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Man’s wedding ring found in recycling bin

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By Andrew McGinn, Staff Writer 5:36 PM Wednesday, December 28, 2011

SPRINGFIELD — Phil Bobay has commingled with his wife, Jan, for nearly half a century — but what he accidentally dropped this week into a recycling bin is neither plastic nor glass.

Bobay’s white-gold wedding ring, the one Jan slipped onto his finger 48 years ago, slipped into the cardboard bin Tuesday at the Clark County Waste Management District’s recycling station on West Main Street.

“I lost 27 pounds, and my wedding ring is kind of slipping on my finger,” Bobay, 71, explained.

When the Springfield resident realized what happened, a sense of fear admittedly gripped him.

“If you know our cardboard bin, there’s only a five-inch slot,” said Steve Schlather, program coordinator for the waste management district. “When something drops in, there’s no way to get it out.”

Bobay reported his loss Wednesday, and county jail inmates who work at the recycling station were given the task of sorting through the cardboard until they found the ring.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Bobay said. “There was a lot of cardboard in there.”

Alice Godsey, director of the waste management district, called Bobay with the good news, but initially had to leave a message.

“She was a little nervous about a woman calling and saying, ‘I’ve got your wedding ring,’ ” Schlather said. “But, apparently, the wife was informed.”

Contact this reporter at amcginn@coxohio.com.

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