Despite the ink and paper, few things in the newspaper are black and white. They are largely gray. And in this gray is the toil of reporters and editors across this country. It is one of the aspects I most hate about the business. To me, the gray is comprised of the minutiae within stories; the factors that make one situation slightly different from another, the things that make one article hit the front page while another isn’t covered at all. The details in the gray area bring a headline to one crime while another falls into the police beat…
Author: Chad Williamson
When people are arguing, the loudest statement often comes from the person who doesn’t open their mouth. For example, imagine in the Ukraine/Russia situation if Germany was staying completely silent. People would be left to wonder about the motivation. Could it mean the country would not stand with other nations in defense of Ukraine? Had it formed a clandestine alliance? I mention this because I am bewildered by the fact that not a single representative of any school district spoke at Tuesday’s solar farm meeting called by the county commissioners. The session was called so stakeholders could give input on…
North Lewisburg Village Council met in special session Tuesday night to approve its next village administrator. The board voted 5-0 to approve North Lewisburg Realtor Todd Freyhof to the position. Freyhof was recommended for the post by a committee comprised of Mayor Cheryl Hollingsworth, council members Ted Murphy and Gwen Beech and former North Lewisburg Mayor Max Coates. In January, 15-year village administrator Andy Yoder announced that he would be retiring in March. Yoder has worked for the village in some capacity for 32 years. Six individuals announced interest in the position and were interviewed by he committee. “Todd has…
The Marysville Board of Education is being forced to look into the sun. While solar farms in Union County have generated a great deal of discussion in the North Union School District, Marysville decision makers have been largely quiet on the issue. Two large solar farms are planned for the northern district, but one, the Cadence Solar Farm, will also stretch into Marysville’s district and a second could be on the way. The planned operation would pump at least $500,000 annually into the Marysville district coffers. “I would like for people to be very thoughtful about this process,” board member…
The Village of North Lewisburg has received six applications from individuals interested in filling its administrator position. Three of the individuals currently serve the village, including a council member who has resigned his position to apply for the job. In January, 15-year Village Administrator Andy Yoder announced that he would be retiring in March. Yoder has worked for the village in some capacity for 32 years. Among the candidates to replace Yoder are current village Fiscal Officer Jennifer McCombs, current Water and Sewer Superintendent Trevor Clark, and village Council member John Collier. North Lewisburg Mayor Cheryl Hollingsworth announced at a…
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Follow www.marysvillejt.com for more information as the story develops. What is being called a hazmat incident at the Hampton Inn in Marysville Saturday has resulted in at least nine people being transported to area hospitals. According to Marysville Police Chief Tony Brooks, dispatchers received a report at 5:26 p.m. of an unresponsive 2-year-old girl in the pool area of the hotel. Several additional calls of people in distress in the pool area quickly followed. Brooks said six patients, all in critical condition, were transported to Memorial Hospital. Two patients in stable condition and another…
It may not feel like it, but central Ohio may have avoided the worst of the omicron surge. At a recent board of trustees meeting, Memorial Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jason Russell said that when Cleveland hospitals were swamped by omicron patients early this month, central Ohio hospitals braced for the worst. He said traditionally when a surge crosses into Ohio it takes about two weeks for the center of the state to be impacted. With that in mind, Memorial officials began to plan for increased patient volumes. But that two-week buffer would have ended last week and Memorial…
The Marysville School District is making plans to handle a surge, but this growing problem involves correspondence rather than COVID. While the district is dealing with growing impacts created by rising community virus numbers, Marysville Board of Education members were told Thursday night that parents are feeling overwhelmed. “The feeling of information overload was very real,” district Superintendent Diane Allen said. Much the information on the issue is gleaned from the responses of members of the district’s COVID advisory team. Chief Academic Officer Ashley Thompson said responses from the group indicated that parents aren’t looking at district correspondence closely anymore…
North Lewisburg Village Administrator Andy Yoder addresses members of council at Tuesday night’s meeting. Yoder will be retiring from his position in March. He has worked for the village for 32 years, the last 15 as administrator. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson) — Moving from behind a broom to behind a desk in the same organization is a long road. Hired as a street sweeper by North Lewisburg 32 years ago, current Village Administrator Andy Yoder never intended to enter a career in public service. Now planning his retirement from the village in March, service to the village is all…
The graphic above shows the projected financial picture of the Marysville School District over the next four years. The red line projects the increasing expenses of the district while the blue line shows the diminishing revenue. Where the two lines cross represents the point at which revenue does not cover expenses and the district must dip into cash reserves to make up the difference. The green line represents those carryover funds which are projected to be depleted by 2026. (Graphic submitted) Despite kicking the tires on the idea of an income tax levy, it appears the Marysville School District will…
Pictured above is the ROSA robotic knee replacement assistant which Memorial Hospital will be purchasing. Along with assisting with the surgery, the robot allows surgeons to plan out procedures more accurately by offering 3D imaging of the knee, shown below. (Photos submitted) In the future, surgeons performing knee replacements at Memorial Hospital will be assisted by a robotic counterpart. Memorial’s Board of Trustees learned Thursday night that the hospital will be purchasing a ROSA knee system from Zimmer Biomet. The ROSA, short for robotic surgical assistant, assists the surgeon in planning and measuring for the procedure. It offers 3D bone…
North Lewsiburg’s 2022 is largely unchanged from the previous year, with the exception of an $150,000 infusion from of American Recovery Act funds. Village Administrator Andy Yoder presented the budget to council Tuesday night and it was approved 4-0, with members John Collier and Matt Warner absent. The budget estimates revenue of $1.38 million next year and expenses of nearly $1.4 million. The village will also bring $1.58 million into 2022 from carryover funds and investment money. Yoder explained that the American Recovery Act funds are earmarked for expenses in the water and sewer departments. Yoder said the nature of…
Hope Center Executive Director Becky Bolt addresses the Marysville Board of Education during a meeting at Bunsold Middle School Thursday. The Hope Center may be forced out of its current Chestnut Street location as the district prepares to repurpose the former elementary school into administrative offices. The former home of the administration would then be renovated into classroom space for Edgewood Elementary School. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson) An enrollment study that provided welcome news for the Marysville School District and local taxpayers appears to have also left the Hope Center looking for a new home. It was reported at…
It’s pretty amazing how some songs put a timestamp on your life. For me there are a few songs from when my daughter was young that elicit certain memories, but I think that is pretty normal. There is an emotional connection to those tunes that burns them into my heart. I’ve talked about that in a previous column. But some songs take me back to a time in my life that wasn’t particularly memorable for any reason. Just snapshots in time where the song itself is really the central figure. Some of the hazier connections to songs go all the…
A victim of abuse at home as a teenager, Jermaine Ferguson said he found comfort around teachers within the walls of Marysville schools. “The school was a place of safety and refuge for me,” Ferguson said. As Marysville’s newest school board member, Ferguson said he wants all local students to experience that feeling of security in the classroom. By a 4-0 vote Monday afternoon, Ferguson was tapped to fill the Marysville School Board seat recently vacated by Amy Powers. “I believe we are all responsible for how we build our community,” Ferguson said. Existing members said Ferguson’s interview revealed characteristics…