Fairbanks Local School District will hold a drivethrough graduation with hopes of an in-person celebration in the future. “In the short term, we want to continue to provide recognition for the work and the gratitude that we have to the class of 2020,” Superintendent Adham Schirg said. “And then as we move forward together, we will find a way to bring this group together to celebrate all of your collective and individual accomplishments.” The superintendent said he appreciated the patience, input and feedback of students, families and the community. “The whole process has been a very difficult one for so…
Author: Mac Cordell
Had earlier left mental health facility A Mansfield man left a local mental health facility and could be heading to prison. The Union County Grand Jury has indicted Daniel J. Adkins, charging him with two counts of breaking and entering, two counts of receiving stolen property and one count each of theft, vandalism and grand theft of a motor vehicle. Adkins has a lengthy court record in Richland County with multiple convictions for breaking and entering, theft, receiving stolen property, criminal mischief and drug related charges. Union County Prosecutor Dave Phillips said Adkins was transferred from a jail in Richland…
Jonathan Alder High School will host a virtual graduation ceremony and drive-through diploma pick-up to honor the Class of 2020. Officials had delayed graduation and end-of-the-school-year discussions in hopes to have a more traditional graduation celebration. Last week, Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Education released state guidance for graduations which allows for virtual ceremonies and drive-through diploma pick-ups. “The Madison County Health Department has made it clear that we absolutely must adhere to these guidelines,” according to information from the district. Officials decided to cancel the traditional ceremony and began planning the virtual ceremony and the drive through diploma pick-up, “after…
Marysville City Council spent much of Monday night’s work session discussing the 2021 budget. As part of the discussion, Council Member Aaron Carpenter said he wanted to gauge the support for a commuter tax credit. Currently, a Marysville resident who works in another community pays income tax in both the city where the income is generated and also 1.5% in Marysville where they live. Many communities extend commuters a tax credit to lighten the tax burden on their resident who work in another community. Finance Director Brad Lutz said a 0.25% credit would cost the city about $640,000 annually. Carpenter…
Union County small businesses could be getting some help soon. The Union County Community Improvement Corp. will meet today and is expected to approve a small business grant program for local businesses. Economic Development Director Eric Phillips said the 3R Small Business Grant Program (3R) was developed to provide financial aid to small businesses that sustained economic loss because of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated closures. The goal is to provide one-time grants, up to $5,000, to Union County businesses with between three and 30 employees. Phillips said these businesses are “the backbone of our county, the backbone of our…
Honda has transformed a portion of the company’s Technical Development Center to manufacture parts for ventilators to help those suffering with COVID-19. Above, an associate works on assembling a compressor at the Technical Development Center in Marysville. The compressor will go into ventilator. (Photo submitted) Local companies are using local associates and local ideas to help with a world-wide problem. Honda has begun producing and delivering critical components for the production of ventilators. ScottsMiracle-Gro is also involved in a number of initiatives to help amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “We literally took our R&D Formulation Barn and turned it into a…
Union County officials are expecting that COVID-19 precautions will last at least through the end of May. County officials are working through a variety of measures to keep employees and the public safe when they come into county office buildings. Human Resources Manager Ginger Yonak said “safety of our employees, obviously is our primary concern.” “The goal is that no outbreak would be blamed on county business and cramming people into the building,” County Administrator Tim Hansley said. This morning Yonak presented “Safe Work Practice Guidance” to the commissioners. She said she hopes the information will help provide information for…
Robinson, Burke appear to have won races for commissioner Local election officials are stressing that with more than 1,160 potential votes to be counted, election results will not be official for nearly weeks. Brandon Clay, director of the Union County Board of Elections, said the office has counted 9,859 ballots. He said the office has 234 uncounted provisional ballots. He also said there are 929 ballots mailed to voters that have not been returned or are missing information and need completed before they can be counted. “Those are all votes that potentially could come back,” Clay said. “Obviously, not all…
Marysville City Council members are mixed in their support or opposition to a pair of proposed fee increases for residents wanting to renew their vehicle registration each year. Legislation introduced at Monday’s city council meeting would impose a $5 increase on registration tags beginning in 2021 and an additional $5 increase to becoming effective in 2022. The 2021 fee increase would need filed with the state before July 1. According to the Ohio Department of Motor Vehicles, for December, Marysville has 23,078 registered vehicles. City officials said that based on those numbers, if the city raised the license fee by…
Bill holiday unlikely Marysville officials are saying that while they will not discontinue service to any water customer during the current health and economic crisis, they will also not offer customers a price break for water and sewer use. At a recent finance committee meeting, the group discussed the “Utility Bill Holiday” passed by the City of Westerville. In March, Westerville announced it would provide water and sewer service free of charge for that month. On the bill, due April 15, residents and businesses had a $0 balance for March service. City Finance Director Brad Lutz said he would not…
If live meetings are not on horizon, officials could table measure Marysville City Council is expected to consider increasing the fee for residents to register their vehicles. In December, the city’s finance committee began exploring the option of adding a pair of $5 fees to be paid annually on license plate registrations. City officials have discussed spacing the increases over two years — a single $5 increase for 2021 with the second increase becoming effective in 2022. To become effective for 2021, however, the increase would need approved before July 1, meaning council needs to begin the process soon. Mayor…
Local election officials are stressing that time is running out for residents to vote in Ohio’s 2020 Primary Election. Tina LaRoche with the Union County Board of Elections stressed that there “is no in person voting for this election.” Additionally, there is no longer an option for voters to cast a ballot at the board of elections office. The only way to vote is absentee. Board of Elections officials said they want to remind voters that absentee ballots must be postmarked by Monday. LaRoche said this morning that it “seems like we have a lot of outstanding ballots still.” To…
Those of you who know me, know I am a sports fan. I have used this column to talk about running, hockey, baseball, football, the Olympics, basketball, etc. I even suggested a regular boxing column to Sports Editor Tim Miller, but he said I was the only one who cares about the sweet science anymore. So, the shutdown has been difficult. We’ve missed out on March Madness and Opening Day. The Olympics have been postponed as has been the Boston Marathon and the Memorial Tournament. The Stanley Cup tournament and NBA Playoff is anyone’s guess. The XFL is gone for…
While Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has said that beginning May 1, some businesses will be able to reopen and life can begin to slowly get back to normal, Marysville city officials say it is not that simple. “We are very interested in listening to the governor and bringing ourselves back, but doing it in a methodical manner that makes sense,” said City Manager Terry Emery. He said the city has already made the decision to close parks and other facilities to mass gatherings through at least the end of May. “We made that decision a couple weeks ago,” Emery said.…
Grand jury indictments A Marysville man could be facing more than 240 years in prison after allegedly taking pictures of and digitally manipulating pictures of a child. The Union County Grand Jury has indicted Paul E. Oliver, 36, of 121 Northcrest Dr., Marysville, charging him with 17 counts of illegal use of a minor or impaired person in nudity-oriented material or performance, 13 counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor or impair person and one count of voyeurism. Local officials became aware of Oliver in March when an agent with the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force contacted…