Local Archived News

2014 events are recorded in history
By Sherryl Sheets
The year 2014 brought many ups and downs in the weather, the community and the school district. Here is a re-cap of events throughout last year.

School board holds organizational meeting
Discusses retire/rehire for three staff members
By Sherryl Sheets
The North Union Board of Education met Monday evening for their annual organizational meeting at the administration building. During the meeting, members voted Kevin Crosthwaite as board president and Bryan Bumgarner as vice president. Board members were also voted to serve on several other committees.

Union County Health Department awarded “healthy” grant
From Richwood Gazette staff reports
Over the next four years, the Union County Health Department will increase efforts to reduce local chronic disease rates through support and promotion of healthy eating, active living and tobacco-free environments. The local initiatives are being funded by a Creating Healthy Communities (CHC) Grant, a $95,000 a year grant awarded to the Union County Health Department in November 2014 by the Ohio Department of Health.

Two women charged with fraud
Grand jury indictments
By MAC CORDELL
A pair of Richwood women is facing charges stemming from an alleged scheme to cheat taxpayers out of thousands of dollars.

Police Department busy in 2014
By Sherryl Sheets
The Richwood Police Department released their 2014 report of calls, which shows a total of 9,815 calls during the year. That breaks down to 26.9 calls per day; 8.9 calls per shift (three shifts a day).

Blood drive set for Monday, Jan. 19
By Sherryl Sheets
Did you make any New Year resolutions for 2015? Hopefully many made a pledge to be a blood donor.

Fire and EMS reports for 2014 released
By Sherryl Sheets
Fire Chief Randy Riffle has announced the 2014 year-end report for the Northern Union County Fire and EMS District (NUCFD). Statistics show that there were 744 calls for service, up from the 687 calls in 2013.

Be a part of CODE RED
From Richwood Gazette staff reports
The Union County Sheriff’s office and the Union County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) invite the public to be a part of CODE RED. This program lets the public know of any emergency situation in the community, such as evacuation notices, bio-terrorism alerts, boil water notices, weather alerts and amber alerts or missing child reports.

Learn how to work with ADHD
From Richwood Gazette staff reports
The Union County Job and Family Service’s Childcare Network, along with the Council for Union County Families, will host a free workshop on Monday, Feb. 2, from 6 to 8 p.m. and it is open to the public. This important workshop will help parents learn about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children.

Veterans invited to job career workshop
From Richwood Gazette staff reports
The Military Veterans Resource Center invites all job seeking veterans in Union County to attend a Veterans Career Workshop on Thursday, Jan. 22. Career Specialists will help veterans jump start their careers by teaching them to become more competitive candidates and improving their job search skills. This event is free of charge and will take place at MVRC’s office, located at 1395 E. Dublin-Granville Road, Ste. 350. It will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with lunch included.

RABA discusses year-end businesses
It was discussed in the December meeting that there are some Richwood Area Business Association (RABA) Christmas ornaments still available from years past. The group voted to reduce the sale price. The public is invited to purchase the collectible ornaments at Pat’s Print Shop.

Safety tips during bad weather conditions
Dangerously low temperatures and accumulating snow are in the forecast for much of the Midwest and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) wants individuals and families to be safe when faced with the hazards of cold temperatures and winter weather.

Guilty plea from child care worker
By MAC CORDELL
A former child care worker could spend the rest of his life in prison after admitting that he repeatedly raped a preschooler.

Students to compete in Ohio Future City event
From Richwood Gazette staff reports
Ohio sixth, seventh and eighth grade students from North Union Middle School are participated in DiscoverE’s Future City Competition™ on Saturday at Columbus State Community College (CSCC) in Columbus.

Hall of Pride nominations sought
By Sherryl Sheets
The North Union High School Hall of Pride committee is asking for nominations for the school’s Hall of Pride.

Sheriff announces awards at banquet
From Richwood Gazette staff reports
Union County Sheriff Jamie Patton made several announcements during the Union County Sheriff’s Office Annual Awards banquet last Thursday.

Local veteran honored at State of the Union
By Mac Cordell and Taylor Evans
“Reply immediately.”
Those words, handwritten by President Barack Obama, lead to a local man’s invitation to a special seat at Tuesday’s State of the Union Address.

Two teams qualify for Ohio State VEX Championship
By Sherryl Sheets
Thirty-two high school Vex teams from around Ohio competed at Marion Harding High School on Thursday, Jan. 15. Four teams from North Union High School competed in a combined total of 20 qualifying matches and a record of 17 wins, 2 losses and 1 tie. They ended up ranked in third, fourth, sixth and seventh places.

Senior Citizens Hall of Fame nominations are due
By Sherryl Sheets
The Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging (COAAA) is asking for nominations for the Central Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame. The deadline is Friday, Jan. 30.

Council sets temporary 2015 budget
By Sherryl Sheets
Mayor Bill Rose was unable to attend the village council meeting Monday night, so Von Beal, president of village council, was president pro temp for the meeting. Since it was also the first meeting of 2015, a new council president was elected, with Scott Jerew accepting the position. Also during the meeting, council appointed Roger Ferguson as a new council member, filling the vacant seat of Bill Rose, who is serving as mayor of the village.

UCBDD board welcomes new member
From Richwood Gazette staff reports
Members of the Union County Board of Developmental Disabilities (UCBDD) welcomed new member Kent Weakley at its monthly meeting Jan. 20. Appointed by the Union County Commissioners, he fills the vacancy left by Jason Widmer.

Free tax service available to those who qualify
By Sherryl Sheets
Community Action of Union County would like to offer free tax service to assist with preparing federal, state and school district tax returns. Anyone who has an annual household income of less that $55,000 qualifies.