This week marks the 45th anniversary of the release of John Carpenter’s Halloween, the 1978 film that introduced masked killer, Michael Myers, to the world. Since we have now arrived at the last weekend before Halloween, with a few more nights left of horror-movie viewing, I figured I would offer a guide to watching the Halloween franchise, my favorite of all the horror movie franchises. While not every entry in the series is worth a watch, the franchise taken as a whole is a fun ride that goes perfectly well with a cold, rainy night in October. And if you…
Author: Michael Williamson
Editor’s note: This is the third in a weeklong series of Journal-Tribune stories that will highlight contested elections and issues in Union County. Election stories will run each day through the end of the week. ––– Jonathan Alder has three open seats going into this election season but only two of the incumbents are running for re-election. Seats currently held by Christine Blacka, Bill McCartney and Steve Votaw are open and while Votaw and McCartney are running, Blacka is not. Aside from the incumbents, there are four additional challengers that will be on the ballot this November. Peter Hansen Age:…
Property taxes in Richwood have gone up and residents and officials are asking what can be done to curb it. State Rep. Tracy Richardson visited the regular council meeting Monday night to update officials about goings-on at the state level. Among the topics of discussion was the growing pressure for residents, particularly with fixed incomes, to keep up with raising rates. Richardson said that is a top priority for her and others at the Ohio Statehouse as she and fellow members of congress have been appointed to a commission to look at the issue. “In this current market, we keep…
Residents had the opportunity to ask questions regarding the Mill Creek logjam removal project last week. Officials from Union County and some of the affected townships were on hand to address specifics of the project, which will involve nearly 12,000 parcels across the center of the county. Many residents have experienced years of severe flooding like this neighborhood just south of County Home Road. (Photo submitted) — Residents of Millcreek Township are pleased to hear the logjam cleanup is finally getting going, but say the project is long overdue. The Union County Engineer’s Office and Soil and Water Conservation District…
Union County and Jerome Township officials have agreed to enter into mediation to resolve issues between the two entities. On Tuesday, the county released a statement noting the approval of an agreed order by William Woods, a visiting judge with the Court of Common Pleas, that both puts a pause on the enforcement of a township zoning amendment and the county’s legal filing against it. The measure was approved pending the entities agreeing to mediate. “Without waiving their claims or defenses, the parties have agreed to temporarily stay the litigation pending a mediation subject to the terms of this agreed…
Despite property value increases across the area, Union County officials said the number of appeals this year was lower than expected. The Board of Revisions (BOR) hearings for residents appealing those values has concluded and Union County Auditor Andrea Weaver said several factors likely contributed to the lower number of appeals. One of those factors, she said, could be that residents simply recognize the “state of the market.” “2023 was an active BOR season, but maybe not as active as we had expected given that the taxes paid this calendar year were reflecting the higher values of our 2022 triennial…
North Union approved a new superintendent for the school district. At the Monday board of education meeting, school officials voted to approve Justin Ufferman as the new district head replacing Rich Baird, who announced his retirement last month. Ufferman will be moving from his current position as principal at the high school and start at the beginning of next year. “After weighing all the options in front of us, we decided to interview Mr. Ufferman during the Oct. 2 board meeting,” said Brian Davis, board president, in a statement. “It was unanimous after our meeting that Mr. Ufferman symbolizes the…
Fairbanks officials and representatives from various design and construction companies gathered at the elementary school Friday. The group broke ground on the first phase of a large, two-part construction project planned for the district. Phase one is an addition to the elementary school while phase two will be additions and renovations to the middle and high school building. Pictured from left to right are Adham Schirg, superintendent; Taylor Luth with Garmann-Miller; Ashley Thompson, FES principal; Lisa Adkins, school board member; Angie Bouic, school board member; Mark Lippencott, school board member; Brian Phelps, school board member; Derek Nicol, school board member;…
James (Jim) R. Andrews, 60, of Niceville, Florida answered his last call to duty and entered heavenly rest on October 11, 2023, after a long battle with cancer. Family was the most important thing in the world to him. He is survived by his wife Joy; daughter Alexis Yates (Jake); daughter Savanah Balkcom (Jamie), and granddaughter Myla; and son Justin Mikulcik. He is also survived by three siblings; Lenard Andrews (Kim); Denise Greiner (Gary); Cindy Dillon (Harold); and countless nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, Roy and Rose Andrews, and many fallen brothers and sisters…
Ohio Department of Transportation officials said the work on U.S. 33 and Route 161/Post Road is coming along but residents can expect construction until the end of 2024 with cleanup into 2025. Officials said the next step in the process is to route U.S. 33 traffic onto the newly constructed bridge sections on the east and west sides of the roadway. (Photo submitted) — Several large-scale Union County road projects are underway and state officials said more would be coming. Tony Turowski, the deputy director of the Ohio Department of Transportation’s district six told the county commissioners Wednesday that projects…
Elementary students at Jonathan Alder demonstrate the new Amplify program to board of education members on Monday. The program started at Monroe Elementary and is being implemented in fourth grade classrooms at Plain City. Amplify is a comprehensive literacy program that supports both foundational skills and reading comprehension for students to boost their overall literacy. (Journal-Tribune photo by Michael Williamson) — Jonathan Alder officially introduced its new school resource officer to the district this week. At the regular board of education meeting on Monday, Alder officials approved the contract for Gregg Costas as the new SRO for the district. Costas…
A petition by Millcreek, Liberty and Paris townships to clean up the logjam in Mill Creek has been approved by the Union County Commissioners. Officials are hoping the cleanout, affecting nearly 12,000 parcels, will curb flooding like the section of creek pictured above. (Journal-Tribune photo by Kevin Behrens) — A major step was made in the Mill Creek logjam cleanout project this week. Officials in Millcreek, Liberty and Paris townships filed a petition to get the project moving forward, which was approved by the Union County Commissioners during their regular meeting on Wednesday. County Administrator Bill Narducci said this step…
Representatives with the Samsung Richwood solar project visited Leesburg Township Monday to answer questions about the proposed 250-megawatt project. Officials offered a map that shows the project area running from the intersection of Route 4 and Langstaff Road at right to the intersections of Snyder and Claibourne roads in the upper left section. (Journal-Tribune photo by Michael Williamson) — Residents once again gathered at the Leesburg Township Fire Department to get more information about the proposed solar project south of Richwood. After a public meeting last week, Union County residents gathered again at the regular Leesburg Township meeting Monday evening…
Next month, the Union County Commissioners will consider restricting all unincorporated land in the county to large wind and solar construction projects. The diagonal lines across each township indicate just how much of the land would be deemed restricted. (Graphic submitted) — Issues with fencing still remain at one of the solar projects in the northwestern corner of the county. Union County officials said they have been in contact with representatives from Acciona about the Union Solar project but continue to hear complaints from “unhappy” residents. “From everything we’ve heard, they’re not thrilled with the way it looks,” said County…
Union County is not only growing faster than officials initially thought, it’s growing even faster than that. William Murdock, the executive director of the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) told the county commissioners that projections show the numbers seem even higher than the last time they met. “Right now, our projection is to grow from 2.4 million to 3.1 million. This is a little faster than our last projection because of all the investments that have happened, certainly Honda up here, Intel, LG,” he said. “But it’s not dissimilar than what we’ve had before.” When Murdock visited the commissioners in…