Local Archived News

Council approves operating budget for fiscal year 2009
At Monday night’s regularly scheduled meeting, Richwood Council
approved a budget totaling $3,204,799 for 2009.

Police Chief warns of new scam
Richwood Police Chief Monte Asher, is warning residents of a new
scam, which seems to involve the Internal Revenue Service. One local
resident has contacted the police department of receiving such
notification.

New officer joins the Richwood Police Dept.
Richwood Police Chief Monte Asher, has hired a new officer to the
department. A full-time position opened recently when Officer Justin
Baldwin left the force for a position in Kentucky. Officer Tyler
Wall, of LaRue, was hired last week to fill the open position.

Police to put a lock on safety
With spring just around the corner and hunting season year round, the
Richwood Police Department (RPD) wants to make the public aware of
gun safety.

Riffles pledge head, heart, hands and health to 4-H club for 30 years
Many parents like to be involved with their children’s activities,
such as coaching a ball team, be a youth or boy scout leader or an
adviser for a 4-H club. Lawrence Riffle spent time as a scout master
and little league coach with his two oldest sons, Randy and Rick.
Lawrence and his wife, Mary Ann, began their involvement in 4-H in
1979, when their two youngest sons, Rob and Rodney, became involved
in the Lucky Leesburg 4-H Club. They had planned to be involved in
the 4-H club until the boys went through the program, but then along
came grandchildren and their friends.

Harmon selected as new principal at NUE
North Union Board of Education recently elected Dave Harmon, current
assistant principal at North Union Elementary to become the principal
beginning the 2009-10 school year. Principal Lisa Wolfe resigned at
an earlier board meeting and will be moving to Missouri at the end of
the 2009 school year.

Steve Robinson serves as president of NACD
The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) recently
installed a new slate of officers at the Appreciation Banquet of the
2009 NACD and the president hails from Union County.

Police Chief warns of counterfeit money
Richwood Police Chief, Monte Asher, wants to make the public and
local businesses aware of counterfeit money. Within one week, two
reports have been made to the local police department.

School board continues to discuss dress code
North Union Board of Education members continue to discuss the hot
topic of dress standards during the Monday night meeting, held at the
North Union Elementary School, where members toured the facility
prior to the regular meeting.

Pay raises and clothing allowances discussed at village council
While village employees in Richwood will see changes in their
paychecks this year, it was clothing allowances that dominated
discussion at Monday’s regular council meeting.

There’s a new clip joint in town
Jessica Wasserbeck graduated from North Union High School in 2004,
with a dream of going to college. Like many new college students, she
couldn’t decide which path to take for a career between cosmetology
or interior design.

NUCFD adds new equipment for staff
With careful budgeting of funds, the Northern Union County Fire and
EMS Board (NUCFD) approved the expenditure of approximately $80,000
for 18 new self-contained breathing apparatuses. This new equipment
was purchased before the 2009 price increase, which resulted in a
savings of over $80,000. The state-of-the-art air packs, manufactured
by MSA, are replacing equipment that is 15 to 20 years old, for which
repair parts are no longer available. The SCBA (self contained
breathing apparatus) on the fire fighter’s back,allows the fire
fighter to breathe effectively, while in hazardous areas.

Changing needs causes shift in 2009 United Way funding
Submitted by: United Way
Doing more with less. Focusing on priorities. Making sure basic needs
are met.
These are familiar refrains in a belt-tightening economy. And they
were themes United Way of Union County volunteers had to follow when
making funding decisions this year. Agency requests were up 24
percent from 2008, and $134,000 higher than the available pool of
money volunteers had to work with. The 17-member Community Investment
Committee deliberated in long meetings and even some longer nights
during the five month process to determine how to most effectively
split donor dollars given to United Way this year.

Fire Chief wants to be “pro-active”
Northern Union County Fire Chief, Randy Riffle, needs help from the
community. Chief Riffle wants the local Fire and EMS Department to
become more “pro-active” instead of “reactive.”

Free tax service for those who qualify
Four members of The Richwood First United Methodist Church, who are
trained volunteers with The Ohio Benefit Bank, have added to their
credentials, by filing taxes free to those in Union County, who
qualify.

Policy Committee finalizes dress code recommendations
On Monday, Jan. 26, the North Union Board of Education Policy
Committee met again with approximately ten people in attendance to
discuss the dress code policy for the district. The Dress Code
Committee’s recommendations and changes from the December meeting
were presented and debated.