Monday, June 11th, 2007
New coordinator proposed for watershed
By William Kincaid
Grand Lake/Wabash Watershed Alliance board members recommended hiring Laura Walker, Montezuma, as the new watershed coordinator during a special meeting Friday night.
Theresa Dirksen, the current watershed coordinator, said the recommendation of Walker will be presented to the Mercer County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) board during a meeting at 8 a.m. Thursday. The SWCD board is in charge of hiring a watershed coordinator.
Dirksen, who will leave her position to become a technician for SWCD on June 24, said Walker this morning said she plans to accept the position.
Dirksen said the board reviewed five applications before selecting Walker as their recommendation for the coordinator position.
"They felt she was the best fit at this time," Dirksen said.
Walker currently is employed by the Mercer County Sheriff's Department, where she works as a dispatcher. She also has worked as a landscaper at Nature's Green Nursery, Fort Recovery, and in the editorial department at The Daily Standard, Celina. She received a degree in civil engineering from Tri State University, Angola, Ind., in 2003.
Dirksen will retain her current salary of $17.87 an hour when she assumes her new post as technician. She has said she feels she may be able to do more for the watersheds as technician, where she will work closely with agricultural producers on conservation issues and projects.
Dirksen has been watershed coordinator since July 31, 2006.
