Board of Supervisors
Board of Supervisors
Chairperson: Jan Reynolds
Jan and her husband Tom live in Apple Valley in Howard Twp. and have five
grown children. Jan graduated from OSU with B.S. in education and holds a
master degree from MVNU. She has taught at Fredericktown Elementary School
for 24 years and has been an education partner with Knox SWCD in its Partnering
for Elementary Environmental Education program for the last 15 years.
In 2000 Jan was recognized by the Knox SWCD Board as their outstanding
cooperator in recognition for her role in helping to establish and develop the
Knox SWCD "Partnering for Elementary Environmental Education" program. Tom farms
in the Gambier area where they raise sheep and cattle and grow hay, corn, and
soybeans with both minimum-till and no-till practices.
Vice-Chairperson: David Mitchem
David Mitchem, and his wife Emily,
reside in Milford Township. David operates a grain and livestock operation. The
farm operation consists of corn, soybean and wheat rotation, and also a farrow
to finish hog operation.
David is a member of the Centerburg United Methodist Church where he has
served as a trustee and is currently on the SPR Committee, a former member of
the Centerburg School Board, a Farm Bureau member, and was a member of the state
Young Farm Couple Committee. David has installed water ways, buffer strips, and has installed
130,000 feet of tile.
David feels the conservation programs have to reflect the diversity of our
county. We have to help our urban neighbors, but we cannot forget our
agricultural roots. This county has always been at the forefront of any advances
in technology be it for home building or crop production.
Bill and his wife Bonnie, reside in Pleasant Township on 225 acre beef and timber farm. The
Purebred Shorthorn cow/calf operation utilizes management intensive grazing,
and the wood lot is managed for saw timber.
Bill has installed a number of conservation practices on his
farm, including a farm pond, a wetland development of wildlife habitat, a
dry hydrant, heavy use area protection for livestock holding areas and
several tree planting and forest improvement projects. Bill participates in
the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to improve grazing and capacity
on his operation and has hosted numerous local, state and national tour and
field day events on the farm. In 2005 Bill and Bonnie hosted one of the
stops on the annual Heart of Ohio Tour.
Bill
helps represent the District on the Knox County RPC exurban committee.
Wayne Buskirk: Fiscal Agent
Wayne,
and his wife Joyce reside in Middlebury Township
near the village of Palmyra where they have
farmed for 47 years. They have three grown children.
Wayne and his son Mark operate a farm enterprise that consists of
approximately 1300 acres in corn, soybeans and wheat. On an annual basis about
70-75 percent of the crops are produced with no-till production methods while
the remainder is minimum-tilled. Conservation practices installed over the
years on both rented and owned properties include; several grassed waterways,
filter strips, subsurface tile drainage, and a water and sediment control basin.
Wayne feels that “conserving our natural resources and
promoting a better standard of living for farmers” is a top priority in Knox
County.
