LIMA — Lima played host to a special rodeo Tuesday, one featuring not horses but horsepower.
The Ohio Department of Transportation District 1 held its annual “roadeo” Tuesday at its Allen County Maintenance Garage, testing employees’ skills in loader and truck maneuverability. Participants are required to navigate loaders and salt trucks through obstacle courses, along with ensuring all preliminary inspections and safety checks are conducted properly.
“Any employee in their first two years are required to attend and participate,” ODOT District 1 Deputy Director Kirk Slusher said. “That’s just for assisting in developing their skill sets. Running a course as tight as this helps them generate awareness of where their tires are, where the bucket placement is and stuff like that. So it enhances their skill set for when they get out on the road.”
Crews from throughout the district’s eight-county region, which includes Allen, Defiance, Hancock, Hardin, Paulding, Putnam, Van Wert and Wyandot counties, all came together Tuesday to prove their mettle and represent the district in broader competition.
“The top two that are competing here today will move on to a statewide competition that will be held in September,” Slusher said. “We have 12 ODOT districts, and each district will send competitors to the state competition. There’s actually a national competition that you can compete in, as well.”
Slusher noted that this district has traditionally fared well in the past at the state level, with last year’s winner in the loader catagory coming from this district. Holding the competition at the district’s new garage on McCullough Road also heightened the competition, since the smaller space made for a tighter, more challenging obstacle course.
“We want them to be able to make this more difficult for them here than it would be at state,” Slusher said.
Area high schools were also celebrated Tuesday at ODOT with the “Paint the Plow” competition, in which art groups from various high schools paint the snow plow blades used on the district’s trucks in the winter. This year’s winner was Kalida High School, with the school also winning last year.
“All three years we’ve done this, a Putnam County school has won,” ODOT public information officer Rhonda Pees said. “First, it was Fort Jennings, and the past two years, it’s been Kalida.”
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