By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com

Four local facilities went for the hat trick when the Crawford County Public Health safety awards were handed out Wednesday.

Buckeye Central schools, Little Athens, KFC in Galion, and WalMart all received the 2015 Food Safety Award for the third year in a row.

Thirteen other local food establishments and facilities also received a Food Safety Award. The complete list of award winners are:

  • Buckeye Central schools
  • Bucyrus Elementary School
  • Bucyrus High School
  • Bucyrus Community Hospital
  • Crestline Child Care
  • Crestline High School
  • Daily Scoop
  • Heartland Care Center
  • Katering Kountry Style
  • KFC of Galion
  • Little Athens
  • Maplecrest
  • Taco Bell
  • WalMart
  • Wynford Elementary School
  • Wynford High School
  • Wagon Wheel Campground

The food licensing year runs from March to March. At the end of each licensing year, Crawford County Public Health tallies the results and presents the results to the board.

“This is really important for us,” said Kate Siefert, administrator for Crawford County Public Health. “We are thrilled. Our numbers have increased each year we’ve done this. We are pleased by the fact that more and more of our facilities are achieving pretty strict criteria.

“We are very proud to have this many award winners in our county.”

“It makes us pretty proud that we have met all the criteria and met what needs to be done to do this,” said Judy Auck, the head person at the Buckeye Central cafeteria. “I have a good staff that knows what they’re doing and keep the kitchen clean, up to date, and all that good stuff.”

Renee Powell, a representative of Little Athens, said it meant a lot to the restaurant to be recognized for its hard work three years in a row.

“We work real hard in making sure everything is clean and making sure our customers are happy,” Powell said. “It’s pretty much making sure everyone is happy and giving good service.”

Katering Kountry Style just missed out on getting the award three years in a row. The company didn’t yet have its food license for the whole year when Crawford County Public Health initiated the program in 2013.

“It just shows the cleanliness we have and what we strive for everyday just to serve people quality food,” said Connor Teters, who received the award alongside her mother, Michele Teters.

Facilities in Crawford County have to meet a long list of criteria to be considered for the award, including holding a valid Class III of Class IV license, having no food-borne illnesses, having no critical food safety violations, and establishing a written policy for ensuring food safety when an employee is ill.

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