The winners of the Eldred Township Historical Society’s first photography contest were announced at the supervisors’ meeting on Wednesday night.

Former supervisor Mary Anne Clausen announced that the grand prize of $100 would go to Joyce Blaskow for her picture of an old red barn. Three photos were runners-up. One of them was of a field taken by Traci Smith and another one of her photos, and the third by Blaskow of a patch of wildflowers. The prize for the runners-up was $50.

Five people received $25 each for honorable mention photographs. They were Denise Yarashas, Margaret Carpenito, Robin Gitch, Tony Giordano and Dieter Metzger.

“We had an incredible array of really nice photographs,” Clausen said. “It was very hard to judge.”

The contest was held in order to gather enough local photographs to create a calendar that will be used as a fundraiser for the historical society. The contest generated about 75 photographs, Clausen said.

Since there isn’t enough time to get the calendars designed, printed and available for purchase before January 2021, the historical society decided to make a 2022 calendar, and have it available to purchase next spring.

Eldred Township secretary Ann Velopolcek said the historical society wants to restore a historic post office across from the old stone arch bridge in the village center. The building would serve as a museum and a visitor’s center.

“We’re trying to preserve what we can for the future, and make Eldred Township a pleasant place to live,” she said. “Modern and forward thinking while preserving the past.”

The former post office needs a new roof, and the historical society has received a grant for the project. Clausen said there aren’t any leaks in the roof, but it has started to bow. They are considering having a metal roof put on it.

The total cost of the project is about $25,600, and the grant will nearly cover it. Clausen briefly mentioned that there are two more projects that also need fixed.

In other business, the supervisors approved placing the township’s 1985 dump truck for sale on Municibids, and replacing it with a new one. The dump body on the truck was removed, sand blasted and cracks were repaired at a cost of $19,350, but additional cracks were found.

“I believe the reason for the problems is the lack of preventive maintenance checks over the decades,” Gary Hoffman, chairman of the supervisors, said. “There was an absence in folks taking pride in taking care of the trucks.”

For this reason, he wants to immediately introduce a system where trucks are assigned to one or two people in the roads department as theirs solely to operate. It will be their responsibility to clean the outside of the truck after each use and the inside if needed.

“This way repairs can be minor,” he said, and added that it will keep the equipment in safe operating condition for the employees and the public.

In addition to the truck that is to be sold, the township also owns three trucks that are 24 years old, 17 years old and 4 years old, as well as the purchase of a new 2019 truck.

They approved the leasing to own of a new truck on Wednesday night for four years. It is an International brand dump truck for a total of $163,348.