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 MWCD to Launch Nationwide Search to Replace Chief Engineer A nationwide search is planned to find a replacement for Richard A. “Dick” Bible, who has resigned as chief engineer of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District. Bible, who has served the MWCD since 1995, has accepted a leadership position with the Ohio Department of Transportation. His resignation was accepted today (Feb. 16) by the MWCD Board of Directors during its monthly meeting held in the Carlisle Village Inn at Sugarcreek. “MWCD better serves the public today because of the contributions of Dick Bible,” said John M. Hoopingarner, MWCD executive director/secretary. “It is with great regret that we accept his resignation, but with heartfelt congratulations and a firm pledge of support that we send him off to his exciting new position ODOT as Deputy Director for the department's east-central Ohio region, District 11.” As ODOT District 11's chief executive, Bible will be responsible for the planning, design, construction and maintenance of the transportation system in District 11's seven counties, including Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Harrison, Holmes, Jefferson and Tuscarawas counties. District 11 employs 344 people, oversees an annual construction program of approximately $40 million, and is in charge of all snow and ice removal operations on the state highway system in its region. The MWCD has begun a nationwide search for a new chief engineer, Hoopingarner said. Several federal, state and local government agencies have been contacted and have agreed to provide input. The position of chief engineer is key because Ohio law requires the chief engineer to act as the superintendent of all the works and improvements of the conservancy district. “We have some big shoes to fill finding a replacement for Dick Bible,” Hoopingarner said. “The critical work of planning and implementing maintenance and improvement projects that will provide benefits throughout our watershed will require the skills of a chief engineer with experience in this type of work.” In the meantime, MWCD has named James Rozelle as interim chief engineer. Rozelle is a professional engineer with more than 30 years of experience, having served as chief engineer and general manager of the Miami Conservancy District, headquartered in Dayton, OH. Rozelle also served as the executive director of the Ohio Water Resources Council. He is presently employed by Fuller, Mossbarger, Scott & May Engineers, the firm that has assisted the MWCD in its development of plans to fund nearly $270 million of maintenance and improvement projects for the system of reservoirs and dams in the Muskingum River Watershed. The MWCD, a political subdivision of the state of Ohio, was organized in 1933 to develop and execute a plan for the reduction of flooding and improved water conservation in the Muskingum River Watershed. A system of 14 reservoirs and dams was constructed – two dams were built later – that led to a partnership between the MWCD and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The MWCD manages the reservoir areas behind the dams, while the Army Corps of Engineers operates the dams. Since the construction of the dams nearly 70 years ago, more than $6 billion worth of property damage has been saved from flooding, including an estimated $400 million in savings during flooding in January 2005, which is the greatest flood of record since the Great Flood of 1913 in Ohio. Bible, a New Philadelphia resident, worked in the private engineering field before being hired as the manager of operations and chief engineer for the MWCD in April 1995. Prior to his appointment, he served two years as the acting chief engineer to the MWCD. He spent more than 25 years as a design engineer, project engineer and vice president of two New Philadelphia area engineering firms. He also has been the past president of the Tuscarawas Valley Society of Engineers and is a member of the Ohio Society of Engineers. A graduate of Tri-State (Ind.) University with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, Bible is a registered professional engineer in the states of Ohio and Indiana. For more information about the MWCD, visit www.mwcd.org.
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