanted to get involved with 4-H.
For the past six years, John has worked as an Auto Me-
chanic in Lorain County, and is used to fixing equipment
and finding innovative ways to solve problems. He put
these skills to good use and discovered ways to make it
possible for his son and niece to participate in the fair and a
4-H club.
The Camden Kids 4-H club was taken over a few years
ago by John’s wife, Angie, and his sister-in-law, Michelle
Groot. John supports them by finding ways for each child to
participate.
This year, his son raised and showed a cow at the fair. To
prepare for this, John had to come up with an idea of how
to get the cow used to his son’s wheelchair and yet still
compete on the same level as the other children in his class.
He started by sticking a bottle to feed the cow under his
son’s arm, to get it comfortable with the wheelchair and his
son. The cow eventually was weaned from the bottle and
soon followed his son around everywhere! Another time
when Austin
wanted to show
turkeys, John
was able to
teach the tur-
keys to stand on
the wheelchair.
He also worked
closely with his
son to be able
to hold the tur-
key around it’s
neck for show-
ing. When his
son wanted to
show their mini
horses with a
cart, John
modified
the cart to
include a
seatbelt
among
other
things so
his son
could safe-
ly ride and
show at
the same
time.
As time
went on,
John and
his wife
found that
more chil-
dren with
special
needs wanted to get involved with 4-H, and their group has
grown.
Prior to a show at the fair, John will take time to touch
base with the judges to make sure they are aware that the
child showing their animal has special needs. While the chil-
dren are not judged any differently, it allows them to be
prepared for what to expect.
“We really wanted to get the kids involved to keep them
busy and occupied in a good organization,” John explained.
“One of the main things being in the 4-H program is teach-
ing the typical kids is that even with a disability, these kids
with special needs can compete.”
According to their website, 4-H is the nation’s largest
youth development and empowerment organization with
university-backed curriculum. It engages children in hands-
on learning activities in the areas of science, healthy living,
and food security.
John and his wife live in Wakeman with their four chil-
dren. Their other three other children, along with Austin, are
also heavily involved in the 4-H club and enjoy showing a
variety of animals, including rabbits, turkeys, ducks, goats,
saddle horses, cows and even their wiener dog.
...AT HOME
ODOT People are Amazing...
Lorain County Auto Mechanic John Yaworsky leads
his son, Austin, in to the bovine show ring at the
Lorain County fair this August.
The Legend—September 2014 3
Congrats to Richland County’s Matt
Dailey. Matt was awarded the Grand
Marshal Award at the Bellville Inde-
pendence Day parade. He drove a
truck in the parade with a patriotic
plow blade painted by Lexington High
School.
Santa visited the ‘Christmas in July’ Snow & Ice
Planning event recently where he brought presents
for each County Manager. Roadway Services Man-
ager Matt Blankenship received the best gift of
all—a calculator! Each summer, the team gets to-
gether to discuss snow and ice operations for the
coming winter season.
Ashland
206
Crawford
149
Erie
27
Huron
167
Lorain
319
Medina
68
Richland
11
Wayne
5
District
45
*thru September 1
*
Thank you, Judy Plato , and please thank all involved for
the speedy repair of the lighting at SR 254 & I-90 in Shef-
field Village. You folks do a great job keeping the road-
ways safe here in Ohio, and believe me, there are times
when I dread to out outside the state lines. So thank you
again. Best regards and enjoy the warm weather as we
know what's coming around the
corner.
John Tulk, Lorain County, 9/3/14
Mr. Biehl,
I wanted to express my sincere gratitude to you and everyone else
in your office for not only the project here at State Route 39 and
Lexington Springmill Road (in cooperation with the Richland Coun-
ty Engineer’s office), but for the wonderful work keeping our road
safe for everyone. The work done here not only saved my property
but saved a serious situation from happening to an innocent mo-
torists. Thank you all again!
Linda Sauer, August 2014, Richland County
Lorain County,
Thank you so much for cleaning my ditch. You did a
wonderful job and it was really appreciated!
Paul Eglin, State Route 301, 8/5/14
Co-Worker &
Customer Kudos
4 The Legend—September 2014
Planning & Engineering team
among top in State in 2014 for
Program Delivery
From the design sec-
tion to real estate
and all the planners
in between, the team
in District 3’s Plan-
ning & Engineering
Department truly is a
team that works to-
gether. The results
are in and show that
D-3 met all goals for
the plan package
and program deliv-
ery in the latest Cap-
ital Program Report.
The group was one
of only four Districts that met the ODOT Let—Project
Award On Time goal with 96.9% awarded on time.
The team has made great strides in achieving goals set
forth from the Critical Success Factors more than 3 years
ago.
“I really think the
recipe for success
with the P&E team
has been the atti-
tude and willingness
to work together as
a group,” District
Deputy Director
Biehl explained. “The
seasoned veterans
and the newer,
younger employees
both learn from each
other and have done
a truly stellar job.”
...AT WORK
ODOT People are Amazing...
Communication is Key for Construction
Transportation Engineer 3 Scott Turchek is no stranger to
Urban Paving projects. Last year, he oversaw the resurfacing
of State Route 18 and State Route 57 in downtown Medina,
while this year, he is the project manager for the resurfac-
ing of State Route 3 and US Route 42 in downtown Medina.
After frustrations through last year’s project with
maintenance of traffic in the heavily-congested City, District
3 learned many lessons in how to approach the project this
year and began communications with the City officials early
on. Details were hammered out in the plans to coordinate
traffic, taking in to account high volume times of the day.
For instance, provisions were made that the contractor
could only pave in the Medina square at night, and also
only impact traffic after 9 a.m. each day to avoid the morn-
ing rush hour.
By working together with the City prior to the start of
the project, and now that the project has been underway, it
has minimized inconveniences significantly.
Each week, Turchek emails City officials, the local school
superintendent, Chamber of Commerce, among others with
a ‘5-day look ahead’
schedule for the con-
tractor. These updates
are communicated
through the City’s and
Police’s Facebook
pages. By taking the
time to provide these
weekly detailed re-
ports, it allows motor-
ists know what to ex-
pect each week and
plan accordingly.
“We were very
appreciative of ODOT
sitting down with us
ahead of time and
talking this out,” said
Medina Mayor Dennis
Hanwell. “So far, everything has gone well. ODOT has been
great to work with. We have seen a substantial decrease in
complaints to city hall this year.”
Construction Engineer Scott Turchek
and Medina Public Service Director
Nino Piccoli discuss the US 42/SR 3
resurfacing project in the City recently.
5 The Legend—September 2014 The Legend—September 2014 2
Against a chal-
lenging backdrop,
the District 3 Planning
& Engineering team de-
serves major accolades for
their contribution to achieve the
Department’s Critical Success Fac-
tor goals for the record $2.4 billion
Capital Program delivery as they wrapped
up Fiscal Year 2014 recently.
Their outstanding achievements in meeting the
Critical Success Factors include:
Awarding 96.6% of the ODOT-let projects on time
(Goal is 90%)
Local-let projects were 88% awarded on time (Goal is 85%)
Additionally, the group met all the Plan Package delivery goals,
with even more impressive results:
District 3 came in at 100% for filing ODOT-let projects on time,
being one of only two Districts in the state to achieve that mile-
stone (Goal is 95%)
Local-let Plan Package delivery for FY 14 was 92% (Goal is 90%)
This team has truly overcome a year of adversity, as during this
same period a search was on for a new Administrator, and the
office was seeing long-term employees retire while welcoming
many new faces to the “second floor.” This includes eight em-
ployees separating from ODOT along with seven new hires, all
within the past twelve months. This year, they also were thrown
more projects their way to deliver with the initiation of the Ohio
Bridge Partnership Program. The program, which they were not
expecting, added six bridge replacements to the mix with an ad-
ditional 22 in the next two fiscal years. The team also saw the first
Ohio Turnpike-funded TRAC project sell with the State Route 57
project in Elyria.
Up against adversity, the team found a way to pull it all to-
gether, and I’m thankful for their hard work and efforts. Regard-
less of who you are or what work unit you are in, next time you
have a chance, stop up on the second floor and thank those folks
for their continuing efforts to keep our system conditions in top
shape in District 3.
Stay safe.
Al
Breaking ground in Bucyrus
Employees from the Crawford County maintenance garage officially broke ground on a new Full Ser-
vice Maintenance Facility recently in Bucyrus. The team joined Director Jerry Wray and District Depu-
ty Director Al Biehl in turning the dirt for the new building, located just north of
Bucyrus in the Crossroads industrial park, in close proximity to US Route 30.
“ODOT’s mission is to create a long-
term, reliable, and professional organi-
zation,” said Director Wray at the
ground breaking ceremony. “If you are
professional, you have the right materi-
als, equipment and the right facilities.
We are here today to ensure the team in
Crawford County has the right facility.”
The new $6.6 million facility will be
34,000 square feet, which is nearly three-times larger than the antiquated facility now housing the group. It is the hope of
the contractor to have the work completed in twelve months.
Lorain County Mechanic Makes
Dreams a Reality
John Yaworsky is a talented mechanic with a big heart.
As a father of a child with special needs, John wanted to
help his son show animals at the local county fair. There
was just one thing that stood in the way—his wheelchair.
John’s son Austin has cerebral palsy and spends much of
his time in a wheelchair. His niece also has cerebral palsy
and she too wanted to get involved with 4-H.
For the past six years, John has worked as an Auto Me-
chanic in Lorain County, and is used to fixing equipment
and finding innovative ways to solve problems. He put
these skills to good use and discovered ways to make it
possible for his son and niece to participate in the fair and a
4-H club.
The Camden Kids 4-H club was taken over a few years
ago by John’s wife, Angie, and his sister-in-law, Michelle
Groot. John supports them by finding ways for each child to
participate.
This year, his son raised and showed a cow at the fair. To
prepare for this, John had to come up with an idea of how
to get the cow used to his son’s wheelchair and yet still
compete on the same level as the other children in his class.
He started by sticking a bottle to feed the cow under his
son’s arm, to get it comfortable with the wheelchair and his
son. The cow eventually was weaned from the bottle and
soon followed his son around everywhere! Another time
when Austin
wanted to show
turkeys, John
was able to
teach the tur-
keys to stand on
the wheelchair.
He also worked
closely with his
son to be able
to hold the tur-
key around it’s
neck for show-
ing. When his
son wanted to
show their mini
horses with a
cart, John
modified
the cart to
include a
seatbelt
among
other
things so
his son
could safe-
ly ride and
show at
the same
time.
As time
went on,
John and
his wife
found that
more chil-
dren with
special
needs wanted to get involved with 4-H, and their group has
grown.
Prior to a show at the fair, John will take time to touch
base with the judges to make sure they are aware that the
child showing their animal has special needs. While the chil-
dren are not judged any differently, it allows them to be
prepared for what to expect.
“We really wanted to get the kids involved to keep them
busy and occupied in a good organization,” John explained.
“One of the main things being in the 4-H program is teach-
ing the typical kids is that even with a disability, these kids
with special needs can compete.”
According to their website, 4-H is the nation’s largest
youth development and empowerment organization with
university-backed curriculum. It engages children in hands-
on learning activities in the areas of science, healthy living,
and food security.
John and his wife live in Wakeman with their four chil-
dren. Their other three other children, along with Austin, are
also heavily involved in the 4-H club and enjoy showing a
variety of animals, including rabbits, turkeys, ducks, goats,
saddle horses, cows and even their wiener dog.
...AT HOME
ODOT People are Amazing...
Lorain County Auto Mechanic John Yaworsky leads
his son, Austin, in to the bovine show ring at the
Lorain County fair this August.
6 The Legend—September 2014
District 3 Employee News
Dates to Remember
9/3 Combined Charitable
Campaign began
10/13 Columbus Day
(ODOT Closed)
11/11 Veterans’ Day
(ODOT Closed)
John R. Kasich
Governor
Jerry Wray
Director
Allen C. Biehl, P.E.
District Deputy Director
September 2014
What’s inside…
DDD Corner
New Crawford Garage
Customer Kudos
Amazing ODOT
Employees
Employee News
One Team Up—One ODOT
The Legend District 3 Employee Newsletter
New Hires
Ian Wallace, Highway Technician 1 in Erie
County.
Brian Maxwell, Highway Technician 1 in
Medina County.
Gregory O’Connell, Highway Technician
1 in Medina County.
David Morlock, Highway Technician 1 in
Medina County.
Nathan Berry, Highway Technician 1 in
Medina County.
Mark Donohue, Highway Technician 1 in
Richland County.
Todd Gerlach, Highway Technician 1 in
Wayne County.
Promotions
Chris Kocher to Transportation Manager
in Crawford County.
Nicholas Foster to Transportation Engi-
neer 2 in Planning & Engineering.
Mike Titus to Transportation Engineer 2
in Construction.
James Wade to Transportation Engineer
2 in Construction.
Jason Sutherland to Safety & Health
Program Consultant in Business & Human
Resources.
Craig Goodnight to Transportation Engi-
neer 1 in Planning & Engineering.
HT Series Updates
Pretesting dates have been announced
for September 16 and 30. Requests must
be submitted by either a TM or County
Manager for approval.
Mike Weidrick to HT3 in Medina County.
Retirements
Judy Caiola, Transportation Engineer 2 in
Construction, with 30 years.
Brenda Vozar, Transportation Manager 1
in Facilities, with 30 years.
This month’s banner is a photo of
the painted plow by Lexington High
School on display at Team Up ODOT.
Pictured at right: Lisa Pawlikowski
judges the Loader competition dur-
ing the Director’s Cup while Medina
County HT Greg O’Connell competes
in the event.
New App Available For ODOTers The new “ODOT Work Zone Pocket Guide” app is now available for ODOT employ-
ees, contractors, and anyone else needing to set up work zones in Ohio. ODOT’s
Offices of Roadway Engineering and Traffic collaborated to develop the app, which
creates a mobile version of the Department’s Guidebook for Traffic Control in Work
Zones. The handy information is taken directly from the Ohio Manual of Uniform
Traffic Control Devices and provides a quick reference to customers. Employees us-
ing ODOT-issued smart phones can download the new app, which is available for
both Apple and Android devices.
Clockwise from top: Medina County HT 1 John
Kwiecien competes in the Director’s Cup Roadeo;
HTs from Ashland County learn about District 4’s
tow plow from Larry Poage during the Team Up
ODOT event; and Bill Wright, Lorain County HT3,
explains the Crew Leader Academy to another HT
from District 2.
Teams from around the state came to-
gether to share information and bench-
mark with others at this year’s Team Up
ODOT event at the Ohio State Fairgrounds
in Columbus earlier this month. In con-
junction with the event, the Director’s Cup
Roadeo is also held where
ODOTers across the state
compete against each other
for the chance to win a trip to
the regional Roadeo event.
Participating in the Director’s Cup
Roadeo event were the 1st and 2nd place
winners of District 3’s Truck and Loader
competition, including Billy Workman,
John Kwiecien, Joe Estepp, and Greg
O’Connell. Painted plow blades were also
on display around the fairgrounds from
District 3 as well, and one was even
mounted to the truck in the Roadeo com-
petition.
Helping to judge the Roadeo from
District 3 were Lisa Pawlikowski, Cindy
Zocchi, Matt Simon and John Borsick.
While the fun went on outside, D-3
also had a booth
inside where other
Districts could learn
more about the Crew
Leader Academy.
The academy was
held earlier this year,
and was a two-fold
learning opportunity
for employees moving through the HT
series focusing on leadership and
ODOT-specific knowledge.
Wrapping up the day-long event
were Total ODOT Performance (TOP)
Awards, and this year two were handed
out to deserving recipients in D-3. The
Ashland County Garage won the System
Conditions Award for their efforts in im-
proving the system conditions as meas-
ured by the Critical Success Factor. Alt-
hough the act of replacing a culvert falls
within the job duties of this group,
the ability to successfully replace
45 culverts within the summer, in
one county is out of the ‘norm’ for
the group. Crew Leaders were
asked to take a leadership role in planning
and organized the resources, allowing the
Transportation Manager to coordinate the
detour routes.
The other TOP award was given to
Matt Blankenship who won the Shining
Star Award for consistently demonstrating
outstanding achievement. Matt has lon-
gevity at ODOT, filling nearly the same
role for more than 20 years. While long-
term may describe his longevity or past;
long-term really defines his philosophy in
his strategic planning for the District’s fu-
ture, making him the epitome of a shining
star. Congrats to Ashland County
and Matt Blankenship!
Check out photos below and on
the back page from this event.