The Rev. Bonnie Frost of the Unionville Center United Methodist Church addresses the congregation at the organization’s anniversary event on Sunday. The church celebrated 200 years since its founding in 1820, an event that was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Churchgoers gathered in the current building, which was built in 1895. (Journal-Tribune photo by Michael Williamson) —
Author: Michael Williamson
Though he signed a tax document requested by Jerome Township, Union County Treasurer Andrew Smarra also asked the Ohio Tax Commissioner to deny it. In a letter sent to the state official late last month, Smarra requested the denial of the application for a number of reasons, most notably that he said the application is “illegal.” The tax form, or DTE 24 form, is an application to capture tax revenue for infrastructure from the sale of the FedEx parcel on Industrial Parkway for $73 million. That area is under a tax increment financing (TIF) agreement from the township and the…
The question of how to handle wild or feral animals on a resident’s property received some legal clarity this week. At the regular Richwood Village Council meeting Monday night, officials heard from a resident about issues with feral cats and other animals on the west side of town. Don Tumeo, of West Bomford Street, said the animals are creating issues such as damaging his personal property and he wanted the village to help clarify what residents are allowed to do about it. He said he has tried trapping the animals but was told he wasn’t allowed to do that. “The…
Jonathan Alder approved a new tax agreement with Jerome Township, but not before board members offered pointed words to county and township officials. The 4-1 decision was made by the district’s board of education after several public comments from representatives of each government entity arguing one last time for support. The board’s votes at the regular meeting Monday approved a new, 30-year, non-school tax increment financing (TIF) agreement and amendments to two existing 10-year, 75% TIFs that were put in place by the township. The TIFs were put over sections of the innovation district west of the Dublin Green developments…
Tolles Career and Technical Center is moving forward with plans to update and expand its campus. Recently, the board of education voted to approve the master facilities plan that would see more than $65 million in improvements over the next several years to the building on U.S. 42, south of Plain City. Tolles is working with Fanning Howey, an architectural firm out of Dublin on designs for the upgrades, which will include a combination of renovations and additions. It is also partnering with Ruscilli Construction to operate as the construction manager. Superintendent Todd Hoadley said the need for upgrades comes…
After a legal filing against him, Union County Treasurer Andrew Smarra has signed a tax form requested by Jerome Township. The action, filed in the Ohio Supreme Court in May by Jerome, stated that Smarra was withholding the signing of a Department of Taxation document that would allow the township access to tax increment financing (TIF) funds for public infrastructure needs. Jerome Trustee Chair Wezlynn Davis said she is glad to see the document finally get signed. “Although the treasurer did not sign the required form until the last day in the last hour of the requested 30-day extension to…
Driver testing could be returning to Union County but the question of who will provide that service has yet to be determined. At a recent county commissioners meeting, the board heard from two groups interested in being the service provider, though by the meeting’s end, no decision was made. The county offered the service previously but stopped about five years ago citing a lack of local participation with the program. The first presentation was from Clerk of Courts Danielle Sullivan who oversees the courthouse, legal offices and title offices. Carolyn Noland, the administrative officer with the Ohio Department of Public…
Two Richwood residents were among this year’s 14 seniors being added to the Hall of Fame. Bob and Jeannie Hildreth are known in Union County for their positive mindset, giving spirits and dedication to helping others. They strive to help any older adult they can. The Hildreths’ commitment to their community is immense, and this is reflected in their frequent volunteer efforts on a weekly or monthly basis with the following organizations and programs: Commodity Box Day and Personal Needs Pantry, Richwood Civic Center and Richwood Emergency and Assistance Program (REAP). As regular volunteers for Commodity Box, a program that…
Next month, the new film, Oppenheimer, will be released to theaters and it has me thinking something I don’t think often these days: I’m looking forward to going to the movies. As a movie fan, that’s a strange thing to say. I used to love going to the theater and would often look forward to seeing new releases. That just isn’t the case lately. I recently did a check of my local AMC Theater and saw half a dozen or more movies with bland, yet colorful posters with groups of people standing in formation, collectively beckoning you to sit through…
Richwood Opera House Committee members had more questions than answers following the presentation of the recent feasibility study results. After months of waiting on the project, the final results didn’t sit well with some committee members or Mayor Scott Jerew, who said he expected more information and guidance from the study. “This is nothing what I expected out of the feasibility study. Not at all,” he told consultant Michael Hurwitz, who conducted the study. “You brought us stuff to take care of an opera house. There’s nothing in here of what it’s going to take to get that building open.”…
Fairbanks and Darby Township officials are partnering to add another tornado siren to the area. The district’s board of education approved a donation Monday that would accept more than $30,000 for the project, which would have a new siren installed on the Fairbanks campus. Superintendent Adham Schirg said conversations with the township and the Union County Emergency Management Agency identified areas where citizens might not have access to those warnings. “It was identified that this placement here could really cover a larger majority of the township,” he said. “As that has evolved, the funds (the township) received from the federal…
Changes could be coming to Union County’s economic development plan. Eric Phillips, the county’s economic development director, said that his office is looking to update some of the information associated with the area’s Economic Development Incentive Policy (EDIP). Phillips told the county commissioners Wednesday that although he disagrees with some of the comments recently made publically, his office is looking at ways to update the document. “There has been a lot of discussion about the Economic Development Incentive Policy. I still think the document is useful and I disagree with some of the comments being made in the public but…
North Union officials said student behavior was among the top things the district worked to improve in the 2022-23 school year. Monday’s regular school board meeting featured a read-through of the district’s annual report and Superintendent Rich Baird said those areas, as well as others, improved this year, but there is still work to be done. He said that numbers tended to be higher the previous years and added much of that could be attributed to students adjusting to the COVID interruptions. “At every building, in one way or another, we were working on this, on these six items,” he…
New fleet cruisers have arrived at the Union County Sheriff’s Office for this year, but next year is looking questionable. Sheriff Jamie Patton said the cars recently arrived from Ford but also indicated that the message from the automotive company “didn’t look good” for next year. “We are not getting good feedback from Ford,” he said. “For next year, Ford is going to limit its production and they’re going to shut down their order time frames.” Patton said Chief Deputy Tom Morgan is currently working with deputies to see what the office’s fleet may need for next year. He said,…
Plain City investigators are trying to find out what happened after the body of a female infant was discovered in the back of a garbage truck. Police Chief Dale McKee said a refuse collector working in the 100 block of Bluestem Lane found the body Thursday afternoon while on a route in the Darby Fields housing development south of the village. “He’s the one who called 911. He found the baby in the back of the truck. He said he looked in and couldn’t see all of it. He wasn’t sure if it was even real,” said McKee. “Once we…