Municipal court bailiff Jim Payne retires
By RYAN HORNS
Marysville
Municipal Court bailiff Jim Payne retired this week after six
years of
service to Judge Michael Grigsby and other court magistrates.
After Payne's
departure, former postal service employee Jim Lockwood
will become the new
court bailiff.
But to Payne, the retirement means anything but
relaxation.
"I'm just not going to go home and sit down in a rocker and waste
away,"
he said. "I have to be doing something."
Oddly enough, being a
bailiff was never something he considered doing as
a profession. When Michael
Grigsby was elected Marysville Municipal
Court Judge in 2000, he asked Payne
if he would be interested in taking the spot.
"I felt it was an honor to
do it," Payne said. "Since then it has been
something I've really
enjoyed."
The trail of careers and experiences Payne has accrued since the
1950s,
is all anyone needs to judge how busy the man has been. He started
out
in the United States Air Force as an administrator during the Korean
War
from 1952-53.
"I wanted to be a tail gunner, but I never made it," he
said. "I'm color blind."
Through the Air Force Payne was able to travel
and see places like
Korea, Japan, the Fiji Islands, Taiwan and France. He
stayed with the
Air Force another 19 years, before he finally left in 1971
and came to
Union County so his wife could be closer to her family.
From
there Payne joined Ashland Chemical in Dublin. The company then
sold to
another company in Germany, becoming Shurex Chemical. He retired
from there
in 1991.
Since then Payne said he has done "a bit of
everything."
Marysville Police officers remember Payne working as a 9-1-1
dispatcher
for a couple years. He also worked at an area golf course and had
a
stint as the Secretary Treasurer of the Ohio Elks Association
before
joining the Marysville Municipal Court system.
"I might do
something else down the road if it comes along and it's less
demanding,"
Payne said.
His son runs an accounting firm in Columbus, so he may help out
there.
His daughter also runs a horse farm in Kentucky, where he plans to
lend
a hand. Between them both, Payne said he should keep busy any way
that he can.
"I'm just going to do what I want to do," he said.
With
Marysville straining at the seams with growth, local law
enforcement has seen
a dramatic rise in criminal activity. This rise
inevitably ends up right in
the municipal courtroom.
Months ago police reports showed a man was
frustrated and angry with his
sentence, so he threw the court podium across
the room. The mark in the
wooden room divider is still there. However,
violence in the courtroom is rare.
"It doesn't happen that often," Payne
said.
When he first started as bailiff, there was a man being disruptive
in
the holding cell, so Grigsby had the man removed. While they were
taking
the man out he became combative and officers had to wrestle him down
in
the hallway at City Hall.
Normally, Payne said, no trouble happens when
Grigsby is on the stand.
Looking back over the past six years as bailiff,
Payne said he is proud
of the changes he helped facilitate. When he started
the court was only
in session three days a week and organizing the flood of
people coming
in was stressful.
"It was chaotic," he said. "People were
wall to wall (in the courtroom)."
Since then the court was able to expand
to sessions five days a week and
the staff has created a fluid organized
system.
"Things really run smooth now," Payne said.
Other changes he is
proud to have seen are placing new seating in the
courtroom. He also helped
with the replacement of the old analog
cassette recorder used for documenting
court sessions. In its place went
state of the art digital recording
equipment. Previously, Payne said he
had to lug around a 27-inch television
mounted to a cabinet and then
move it around during court sessions so the
witnesses, jury and audience
could see any video footage of police traffic
stop evidence. That
television was then replaced by two 47-inch televisions
mounted to the
walls of the courtroom, allowing easy viewing by everyone in
the room.
"I'm really proud of that and the recording system," Payne
said.
He said his retirement this week will only be difficult because of
the
people he will be leaving behind.
"I've really enjoyed working with
the court staff and I've met an awful
lot of people in law enforcement and
other court bailiffs in surrounding
counties," Payne said. "I think it is
important to note how we treat
people who come through those courtroom doors.
We treat them with
respect. It doesn't matter who you are. We are courteous
and polite to
everyone. That emanates from the judge on down. We just have
very few
problems in there now and I think it has to do with how you
treat people."
Rail crossing will reopen
ORDC
comes through with full funding for upgrades
By RYAN HORNS
It took a lot
of debate to get there, but the warning devices for the
East Fifth Street
railroad crossing will be installed at no cost to the
city of Marysville. It
means the crossing could be reopened in a little
more than a
year.
Marysville City Council president John Gore announced at
Thursday
night's city council meeting that a letter from the Ohio
Rail
Development Commission arrived Wednesday with the news on the
crossing.
The letter states Marysville will receive 100 percent of the
funding
needed to keep traffic flowing through East Fifth Street. It means
the
installation of crossing lights and arms.
"As a result of your
explanation of the city of Marysville's limited
General Fund Budget, the Ohio
Rail Development Commission (ORDC) has
investigated methods by which the
railroad warning devices at Fifth
Street can be improved at no cost to the
community," Susan Kirkland
wrote, manager of the ORDC Safety Programs. "I am
pleased to tell you
that the ORDC will fund the warning device installation
at a 70 percent
level and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) will
cover the
remaining 20 percent along with assessing CSX a 10 percent share.
Bonnie
Johrendt at the PUCO will initiate a contract outlining the scope
and
funding scenario for the project."
Kirkland also noted that by adding
PUCO and CSX into the funding scheme,
the project timeline would take
longer.
"A PUCO order will be associated with the project and the railroad
will
have one year to construct the warning devices from the date the
order
is issued," Kirkland wrote.
She sad that leaving the crossing
untouched is probably the best bet for
the time being.
"The ORDC
recommends that the city keep the crossing closed until the
warning devices
are in place at the crossing," Kirkland wrote.
Gore said he would like to
thank city law director Tim Aslaner and
council vice president Dan Fogt for
taking the lead on the railroad
crossing project, which ultimately led to
ORDC's decision to fund the
warning devices.
"Your leg work on this is
very appreciated," Gore said.
Gore also stressed that the traffic problems on
the east side of the
city far from over. So when roadways are upgraded down
the line, East
Fifth Street will be a part of that in some way.
Fogt
brought up the concrete upgrade that was expected to be done by CSX
on the
East Fifth Street crossing. He said it should be completed when
CSX comes
back later on this fall when they upgrade other city crossings.
He said it
could pose a problem if the crossing warning devices are
installed in the
summer, but the concrete hasn't been repaired. It is
best to have it fixed
with the rest this fall.
In other discussions:
. House reported that the
street paving project for 2006 has been
completed. The designated streets
were paved and all that remains are
the installation of markings on the
asphalt for parking and lanes. She
added that the city parking lots will not
be completed this year because
the paving company did not honor its original
price quote for that part
of the project. As a result, the city lots will be
paved during the 2007 program.
. The first reading was held on an
ordinance to accept the agreement
between the Department of the Army and
Marysville for design assistance
for the Marysville Reclamation
Facility.
House said some $800,000 to $900,000 will come to the city in a
grant
for the design. She said the sooner the ordinance is passed, the
sooner
Marysville will receive the grant money to begin.
. Councilwoman
Leah Sellers asked to amend the ordinance which would
have doubled the
compensation fees for members of city boards and
commissions, from $50 a
meeting to $35. The previous compensation has been $25.
Hospital sets
aside money for charities
By CORINNE BIX
Memorial Hospital of Union County
plans on donating up to $8,000 this
holiday season to local not-for-profit
groups.
During Thursday's monthly meeting, the hospital board of
trustees
supported a proposal brought by CEO/President Chip Hubbs that
would
reallocate gift funds to support local charities. Local charities
should
contact the hospital for more information.
The board approved the
purchase of new exterior signage to reflect the
hospital's updated logo
introduced last year. The exterior signage
project should take between six to
10 weeks and will include a campus
marker to sit at the corner of London and
Ninth avenues.
Nathanial Schreiner was introduced as the new director of
emergency
services. He began working with the hospital last month. He is
a
graduate of the University of Akron with a Bachelor of Science
in
nursing and a Masters degree in Health Systems Administration.
Schreiner
formally worked for Parma General Hospital as the assistant
director of
emergency services.
Laurie Whittington, Chief Operating
Officer, has completed long-term
care licensure as required to serve as the
licensed administrator for
The Gables at Green Pastures. Whittington spends
16 hours a
week at the Gables facility.
The board will no longer conduct
closed 15-minute sessions during the
regular monthly meetings. As a public
entity and to comply with the Open
Meetings Act and the Ohio Sunshine Laws,
Hubbs said the period will be
removed from future agendas.
In other
business, the board approved:
. Issuance of tax-exempt bonds with a
do-not-exceed amount of $5 million
to refinance debt and gave Hubbs and Jeff
Ehlers approval to sign a
declaration of intent in regard to these bonds in
the interest of time constraints.
. The 2006 capital budget reallocation
of $270,000 as follows - $20,000
for the Mill Valley marketing as funding is
not needed in 2006; $220,000
for the sleep lab expansion, total project cost
was $270,000 with the
remaining $50,000 to be used for planning the Women's
Center empty
space; $30,000 for cardiology, transferring an additional
$30,000 and
leaving $25,000 for equipment purchases.
. Estimated costs for
upcoming un-budgeted projects for 2006 include -
$7,000, pharmacy project
overage; $25,000, physical therapy; $30,000,
physician's lounge; $8,000,
pallet jack; $12,000, surgery bed; $40,000,
ultrasound for the OB department;
$14,000 for HVAC roof top unit;
$21,000 for pathology renovation; $65,000 for
signage overage.
. Dr. Michael Conrad as the department of surgery chair and
Dr. Joe
Linscott as the department of medicine chair.
. Modification of
privileges for: Dr. Phillip Garber, internal medicine,
department of surgery,
active status, hospitalist privileges; Dr. Victor
Trianfo, family medicine,
department of medicine, active status,
hospitalist privileges; Dr. Frank
Raymond, DO, gynecology, department of
surgery, active status, committee
approved removing OB privileges from
current OB/GYN Core and Non Core at Dr.
Raymond's request.
. Approved intent to purchase, with no obligation to buy,
a dual source
CT scanner from Siemens as a courtesy to Siemens to comply with
their
year-end fiscal reports.
. Medical staff business - CRNA Core and
Non Core; Convenient Care and
Urgent Care Core and Non-Core; Family Medicine
Core; Gables
Credentialing Policy; volunteer licensed independent
practitioner/allied
health disaster credentialing/privileging policy
.
Committee reports for quality review and finance.
The board adjourned into
executive session to discuss pending
litigation. No action was taken.
The
next board of trustees meeting will be Oct. 26 at 8 p.m.
Preserving the rural setting
Quail Hollow residents want to know why school
district is taking down
trees
By RYAN HORNS
When old trees recently
started going down to make way for a school bus
parking lot at Marysville
High School, neighboring residents of Quail
Hollow wanted
answers.
Wednesday night the residents received those answers in an
open
discussion with Marysville Schools Superintendent Larry Zimmerman
and
project architect Rod Watson.
More than a dozen Quail Hollow residents
attended the meeting, many
walking away saying they felt better because of
the session. However,
questions still remained whether the refiguring of the
school's parking
lots will cause them increased flooding, noise or ruin the
rural feel of
their neighborhood.
As the high school begins a several-year
expansion project to make way
for its new Academic Center, Zimmerman said the
schools and the
residents have to work together as closely as possible to
make the best
decisions on the project.
Zimmerman said the bus turnaround
and a new staff parking lot would be
completed by Thanksgiving. By Spring
Break 2007 the school will begin
demolishing the current visitor/staff
parking lot at the building's main
entrance. Construction will begin in April
on the new academic building.
The current student parking lot area will
be demolished by next summer
to make way for an entirely reconfigured student
lot. Also during that
summer a staging area building and a physical
education-athletic
building will go up. From there, connector buildings will
be built. The
work should be completed by the start of the 2008-2009 school
year.
Zimmerman explained that the school district is growing so fast a
new
addition had to be made to fit more students.
He said after weighing
all options, the only one feasible was to place
the new school bus turnaround
lot nearest Quail Hollow and construct the
new school addition within the
land currently occupied by staff/visitor
parking lot at the
entrance.
Cutting down trees nearest Quail Hollow was the first phase of
the
project. It also happened to be the quickest way to get the attention
of homeowners.
"The high school is surrounded by aces of open field that
could easily
have served the same purpose, but for some reason the current
plans have
a bus turnaround running almost through the residents of Quail
Hollow
backyards," resident Brian Richards wrote in a recent letter to
the
editor in the Journal-Tribune.
"I worked like heck to keep those trees
in that area. It just became our
worst nightmare," Zimmerman said. "We would
have preferred none (be cut down)."
He said the trees had to come down, or
risk them falling down on their
own from a damaged root systems caused by the
construction. The good
news was that no more trees are scheduled to be cut
down for the project.
Zimmerman also explained that landscape designs call
for more trees to
be added. They will be smaller trees, but will do something
to shield
"our house from yours."
Flooding in Quail Hollow was also a big
concern expressed by many
residents.. One resident said his property floods
waist deep during
heavy rains and he wanted to know if the situation could
become worse.
Zimmerman and Watson explained that the new construction should
actually
improve the situation at Quail Hollow. He said the flooding issue
is
important because the only retainage and drainage for Quail Hollow
right
now is a pond that is unfortunately located on school property.
"We
would have loved to level that (pond) out for parking, but we can't
mess with
it without affecting neighborhood flooding," he said.
He said Quail Hollow
drainage was something Marysville city officials
should have prevented when
the subdivision went in, but now it's on
school property and they have to
work around it. Two of the Quail Hollow
homes probably should have been
retainage ponds, but the developer
probably chose to sell the lots in order
to make more money. Now
flooding is an issue.
Watson said that the plans
could include a drainage path, dug between
the school and the neighborhood,
to create a natural gravity flow for
the water to be retained
elsewhere.
"It'll be a drastic improvement," Watson said.
"The last thing
we want to do is flow water onto their property,"
Zimmerman said. "In fact,
it's illegal."
Other residents at the meeting were not convinced and asked
about other
locations on school property.
Zimmerman explained that the bus
turnaround had to go near Quail Hollow.
There is an easement along that land,
where buried water/sewer lines and
electricity are being pumped into Mill
Valley.
"If those are disturbed then so are 1,200 other homes," Zimmerman
said.
He said the city needs access to those lines, so digging through
an
asphalt parking lot is easier to do than digging through school
rooms.
A resident asked him what about putting the bus lot on the left side
of the school.
Watson said the space was "too tight" for the buses to
turn. Even trying
to go in another direction would end up disturbing drainage
ponds used
to keep the neighborhoods from flooding.
Regarding the noise,
one man pointed out that diesel engine buses are
loud and would be even worse
when they sit there idling while students
get on and off.
A resident also
said he thought the buses will wake up the neighborhood
coming in at 7 a.m.
as they drive "20 yards from our bedroom windows."
Zimmerman said the buses
normally have the students boarded or off the
bus in roughly eight or nine
minutes. The rest of the time the engines
are off. But he said it could be an
issue, s they will look for any ways
to lessen the noise.
One resident
asked about building a wall along the property like they do
on highways.
Several other people agreed that would be great.
"I would really rather
muffle it naturally rather than build a wall," he said.
However, he will
see if that is something plausible.
"Let us look at this and get back to you,
Zimmerman said. "If we can
help you we will. we're kind of attached at the
hip anyway because we're
collecting your water."
Zimmerman said another
meeting could be held later on and he would be
happy to update anyone via
e-mail or phone.
Program aims to get dads in school
By RYAN HORNS
A new program aims to
help younger students become more confident and
make schools safer, just by
allowing D.O.G.S. in the building.
Marysville's East Elementary staff will be
kicking off the first ever
Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) program
with a pizza party
Thursday at 6 p.m. at the school, 212 Chestnut
St.
"This is your night to have fun and spend some quality time with
your
kids," a recent press release stated.
The night will include games,
prizes and an opportunity for fathers to
become Watch D.O.G.S. at East
Elementary, said Lois Everitt, East
Elementary's PTO public relations
official.
According to the national program's web-site, Watch D.O.G.S. was
created
in response to the Jonesboro, Ark., school shooting in 1998. Since
then,
the program has reportedly spread to hundreds of schools in more than
30 states.
"More positive male role models are sorely needed in the
school
setting," the release states.
Everitt said fathers of East
Elementary School students are invited to
sign up to spend one day this year
volunteering, serving as a positive
male role model and helping to increase a
sense of security in the
school building. During Watch D.O.G.S. Day dads will
engage in various
activities such as welcoming students during arrival,
reading to
classes, tutoring small groups of students, having fun at recess
or
simply sitting down and connecting with students during lunch.
Schools
can gain an extra set of eyes and ears which helps to create
an
environment conducive to learning. Fathers can also spend more time
with
their children in the school setting and gain a greater awareness of
the
positive impact they can have on their child's life, just be being
an involved dad.
Everitt said URE has even supported the program with a
$1,000 grant to
help pay for T-shirts for Watch D.O.G.S. participants and to
kick off
the program. Little Tony's has also provided discount pizza for
the Thursday event.
A release from East Elementary explains that many
children do not have a
father-figure present in their home and the number of
male teachers has
been steadily declining in recent years.
"Sometimes the
perception is that the PTO is a female only world, what
we're learning is
that all we had to do was ask and the dads were more
than eager to
participate," Everitt said.
Now hold your horses
Rumors about elimination of harness racing from county
fair appear
unfounded
By TIM MILLER
The word on the streets over the
past few days had members of the
community's harness racing circles up in
arms.
The rumor is news to us ... so said members of the Union County
Fair Board.
The board, meeting during its regular monthly session Monday
evening,
addressed concerns from several visitors about a rumor
circulating
through the community that the fair board will disband harness
racing, a
long-time staple of the summer exposition.
Board president Dale
Madison and member Kay Griffith were just two from
the governing body who
said they hadn't heard that rumor and didn't know
where it came
from.
Although no one on the board came out on record in opposition of
harness
racing, there are some financial concerns about the sport.
"We
have looked at the possibility of discontinuing harness racing if we
can't
make a profit,"Madison said . "It's a business but no decision has
yet been
made."
It was reported that board members had to take $4,500 from the
fair's
general fund this year to help cover harness racing expenses.
With
that, harness racing "technically broke even" for 2006, according
to board
member Kim Butcher.
The sport has taken a hit over the past few years, it was
reported, due
in part to declining attendance.
That prompted the fair
board to eliminate one session of the two-day
racing card normally associated
with the fair.
Of the 10 visitors at the meeting who had an interest in the
issue,
several offered suggestions to help increase attendance.
Among them
was switching dates for racing.
It was pointed out that a Monday afternoon
race card - as was held this
summer - makes it difficult for working people
to attend the races.
Griffith said that races had to be held Monday of this
year's fair as
the saddle pads used here had to be at the Shelby County Fair
by
Thursday of the same week.
It was suggested that racing be switched to
the Sunday before the
official opening of the fair. Board members said,
however, that would
interfere with exhibitors and vendors trying to get onto
the grounds for set-up.
Another suggestion was to add more races to the
card but it was pointed
out that the board would have to spend an additional
$500 for each added
race. With that in mind, the fair cut costs by going to
just a one-day card.
A switch to later days during fair week wouldn't be
that practical,
board members said, as the track is used for a variety of
activities.
By putting harness racing early in the week, the track is in good
shape
for the event and horse trainers don't have to worry about racing on
a rough track.
After further discussion, it was decided that three board
members -
Billie Jo Humble, Crystal Ropp and Ruby Anderson - will meet within
the
next few weeks with members of the harness racing community.
"Let's
put together a committee to come up with some ideas for our
October meeting,"
said Madison.
"Again," he added, "we're not opposed to having harness races.
We like harness racing."
"However," said board vice president Mike
Butcher. "We can't keep taking
$4,500 from our general fund for harness
racing. That would sacrifice
programs for our Junior Fair and that would be
hard to explain to the kids."
Richwood officials discuss exotic animal
ordinance
By CHAD WILLIAMSON
Richwood Council continues to look at the
issue of exotic animals being
kept as pets within the village.
Although
council learned that a county agency may have regulations in
place to help
govern the ownership of such animals, local legislation
may continue to be
pursued.
The issue was first addressed at the Sept. 11 village council
meeting
when it was noted that an alligator measuring three feet in
length
escaped from local resident. It was also noted that village
police
officers had previously responded to a possible break-in at the
home
where the reptile was kept and entered the front door to find
the
creature on the loose.
The alligator has since been captured after
being located sunning itself
near a creekbed.
At the Sept. 11 meeting,
council members felt that the owners of such
exotic pets should be required
to notify area officials.
Village solicitor Victoria Stone Moledor reported
that she was contacted
by the Union County Health Department which has a Ohio
Revised
Code-backed ordinance which mandates owners of wild or exotic animals
to
notify law enforcement officials if an animal escapes. Some of
the
creatures listed in the regulations includes poisonous snakes,
bears,
coyotes, tigers, elephants, apes, wolves and birds of prey.
Alligators
are not specifically named in the regulation.
Village officials
said they would like Moledor to look into additional
regulations. At the very
least they said they would like the list of
notified agencies, upon an
escape, to include the village itself and the
local fire department as well
as the police department.
They would rather see the village put an ordinance
in place to force
owners of such animals to notify emergency agencies and the
village when
the pet is obtained. This would allow emergency responders to
know such
an animal was in the residence if summoned for service.
Moledor
said she would look into the issue to see if the village had
legal grounds
for such an ordinance.
In other business, council:
.Passed third reading
on the village's new parking regulation ordinance.
.Heard an update on a
recent bid opening from engineer Ed Bischoff of
Bischoff and
Associates.
.Changed the date of trick or treat to coincide with Richwood
Area
Business Association activities on Saturday, Oct. 28. Candy will
be
passed out by area residents from 5-7 p.m.
.Heard an update from
village administrator Larry Baxa on recent water
problems in the village.
Apparently a well pump failed and a transducer
at the water tower also
malfunctioned leading to a drop in pressure.
This situation was multiplied by
a water line break. Baxa said the
quality of the water was never compromised
through the events.
.Heard a question on a conditional use permit approved by
the Board of
Zoning Appeals.
.Heard about an issue of overtime pay for a
village employee.
Honda CR-V rolls off the line at Honda East
Liberty
From J-T staff reports:
Honda production associates left their
shift at the East Liberty Plant
this morning having finished production of
the first U.S.-made Honda
CR-V, an all-new version of one of America's most
popular sport utility vehicles.
Sixty units of the CR-V, all them in the
color Nighthawk Black Pearl,
rolled off the same East Liberty assembly line
where Honda associates
also build the Honda Civic Sedan and the Honda Element
SUV.
"We're proud that our associates can build three distinctly
different
vehicles on a common assembly line with Honda's commitment to
quality,"
said John Pleiman, plant manager and vice president of Honda of
America
Mfg. Inc. "Their dedication has been a key component of Honda,s
flexible
manufacturing systems, which allow us to respond quickly to
market changes."
Both shifts at East Liberty built the first batch of
CR-Vs, which began
to take shape in the body welding shop. They emerged from
the paint shop
on the first shift Monday and journeyed down the final
assembly line.
The first model was driven off the line at 7:17 p.m. Eastern
time.
"Communication is the key part of making flexibility work on the
line,"
said associate Paula Wilson of Bellefontaine, who has worked at
Honda
for 22 years and is one of the original associates at the East
Liberty
Plant, which opened in 1989.
Roy Preston of Springfield, an
original East Liberty associate who has
worked for Honda for 20 years, said:
"This is the best start we,ve had
of any of the new models. We were more
prepared for it, since our plant
has been flexible for so
long."
Flexibility also is a key attribute of the nearby Marysville Auto
Plant,
where Honda builds the Accord Sedan, Accord Coupe, Acura TL
luxury
sports sedan and Acura RDX luxury sport utility vehicle.
Annual
production volume of the CR-V at the East Liberty Plant will be
determined by
customer demand. Truly a global product, the CR-V for the
North American
market also is produced in the United Kingdom and Japan.
"There was a
considerable amount of teamwork around the world in
redesigning and
manufacturing the CR-V. Here at East Liberty, our
associates were empowered
to suggest process changes that made this
vehicle fit in with the Civic and
Element," said Dave Skidmore,
engineering project leader for the
CR-V.
CR-Vs made at East Liberty come equipped with a 2.4-liter
four-cylinder
i-VTEC engine produced 40 miles away at Honda,s Anna Engine
Plant in
western Ohio.
Between 2003 and 2006, Honda has invested about
$750 million to keep its
Ohio operations as state-of-the art facilities.
Honda,s total U.S.
capital investment in research and development, design,
manufacturing
and sales operations has risen to more than $8.5 billion since
1979,
when the company began U.S. manufacturing.
The East Liberty Plant
inaugurated U.S. light truck production by Honda
in Ohio when the Element
went into production in November 2002.
The 2007 CR-V goes on sale Thursday.
The new crossover vehicle has a
dramatic new body structure. Under the
aerodynamic look are safety
enhancements, including Honda's exclusive
Advanced Compatibility
Engineering (ACE) body structure, six airbags,
antilock brakes,
pedestrian safety design and Vehicle Stability Assist with
rollover sensor.
Honda of America Mfg. Inc. was established in 1979 to
build motorcycles,
adding car production in 1982. It's comprised of four
manufacturing
plants ^ the Marysville Auto Plant, the East Liberty Auto
Plant, the
Anna Engine Plant and the original facility, the Marysville
Motorcycle Plant.
Honda employment in Ohio totals about 16,000. Major
operations include
Honda R&D Americas Inc. in Raymond; Honda Transmission
Mfg. Inc. in
Russells Point; Honda Engineering North America Inc. in
Marysville and
Anna; and the American Honda Motor Co. Inc. service parts
and
procurement center in Troy.
For more information those interested may
visit hondanews.com.
Family, friends rally around injured pastor
By CINDY BRAKE
Slowly Pastor
Marty Sheckler is waking up from a 10-week coma.
Meanwhile family and friends
wait, watch and pray while planning a
Christian Celebration for the Sheckler
family on Oct. 14 from noon to 8
p.m. at the Union County Fairgrounds. All
proceeds will benefit the
family. The family includes wife, Julie, and
children, Ashley, Ty, Evan
and Jordan. The celebration will include music,
speakers, concessions, a
craft show and silent auction.
Sheckler, minister
of the Marysville Christian Church, was critically
injured on his way home
from the 2006 Promise Keepers and is still in
intensive care.
"Everybody
loved Marty" is an oft repeated phrase when talking to anyone
that knew the
unconventional pastor who always met people where they
were at in their
lives, then built relationships to where they should
be. He had a great laugh
and often laughed at himself. He loved people,
especially his family, Casa
Fiesta food and motorcycles.
"He made everybody feel like they were his best
friend," said wife Julie
who now wears his wedding band on a chain around her
neck along with her
engagement ring.
The Shecklers moved to Marysville 3
1/2 years ago to serve the
250-member congregation that meets on Waldo Road.
A pastor for 20 years,
Sheckler first worked as a welder before enrolling in
Bible college and
joining the ministry. He has traveled to Zaire (The Congo),
Africa and
the Ukraine for mission trips and also served numerous ministries
in
Indiana and Michigan.
Life has been good for the Shecklers. They had
just built a new home on
Leeper Perkins Road and Marty was planning to finish
a few of the final
details - creating two bedrooms in the basement, seeding
the lawn and
hauling in more gravel for the driveway. His oldest daughter was
getting
ready to take driver's education. Sheckler, 46, had just had his
second
hip replacement surgery and had just purchased a new Honda motorcycle
in
April. It was his primary mode of transportation. By July he
had
traveled 5,000 miles on the new motorcycle. He rode it everywhere,
Julie
said. He told her it was relaxing and that he enjoyed the free
feeling of the wind.
On July 14, Sheckler drove the motorcycle to the
church before taking a
van load of men to a Promise Keepers event in
Columbus. At 10:15 p.m. he
called home to say they were just leaving and it
had been a good
evening. Julie had been up since 4:30 a.m. and decided to go
to bed.
Then around 12:30 a.m. a good friend came to their house with his
wife
and daughter. He worked for the Sheriff's Department. There had been
an
accident. Sheckler had been taken by medical helicopter to The
Ohio
State University Hospital.
Later the family would learn that he had
been minutes from home when a
dog ran in front of him on County Home Road.
His motorcycle rolled or
skidded into the ditch. Drivers saw the motorcycle
on the road and found him.
"Bad things happen to good people," Julie said,
adding that "God can use this."
She said she has seen blessings from
thousands of people especially
through a Web site that offers updates on her
husband's condition. The
address is www.xanga.com/martysheckler.
Julie,
a registered nurse, shares that "medically, he's stable;
neurologically, we
don't know."
In the past week, he has begun blinking his good eye and trying
to
speak, but it is hard to know what he understands, Julie said.
"We
don't plan ahead of time. The doctors have done all they can do.
Everything
now is a miracle from God," she said.
Marysville
controlling the tap
City may be trying to deter residential growth along
Industrial Parkway
By CINDY BRAKE
Jerome Township may be master of its
zoning, but the city of Marysville
controls the spigot for water and sewer
services. And without water and
sewer lines, commercial and residential
development is limited in the township.
During a public hearing Monday,
the Jerome Township Board of Trustees
confirmed that Mayor Tom Kruse and his
administration are refusing to
provide water and sewer services to The
Reserve at Sugar Run, a
residential development planned for the northwest
corner of Taylor Road
and Industrial Parkway.
Township resident Lisa Voit
questioned whether the city has a right to
deny services to an area near her
home.
"We just want more information," Voit said. After living for years
near
Westland Mall, Voit said the last thing she wants is a strip mall
near her home.
Kruse and his administration, reportedly, are denying
services because
they want commercial development on the property.
"The
mayor and city council have expressed concern in general about
residential
development along the Industrial Parkway corridor ...
consuming prime
industrial/commercial land," wrote Marysville city
administrator Kathy House
in an E-mail. "Sugar Run is the first
residential development along that
corridor to be proposed since the
city purchased the water/sewer system in
Jerome Township..."
House notes that the city has "absolutely no authority in
zoning matters
in Jerome Township. The city's only authority there at this
time is over
our water and sewer utility provision."
In 2005 the city and
county signed an agreement that reportedly meant
lower rates to county
customers and a guaranteed growth area for the
city with the city paying $4
million for the county's water/sewer lines
which were valued at $8 million.
An item released in May, 2005, stated
one of the benefits of the plan was
that the "existing township
residences within the city's growth area will be
allowed water or sewer
service without any requirement to annex."
It was
stated at the Monday hearing that The Reserve at Sugar Run is in
the
guaranteed growth area. House confirmed that The Reserve is in the growth
area.
The original plan for The Reserve was to include some commercial lots
on
the 167 acre project along with single family and condominium
housing.
After township residents voiced opposition to the commercial lots,
the
plan was changed to exclude commercial lots with 250 single family
home
and approximately 100 condominium units. Plans also call for a left
turn
lane and 35 percent open space. Build out is projected for five
years.
Regardless of the city's stance, the three township trustees
voted
unanimously to approve the detailed plan and there were no
negative
comments voiced by residents.
In fact at a previous meeting in
June, trustee Bob Merkle said the
project will provide an affordable housing
option for residents and
township resident Jesse Dickinson called the
development "satisfactory."
EPA meeting focuses on wastewater
facility
By RYAN HORNS
Will Marysville be granted the final permits to dig
its connecting sewer
lines and build its future wastewater plant? The answer
is in the hands
of the Ohio EPA.
More than a dozen landowners and
representatives of Mill Creek Township
were at the information and public
hearings, held by the EPA Thursday evening.
Ohio EPA Environmental
Specialist Jeff Boyles said the purpose of the
meeting was to "gather public
comment relative to the proposed lowering
of water quality prior to making a
decision on the Section 401 Water
Quality Certification."
The permit,
along with the 404 permit granted by the Army Corps of
Engineers, allows the
city to continue its work.
Boyles said the project is located in Marysville
and in Mill Creek
Township, and includes a new Wastewater Reclamation
Facility northwest
of the intersection of Beecher-Gamble Road and U.S. 33.
The proposed
route for associated pipelines will run from the existing plant
in
Marysville to the new location and then north and empty into Mill
Creek.
He explained that within the project limits a total of 6.11 acres
of
wetlands and nine streams have been identified in its path.
The
boundaries include a 100-acre parcel for the future plant, a 0.85
acre
parcel for the pump station and temporary and permanent easements
for
the 6.1 mile interceptor pipeline, along with the 1.5 mile
effluent
pipeline to the Mill Creek outfall construction zone.
By the
response from the audience, Marysville should have no problems
earning its
permits. For some landowners attending the meeting, finding
out where wetland
areas are located on their property was first on their
minds. Some were
unaware certain areas were considered wetlands.
"In farm language, we call it
a swamp," one man said.
During the hearing portion of the meeting, Jesse
Dickinson was the only
person to testify. He wanted to know how this project
would affect a
possible hazardous materials dump located across from the
Scott's
Miracle-Gro company. He said the dump was discovered when U.S. 33
was
constructed and then was buried again.
Boyles said he did not know the
details about the hazardous materials
dump, but knows people who can check on
that issue. The Ohio EPA will
take any comments from the public until Sept.
28. Then members will
consider the comments and make their decision on the
401 permit, leading
to the 404 permit through the Corps.
Boyles said there
are three categories of wetlands. Category 1 are low
quality with minimal
wildlife, Category 2 are moderate and Category 3
are high quality
wetlands.
The proposed and preferred Ohio EPA project plans are to construct
a
wastewater treatment plant and the associated utilities, impacting
0.37
acres of wetlands and 183 linear feet of streams within the
project
limits. This alternative would impact only 0.03 acres of Category
3
wetlands along Mill Creek for the point heading into its waters.
The
proposed Minimal Degradation Alternative would be to build a plant
impacting
0.34 acres of wetlands and 143 linear feet of streams. This
alternative
eliminates the outfall structure at Mill Creek and would
directly affect one
wetland area.
A third Proposed Non-Degradation Alternative builds a plant
with no
direct discharge to Mill Creek. Effluent materials from the plant
would
be placed in storage lagoons and held for use on farm fields
for
irrigation. All pipelines would be constructed using trenchless
methods.
For the project's affect on wetlands and streams, Boyles said
Marysville
proposes to purchase 0.8 acres of mitigation credits at Little
Scioto
Mitigation Bank ? an area set aside by the state for large amounts
of
wetlands, which are expanded as other wetlands are taken away
elsewhere.
It exists to balance the environment.
Marysville also proposes
to restore the stream crossings to original
conditions where the pipelines
are constructed and then perform a stream
bank restoration project and
permanently protect 550 linear feet of Mill Creek.
Train fire sparks
field blaze
From J-T staff reports:
The cause of a field fire in
Bowling Green was extinguished in
Marysville early this
morning.
Marysville fire reports indicate that today at 12:11 a.m. a train
car
full of 100 tons of coal was reported on fire. Somehow the
fire,
contained at the bottom of the coal, had also caused the fire in
Bowling
Green. It remained on fire all the way down to Marysville.
The
flames were reportedly only visible inside the tank from a hole and
firemen
had to use a Thermal Imaging camera to find the exact location.
In order to
solve the problem, Marysville firefighters asked the train
conductor to pull
the 2,200 foot train with 62 cars to the CSX railroad
crossing at Westlake
Lee Road so that they could extinguish the fire on
the 16th car.
The car
was reportedly detached from the train. It's surrounding cars
were full of
waste oil and concrete powder.
Rail crossing issue remains in limbo
By RYAN HORNS
Details of when and if
the East Fifth Street railroad crossing will be
upgraded and reopened remain
undetermined.
City law director Tim Aslaner reported at the Aug. 24
Marysville City
Council meeting that he had made headway on possible grant
money
available to fix the East Fifth Street crossing, by working with
the
Ohio Rail Development Authority's Susan Kirkland.
He said the city
could receive certain percentages of funding from the
grant. The exact amount
is unknown until the application comes back. If
the city is granted the
federal aid, then a meeting would be set up
between city, council and
railroad authorities in order to decide what
exactly needs to be improved on
the crossing, as well as the costs involved.
Aslaner said at the meeting
that Kirkland "understands the immediacy of
the situation" and will "get back
with us in a couple of weeks" on the
result of the city's grant
application.
However, he and city engineer Phil Roush confirmed on Wednesday
that in
four weeks no word has come back yet from Kirkland and the
application status.
Roush said he expects the city will hear more by early
October.
On Monday the Public Service Committee met and discussed the East
Fifth
Street railroad crossing and the status of the DLZ engineering
traffic
study, which Roush explained is a separate issue.
According to the
meeting minutes, city council member Dan Fogt discussed
the letter city
administrator Kathy House sent to Susan Kirkland of the
Ohio Rail Development
Commission regarding the crossing status.
House told him that the
administration will contact Kirkland if another
week goes by with no
response.
The minutes show that Roush also provided an update on the
DLZ
engineering study on the East Fifth Street crossing. He plans to
contact
DLZ to see when it will publish the final draft of the traffic
study.
Fogt reportedly questioned the significance of the study results
and
felt the city did not get value from its $25,000 price tag. He wants
to
see the railroad crossing opened.
He noted that DLZ determined the
railroad should be closed in its
initial study, but it did not address the
last two or three goals noted in the study.
Fogt explained that a citizen
at the August Public Service Committee
meeting noted there are there are
eight questions on the first page of
the study and some of those questions
were either not addressed or were
insufficiently addressed:
. If (the
crossing is) reopened, what work is needed on Fifth Street?
. If (the
crossing is) reopened, what work is needed for the railroad crossing?
.
What are the impacts on the businesses on Fifth Street?
"I hope that the list
of 8 questions will be more fully answered in the
final draft," Fogt
said.
Roush said he hoped the issues would be addressed also.
He also
confirmed with House that the concrete panels would be repaired
on the
crossing when CSX comes back to town, as they have tentative
plans to return
in October.
Another issue raised from the DLZ study was making another
thoroughfare
to bi-pass the Five Points and Delaware Avenue congestion.
In
the Monday public service meeting minutes, Roush proposed starting a
road at
London Avenue at Ninth Street to provide a connector from that
area all the
way to the east side of Marysville, so that the traffic
coming up London
Avenue heading east does not have to "wind its way
through town on Fifth
Street."
House said she would go a step further, taking it from London Avenue
all
the way back to Milford Center.
Roush said the city needs to look at
extending Ninth Street through to
Columbus Avenue, then connect it to the
Fifth Street area, and then go
across that road.
Fogt said an earlier plan
called for going from the corner of Maple
Street and Collins Avenue at
Nestles and then go from Collins Avenue to
the Memorial Hospital of Union
County, rather than Milford Avenue. He
said he sees more value in making
Collins Avenue a direct route to the hospital.
Councilman Ed Pleasant
summed it up by saying the city needs to "pursue
all of the long-range
options."
Members also discussed the amount of lanes needed in this
thoroughfare,
if four or five might be beneficial.
Councilman Mark Reams
also raised a new option, which would be to make
East Fifth Street a one-way
road going eastbound only. It could be a
temporary way of relieving traffic
pressures off of Delaware Avenue. He
felt it would help the Five Points
intersection.
Pleasant agreed with the option, but Fogt said it may not work
for
business owners and customers on East Fifth Street.
Roush said he
would discuss the one-way option with DLZ
Juveniles implicated in pawn
shop break-in
From J-T staff reports:
Marysville Police have apprehended
three juveniles who may have been
involved in the burglary of a downtown pawn
shop.
The Marysville juvenile males, two 15-year-olds and one
16-year-old,
were arrested Wednesday at 6:18 p.m. after police received
complaints of
gun shots fired in the area of Mill Creek Park. The juveniles
were
located by police and three handguns were located in the area. Two
other
handguns were located in the bedrooms of two of the other
juveniles.
Police reported this morning that the firearms police recovered
had been
reported stolen during the breaking and entering of a pawn shop in
the
500 block of North Main Street on Friday. The juveniles obtained
the
ammunition for the weapons through a separate theft at a local gun
shop.
Several felony charges are expected to be filed in juvenile
court
related to the thefts and illegally discharging weapons within
city limits.
The juveniles were released into the custody of their
parents.
Wastewater plant construction nears
By RYAN HORNS
A decision by the EPA is
all that remains before the City of Marysville
can go headlong into work on
its future wastewater treatment plant construction.
Marysville
administrators recently reported in a release that the city
has awarded the
building contract to Kokosing Construction Company for
the future Marysville
Water Reclamation Facility and its Plant Effluent
Line in the amount of
$64,748,300.
As noted in a city press release, the contract includes building
an 8
Million Gallon Per Day (MGD) Plant with a 60-inch effluent
line.
Residents driving by the construction area may have already
noticed
ground work has started.
"Site preparation work has begun at the
plant site, located at the
intersection of Beecher Gamble Road and Rte. 33
and is surrounded by
orange fencing," the city release states. "Construction
on the plant
effluent line has been delayed slightly due to some Ohio EPA
permit issues."
Calls made to House and public service director Tracie
Davies for
further details on the status of the treatment plant work were
not
returned this week.
The city reported that construction will not begin
before November on
the effluent line portion of the project.
A public
hearing for the EPA will give county residents a chance to
voice their
concerns over the future Marysville wastewater plant.
The Ohio EPA announced
this week it will hold a public information
session and hearing on Thursday,
Sept. 21 to answer questions and accept
comments on an application filed by
the City of Marysville regarding the
water quality impacts to Mill Creek
associated with the proposed
construction of the new Marysville Water
Reclamation facility.
The information session begins at 6:30 p.m., followed
by the public
hearing. Both will be held at the Union County Service Center
at 940
London Avenue.
Ohio EPA reported that the city plans to construct a
new wastewater
treatment facility, new pump station, trunk interceptor
pipeline, force
main pipelines, plant effluent pipeline and an outfall for
discharging
treated wastewater. The treatment plant would be in Mill Creek
Township.
Ohio EPA issued the discharge permit for the plant earlier this
year,
after an October 2005 meeting to accept public comments. In
addition,
Ohio EPA expects to soon issue a permit to construct the
plant.
As required, the EPA reported that the city has submitted
three
alternatives for impacting water quality in and around Mill Creek
during
the construction of the plant effluent pipeline and an outfall.
The
first would impact approximately 0.37 acres of wetland and about
183
feet of streams. The second would impact about 0.34 acres of wetland
and
143 linear feet of streams . Mitigation, or replacement, of
impacted
wetlands would be achieved by restoring wetlands in-place or
purchasing
mitigation credits at the Little Scioto Mitigation Bank in
Marion
County. Marysville also is proposing to restore all stream beds
and
banks to pre-construction contours and conditions. The third
alternative
would have no direct impact on waters of the state.
The EPA
release on the meeting states that the first two alternatives,
while not
exceeding the chemical-specific water quality standards that
protect aquatic
life and human health, would result in a change to the
water quality of Mill
Creek, two unnamed tributaries and five wetlands.
Therefor, Ohio EPA is
required to consider the technical, social,
economic and environmental
impacts of the proposed project.
Anyone wishing to comment by mail and/or be
placed on an interested
parties mailing list for this project may do so by
writing to Ohio EPA,
Division of Surface Water, Permits Processing Unit, P.O.
Box 1049,
Columbus, OH. 43216-1049. Comments will be accepted through
Thursday,
Sept. 28 and all comments will be considered by Ohio EPA before a
final
decision is made.
Arrangements to review the application and related
material at any OHIO
EPA district office can be made by calling Ohio EPA's
Central Office in
Columbus at (614) 644-2001.
North Lewisburg to
contest tax distribution
By CORINNE BIX
The North Lewisburg Village
Council is contesting the distribution of
state-funded local government funds
and revenue assistance.
During a meeting Tuesday the five council members
unanimously passed a
resolution to be presented to the Champaign County
Budget Commission.
Jason Keeran, although not able to attend, sent a letter
of support
contesting the current calculation. Keeran is attending the
Ohio
Municipal League Conference in Cleveland.
Currently the village
receives $27,800 or 1.654 percent in local
government funding despite being
the third largest municipality in the
county as determined by the 2000
census.
Urbana as the largest municipality in Champaign County receives
28.1
percent and has a population of 11,600. North Lewisburg's
current
population is estimated at more than 1,800.
"The only fair way to
clean this up is to go by population and readjust
after every census," Barry
First, village administrator, said.
First said between 1990 and 2000, North
Lewisburg grew by 37 percent
while all other Champaign County municipalities
decreased in population.
The current calculation by which local government
funds are disbursed is
based on relative need.
"It is my belief that the
calculation has never been changed since it
was first authorized by the state
in the 1940s," First said.
First said other Champaign County municipalities
such as St. Paris and
Mechanicsburg who are on par with North Lewisburg's
population numbers
are receiving anywhere between 3.5 and 3.9 percent of
local government funding.
"If they went to a calculation based on
population our portion of local
government funds could potentially go to
$59,600," First said.
The resolution will be presented to the Champaign
County Budget
commission, which consists of the county auditor, treasurer
and prosecutor.
In other action, the council unanimously agreed to the new
water meter
rate schedule to take effect in January. The new base rate for
water and
sewer will be $45 and include 3,000 gallons of water. This was
increased
from the original proposal of 2,000 gallons. The next 3,000 gallons
used
will be charged at $3.06 for water and $5.68 for sewer. Every
3,000
gallons after that will be charged at $3.85 for water and $5.11
for sewer.
In an update, council learned that the village was not able to
purchase
119 East St. which was sold for $28,000. Council voted last month
to
pursue the property at auction not to exceed $25,000. If purchased
the
property, which sits adjacent to the municipal park would have
been,
incorporated into the community greenspace.
The next regular council
meeting will be Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m.
Gregory White earns rank of Eagle Scout
Gregory B. White,
18, the son of Chuck and Cindy White of Marysville,
has achieved the highest
rank in scouting, Eagle Scout. Fewer than 4
percent of all Boy Scouts
achieve the Eagle Scout rank.
He is a member of Troop 355, which meets weekly
at the First
Presbyterian Church in Marysville. White has been in scouts
since first
grade. While in Troop 355, he has earned the Ordeal membership
in the
Order of the Arrow, the 50-miler award for canoeing, and has earned
23
merit badges. White also earned the Triple Crown Award by attending
all
three high adventure base camps including Seabase (kayaking and
sailing)
in Florida, Philmont (hiking) in New Mexico and Northern Tier
(canoeing)
in Minnesota.
He has served as Senior Patrol Leader, Junior
Assistant Scoutmaster,
Chaplain's Aide, and Assistant Patrol Leader.
His
Eagle project consisted of building and painting benches,
painting
wheelbarrows, planting flowers, washing windows, and painting
window
frames and sills at Pottersburg United Methodist Church.
Outside of
Scouts, White is involved in Model UN, Mock Trial, 4-H,
National Honor
Society, cross country, track and an active member of
Trinity Lutheran
Church, helping with Bible School and participating in
the youth group Tall
Cows.
Upon graduating in 2007, he wants to attend a four-year university
to
study mathematics or engineering.
He has already been accepted at Ohio
Northern University as a civil
engineering candidate.
Input sought on fate of school
N.U. officials want direction for future of
Leesburg-Magnetic
By CHAD WILLIAMSON
North Union residents, especially
those in Magnetic Springs, will have
an opportunity to weigh in on the future
of one of the district's former
school buildings.
A meeting scheduled for
Oct. 5 at Leesburg-Magnetic Elementary School
will serve as an information
session and as a means to gather public
input on what the district should do
with the building which was been
closed since the district opened the new
North Union Elementary.
North Union superintendent Richard Smith said the
district does not want
to get into a similar situation to the one which
surrounded the district
when it closed the Byhalia school in the late 1970s.
The school was
eventually sold to Washington Township and the school
deteriorated to
the point where most of it was demolished. A small portion of
the
building remains on site along Route 31 and serves as a
township building.
Smith said the district wants to provide concerned
residents with all
possible scenarios concerning the future of the
Leesburg-Magnetic
building, which include selling it, demolishing it or
retaining it.
Smith said the district has received estimates for the building
which
place its value anywhere from $15,000 to just more than
$100,000.
Demolition costs could be as much as $40,000.
Retaining the
building is also an option and one that takes on more
weight considering the
district's future building plans. Smith said that
when the district begins
its large scale high school renovation some
classrooms will not be able to be
used.
Smith said it is conceivable the Leesburg building could be used
as
"swing space" for classroom areas which are off limits during
the
renovation to the high school. Smith said this is not an
attractive
option because upgrading the former elementary school to
current
standards could cost up to $1 million.
Smith said the issue of
swing space is one that the district will be
forced to quickly address. Even
if the Leesburg building is not used,
the district must find space to offset
unusable classrooms during the renovation.
He said other options could
include leasing modular classrooms, building
a permanent structure or going
to a split schedule.
Modulars would be the most cost effective option and
would allow the
district to maintain its "campus style" setup where teachers
and
students move from classroom to classroom. The downside to this
option
would be that the district would have nothing to show for its money
once
the modulars are no longer needed.
Building a permanent structure
ahead of the renovation would allow the
district to invest its money in a
structure that would retain some value
once the high school construction was
completed. The cost of building a
permanent building would be much higher
than the modular option.
The split session idea is one the district is not
leaning toward, but
Smith felt the public should know that the district did
consider it.
In that option, the entire renovation would be performed at one
time and
the middle school space would be used for both middle and high
school
classes. The school day would be shortened to 5 1/2 hours with one
group
of students attending in the morning and one group attending in
the afternoon.
Smith said this would be a costly plan for the district,
including
expensive busing changes, and it would negatively impact the
education
of students because of the shortened school day.
The board will
come to decisions on the future of the Leesburg-Magnetic
building and the
high school "swing space" issues at the October board meeting.
In other
business, the board:
.Heard and update on the Gateway to Technology
program.
.Heard first reading on several policy additions and
revisions.
.Approved the bid of Center City International for the purchase of
two
71-passengers school buses at a cost of $67,775 each.
.Accepted a
memorandum of agreement with the North Union Education
Association concerning
the use of district e-mail service.
.Voted to accept Algebra I offered to
eighth graders to be accepted as
high school credit.
.Approved several
lists of certified, non-certified and substitute personnel.
Triad
considers upgrade in lunch system
By CORINNE BIX
The Triad School board is
considering upgrading to an electronic
cafeteria data system to help
streamline lunch service throughout the district.
On Monday evening the
board heard a presentation on the Lunch Box system
from Business Data
Systems. The district currently has as a basic
electronic system at the
elementary building that allows parents to
deposit money into their student's
lunch account.
The Lunch Box system, if purchased, would connect all three
buildings
and allow parents the flexibility of depositing money through
the
web-based system or through the school office. The total cost of
the
program is $11,900, which would come out of the district's
cafeteria fund.
"There was enough of a carryover from last year and this
year's trend
appears to be similar so I have no doubt that we have the money
to cover
the cost," Dan Kaffenbarger, superintendent, said.
The district
can choose to have students use pin numbers, lunch cards or
bio-medic finger
scans for recognition by the electronic system. The
Lunch Box system
representative explained that the finger scans were
very safe and not as
complex as an authentic fingerprint scan used by
the police or federal
government. Another advantage of the data system
allows parents to privately
access individual accounts hence encouraging
families to apply for the free
and reduced lunch program.
Becky Creighton, technology coordinator for the
district, said she found
the system to be very smooth with a lot of good
components including
ways to track inventory and nutritional food content.
Creighton said the
district's current hardware could support the new program
if purchased.
Business Data Systems also offers on-site training for
district
employees as opposed to other companies that require out of
state training.
The board plans on making a final decision on the system
within the next several months.
Kaffenbarger informed the board that the
first of eight delayed starts
for the district would begin Wednesday, Sept.
27. The normal two-hour
delay schedule will be observed on these days. The
delayed starts, new
to the district, allow professional development training
for teachers
and staff. In the past, three to four full school days each year
were
scheduled to conduct training.
Kaffenbarger said the rationale behind
the switch to late starts was
three fold; teachers and students will not lose
full days of
instruction; staff members are fresh first thing in the morning
for
shorter periods of time; and the advance notice allows parents to
plan
appropriately for early morning child care. The eight late start
dates
are as follows: Sept. 27, Oct. 11, Nov. 8, Dec. 13, Jan. 10, Feb.
7,
March 28 and April 17.
Kaffenbarger also updated the board on equipment
and maintenance issues.
The district will be purchasing a used handicap bus
for around $20,000
to replace the current bus, which has become unsafe and
requires regular
and expensive maintenance. He also informed the board that
the current
water heaters district wide have required too frequent and
expensive
maintenance and that replacing the units will likely be in the
near future.
Kyle Huffman, high school principal, asked that the board
consider
requiring all elementary and middle school students to have an
adult
chaperone when attending home football games. Huffman said that
there
has been some unruly behavior in the home football stands and
the
administration is looking at ways to fence off and restrict
certain
areas at the stadium to help maintain the student crowds.
Huffman
said he has begun his formal evaluations of the four new
teachers at the high
school and he is very pleased with their
performances thus far.
The board
adjourned into executive session to discuss employee
compensation,
consideration of discipline of a student and consideration
of complaints
against an employee. No action was taken. The next board
meeting will be Oct.
16 at 7 p.m. in the middle school library.
In other news:
. Pat Ferryman
was recognized for 29 years of service as of her
retirement last month. She
will be recognized with a clock from the board.
. Current enrollment is:
elementary, 365-375; middle school, 344; high school 329
. Implementation
of the Trans- Finder transportation system for district
buses should be
completed within the next month. The total system was
purchased for less than
$5,000 as compared to competitive systems that
were around $20,000.
.
Employment was approved for Kimberly Kerms as high school secretary
for the
2006-2007 school year.
. Resignations were accepted from Dan Pratt as
2006-2007 football
assistant effective immediately and Mark Hunt as
custodian
. Various certified and classified supplemental and substitute
positions were approved.
. 23 Ohio Integrated Systems Model (OISM) grants
and two Adolescent
Literacy grants were approved.
. A contract with Mel
Arnoff for consulting services on Oct. 13 and
distance support with
elementary principal for Pro Ohio assessment
testing as preparation for state
mandated testing from 10/06-6/07 to be
funded through combination of funds
was approved.
. Grant funded consulting contract with Bethany Lambert and
Lara Cordell
for full day training of Everyday Math was approved.
. Grant
funded contract with Consolidated Care, Inc. to provide K-12
mental health
counseling was approved.
. Grant from Job and Family Services in an amount
not to exceed $76,000
for the purpose of conducting an after school
intervention program for
high school and middle school students was
approved.
. Contract with Real Life to oversee and conduct the STARs program
at
the high school and middle school to be funded through the
grant
received through Job and Family Services from 10/06-5/07 was
approved.
. A memorandum of understanding concerning summer semester
tuition
reimbursement was approved.
. A resolution, as presented by
Metropolitan Educational Council (MEC),
was approved establishing procedures
for compliance with ORC 2909.33,
material non-assistance for terrorist
organization declarations, in
purchasing conducted through the MEC.
. Use
of elementary cafeteria each Monday from Oct.r 9 through Nov. 13
was approved
for Good News Club. Fee is waived as time schedule is
during regular
custodial hours of operation.
. Donations accepted were: $4,800 to the
athletic department from the
Marysville Eagles; $500 to the soccer program
from the Marysville Moose
Lodge; $260 to purchase five game footballs to be
raffled during home
football games from Castle Properties; weight equipment
valued at
$17,875 from Urbana University.
. Property, fleet, and liability
insurance rates approved in the amounts
of $19,725, $7,618, and $7,225
respectfully with the Ohio School plan
effective 7/1/06 through 7/1/07.
.
Approved $500 stipend for Craig Meredith for federal program
coordinator of
consolidated and federal grants.
Jerome Twp. officials deal with
procedural issues
By CINDY BRAKE
The Jerome Township Board of Trustees
established procedures Monday
during its regular meeting to obtain legal
opinions.
In an attempt to keep communications between boards open and legal
costs
to a minimum, the three member board agreed that all requests for
legal
opinions from zoning and land use attorney Don Brosius must be
in
writing and go through the township's planning and zoning
coordinator
Kathleen Crowley. Questions are not to be from individuals, but
must be
included in the minutes of and passed by commissions. All
communications
are to be copied to Crowley including e-mails. Crowley is also
not to
edit any communications.
Crowley informed the board that she is
investigating several complaints
of retail sales along Industrial Parkway
which are in violation of zoning standards.
Specifically, she said she has
been unable to notify through certified
or regular mail the property owner of
7400 Industrial Parkway that they
are in violation. Crowley added that the
auditor also lacks a valid
address for the property owner. The board voted to
permit her to put an
advertisement in the newspaper. Once notification has
been made, the
matter can be referred to the prosecutor.
Crowley said she
is also calling businesses about temporary
directional/advertising signs
along Industrial Parkway that are in the right of way.
The board discussed
nominating fire chief Scott Skeldon to represent the
township at the Union
County Chamber of Commerce's third annual Salute
to Leaders. The township
recently received a letter from the Ohio Fire
Chiefs' Association recognizing
their support of Skeldon, who has been
involved in the organization for
several years. He was president this past year.
"Scott's leadership,
caring and devotion moved the association ahead and
improved fire safety and
provided stronger response to Ohio's citizens.
During his presidency, a new
Fire Code and Building Code were adopted by
the State of Ohio. The Fire
Chief's State Emergency Response Plan was
utilized not only for response in
the State of Ohio, but was utilized to
help the victims of hurricanes Katrina
and Rita as Ohio sent teams to
St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana," states a
letter from Chief George D.
Brown. "President Skeldon led by example as is
evident by the number of
persons wearing Scott's wristbands that have the
slogan 'do the right
thing,' his belief that by doing the right thing
everyone wins."
Trustee Ron Rhodes also announced that Jeff Collier, a
township native,
was inducted into the Fireman's Hall of Fame recently during
an event in
Colorado Springs, Colo.
In other business, the board:
.
Approved the transfer of $10,000 into the zoning, other expenses fund.
.
The purchase of stackable cabinets for maps at a cost of $1,108.
. The
purchase of a metal detector for the cemetery.
. A contract for dumpster
service at the township hall with Flower Garbage.
. Installation of an
aerator/fountain at a cost of $3,490.
. Took no action after a 45-minute
executive session to discuss
compensation for personnel.
Zwayer settles in as local OSP head
By RYAN HORNS
A new face at the head
of the Marysville State Highway Patrol Post hopes
to focus his new leadership
on professionalism.
On July 24, Lt. Rick Zwayer began his new stint as
commander after being
transferred to the Marysville Post to fill the vacancy
created when
former post commander Lt. Marla Gaskill was promoted to Staff
Lieutenant
in command of the State Patrol's Administrative Investigations
Unit.
Zwayer said the transfer provided him the opportunity to work
closely
with troopers in the field again after years working at the
post
headquarters in Columbus, and to implement strategies for traffic
safety
learned in the Public Affairs Department there.
Zwayer brings years
of experience which he culled from a career which
started as a trooper at the
Springfield OSP Post in 1993.
"I learned a great deal about patrol operations
and general duties as a
trooper," he said.
While on duty in Springfield,
he was given the patrol's ACE Award after
apprehending car thieves in 1996
and then in 1997 earned the Post
Trooper of the Year award.
Zwayer then
transferred to the West Jefferson OSP Post in 1998, where he
earned the West
Jefferson Post Trooper of the Year award in 1998 and
certificates of
recognition from the Patrol and Norwich Township Fire
Department for
administering CPR to a heart attack victim involved in a
crash on Interstate
270 in Hilliard.
"The victim, Carl Hand, survived and is doing well today,"
he said.
In 2000, Zwayer was promoted to Sergeant and served at the
Chillicothe
and Marysville posts as an assistant Post Commander until he
was
transferred to the Patrol's General Headquarters in 2003 to serve as
a
spokesperson for the Patrol. From there he was promoted to Lieutenant
in
command of the Patrol's Public Affairs Unit August of 2004, to
oversee
media relations and assist in the traffic safety-education
marketing.
Now heading up Marysville's post, Zwayer said he will continue
his
distinguished career.
"Our goal at the Marysville Post is to provide
the most professional
level of traffic safety services, while building new
partnerships with
local law enforcement and the community. By focusing on
this goal, our
intent is to provide better information to the public, so that
they are
educated on the traffic safety issues facing them. And through
their
better understanding of safety concerns and their assistance, we
can
have the safest roadways possible. Our troopers will be focused
on
reducing injuries and fatalities through strict enforcement of
impaired
driving, crash causing behaviors and safety belt violations," he
said.
Getting into law enforcement is something Zwayer said has
been
fascinating to him since a very young age.
"I have been interested in
law enforcement since I was young. But after
speaking with a trooper when I
was a teen, I was impressed with his
professionalism, appearance, and
knowledge. Because of that one positive
impression, and as I researched a law
enforcement career, my first
choice was to try to become a trooper," he said.
"Now our task as
troopers is to make that same positive impression on
everyone we
contact. With that there is great satisfaction."
Zwayer
currently lives in northwestern Franklin County with his wife of
the past
seven years and their three children (two boys and one girl).
Groundbreaking scheduled for veterans monument
A groundbreaking ceremony for
the North Union District Veterans Memorial
in Richwood is planned for
Saturday, Sept. 30, at 11 a.m.
NU district veterans include military men and
women from all branches of
service whether active duty, reservists, national
guard or merchant
marine from any period of time. The veteran must have been
born or lived
at any time in his/her life, attended any school, died or be
buried in
any NU district cemetery. The NU district includes Essex,
Pharisburg,
York, Byhalia, Richwood, Magnetic Springs and North Union.
The
groundbreaking ceremony will take place at the memorial's site, the
corner of
Veteran's Way and Lynn Street at the Richwood Lake.
Speakers will include
Dave Vollrath, executive director of the Union
County Foundation; Steve
Patton, Jackson Township trustee; and Jerry
Belt, a Vietnam veteran.
To
date, 92 percent or $83,000 of the $90,000 goal has been received.
Veteran
bricks and sidewalk bricks and pavers for individuals,
families,
organizations or businesses are still available to purchase through
Jan.
31. Applications are at Parrott Implement, Richwood Bank,
Richwood
Library and Pat's Print Shop.
Plans for the memorial began in
July 2002 when Mr. and Mrs. John Hoskins
donated land behind the school bus
complex and baseball diamond. A
Korean War veteran, Mr. Hoskins requested
that the land be dedicated to
honor veterans. Gail DeGood-Guy agreed to lead
the effort and be the
project manager. By January 2003 planning committees
were formed.
Members of the veterans board were Paul McCrary, Larry Nibert
and Jack
Moore. The design committee was chaired by Mr. Hoskins and included
Bill
Moore, George Showalter, Sam Chapman and Larry Phipps. The
finance
committee was chaired by Tom Guy and involved the late Bill Davis
and
Ruth Simpson. Members at large were Bud Meddles, John Bell and
GeorgeAnn Charles.
The group spent weeks developing a basic concept of
what should be done
to remember veterans and dedicated months to solidify
their ideas. After
making inquiries about possible architects, they contacted
Beth Arden of
Schorr Architects. S he designed the memorial after reviewing
their
rough sketches, the site and listening to the group's
vision.
Fundraising kicked off April 2004.
To meet the goal, the group
offered the sale of bricks and pavers. Funds
were also raised throughout the
district with fish fries, yard sales,
golf outings, auctions, raffles,
letter-writing campaigns, personal
contacts, radio spots, donation cans,
displays and grant requests at various events.
Important contributors who
designated contributions in memory of loved
ones include the families of
Paydon Welsh, Don Ransome, Bill Davis, Bob
Howald Sr. and Kate Cramer.
The
Richwood mayor and village council have also agreed to pay for the
memorial's
lighting.
City updated on Gateway project
By RYAN HORNS
The
list of projects going on in Marysville is extensive, so much so
that other
projects could fall by the wayside unless the city gets outside help.
The
first reading was held on an ordinance to appropriate $9,400 toward
the
Gateway Marysville Project, which is expected to provide $80,000
toward
beautification of the entrance area off of U.S. 33 and 36.
Economic
Development Director Eric Phillips explained that there are a
lot of
administrative and planning expenses that were not included in
the 2006
budget, which were necessary. But with so many projects in the
works, they
will need to get an outside engineering company to work out the
details.
City Administrator Kathy House said current city staff is
overloaded.
Phillips said the planning cost bids were sent out twice and the
city
chose the lowest one at $9,400. He added that there is a deadline
for
the Gateway plans to be in place by Dec. 15.
Councilman Dan Fogt
pointed out the amount of requests for appropriating
money lately and asked
how the city stands financially for those requests.
City Finance Director
John Morehart said that the city reserves are
"adequate" and more than $1.5
million remains for the end of the year,
which is what the mayor
wanted.
"(The reserves) won't be threatened in any way," Morehart
said.
"This project is pretty important for the city," councilman Mark
Reams said.
"If we can't get the money we may lose out on this forever,"
Phillips said.
Phillips explained that the city was given the choice to go
with having
ODOT handle everything, or having the city manage the project.
By
choosing to go in-house, the city saved time and money.
Several council
members expressed their disappointment that city staff
is unable to find time
to do the work.
House said there is no way staff can handle it due to new
housing
developments, the reservoir and the wastewater
projects.
Concerning those projects, House provided a short update. She
said
street paving is expected to be completed by the end of the month.
Work
is still needed on Maple Street, Bay Laurel Drive, Park Avenue,
Third
Street and the city parking lots.
House said the future Wastewater
Reclamation Facility has recently begun
construction. For now workers have
started excavating and the city is
working with the contractor.
In other
discussions, Council members held the first reading on an
ordinance to double
the compensation for attending city boards and
commissions they are appointed
to. According to the ordinance, effective
Jan. 1, 2007, members of the
Planning Commission, Board of Zoning
Appeals, Civil Service Commission, Parks
and Recreation Commission and
the Design Review Board would go from earning
$25 per meeting to $50 per
meeting. The ordinance will come back for public
hearing at the next meeting.
Several council members pointed out that the
$25 fee was rather out of date.
"I think it's long overdue," Councilman
Mark Reams said.
Council member Leah Sellers asked how much more this raise
would cost the city.
Finance director John Morehart said that fees for
boards and commission
cost the city around $8,000 last year. He estimates the
cost for 2007
would then become $16,000 per year.
Phillips addressed the
passage of the "Design Guidelines for Historic
Uptown Marysville" during the
Design Review Board's Thursday night
meeting. He acknowledged the work of the
board, the Uptown Renewal Team,
city council, administration and the planning
commission for their
efforts to make the document a reality.
Councilman
John Gore asked about the process of getting rid of paint colors
guidelines.
Phillips reiterated that there was "no way to really match up
the
colors" without issuing a specific brand of paint for business owners
to buy.
Gore pointed out that he recalled some 20 years ago there were
paint
colors being enforced by the city, specifically shades of green - it
did not go well.
"At one time they had the paint police," Gore said.
He
remembers that business owners felt they were paying to have their
shops
there and if they felt changing a color would help business, then
they should
be allowed.
"I can't support telling folks there will be specific colors,"
Gore
said. "It's much better now."
Design Review Board Chairman Alan
Seymour said the decision to not
include color standards was set. The
original name of the document was
"Design and Color Guidelines," and the
"color" was dropped from the title.
Also discussed:
. Council passed an
ordinance to officially hire Victoria Moledor as the
new assistant law
director.
. Gore asked Kathy House to speak to the mayor about the city
engineer's
absence from city council meetings. It was something that used to
happen frequently.
"It doesn't happen anymore," he said.
. Barbara
Bushong was appointed to the Civil Service Commission.
Appointed to the Fire
Code Board of Appeals were Jim Page, Don Martin,
Jim Hall, Travis Headings
and Steve Streng.
Man leads police on high speed chase around
city
From J-T staff reports:
Police arrested a man Thursday night who led
officers on a high-speed
chase around the city.
Michael J. Stathas, 23, of
Jackson Center was arrested and charged with
driving with an open container
of alcohol, speeding, driving under
suspension, reckless operation of a
vehicle, driving under OVI
suspension and felony fleeing and
eluding.
According to Marysville Police reports, Stathas was seen driving at
a
high rate of speed and passing other cars on North Main Street at
around
1:19 p.m. Officers attempted to stop him on Square Drive, near
Allenby
Drive when he fled at speeds in excess of 85 or 90 mph.
The chase
led onto U.S. 33 to Scottslawn Road, where Stathas lost
control crossing the
overpass to U.S. 33. He drove back westbound on
U.S. 33 in the eastbound
lanes for a short distance, then crossed back
into the westbound
lanes.
Stathas reportedly then exited back onto Delaware Avenue from U.S.
33
towards Marysville's downtown. Officers were able to track the
vehicle
due to gouge marks left in the pavement from a damaged tire on the
car.
The car was then observed on North Main Street driving across U.S. 33
to
Route 31 where it was lost due to the construction area traffic.
Stathas
was found a short time later changing his tire behind a business
on Route 31.
He fled on foot from officers into the Mill Valley
subdivision where he
was finally caught.
City sets uptown design standards
By RYAN HORNS
It's been in the making
for some 16 years, but Marysville now has design
guidelines for buildings in
the Historic Uptown District.
Wednesday night the Marysville Design Review
Board passed the "Design
Guidelines for Historic Uptown Marysville"
document.
"After 16 years we finally got some guidelines," vice-chair Ken
Kraus said.
"This is a great guide," chairman Alan Seymour said. "It's
something
we've been looking for."
Kraus said the new document essentially
gives the city something to go
by when making decisions for uptown
businesses, such as how big signs
should be, what style of awning to use,
lighting styles and façade issues
"It provides consistency," Kraus
said.
He said if business owners come to the city with questions now,
the
Design Review Board will have answers based on one document.
"It takes
the personal feelings out," Kraus said.
Some last minute changes were also
approved after discussions raised at
the previous board meeting. Namely, any
references to specific colors
were dropped.
Seymour explained that the
idea was to keep color guidelines vague.
"There are very few specifics," he
said. "'Guideline' is the appropriate word."
As Marysville Zoning
Inspector Barb McCoy explained that the board ran
into a problem when trying
to pinpoint color specifics.
"If you start giving specific colors then you
almost have to name
brands," McCoy said.
The city would like to avoid
forcing business owners to use certain
brands. Officials plan to do research
and look into how other
communities have bypassed this challenge.
McCoy
has previously explained that for now any color will be
acceptable, as long
as it does not make the building garish and out of place.
Cunningham said
during the meeting that at some point the city will need
to create color
guidelines. The code sites current business examples and
reference good
choices made on buildings, such as pictures of the Patty
Berry's School of
Dance awning; the façade of the Fiesta Grande Mexican
restaurant and numerous
historic building tops that add character to the
uptown skyline.
A
question one board member asked at the end of the meeting: Why is the
area
being called "Uptown?"
Board members jokingly said they did not want to touch
the issue and
called for a close to the meeting.
In other business, board
members held discussion from the new business
agenda for Benny's Pizza adding
an additional kitchen and rearrangement
of its parking lot.
Civil engineer
Mike Williamson and Humble Construction's Wayne Ropp were
at the meeting on
behalf of the owners of Benny's Pizza.
Williamson explained that on Thursday,
Friday and Saturday nights the
restaurant is so busy that there isn't enough
room for the 13 to 15
kitchen staff members to move around. It has become
frustrating for the owners.
So they have proposed building a separate
structure for meal preparation
- however, kitchens will remain in both
buildings.
The plan also calls for two nearby ponds to become one larger pond
and
for a re-working of the parking lot to make official spaces
where
customers currently park in the grass.
Air Force band
entertains crowd
Editor's note: The following review is submitted by Union
County
Community Concert Association member Scott
Underwood.
---
"There's a feeling comes a-stealing, and it sets my brain
a-reeling,
when I'm listening to the music of a military band. Any tune
like
'Yankee Doodle' simply sets me off my noodle, it's that
patriotic
something that no one can understand,"- 'You're A Grand Old Flag'
by Cohan
Even in his day, George M. Cohan couldn't sum up the same
indescribable,
patriotic sensations that a full house felt last night at the
Marysville
High School auditorium.
The United States Air Force Band of
Flight flew into Marysville
Wednesday for the opening of the Union County
Community Concerts
Association season.
The band presented unofficial
debuts of two arrangements written
specifically for the band. "An Airman's
Symphony: No Finer Calling" in
three movements is a new composition written
by Julie Giroux for the
Band of Flight. The band will officially play it for
the first time Dec.
18 at the World Wide Band and Orchestra Conference in
Chicago. Last
night's sneak preview was thrilling. Sounds ranged from the
first
movement's double bass, march-like qualities and the second
movement's
blending of reed and horn to the third section's sensations of
flight
and horizon. This arrangement portrayed in music, the three-core
values
of service in the U.S. Air Force - integrity, service before self
and
excellence in all we do. The symphony also salutes the 60th
anniversary
of the Air Force for the year 2007.
The second unofficial
debut piece entitled "Gardens of Stone" was
written by James Beckel, Jr., a
member of the Indianapolis Symphony. The
melodies, in conjunction with the
narration throughout the composition,
gave new honor and tribute to the
graves at Arlington National Cemetery,
the beaches at Normandy and the
cemetery at Gettysburg. The amazing
instrumental blends and talented
musicianship portrayed a bone-chilling
firing of guns, falling soldiers and
the sullenness of Taps.
The Band of Flight provided a stunningly beautiful
concert throughout
the two-hour long show, not just with a mastery of
military march tunes,
but with a second act chock full of familiar,
toe-tapping, big band and
World War II hits, featuring jazz instrumentalists
and a quartet of vocalists.
The band wore spit-polished shoes with dress
blues. Conductor, Lt. Col.
Alan Sierichs, led in a dress blue tailcoat. The
crisp, clean,
regimented sight and sound of the Band of Flight, caused an
appreciation
of military band's decorum, brass, shine and lively, beating
strains of
a military band.
All night long, the upright tubas, with bells
facing the audience, laid
a profound, full foundation to the music, often
times offering
comforting pitches liking a ship's immense, deep horn surge.
The
percussion section was remarkable, always matching entrances with
the
horns and uplifting the band exactly where and when they needed to
be.
The band travels nearly 70,000 miles each year from their home
at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to present almost 500
performances
before military and civilian audiences. They have received four
Air
Force Outstanding Unit Awards and two Air Force
Organizational
Excellence Awards. Among its many civilian honors, the band is
also a
two-time recipient of the Colonel George S. Howard Citation of
Musical
Excellence for Military Concert bands presented by The John Philip
Sousa Foundation.
Last night's rousing closing was faultless, allowing the
piccolo player
to take a brief bow, during well-deserved applause and return
to her
seat before the final, big brass chorus of 'Hurrah for the Flag of
the Free.'
Move planned for another historic local building
By
RYAN HORNS
Following on the heels of the well-documented move of a
former
Marysville doctor's historic home, plans are now in the works
to
relocate the oldest known building in the city.
The Weller Log Cabin
sits at 775 Milford Avenue and plans are in the
works to move the cabin to
246 W. Sixth St. on the grounds of the Union
County Historical Society. It
will be used as an exhibit for display and
tour purposes. It will also be
furnished with period furniture to
demonstrate pioneer life in Marysville and
Union County.
The history of the cabin is extensive. The move application
notes that
the cabin has "great historical value to the city."
In fact,
the building is so old the historical society does not exactly
know when it
was built. However, local historians estimate the age is
between 1820 and
1830 ? the earliest days of Marysville's history.
"Although at 175 years old,
it is well preserved and is an outstanding
example of the first dwellings in
Marysville," the application states.
At Wednesday night's Design Review Board
meeting, historical society
member and cabin owner Larry Ohnsman proposed the
plan.
"It will add a great deal to the community, I think, in terms
of
history," he said.
Ohnsman said the museum aspect of the building is
beneficial. Contacts
have already been made to move the cabin as soon as he
gets the order to
proceed from the city. His plan is to move the cabin
sometime next month.
The application for the move explains that Ohnsman
intends to place the
cabin in the back portion of the Historical Society
property, between
the museum and the research library. An herb garden
currently exists in
front of the proposed area.
Design Review Board
vice-chairman Ken Kraus explained that the Milford
Avenue property the cabin
currently rests on has been sold to new owners
and Ohnsman needs to get the
cabin out of there.
Aside from its historical importance, the cabin also has
more specific
value, which is detailed in the application notes. In 1852
Edward Weller
purchased the cabin. On that property he established the Weller
Pottery
Works, which became one of the leading businesses in the early days
of
Marysville and is important in the history of pottery manufacturing
in Ohio.
The historical society reported that the first tile produced in
Union
County was made in the Weller kilns. Clay products, bricks and
various
kinds of pottery were manufactured there.
The Union County
Historical Society reportedly has a large collection
Weller products, which
will be displayed in the cabin at the new location.
According to the
application, in the 1970s Ellsworth Ohnsman purchased
the Weller Cabin and
moved it across Milford Avenue to its present
location. Then he restored it
to its former glory, with help from his
son Larry.
In 2005 the Ohnsman
family offered to donate the cabin to the historical society.
"For this
reason, the Union County Historical Society now desires to
accept the gift,
continue the preservation of this early structure and
provide a safe location
where it will remain for future generations,"
the application states.
Tossing our life onto the lawn'
Family, displaced to Marysville after
Katrina, gives update on return
home
By CINDY BRAKE
Imagine ... a house
with three-feet of mold growing on the walls ...
four children under the age
of 5 years ... a mother and two children
with health problems ... and a
father forced to live a state away
because of work.
This is reality for
Steven and Denise Sabido of Metairie, La. A year ago
the Sabido family fled
Hurricane Katrina, the deadliest hurricane in the
history of the United
States, to live with family in Marysville.
"We know that we can handle
whatever we are dealt and we will get
through it together and will come out
stronger. We just try to stay
positive and take one day or even minute at a
time," writes Denise in a
recent E-mail to the Marysville Journal-Tribune. A
Sept. 8, 2005,
article chronicled their journey to Marysville.
Denise
recently shared an update on how the family has fared this
past year.
After spending a few weeks in the Mill Valley home of
relatives, Steven
and Denise decided to return home.
"After three weeks
away from home, we were all ready to return, although
still extremely
grateful for the hospitality of everyone in Marysville,
especially David,
LauraAshley and Brandon Sabido," writes Denise.
She adds that she wanted to
return before the birth of the twins.
"I had spoken to my doctor from Ohio
and he said that he would be able
to deliver the twins. Many of the New
Orleans hospitals had major
damage, however the hospital in Metairie suffered
little damage and
never lost power."
So on Sept. 21, Steven drove the
family van, along with his mother and
the family dog, Voodoo, back to
Louisiana.
"Everyone was worried that I wouldn't make the two-day drive, so
the
rest of us were to fly home," Denise said. At the time, she was 34
weeks
pregnant. "My mom, Emily, 4 1/2, Kylie, 17 months and myself were to
fly
home on Sept. 23."
That was the day Hurricane Rita was to ravage
through southwestern
Louisiana. After five failed attempts to land at the New
Orleans
airport, their plane flew to Jackson, Miss., to refuel. She
explains
that Jackson is about 2 1/2 hours by car from their home and where
they
started their evacuation journey. She said no hotel rooms or rental
cars
were available because people were still there hiding from
either
Hurricanes Katrina or Rita. The pilot again attempted to land in
New Orleans.
"So again, we made many bumpy and scary approaches, but were
Atlanta
bound," Denise writes.
Luckily, another one of Steven's brothers,
Chris, lived in Atlanta. He
welcomed the foursome for the night until they
caught another flight the
next morning.
"Finally, we landed safely in New
Orleans. My mother and I were on an
emotional roller coaster... A trip that
was supposed to take four hours
took two days."
The journey home, however,
was just the beginning of the challenges
they've experienced.
The Sabido
home had taken on a little over a foot of water. Mold had
grown three feet
high in some places.
"Steven had thrown everything out on the lawn before we
got home, so I
only saw the empty house with molded walls. Everything else
was in a
stinky pile near the street along with the contents of our
neighbors'
houses. Nothing could have prepared me for this. It was all
very
depressing. Seeing the kids' toys and bedding on the lawn was
the
worst," she writes.
Steven had worked from dark to dark in the house
to gut it and prevent
the mold from growing any higher. She writes that he
was emotionally
spent and physically exhausted after "tossing our life onto
the lawn."
The most difficult part for him, Denise writes, was removing an
armoire
that was from his late father who had passed away in 2005.
"My
brother had to carry it out to the street. Steven couldn't do it,"
she
writes. "I still can't imagine the water in my house. I feel as it
invaded
our privacy and took away a large piece of our family."
Fortunately, neither
of the homes of their mothers had suffered damage.
The family lived two weeks
with Steven's mother and then moved into a
friend's house. A cesarean section
was scheduled for Oct. 21.
"My emotions were all twisted ... knowing that we
were going to have
four children and no place permanent to live was
absolutely overwhelming."
Natalie Claire and Kasey Michelle arrived
healthy and perfect. Denise,
however, had developed a hematoma caused by
bleeding as a result of surgery.
"It was huge and I was in a lot of pain
and tired. My color was
yellowish and the doctor said it was because the
blood was in the wrong
spot. I needed a blood transfusion to replace the
displaced blood," she writes.
Denise stayed in the hospital for nearly a
week, while Steven juggled
hospital visits and the care of Emily and Kylie.
Emily had just started
school and Kylie was used to having her
mother.
Just two weeks after the twins' birth, Steven was due in Dallas
for
work. The plan was for him to come home on weekends.
"Without my mom,
I couldn't have done it. I would sleep at her house
during the week and then
go back to the rental on the weekends with
Steven. It was just nuts having to
pack up on Mondays just to do it
again on Fridays."
Then on Dec. 15, just
two days before Steven was coming home for the
holidays, Natalie had to be
hospitalized for four days for a respiratory virus.
"It was awful to see
her go through all that trauma," Denise writes.
Kasey also had severe
symptoms of respiratory virus, but fortunately did
not have to be
hospitalized.
A contractor had been hired to repair the house, but progress
was slow.
"It was frustrating because if Steven was in town, he could have
done
most of the work at a faster rate and cheaper too. But, as the new
year
rolled around, he once again had to return to Dallas for at least
a
month without coming home. The day he left was very depressing."
From
Jan. 3 through March 16, he was home about 15 days.
Their neighborhood looks
like a trailer park, Denise writes.
"Nearly everyone on our dead-end block
has or had a FEMA trailer. Some
people even had two because FEMA was slow to
deliver them and they
needed a place to live so they bought their own. Over
the past week,
though two of our neighbors had their trailers picked
up."
Things calmed down a bit, Denise writes, and they had hope to be
in
their home by Easter. That didn't happen.
On June 9, the family spent
its first night at home in more than nine months.
"What a relief to be
home. It was great to be with our neighbors and
live together as a family,"
Denise writes.
She adds that most of their friends and neighbors have stayed
for now in
Louisiana. Some have talked about moving once things have settled
down.
Louisiana, however for the Sabadies', is home. This is where they
were
both born and raised.
"Moving any place else is not really what we
want to do," she writes.
"Our strength has been tested and what doesn't kill
us makes us
stronger. We have had a tough year, but tough people can handle
what
they are given. We just thank God that we were able to flee from
the
storm and our family was spared physical injuries."
Scotts CEO
leaves
From J-T staff reports:
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company announced
Tuesday the departure of Robert
Bernstock, president and chief operating
officer.
A press release states the Marysville company is planning a
new
organizational structure with operating units reporting directly to
Jim
Hagedorn, chairman and chief executive officer. The company
is
eliminating the role of COO.
In addition, chief financial officer Chris
Nagel, 44, has been named
executive vice president of the North American
consumer business, the
company's largest operating unit.
A new CFO is
expected to be named within 45 days.
"The decision to make a leadership
change was caused by differing views
on long-term strategy and the need to
reinvigorate the culture of the
North American organization," Hagedorn states
in the press release. He
said the company is likely to launch a national
search for a chief strategy officer.
Hagedorn added that reaching the
full-year earnings guidance is proving
to be more challenging than expected.
Adding to the challenge, he states
in the press release, are costs associated
with some organizational changes.
"Our team is working hard to meet the
expectations that we set. With
double-digit growth in sales and consumer
purchases, improved market
shares and earnings growth approaching 20 percent,
it's clearly been a
good year for ScottsMiracle-Gro. Even if we fall slightly
short of our
guidance, I'm proud of results."
Navin students to send
quilts to Katrina victims
When Navin Elementary pupils heard of the
devastation left in New
Orleans and surrounding areas by Hurricane Katrina
last August, they
wanted to help.
They decided to send comfort and
friendship to Katrina's victims in the
form of quilts. Navin art teacher Barb
Early guided each Navin pupil in
creating a quilt piece using the theme "Lend
a Helping Hand." Parent
Jamie Geyer, third-grader Jarod Geyer's mom,
volunteered to purchase all
materials necessary to assemble the quilts and
cut the quilt squares.
She also is constructing one of the quilts which will
be used as an
auction item during the school's fall fundraiser.
Through
additional funding from the Navin PTO, the dream became a reality.
The
centerpiece of each quilt is a picture of all pupils and teachers at
Navin
Elementary during the 2005-2006 school year. Approximately 450
quilt squares
became 11 quilts ranging in sizes covering twin beds
through full-size
beds.
All were assembled by a industrious group of quilters wanting to
be
known only as "The Quilting Angels." A spokesperson of this group
said
that each quilt was made with its own unique quilting stitch and
style.
Through the project, pupils are learning what it means to help
others
who are in need, said Navin teacher Teresa Jewell.
The quilts will
be on display in the school showcases in the front
halls. Then they'll be
bound for New Orleans.
"They're beautiful and they just need to go where
they're supposed to
go," Jewell said.
Bank urges customers to be
cautious
From J-T staff reports:
Identity theft is real and in our
area.
The Richwood Banking Company is warning everyone to be aware
that
someone is pretending to be a bank employee and offering to help
the
person protect their account.
"The caller talks about identity theft
dangers, fraudulent activity,
etc.," states a press release from the bank.
"The caller offers to help
protect the consumer for free, but he needs
account number, routing
number and next check number in order to do
this.
"Do not give any information," states the press release.
With the
requested information, money can be taken out of the consumer's
account and
it may be a month before the consumer would receive a
statement and know that
any fraudulent activity has taken place.
"By this time, the person has the
money and is gone." states the press release.
The bank would have to make
the debit right and refund the money, but in
the mean time, the account could
have bad activity, have an effect on
consumer's reputation and legal
problems.
"If the person trying to obtain the money enters into
fraudulent
activities with consumer's name and numbers, the authorities
could
apprehend an innocent person until they could prove they were not
the
person conducting the activities."
Consumers are reminded to safeguard
their personal information.
"A bank will not call to obtain information on
your account. They
already have your information."
Cold blooded escapee on the loose in Richwood
Missing alligator prompts
council to look at exotic pets
By CHAD WILLIAMSON
Richwood Council has put
years into setting up ordinances that have some
"teeth."
Now it is faced
with an issue that could bite back.
The council is looking at ways to
regulate the ownership of exotic
animals after a pair of village police
officers came face to face with a
pair of unexpected assailants during the
investigation of a break-in.
According to police chief Rick Asher, Saturday
evening the officers
responded to a home on Fulton Street after a television
was seen
flickering in a home where the residents were to be on
vacation.
A relative let the officers into the home where there were met by
a
three-foot long alligator. The officers quickly backed out of
the residence.
While a large anaconda in the residence was confined, the
alligator was
free to roam the home. It was later determined that one of the
animals
in the home had stepped on a remote control and turned on
the
television.
Although no breaking and entering was found to have
occurred at the
address, a few days later an escape was reported. The owner
of the
animal has reported that the reptile has escaped or been
stolen.
The alligator remains at large.
Village solicitor Victoria
Stone-Moledor told council that there is no
way to require owners of exotic
pets to register with the village. She
said a law that would allow such
action is now before state legislators
but has not been
passed.
Stone-Moledor said that some residents have has such animals for
years
and trying to force them to get rid of them could be a chore. She
added
that encouraging exotic pet owners to notify the village
police
department and fire department is not out of line. This would assist
the
agencies if a fire or crime occurs at their residence.
"Who knows what
people have in their houses," Asher said.
In other business,
council:
.Held second reading on the village's new parking
regulations.
.Heard an update on village projects from engineer Ed Bischoff
of
Bischoff and Associates.
.Learned that several repairs are needed at
the village hall. The heat
exchangers on two of the bay heaters have gone bad
and the main furnace
and water heater need replaced. The cost of the items
could be more than
$10,000, however, council was not quick to approve the
purchases. The
village safety committee will meet prior to the next council
meeting to
recommend a course of action.
.Heard a complaint from Grove
Street resident Rick Foley about a
conditional use permit which was approved
by the village board of zoning
appeals. The permit was to allow a home on
Grove Street to be used as a
day care center and dance studio. Foley said the
home must be occupied
in order for such a permit to be approved. He said the
property is being
renovated, but is not inhabited. Stone-Moledor said she
would look into
the issue.
.Heard a complaint from Ottawa Street resident
Tina Stone who said
recent utility renovations along her street had killed
two trees.
Village officials said they would see if there was retainer money
left
from the project to pay for the replacement of the trees.
.Set Trick
or Treat for Sunday, Oct. 29 from 5-7 p.m.
.Learned that the Richwood Area
Business Association is holding a
contest to create a new town slogan.
Village officials agreed that while
the contest could be held, the village
was under no obligation to change
its motto, "Richwood, where the clock
strikes hospitality."
.Held an executive session to discuss
personnel.
Jon Alder makes cuts
By CORINNE BIX
The Jonathan
Alder Board of Education approved level one budget cuts
following three
failed levy attempts.
Action came during Monday evening's meeting.
The
cuts will eliminate more than $300,000 from this year's budget. The
19 cuts
range from $2,500 to $45,000. The larger ticket items include
delaying the
purchase of one school bus at $45,000, saving $30,000 on
retirement and
fringe benefits paid to staff by hiring less experienced
personnel, and
eliminating field trips at $25,000.
Other savings are being realized as
follow: equipment, $32,581; delay
the purchase of textbooks, $22,000; delay
the purchase of technology
$11,804; professional training/workshops, $23,000;
testing
materials/scoring, $2,500; custodial salaries/overtime, $5,000;
cell
phones for each building and superintendent, $2,500; voice
mail,
superintendent and board, $2,856; building repairs/supplies,
$18,000;
substitutes (permanent, secretarial, custodial, etc.) $25,000;
vehicle
replacement, $7,500; supplies, instructional and office,
$13,229;
management consultants, $4,000; facility
maintenance/improvements,
$10,000; severance, $8,000; and building
maintenance, $20,000. Total:
$307,970
Doug Carpenter, superintendent, said
the cuts were inevitable.
"We've done as much as we can to not impact student
learning with the
phase one cuts," Carpenter said.
At a special meeting
held Aug. 21, the board voted to put a .75-percent
earned income tax levy on
the November ballot instead of the previous
.5-percent income tax levies that
failed in November 2005 and February
of this year.
Carpenter said the
earned income tax levy is an attractive option
because it only taxes those
that are currently earning money hence
seniors receiving pensions and/or
retirement payments would not be
affected. In addition there is no tax on
dividends or estates.
"If the levy passes in November we may be able to
reinstate some of
these cuts," Carpenter said.
The board approved a
contract extension with the Jonathan Alder
Education Association until Nov.
21.
Carpenter explained that the teacher association's contract
has
officially expired, but in light of the upcoming levy the two
groups
have agreed to an extension. He said until a levy is passed
that
teacher's salaries would remain frozen.
The board also passed a
resolution of urgent necessity to settle a
three-year disagreement with the
Ohio School Facilities Commission
(OSFC). When the Monroe school building was
constructed, the district
chose to purchase barely-used fuel tanks as opposed
to new tanks. By not
purchasing brand new tanks the district saved $30,000.
However because
the district failed to buy new and follow the proper "bid"
procedure,
the OSFC was denying Alder the credit for the fuel tanks. The
urgent
necessity resolution resolved the issue and the district should
now
receive credit from the state.
The board adjourned into executive
session to discuss a legal issue. No
action was taken.
The next regular
board meeting will be Oct. 9 at 7 p.m.
In other news, the board
approved:
. The financial report for August and the budget for the current
school
year.
. Resignation of Amanda Damratoski as teacher at the Cannan
Building.
. Resignation of Joseph Beachy as a bus driver effective Aug.
25
. Maternity leave for Melissa Gordon and Stacy Sayre.
. Employment for
various classified staff and extra/co-curricular
staffing positions.
.
Certified and classified substitute list.
. Four open enrollment
students.
. In-lieu of transportation for seven students.
Air
Force Band to perform
From J-T staff reports:
The United States Air Force
Band of Flight will kick off the 2006-2007
Community Concert Series Wednesday
with a concert at Marysville High
School.
It will begin at 7:30
p.m.
Under the command of Lt. Col. Alan Sierichs, the Band of Flight
travels
nearly 70,000 miles each year from its home at Wright-Patterson
Air
Force Base, present almost 500 performances before military and
civilian
audiences. Its appearances have ranged from the Kentucky Derby
parade,
the Indianapolis 500 parade and the Professional Football Hall of
Fame
festival parade to annual appearances at the Montreux Detroit
Jazz Festival.
The band's area of responsibility reaches from Michigan to
Kentucky and
from Indiana to West Virginia and includes almost one-quarter of
the
nation's population.
The Band of Flight's 60 full-time musicians make
up a number of groups
that can meet almost any musical requirement. The
Concert Band performs
a wide spectrum of music, from the standard repertoire
and commissioned
works to original arrangements of popular songs and Broadway
show tunes.
The Night Flight Jazz Ensemble plays contemporary jazz and
keeps Air
Force heritage alive by remembering the music of Major Glenn
Miller.
Soaring Winds, the Band of Flight's newest chamber ensemble,
uses
specially tailored arrangements., while the Huffman Prairie
Winds
woodwind quintet performs the standard quintet literature,
commissioned
works and special arrangements in a variety of chamber music
settings.
The Wright Brass, a brass quintet plus percussionist, applies
its
musicianship - often with a touch of humor- to styles ranging from
Bach
to the Beatles. Systems Go, the Band of Flight's music combo,
plays
everything form rock to rhythm and blues and from country to jazz.
The
Kittyhawk Clarinet Quartet revitalizes chamber music old and new
with
their unique instrumentation.
Since its founding in 1942, the United
States Air Force Band of Flight
has performed for presidents and vice
presidents, visiting heads of
state, cabinet officers, members of Congress,
U.S. and foreign military
leaders, and millions of American and foreign
citizens. It also has
performed with numerous celebrities and guest artists
through the years,
including Walter Cronkite, Lee Greenwood, Glenn Campbell
and aviation
pioneer Chuck Yeager.
The Band of Flight has received four
Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards
and two Air Force Organizational Excellence
Awards. Among its many
civilian honors, the band also is a two-time recipient
of The Colonel
George S. Howard Citation of Musical Excellence for Military
Concert
bands presented by The John Philip Sousa Foundation.
The concert
is sponsored by the Union County Community Concerts
Association. Tickets are
complimentary; call 644-1946.
Miller earns rank of Eagle
Scout
From J-T staff reports:
Kyle Miller, 17, the son of Mike and Robin
Houser of Marysville, and
Keith Miller of Grove City, has earned the highest
rank in scouting,
Eagle Scout.
He is a member of Troop 355 which meets on
Monday evenings at First
Presbyterian Church.
Kyle has been involved in
scouting since second grade. He has earned 24
merit badges, the firem'n chit
and totin chip, as well as the 50-mile
canoeing award. His Eagle project was
to collect clothing for the
Marysville Clothes Closet.
Kyle has served as
librarian, instructor and assistant patrol leader. He
is a senior at
Marysville High School and employed at the Kroger Co.
His future plans are to
attend college after graduation to obtain a
degree in electrical
engineering.
Unionville Center has new clerk-treasurer
Monday
night's Unionville Center Village Council meeting opened with a
moment of
silence in remembrance of those who perished on 9-11.
Mayor Denver Thompson
appointed Tracy Rausch as clerk-treasurer
replacing Karla Gingerich who moved
from the community. Council member
Larry Burchett submitted a letter of
resignation. Burchett cited limited
free time to devote to village concerns
because of his work schedule.
There are currently two open seats on council.
Residents interested in
the positions should contact the mayor.
Sealed
estimates for leaf pick-up on Saturday, Nov. 11, are being
accepted and will
be opened during the October meeting. The estimates
may be given to any
council member or brought to the meeting.
The storm sewer drains are expected
to be cleaned this fall.
Council is planning to spread gravel on the alley
between Second and
Third streets.
An ordinance regulating golf carts
within the village was tabled again.
Thompson said that nothing will be done
until the criteria for golf
carts is determined by the Union County Sheriff's
Office.
A building permit for a pole barn at 214 Cross St. was granted to
Tony
Kurtz.
Mark Wile requested and received permission to install an
aerator system
at 229 Cross St. and tap into the storm sewer system.
There
was some preliminary discussion of budget items. A budget meeting
is
scheduled for Oct. 23.
The date for Trick or Treat will be determined at the
Oct. 9 meeting.
Rogers named Union County Junior Miss
From J-T staff reports:
Virginia
Rogers was named Union County Junior Miss 2007 Sunday evening.
The Marysville
High School student also received $900 in cash scholarships.
Nine teenage
girls from the county competed in the contest, vying for a
share of $3,050 in
college scholarships at the Veterans Auditorium in Marysville.
In addition
to winning the title, Rogers won the Scholastic and
Self-Expression awards.
She will go on to compete in the Ohio's Junior
Miss program on Feb. 23 and 24
in Mount Vernon.
First runner-up, Stephanie Devine of MHS received a $250
cash
scholarship She also received the "Be Your Best Self" essay
runner-up
award and won the panel evaluation (interview) for a total of $550
in
cash scholarships.
Second runner-up Grace Underwood of MHS, received a
$250 cash
scholarship. She also won the talent award and the fitness
runner-up
award, for a total of $550 in cash scholarships.
Fitness winner
and talent and self-expression runner-up was Aashley
Morgan of MHS. She
received a total of $400 in cash scholarships.
Scholastics runner-up was
Kimberly Leininger of MHS, who received a $100
cash scholarship. Interview
runner-up was Stacy Alderman of Fairbanks
High School, receiving a $100 cash
scholarship.
Special recognition awards were presented to Kylie Daniel of
FHS
(leadership), Kimberly Leininger (Spirit of Junior Miss) and
Stacy
Alderman, runner-up to the "Be Your Best Self." Each special
recognition
winner received a $100 cash scholarship. Leininger also won the
"Be Your
Best Self" essay award, receiving a $150 cash
scholarship.
National sponsors of AJM include Coca-Cola,Tyson Foods, Inc.,
SeaWorld,
Busch Gardens, the Riverview Plaza Hotel, the City of Mobile, and
Mobile
County. National category sponsors include Mobile Gas and
Regions
Bank. Governmental support is furnished by the state of
Alabama.
The 48th annual America's Junior Miss National Finals will be held
in
Mobile, Alabama, in June.
Additional information may be obtained by
calling (800) 256-5435 or by
visiting the AJM Web site at www.ajm.org.
Series of break-ins
reported
From J-T staff reports:
Several attempted break ins over the
weekend have prompted Marysville
Police to remind residents to keep their
doors locked and be aware of
suspicious activity.
Marysville Assistant
Police Chief Glenn Nicol reported this morning that
most of these attempted
burglaries occurred in the Green Pastures area,
although homes and apartments
were hit around the city this weekend.
Four residents in the 300 block of
Retreat Lane reported to police
Sunday at 5:44 a.m. that an unknown suspect
attempted to unsuccessfully
break into their apartments. At the same time and
in the same block
area, police were told that the screen door of a garage was
cut and a
suspect went inside a home and stole cash. Later, at 11:34 a.m.
another
resident on that block told police a window screen was cut in
the
garage, although no entry was made.
In other reports, an unknown
person entered an apartment in the 400
block of Retreat Lane and stole cash
from the homeowner's purse. The
crime was told to police Sunday at 8:34
a.m.
Sunday at 8:24 a.m. a resident in the 200 block of Oak Street
reported
that someone had cut a screen and entered their home through a
dining
room window. Nothing has been discovered stolen at presstime.
In
another part of the city, a resident in the 17000 block of Route 31
reported
that someone had attempted to enter her home through a window
on Thursday at
3 p.m. It was not reported if anything was stolen.
All of these reports are
currently under investigation.
Nicol said if residents witness any suspicious
activity or see what
might be someone attempting to break into a home, they
should call the
police department immediately.
MHS Digital Yearbook Project launched
The Marysville Public Library Digital
Year Book Collection is now
available for patrons to browse and search online
24/7.
The online digital collection contains more than 9,000 images of
"The
Key," the Marysville High School yearbook from 1936-2000. There are
a
few years "The Key" was not published - 1939, 1941-1944.
The collection
is not only a resource for the casual browser but also
the historic
researcher. It will allow individuals to both browse and
search the full text
of the yearbooks from home, office or in the
library. Digitizing the
yearbooks ensures that the documents will be
appreciated and available to
future generations.
"Not only is digitizing printed material, such as our
yearbook
collection, a necessary preservation method, it also
brings
geographically isolated collections to the entire world. Books tend
to
deteriorate with time or can be destroyed by fire, water or
disasters.
Digitizing the yearbooks is an excellent preventative measure.
Just in
case," said Sue Keinbaum, Marysville Public Library reference
assistant,
who worked for several months scanning the yearbook images for
the project.
The MHS Digital Yearbook Project is part of the Photohio.org
collection.
The Union County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society, the
Union
County Historical Society, and the Marysville Public Library funded
the
project. The collection also would not have been possible without
the
Marysville Alumni Association providing access to missing volumes
and
Marysville Public Schools granting the library copyright
permission
earlier this year.
"This project is a great example of local
organizations working together
to better serve our community," said Ryan
McDonnell, Marysville Public
Library director.
The digital yearbooks are
available through the library's research
databases link on the library Web
site at www.marysvillelib.org.
For
additional information or to access the digital collections directly
online
go to www.marysvillelib.org/yearbook.htm
The
Marysville Public Library is planning additional digital imaging
projects in
the near future. For more information, or to get involved,
contact
McDonnell.
Man stabbed during dispute
From J-T staff
reports:
A Union County man who was stabbed in the neck Thursday during
an
alleged domestic dispute will survive his wounds.
According to Union
County Sheriff's investigators, the 911 Emergency
Center received an
emergency call at 9:40 a.m. from a person in the
33000 block of Route 31 who
reported a stabbing had occurred at a nearby residence.
Deputies were
summoned to 33881 Route 31, where Rob McKinney, 30, and
Natasha Owens, 30
were reportedly involved in a domestic dispute. The
alleged fight resulted in
McKinney being stabbed in the neck with a knife.
Investigators said
McKinney and Owens were transported by medics to
Memorial Hospital of Union
County, where they were treated for non-life
threatening
injuries.
Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Chris Skinner reported
this
morning that Owens was not believed to be injured by the knife.
The
deputy did not report if Owens had stabbed McKinney during the
dispute.
McKinney's wound to the neck resulted in several
stitches.
Skinner said no charges have been filed at this time and the
incident is
currently under investigation.
Contestants announced for
Union County's 2007 Junior Miss program
From J-T staff reports:
The Union
County Junior Miss Program has announced contestants who will
vie for the
title of 2007 Union County Junior Miss.
The county's scholarship program will
be held Sunday at 7 p.m. at the
Veterans Auditorium on West Sixth Street.
Competing this year will be
Virginia Rogers, Kimberly Leininger, Grace
Underwood, Lori Distelhorst,
Stephanie Devine and Aashley Morgan, all of
Marysville, and Morgan
Burns, Kylie Daniel and Stacy Alderman, all of
Fairbanks.
The nine will compete for the title of Union County Junior Miss
and a
share of more than $3,000 in college scholarships. The winner will go
on
to compete in the Ohio Junior Miss program, an official preliminary
of
the America's Junior Miss scholarship program.
Rogers is the daughter
of Allen and Karen Rogers. She plans to become an
attorney and to attend a
four-year liberal arts college. Her activities
at MHS include National Honor
Society, Mock Trial (where she was awarded
"outstanding attorney"), Swingers
Unlimited, symphonic choir, chamber
choir, youth group, soccer (varsity
letter), piano, pointe, competition
dance team and musicals. Her talent
presentation will feature a piano
solo of an excerpt from "Rustle of Spring"
by Christian Sinding. Her
junior sister is Andrea Sattler.
Burns is the
daughter of Ron and Terri Burns. She plans to become a
dental hygienist or
architect after attending the Lima or Marion branch
of Ohio State University.
Her school activities have included National
Honor Society, youth group, FFA
(president), 4-H, varsity volleyball
(Brian Nicol Panther Award), basketball
(coach's award), softball
(Richard Scheiderer Spirit Award) and football
homecoming court. Her
junior sister is Kristin Burns. For her talent
presentation she will
sing "Born to Fly."
Daniel, the daughter of Duane
and Kelly Daniel, plans to pursue a career
in nursing, either at Otterbein
College or Ohio Northern University. Her
activities at FHS include National
Honor Society (president), Student
Council (president), FFA (first vice
president), varsity softball
(Richard Scheiderer Spirit Award), cheerleading
(captain), 4-H
(president, Outstanding Seamstress Award), Junior Fair
Board
(president), parliamentary procedure, Mock Trial, yearbook,
science
club, international club, volleyball and NWCC Varsity Academic
Award.
For her talent presentation, Daniel will perform an Irish
dancing
medley. Her junior sister is Christine Hoerig.
Leininger is the
daughter of Mike and Sandy Leininger. She plans to
study middle
education/special education at a Christian college or
university. Her
interests/extra curricular activities include Student
Council (class vice
president), National Honor Society, show choir
(Distinguished Freshman
Award), youth group, school musicals, mission
trips, symphonic choir, chamber
choir, FCCLA, volleyball (freshman
captain), praise band, scrapbooking,
baking and jogging. She will sing
"Homeward Bound" as her talent
presentation. Elise Vetanovetz is her junior sister.
Grace Underwood is
the daughter of Scott and Holly Underwood. She plans
to major in musical
education at the Ohio State University. Her
extracurricular activities
include church, voice lessons, musicals,
symphonic choir (section leader),
show choir (dance captain), Student
Council (president), painting, swim team
(varsity letter), lifeguard and
yearbook club. For her talent presentation,
she will sing "Taylor the
Latte Boy." Junior sister is Mindy
Bogardus.
Stacy Alderman, the daughter of Doug and Sue Alderman, is undecided
on
her college choice but she wants to study
forensic
psychology/criminology. Her extracurricular activities include
National
Honor Society, varsity basketball (scholar athlete, Teammate of
the
Year), cross country (Panther Award), youth fellowship,
International
Club (secretary), FCA (president, Outstanding Leadership
Award), Student
Council (treasurer), 4-H (president, camp counselor), Mock
Trial,
football homecoming court. She will sing "Somewhere Over the
Rainbow"
accompanied by her father as her talent presentation. Her junior
sister
is Allison Conklin.
Lori Distelhorst is the daughter of Gary and
Jenny Distelhorst. Her
career goal is to become an OB nurse, and she wants to
attend Anderson
University or Belmont University. Her activities include
National Honor
Society, show choir, hospital volunteer, church student
leadership,
mission trips, youth group, symphonic choir, musicals and mock
trial.
For her talent presentation she will sing "Come Down to Me" by
Saving
Jane. Her junior sister is Ashley Gonzales.
Stephanie Devine is the
daughter of Steve and Sue Devine. She hopes to
obtain a master's degree in
special education/communication disorders at
a four-year private college. Her
activities include youth group (student
leader) Mock Trial (outstanding
witness), National Honor Society
(secretary), show choir, praise band leader,
symphonic choir (section
leader), chamber choir, superior vocal solo ratings,
guitar accompanist
and musicals. She will sing "Danny Boy" and play the
guitar as her
talent presentation. Her junior sister is Breonna
Scott.
Morgan, the daughter of Brad and Amy Morgan, plans to attend
Belmont
University and major in vocal performance or music
education.
Extracurricular activities include youth group student leader,
National
Honor Society, Student Council (class secretary), show
choir
(outstanding performer), competition dance team, school
newspaper
(editor, OCC Excellence in Journalism Award), cheerleading, mock
trial
(outstanding witness), drama club, musicals, "Pass Me the
Mic,"
"Christmas Idol," "Monarch Idol," "Lip Sync" and "Battle of the
Bands"
winner. She will sing "God Bless America" as her talent
presentation.
Her junior sister is Rachel Craig.
Categories in which each
contestant will be evaluated include
scholastics (20 percent), interview (25
percent), talent (25 percent),
fitness (15 percent) and self-expression (15
percent). The program's
goal is to honor young women who excel in all the
areas and to encourage
them to continue on the path of excellence by
completing their college
educations and assuming roles of leadership in the
communities and
professions, thereby setting examples for other young women
who follow.
Tickets will be available at the door for $7. Those wishing to
sponsor a
scholarship may contact Kristin Gibson at 644-3957.
National
sponsors of America's Junior Miss include Coca-Cola, Tyson
Foods Inc.,
SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, the Riverview Plaza Hotel, the City
of Mobile and
Mobile County. National category sponsors include Mobile
Gas and Regions
Bank. Governmental support is furnished by the state of
Alabama. The 48th
annual America's Junior Miss National Finals will be
held in Mobile, Ala.,
in June.
Festifair to showcase work of area artists
Event will take place
Saturday
By CINDY BRAKE
Rain or shine, the 26th annual Festifair is set to
open Saturday at 9 a.m.
Sponsored by the Marysville Uptown Renewal Team,
the event will include
120 vendors selling arts, antiques and more.
"More"
includes the return of long-time vendors like Twylah and Norbert
Hoehn of
Lima and Twig Six, as well as newcomers, including Cub Scout
Pack 632 which
will be raising funds to purchase a bullet-proof vest for
the Marysville
Police Department's canine.
Seven-year-old Mathew Lenihan has been busy
making cutout cookies shaped
like dog bones and dog licenses that he will be
offering for sale. In
addition to offering a variety of baked goods, the
scouts, ages 7
through 9 years, will raffle off dog items such as food, a
bowl and
leash. Mathew's mother, Lisa, said the pack decided to help out
the
canine unit after summer day camp when Kahn and Marysville
Police
Officer Nist talked to the group. The vest is estimated to cost
between
$1,800 and $2,500.
Twylah Hoehn and her husband, Norbert, will be
returning to Marysville
with a variety of oak items. She said they first came
to Marysville
because their son, Chris, lives and works here.
"It's not a
job, it's a hobby," Mrs. Hoehn said, adding that her husband
"tinkers every
day" in his garage, no matter what the temperature is
outside. She adds that
she has lost most of her basement space to his hobby.
A brick mason by
profession, Mr. Hoehn is very talented with a lot of
patience, she said. Mrs.
Hoehn has helped paint seasonal items, although
recently she has been busy
caring for her 3 year-old grandson, who
happens to share the same birthday
with her.
The Hoehns will again bring hobby horses, shelves, lazy Susan's
and
seasonal items plus corn boards.
Foot scrubbies, Bob Carson's lawn
furniture and wife Miriam's concrete
leaves will also be available for
purchase.
Twig Six has planned a fun raffle this year of two gift baskets -
one
filled with Ohio State University memorabilia and another filled
with
University of Michigan items. The local community concert
organization
has even donated two tickets for the baskets. When asked which
basket
they wanted them in, the answer was OSU, of course. A list of all
the
items in each basket will be listed at the Festifair booth. After
the
Festifair, both baskets will move to the hospital gift shop and
the
winner selected the day before the big game, Nov. 17. All proceeds
plus
$1,000 will be donated to Memorial Hospital of Union
County.
Organizer Karen Page said she is also expecting the Marysville
High
School band boosters, Union County Autism Support Group, Lion's
Club,
Trinity, Historical Society, Senior Citizens and Farmer's Market.
In
addition to the Festifair activities that continue until 4 p.m.,
the
Marysville Division of Fire will be host its eighth annual open
house
from 9 a.m. to noon at 209 S. Main St. Activities include something
for
both young and old.
Kids can pretend to be a firefighter with a real
hose, helmet and coat.
Pictures will be taken and can be purchased. Free
blood pressure checks
will be offered, as well as derma-scan and diabetes
screening.
From 9 to 10 a.m., Kahn, the MPD canine officer and Officer Nist
will be
on hand. Union Rural Electric Cooperative will offer a show
called
"Flash and Bang!" at 10:30 a.m. From 10:45 a.m. to noon, Ronald
McDonald
will be on hand, as well as a display by the Medflight helicopter
and
ground transport. An auto extrication rescue demonstration begins
at 11:30 a.m.
Fire, EMS, sheriff and police vehicles will be on display,
along with
the safety house smoke crawl and safety demos. Fire
extinguisher
demonstrations are also planned.
N.L. council looks into sale of municipal building
By CORINNE BIX
North
Lewisburg Village Council voted to take the next step in
considering the
Northeast Champaign County Fire District's proposal to
buy the village
municipal building at fair market value.
The council voted on Tuesday night,
after an executive session, to
consider the proposal offered by the NEECFD at
last week's monthly fire
board meeting by authorizing Barry First, village
administrator, to
obtain an appraisal of the building.
First said he
expects the appraisal process to take between 30 to 60
days and hopes to have
the final numbers for council so that a decision
can be made by the end of
the year.
In addition, the council voted to pursue the possible purchase of
119
East St. when it goes up for auction on Sept. 19 at 5:30 p.m.
The
property sits adjacent to the municipal park and would be
incorporated
into the community greenspace.
Mayor Dick Willis opened last
night's meeting with a moment of silence
in remembrance of Dwight Thompson,
former council president, who was
killed in a tractor accident last week.
Thompson, 58, served the village
from 1986-2004.
Gary Silcott, village
engineer with R.D. Zande and Associates, reported
that things are moving slow
on the wastewater treatment plant project.
He said the project is stalled
waiting for Dayton Power and Light to
upgrade the electric. First suggested
that he arrange a meeting,
on-site, with DP&L to resolve the problem. He
asked that council
president, Steve Wilson, and Silcott also
attend.
Silcott also reported that there are still about 30 water meters
that
need to be installed. The water service on the remaining properties
is
located underneath the residential driveways or commercial parking
lots.
There are between three and five businesses that are affected. It
was
suggested that the water meters be located inside these homes
or
businesses to avoid the added cost of digging up the cement, asphalt
or
gravel driveways. A remote fixture can be attached to the outside
of
these properties so that the reading of the meters is accessible
like
the majority of the water meters, which are located outside.
Silcott
said the only problem that inside water meters pose is in the event
that
service needs to be performed, scheduling issues can
occur.
Construction on the bike path will begin this week near East Street.
The
village is considering using historic grant funding to relocate a
train
depot near the bike path. The village has considered moving the
train
depot from East Liberty. However logistically given the
dilapidated
state, the move may not be feasible. The village is also trying
to
locate the plans for the original train depot that stood by
Gregory
Street. First said he will find out if grant funding would pay for
the
reconstruction of a historic building. The original depot was razed
in
the late 1970s.
The next village council meeting will be Oct. 3 at 7
p.m.
In other business:
. Sheriff's report for August - 11 traffic
citations, seven warnings
issued for traffic violations, 15 incident reports,
24 cases of
assistance give to citizens, 11 arrests made, two civil and
criminal
papers served, 83 follow-up investigations, two open doors,
four
instances of juvenile contact, one civic activity completed and one
auto
accident report taken.
. An informational session is planned for
Sept. 11 on emergency
preparedness, specifically pandemic flu planning. The
county will also
be conducting mass flu immunizations with a tentative date
of Oct. 25.
. Skate Park committee meeting is Sept. 20 at 7 p.m.
.
Champaign County Historical Society recognized the village for
its
participation in obtaining a historical marker for the Friends
Church
outside of the village public library.
Judge sentences
offender to four years
From J-T staff reports:
Union County Common Pleas
Judge Richard Parrott didn't follow a
sentencing recommendation Tuesday for a
Union County farmer who had
entered a guilty plea to a sex offense.
The
recommendation, submitted by Union County Prosecutor David W.
Phillips and
defendant's attorney Gregory K. Lind, would have meant that
Joseph M. Morgan
of Raymond could have avoided serving any time in
prison. However, after
listening to a statement by Morgan and reviewing
reports, Parrott sentenced
Morgan to four years in prison and a $5,000
fine. He also classified Morgan
as a sexually-oriented offender.
Morgan entered a guilty plea Aug. 14 to one
count of gross sexual
imposition, a third-degree felony which carries a
maximum possible
sentence of five years in prison and $10,000 fine. The
charge stems from
Morgan's actions between Nov. 1, 2001 through Dec.31, 2002
involving a
child under the age of 13 years.
The state dismissed two
counts of gross sexual imposition, both fourth degree felony.
The
recommendation was to place the defendant on community control for
five years
and if he violated the community control, the defendant would
be sentenced to
prison for three years.
Prior to sentencing, Morgan said he was truly sorry
and apologized "for
the mess I've made... I will never repeat this mistake."
He said he had
already started an accredited program for sex offenders.
He
told the court he owns a 587 acre farm in Union County. His attorney
said
Morgan's employer, the Marion County Soil and Water Conservation
District, is
prepared to continue his employment. He added that this was
the first time
his client had ever been charged with a criminal offense.
Parrott asked
the victim's parents if they wanted to make any statements
prior to
sentencing.
Quoting Red Skelton, the victim's father said, "We're put here to
build
and not destroy." He added that Morgan had "done some destruction"
and
hoped that he would now get treatment and begin to build. The
victim's
mother had nothing to add.
Jerome Township continues to
struggle with Route 33 Accord
By CINDY BRAKE
The Jerome Township Board of
Trustees continue to raise questions and
concerns about a much-talked about
Route 33 Corridor Accord.
During Tuesday's regular meeting, trustee Andrew
Thomas said a "few
things ... need addressed" in an Accord draft prepared by
the LUC
Planning Commission. Trustee Robert Merkle concurred. Both agreed
legal
counsel needs to review the document. Trustee Ron Rhodes was
not present.
Thomas explained to those present that the Route 33 Accord is
a group of
government officials who are interested in directing development
along
U.S. Route 33 between Dublin and Marysville. Half of the area
originally
discussed is in Jerome Township. This has caused Jerome's
elected
officials some concern that officials from other jurisdictions
would
determine their community's fate.
Other members of the Accord
include the Union County Commissioners,
Marysville and Dublin mayors and
councils, trustees from Washington
Township in Franklin County and Millcreek
and Dover townships in Union
County, as well as Jerome Township. Allen and
Darby Township officials
have also attended planning meetings, as well as
elected officials from
the village of Plain City.
"There are valid reasons
to work with the Accord. There are valid
reasons for Jerome Township to
determine its own destiny," Merkle said.
First on Thomas's list of concerns
was the question of LUC as a member
in the Accord, even though it is offering
no financial contribution.
Merkle agreed that he thought LUC's function was
to be a facilitator. He
added that LUC has also been responsible for
preparing and distributing
minutes and agendas, both of which have been
arriving just before the
next meeting. He suggested that LUC, which serves 43
townships, may have
too much of a work load to handle the administrative
duties properly.
Thomas then asked for a definition of "orderly, equitable
process" and
"inkind services." Phrases that both appear in the
draft.
"This needs to be ironed out," Thomas said.
Then there is the
question of money.
The draft lists $250,000 as needed to being the planning
process. Thomas
asked how this number was derived, who decided the percentage
each
entity was responsible for and when the money is due.
Merkle then
asked whether Jerome Township should complete their
comprehensive plan.
In
other business:
. Merkle said the township can not use the existing wiring
for the pond
aerator and must bring it up to code.
. Resident Freeman May
questioned two bills - $38 for two electronic
sensor keys and $3,256 for
legal counsel.
Fire Chief Scott Skeldon said the keys were purchased at cost
and the
department always purchases two additional keys for new
vehicles.
Merkle said the legal fees were for numerous meetings with
various
individuals. "All the money was well spent," Merkle said. "I call it
up
front money" that will protect the township and guarantee
quality
development.
. May also voiced concern about township officials
meeting in small
groups with the city of Marysville. He said this is one way
of keeping
meeting closed. Merkle and Thomas assured him that no decisions
are made
in small groups. May also questioned why planning and zoning
coordinator
Kathleen Crowley, who is paid $22 an hour, is attending the
meetings.
. Clerk Robert Caldwell said the township had received $290,000
in
estate taxes and $555,000 for the second half real estate taxes.
.Fire
Chief Skeldon said the department is receiving an $8,000 state
grant; culvert
replacement in front of the station will be Sept. 14-15;
and he will attend
the International Chiefs Conference Sept. 13-16. The
department recently
hosted a Box 15 meeting; is working with other
agencies in planning for a
pandemic flu by coordinating joint purchases
for protective equipment;
assisted in two running marathons; and
participated in a mocktail event.
OSP focused on reducing accidents, fatalities
From J-T staff reports:
As
the fall season is fast approaching, The Marysville Post of the Ohio
State
Highway Patrol would like to remind drivers of the importance of
traffic
safety and the role they have in helping keep roadways as safe
as
possible.
Reportedly more than 3,200 people die a day, worldwide due to
traffic
crashes. Many are not aware that traffic crashes are the leading
cause
of death for those between the ages of 10 and 30.
"On average, one
person is killed every 6.7 hours in our state due to
traffic crashes which
claimed 1,326 lives in 2005," Lt. Rick Zwayer
said. "We are asking you to
help us by obeying all traffic laws, always
wear your safety belt and
encourage others to do the same."
Zwayer reported that troopers throughout
the state and locally have been
dedicated to a mission of reducing injuries
and fatalities that result
from auto crashes.
"Currently, we are seeing a
significant reduction in fatalities
statewide. But all too frequently, our
troopers, local law enforcement,
and medics still see first hand the death
and severe injury caused by
drivers involved in preventable crashes. These
crashes are often the
result of seemingly minor violations of traffic law,
driver
distractions, and carelessness. Many of the most serious
crashes
involve the use of alcohol or drugs, speeds over the limit,
aggressive
driving, and drivers, passengers and children not wearing safety
belts
or restraints," Zwayer said.
Troopers will be strictly enforcing
safety belt laws, crash causing
traffic violations and assisting you as you
travel, he said. They should
also be a reminder that safety should be the
first priority when
driving.
"This is the time of year when our children
are returning to school and
some families are finishing their summer by
traveling during the Labor
Day holiday," Zwayer said. "Please plan for extra
drive time during the
morning and evening commutes as there will again be
school buses
stopping on some of our busiest routes. For those parents of
newly
licensed teen drivers, we encourage you to talk to your young
driver
frequently and often about safe driving habits including the use
of
safety belts, driving safe speeds, and limiting distractions."
For
residents wishing to report erratic or aggressive drivers, or who
need
non-emergency assistance, call the Patrol's toll free number
at
877-7PATROL.
For programs and additional information, visit the
Patrol's Web site at
www.statepatrol.ohio.gov.
4-H advisor sentenced for child molestation
From J-T staff reports:
A
Plain City man will spend the next two years in prison, after using
his role
training horses with children to sexually touch a juvenile Ostrander
girl.
David Shoaf, 58, of 13017 Adams Road, pleaded guilty and was
sentenced
for one third-degree felony gross sexual imposition charge in lieu
of
going through a grand jury trial. He faced a potential of five years
in prison.
Union County Prosecutor David Phillips said his office first
became
aware of Shoaf's crimes in April. As part of a Plain City 4-H
program,
called the Pleasant Valley Horsemen, Shoaf worked with many
children.
"Over time he got to know several young girls," Phillips
explained.
Beginning in 2001, he said, Shoaf ended up kissing and fondling a
girl
in the program who was between the ages of 11 and 13 years old at
the
time. The behavior lasted over a four-year period. It began with
hugs
and kisses, then ended with sexual touching and graphic discussions
with
the young girl about his sex life with his wife.
"That's as far as he
really went," Phillips said. "Ultimately (the
victim) said 'Get off
me.'"
The crimes apparently happened mostly within Union County, he said,
but
also may have occurred in Delaware County.
Phillips said that because
the victim was unable to specifically
pinpoint the dates for each instance of
sexual imposition, Shoaf was
only charged with one count.
He said law
enforcement finally became involved when the victim
reportedly suffered
depression in school and sought counseling. In April
the girl ended up
telling Delaware County Children's Services counselors
about Shoaf, who then
notified the Union County Sheriff's Office.
Union County Sheriff's Detective
Jeff Stiers reportedly organized what
is called a "controlled call," in which
the girl telephoned Shoaf, with
detectives listening. During the conversation
Shoaf admitted to the crimes.
Phillips said Shoaf was having similar
sexual contact with two
additional victims. Because they were older at the
time, no charges were filed.
In court Thursday for his sentencing, Shoaf
reportedly told Union County
Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Parrott how
sorry he was for committing
the crimes. He said he eventually lost his wife,
his home and the
respect of the community. He also apologized to his son, who
had taken
him in to live in Hilliard.
After his release from prison, Shoaf
will be required to register as a
sexually oriented offender.
County
residents trust Project Lifesaver
By CINDY BRAKE
Jennifer and Lee Winn
don't worry as much anymore. And neither does
Bobbie Combs.
All have a
loved one that is now part of Project Lifesaver.
Project Lifesaver uses
wristband transmitters to locate wandering and
lost adults and children. Each
individual is given a three digit
frequency. Union County joined the national
program earlier this year
and is offering the free service to any Union
County resident.
"It gives us more peace of mind," Mr. Winn said. The Winns'
6-year-old
son Chase has been diagnosed with autism.
Mrs. Combs
agrees.
"I'm just thankful for it. It does give you more peace of mind,"
said
Mrs. Combs. Mrs. Combs' 87-year-old husband, James, has been
diagnosed
with Alzheimer's Disease.
Both James and Chase wear a plastic
gray band with a battery-operated transmitter.
"He likes to take walks
around the block," Mrs. Combs said, especially
during the evenings.
Her
greatest fear is that he would wander off and not know that he is
lost or how
to get home. Living in the small village of Milford Center
and near family
has helped her keep track of James so far. Her son also
installed alarms on
the house doors to let her know if he walks out of
the house. However, during
a grocery shopping trip he promised to sit on
a bench while she ran to get
some milk. When she returned minutes later,
Mrs. Combs found him wandering in
the parking lot.
Since starting Project Lifesaver, Mrs. Combs has called the
Union County
Sheriff's Office once. Fortunately, she located James before
the
Lifesaver team was activated. The team includes seven trained
deputies,
the canine unit and if additional assistance is needed, the
Marion
County Sheriff's Department will provide a helicopter. All fire
and
police departments are also available to provide assistance.
Deputy
Zacharias visits each Project Lifesaver client once a month to
change
the battery. Family members test the batteries daily.
"Quickness is
the key," said Deputy Zacharias.
Mr. Combs said the plastic band he wears on
his wrist is just like a
watch and doesn't bother him.
Chase Winn,
however, did not like the band on his wrist. Very sensitive
to touch, he
slipped the first one off in minutes and then chewed a
second off. When a
third was put on very tightly he asked for scissors.
That was when Deputy
Zacharias and Chase's mom thought about putting it
on his ankle. That seems
acceptable to him.
Mrs. Winn said statistics show that autistic children tend
to wander off
and can get hurt. Their biggest fear is that Chase might wander
off and
couldn't call for help or even know he needs help. She said he lacks
a
fear of danger.
She said Chase once wandered away from home after
getting through an
unlocked gate. He was found in the neighbor's pasture and
when his
parents ran after him, he continued to run. Before Project
Lifesaver,
the Winns had installed alarms and locks on their doors and fenced
in
their back yard. They had even purchased a much weaker monitor than
the
one he now wears.
As the Winns planned a trip to New York recently,
Deputy Zacharias
explained that if Chase would disappear the program could be
immediately activated.
"I feel he is more safe if he would get lost," Mrs.
Winn said.
Train, truck crash kills on
By RYAN HORNS
A
Johnstown man was killed Thursday afternoon after the vehicle he was
driving
was struck by a train at a little known Marysville crossing on
Walnut
Street.
Marysville Police reported this morning that at approximately 2:12
p.m.
Curtis Romans, 69, died after he drove a 1991 Ford truck southbound
onto
the north Walnut Street railroad crossing and was struck by a CSX
train.
Police said no other injuries were reported, contrary to some
media
speculation that Romans' wife was inside the truck at the time of
the collision.
Police reported the train sustained slight damage. It was
reportedly
heading through Marysville on a local route, carrying 10 cars of
general
freight. No other railroad crossings were affected in the
city.
Police said this morning the crash remains under investigation.
They
also described the turn of events that led up to the fatal crash.
Many
witnesses have reported to police that Romans may not have noticed
the
train was coming.
Marysville Police detective Don McGlenn said Romans
arrived in
Marysville just before 10 a.m. He had driven to Marysville with
his wife
and brother-in-law for the sole purpose of going to an auction held
by
Marysville Masonry.
"He had no ties to the area," McGlenn said.
He
said Romans purchased the truck during the auction. He had been
bidding on
the truck against another man, until the other man gave up
and let Romans
have it.
At that point, McGlenn said Romans got into the truck and began
driving
off, with his wife and brother-in-law following behind in the car
that
brought them to Marysville.
"He had an auction number in his pocket,"
detective Chad Seeberg said.
Police reported that the man who almost bought
the truck said he watched
Romans pull away as he heard a train coming down
the tracks. He told
police that Romans "crawled" the truck over the tracks.
He saw Romans
was not stopping. When he started yelling, he knew the sound
was buried
by the loud horn.
McGlenn said all the reports from witnesses
reveal that the train
conductor was sounding the horn the entire way through
town, so it
wasn't a case of going through unnoticed. As far as why Romans
did not
hear the train or the people yelling, officers still have no
answers.
"I don't know if it was because it was a new vehicle or what,"
McGlenn said.
Marysville Police Chief Floyd Golden provided information
this morning
from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) Web site,
which
shows photos and information on the crossing. The information on the
Web
site and reports from Marysville city engineer Phil Roush, explain
that
the crossing is private and for commercial purposes. It is owned by
CSX
and has a crossing angle of 60 to 90 degrees. It has the
standard
crossbucks sign, although on the scene the sign appears damaged and
has
fallen slightly over to one side. There are no crossing arms or
warning
lights. The actual crossing had also recently been repaired with
fresh asphalt.
On the scene after the accident, law enforcement
investigators and
medical officials taped off the area where the collision
occurred.
Marysville Police Department, Union County Sheriff's Office,
Marysville
Fire Department, Union County prosecutor David Phillips and Union
County
Coroner Dr. David Applegate were on hand.
While Marysville
residents debate the safety of the East Fifth Street
railroad crossing, the
safety of the Walnut Street crossing has not been
discussed in recent public
forums.
According to PUCO, Ohio has the fourth largest rail traffic in
the
country. Marysville reportedly has an estimated one train
passing
through town per hour, with the majority going through during the
night.
No information was available before press time on the record of
crashes
listed at the Walnut Street CSX crossing in its
history.
New MRDD superintendent settling in
By CINDY BRAKE
Kim
Miller is the new superintendent of the Union County Board of
Mental
Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.
The experienced
professional and Union County resident officially joined
the board July 17
with plans of better integrating the local program
into the community.
"We
need to be a better partner with the community ... We don't exist
in
isolation ... We need to build those bridges, create those
relationships
," Miller said during a recent interview with the
Journal-Tribune. "We
embrace the involvement of others."
Examples of
better partnerships include public schools, mental health
agencies and
council on aging as possible places to start. He hopes to
take a closer look
at where and when services can be blended to avoid a
duplication of services.
Miller also wants to take a closer look at how
to better transition children
into the public school system and from the
public school system into adult
programs.
"We can't plan in isolation ... it is not effective or
efficient," Miller said.
His first step has been to meet community leaders
and begin asking
questions for a strategic plan.
His goal is to create a
program that everyone takes ownership of.
"This needs to be the community's
program ... what is best for families
with disabilities," Miller said.
An
original work of art hangs near his desk as a reminder of the
possibilities
for all MRDD consumers. The colorful painting is by Joseph
A. Greene, 47, of
Lancaster, who is an active artist working in Blue
Shoe Arts. He has been
drawing cartoons since he was 4 years old and
attended the Ohio School for
the Deaf for 10 years, winning first place
nine of those years - the 10th
year he won second.
Miller's painting was a gift and portrays his interest in
golfing along
with Greene's quirky perspective.
An author and public
speaker, Miller most recently was a consultant with
the Ohio Association of
County Boards of MRDD. He served as
superintendent of the Hardin County Board
of MRDD from 1984 to 1993 and
has also worked as a residential supervisor in
Wood County and physical
development specialist in Wood and Ottawa counties,
director of Quality
Improvement for ViaQuest, an associate director for
Champaign
Residential Services and residential director in Hancock
County.
Miller has both a bachelor and master degrees from Bowling Green
State University.
Miller's family includes his four children - Megan,
Brian, Alex and Nick.
Marysville Journal Tribune
copyright©2006
All rights reserved
