BATAVIA — Clermont County will have its Bicentennial Bell cast July 23 and 24, probably during the annual Clermont County Fair in Owensville.

        June Creager, executive director of the Clermont County Convention and Visitors Bureau, told the county board of commissioners Tuesday that the date had been tentatively set for casting the bell.

        The Ohio Bicentennial Commission, in preparation for the state's bicentennial in 2003, has commissioned the Verdin Co. of Cincinnati to cast a Bicentennial Bell for each of the state's 88 counties.

        Seven bells were cast this fall using a mobile foundry. The first was cast Sept. 8 and 9 in Marietta during the Ohio River Sternwheel Festival. Marietta and Washington County were chosen to receive a bell first because of their place in state history — the first organized settlement in the Northwest Territory in 1788.

        “It's our hope to have the bell casting at the Clermont County Fair,” Ms. Creager told the commissioners. “After the bell is cast, it will be moved to a permanent place. It could be in front of the courthouse.”

        She said a special committee of citizens will make a recommendation to the commissioners.

        Lee Yoakum, senior communications officer for the Ohio Bicentennial Commission, said at least 41 bells will be cast in 2002. The commission tries to piggy-back the casting with a large event taking place in the county. The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 did not alter the schedule this year.

        “Sept. 11 was a Tuesday, and we had one scheduled for that weekend in Bellville (near Mansfield),” Mr. Yoakum said. “When they told us they were going to go ahead with their street fair, we went ahead, too. Obviously, it had a somber tone. But it made it even more special. It's a little town of about 2,000 and they had 4,000 people there. They crowded around this little Norman Rockwell-like gazebo in the town square and it really was a special event.”

        Hamilton County has not yet been scheduled for the casting of its Bicentennial Bell.

        Each county's Bicentennial Bell is made of bronze, stands about 2-feet high and weighs 250 pounds.

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