“We are very thankful to the Champaign County Commissioners for funding this important initiative,” Kyle Hall, president of the CEP Board of Trustees, said. “The COVID-19 grant fund can really make a difference in our county. It will help small businesses bridge the gap in revenue during the shutdown and help them meet safety requirements for reopening, so that consumers will return to them with confidence.”
 
Through 5 p.m. May 15, qualifying local businesses may complete and submit a simple application for $500 to $2,500 in grant funds, at www.champaignworks.com/PayItForwardGrant. 
​Businesses may submit their applications directly from the website. But if they prefer, they may print out the application form, complete it, and drop it in the Champaign Economic Partnership mailbox (next to the CEP office door, inside the ATM lobby of Security National Bank, 3 Monument Square, Urbana), or email their completed, scanned application to the CEP at info@cepohio.com, by the 5 p.m. May 15 deadline.
 
“The commissioners want to support the health and vitality of the Champaign County business community during the pandemic,” said County Commissioner Steve Hess, who serves on the CEP Board of Trustees. “Through this grant fund we want to help our local businesses get through this crisis by supplementing the support they’re getting from the state and federal government.”
 
To be eligible for the grant program, commercial or retail businesses must have a storefront in Champaign County (cannot be home-based or nonprofit), have fewer than 50 employees, be current on local, state and federal obligations such as taxes and assessments, been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and, if a franchise, have no more than two storefronts in the county and not be corporate owned.
 
CEP Director Marcia Bailey said the grants may be used for operating expenses such as rent, utilities, payroll, and the cost of supplies and modifications needed to comply with safety requirements for reopening. Grant money cannot be used for taxes or other assessments. Grant recipients will be required to report to the grant committee how they spent the money.
 
“Our grant committee desires to make this a self-perpetuating fund so that money will be available to support future economic sustainability in our community,” Bailey said. “Through the Pay It Forward provision of the program, we will encourage grant recipients to contribute financially to the Champaign County Small Business Grant Fund once their businesses are back on their feet – in an amount equal to or greater than their grant.”
 
She added, “Our small businesses are essential to the vitality of Champaign County. We want to do what we can to help get them back on track, to continue providing jobs and valuable products and services that make our county a better place to live and work.” 
 
For grant guidelines and the application, visit www.champaignworks.com/PayItForwardGrant

The Village of Mechanicsburg will be flushing fire hydrants the weeks of April 6-10 and April 19-23, weather permitting, between 8am and 3pm.  

Flushing is done to remove sediment from the pipes in order to maintain water clarity and quality in the distribution pipes. Your water is safe to drink. Occasionally, water becomes discolored after hydrant flushing. If this happens, run your cold water tap for a few minutes until the water clears. If it doesn't clear the first time, wait a few minutes and run the water again. You should avoid washing clothes until the water clears.

We would like to thank everyone for practicing Social Distancing!  We have seen lots of people out walking, riding bikes, and visiting with their neighbors from across the street this weekend.  Good Job.  We are all in this together! 

Some fun ideas have been popping up to entertain the kids while still being apart.  Putting hearts in the windows (Heart Hunters on Facebook) or even Easter eggs for the kids to look for as they walk/drive by.  If you have an elderly or home-bound neighbor, a green piece of paper if they are okay, yellow if they need something, and red if it is an emergency would be an idea. 

We continue to provide services around the Village.  The Office and Municipal building remain closed to the public to protect our essential staff.  The office staff is here for limited hours to keep business running.  Street Water and Sewer Departments remain fully staffed at this time.

Please call (937) 834-3187 if you need assistance and leave a message on extension 3 someone will get back to you.

Businesses and restaurants remain open for carry out around the Village.  Please patronize our local businesses! 

Oasis of Mercy will have regular food pick ups on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month at St. Michael’s, 40 Walnut St, 614-747-0882. Starting this week, Second Harvest will be at 4 locations in Mechanicsburg, Mon-Fri for 9-11am passing out food for students.  You can call the school for locations.

Our Police, Fire and EMS are following all protocols to remain safe and healthy.  They are covering the Village with 24/7 shifts. 

Here are the latest statistics from the Champaign County Health Department:
Cases in Ohio
1,653 confirmed cases in
3 confirmed cases in Champaign County
139 ICU admissions
403 hospitalizations
29 deaths
https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/

Here are some helpful links:
Crisis Hotline

• Mental Health, Drug, & Alcohol Services Board (MHDAS) local Crisis Hotline is 1-800-224-0422 or 937-376-8701
• Ohio Crisis Textline:  text “4HOPE” to 741741

Call Center

• Champaign Health District call center: 937-653-0110 or email health@champaignhd.com
• Ohio Department of Health call center: 1-833-4-ASK-ODH

 
 
How to apply for Ohio Unemployment
http://jfs.ohio.gov/ouio/CoronavirusAndUI.stm.
 
How to apply for absentee ballot before April 27th deadline:
https://www.boe.ohio.gov/champaign/
 
Please be kind to one another, wash your hands, stay 6ft away, stay home if you are sick, and just know that we are all in this together to flatten the curve.  Ohio has an A rating for being on top of this.  Let’s keep this going.  We are lucky to have Governor DeWine and Dr. Amy Acton in charge!  Tune in at 2pm every day for updates with DeWine! https://ohiochannel.org/

Please know that the Village of Mechanicsburg is providing full services to the Village.  We are working staggered shifts to ensure that our employees and their families remain safe.  The office is closed to the public and will have minimal hours to ensure that all business is taken care of on a regular basis.  If you need assistance, please call (937) 834-3187 and leave a message for the department that is appropriate for your need.   

The Village of Mechanicsburg is suspending disconnection of utility services, late fees and penalties for non-payment from March 23rd through April 25th. The temporary suspension should not be considered a reason to not pay your utility bill. Customers may use the night deposit box to pay utility bills. We have provided envelopes for your convenience.  After April 25th, delinquent utility accounts will be reviewed and the need for service disconnections will be determined by the office on a case by case basis to ensure that delinquent balances do not become so excessive that they cannot be brought current within a reasonable time. To initiate new service, the application can be found on the website here. Please drop application off along with copy of your driver’s license, $100 deposit and all necessary signatures and we will schedule your water to be turned on.   

Police, Fire and EMS services remain fully staffed at this time.  Please call 911 for any emergency as usual.  All other non-emergency calls may be made to (937) 834-3187 and appropriate extension.  Right now, we are supplied with PPE equipment but that could change at any time.  Please be kind to all our First Responders.   

Our Water/Wastewater and Street Maintenance department employees are continuing to work on limited schedules and are on call 24/7.   
There are many volunteers distributing food during this crisis.  Oasis of Mercy Food Pantry distributes food boxes on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays at St. Michael's Church, located at 40 Walnut St, open to anyone in need.  They will bring boxes out to your car.  On the 4th Thursday Mobile Food Truck is at St. Michael's with both dry good and fresh/frozen boxes available.  Mechanicsburg Schools is giving breakfast and lunch bags free to all students.  Please visit their website for details.  Church of Our Savior will have their Community Meal for carry out only on Wednesday March 25 from 5-6:30pm.  Check out Mechanicsburg Free Community Meal on their Facebook page for further details.  Food is also available at Mechanicsburg Ohio Blessing Box.  See their Facebook page for details.   

While our resources are limited, we may be able to help you find needed items.  During this time we all should be practicing kindness.  Please check in on your neighbors.  If you are going out for groceries, see if you can pick something up for them, drop off a puzzle, Facetime your friends to stay in touch.  Please practice social distancing, wash your hands, stay home if you are sick, and follow all the CDC recommendations until this is over.  

Links for information:   
http://www.champaignhd.com/
https://www.cdc.gov/
https://governor.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/governor/

The Village of Mechanicsburg is monitoring updates from the Champaign County Health District to help minimize the community spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).  For factual information please refer to the Champaign County Health District website: http://www.champaignhd.com/, Facebook, and Twitter.  Their site and social media are updated throughout the day.  As of yesterday there were no known cases in our area.   

For now the best practices are wash your hands, stay home if you are sick, cover your cough, social distancing, and avoid large crowds.  Be safe out there.  We will update you with any future cancellations as they happen.   

An application session is taking place at the Champaign County Library on Thursday, January 23rd from 10am-12pm. Pre-registration is required by calling (567) 455-9240.

Mechanicsburg Christmas in the Village kicks off at 8am on Saturday, December 14th and continues with events all day and evening long! The parade through town starts at 2 pm!