News Briefs

Road salt management grant received
The Lucas County Engineer’s Office received a $44,800 grant from the H2Ohio Chloride Reduction Grant Program to help upgrade equipment and improve road salt management to protect waterways by reducing the amount of salt used by up to 30 percent.
The funds will be used to purchase a new 1800-gallon anti-icer tank to use as a liquid brine applicator for controlling snow and ice by preventing buildup prior to a storm.
With the county acquiring another brine applicator, the entire 879 lane miles under county jurisdiction will be able to be pre-treated in 24-36 hours before a storm.
With roadways pre-treated, this will create more favorable conditions for snow to be mechanically removed before it can create slippery conditions, and greatly reduce the use of road salts on county roads.
“Prior to this season, it took us at least two full days to pre-treat our entire county roadway system before a storm,” LCEO Public Information Officer Michael Tatar said. “Now, thanks to this H2Ohio grant, we will be able to do that in just a single day.”

Murder indictment issued
An eight-count indictment has been issued in the case of a fatal shooting that occurred in East Toledo in October.
Deondrae Ballard, 32, was indicted last week by the Lucas County Grand Jury for the murder of Elisha Meraz, 32.
Ballard was charged with one count of aggravated murder; two counts of murder; one count of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault; one count of having weapons while under disability, and one count of discharge of a firearm on or near prohibited premises.
All of the counts carry firearm specifications except for the having weapons under disability count.
On October 26, officers were dispatched to the corner of Church Street and Prentice Avenue where they located Meraz, who had been shot. She was treated at the scene and transported to St, Vincent Medical Center where she later died.
A murder warrant was issued Oct. 31 for Ballard and he was arrested Dec. 2 by personnel from the U.S. Marshal’s task force and Toledo Police Department at a relative’s home.

City of Toledo
seeking input
The City of Toledo is updating its Five-Year Consolidated Plan, a roadmap guiding investments in housing, homelessness services, economic development, public infrastructure, and community programs from 2025 through 2029.
This plan determines how the city allocates federal funding from programs such as the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME), and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG).
Residents are invited to participate in the planning process by attending one of several community input meetings or by completing a 15-minute survey to share their feedback by Jan. 31, 2025. The survey and schedule of community meetings can be found on the city's website at toledo.oh.gov/consolidated-plan.
Locally, a community input meeting will be held Thursday, Jan. 9 at 6 p.m. at the East Toledo Family Center, 1020 Varland Ave.
About the process
The city will incorporate public feedback into a first draft, which will be released on March 25, 2025, for a 30-day comment period. Additional public hearings will be held in March and April before the final plan is submitted to Toledo City Council for approval. The approved plan must be submitted to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on May 9, 2025.