Local Archived News

Fashion designer produced masks during pandemic
By Sherryl Sheets, Richwood Gazette
When she was a little girl, Josie Wills learned how to sew by her grandmother Maxine Wilson. She enjoyed sewing so much that she told everyone she would be a fashion designer when she grew up.

The ups and downs of 2020
By Sherryl Sheets, Richwood Gazette
The year 2020 will be one for the history books. Most people will say that they want to forget all the unusual things that we had to give up because of the Coronavirus. Not being able to see family and friends during birthdays, celebrations and holidays was very difficult for most people.

School board hears about Coronavirus update
By Sherryl Sheets, Richwood Gazette
The North Union Board of Education held their regular meeting Monday night and got a report of how the COVID-19 virus has affected the school district. School Superintendent Rich Baird updated the members with statistics.

Council hears of more funding
By Sherryl Sheets, Richwood Gazette
The Richwood village council witnessed the swearing in of Dave Burke, who became a new Union County Commissioner during Monday night’s regular meeting. Retiring County Commissioner Charles Hall performed the swearing-in ceremony. Burke will fill the seat of retiring Steve Stolte.

Committee discussing future of the former town hall, opera house
From Richwood Gazette Staff
The Richwood Redevelopment Committee is working to redevelop one of the icons of the Village of Richwood.
The Town Hall/Opera House, is being worked on in January and February to shore up a broken truss that holds up the roof frame.

NU School board ready for new year
By Sherryl Sheets, Richwood Gazette
The North Union Board of Education held their organizational meeting Wednesday, Jan. 6 at the administration offices. The first order of action was to vote for a board president. Brian Davis was re-elected to serve as the president and Matt Staley was selected as the board vice president.

Reduced calls for service still keep police busy in 2020
By Sherryl Sheets, Richwood Gazette
The Richwood Police Department has released their statistics for the 2020 year.
The department handled a total of 9, 407 calls for service, down 1,090 calls from 2019. Calls for service are categorized in areas such as traffic, criminal, public relations, crime deterrence, etc. The following information is broken down according to categories:

Fire and EMS release statistics
By Sherryl Sheets, Richwood Gazette
Northern Union County Fire and EMS Department (NUCFD) handled 826 calls of service during the year 2020. That compares to the 820 total calls from the calendar year of 2019. Fire and EMS crews also assisted other area department, handled fire calls, EMS, motor vehicle accidents, CO checks, false alarms, canceled enroute, service runs, 911, and hazardous material calls.

Council receives update on opera house project
By Sherryl Sheets, Richwood Gazette
The Richwood village council met Tuesday, Jan. 12 with all council members present, except for George Showalter. Council members voted Reddy Brown as president of council for the fiscal year.
Mayor Scott Jerew told council that two projects will be taking place this year and funding was approved from the Capital Budget for 2021.

Commissioners want more info on solar farm
By Mac Cordell, Marysville JT reporter
The Union County Commissioners last week held discussions to better understand how solar farms could impact the community.
“They have been good to work with,” said Hardin County Commissioner Roger Crowe, who participated in Tuesday’s commissioner’s meeting.

Oldest seniors can start getting COVID-19 vaccine in county
By Kayleen Petrovia, Marysville JT reporter
Union County residents who are 80 and older will be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine beginning Jan. 20.
The group is the first of Gov. Mike DeWine’s second priority group - called Phase 1B - to receive the vaccine. Phase 1B includes those 65 and older, individuals with severe medical conditions and adults working in schools.

Memorial won’t be providing vaccinations
Editor’s note: The following release is supplied by Memorial Health, explaining why the hospital will not be a vaccine provider for the public. The release is being run as submitted.
At Memorial Health, we are extremely grateful for the amazing level of collaboration that has existed between our organization and the Union County Health Department (UCHD).
For decades, we have enjoyed a relationship built on mutual respect and cooperation, both focused on ways we can individually and jointly serve the needs of our community.

State auditor finds fault with Richwood books
Former village financial officer facing more than $19,000 in penalties
By Kayleen Petrovia, Marysville JT reporter
Richwood’s former fiscal officer will be required to pay nearly $20,000 in penalty fees following a report from the state auditor’s office.

UCHD focus shifts from testing to vaccinations
By Kayleen Petrovia, Marysville JT reporter
The Union County Health Department is working to vaccinate as many residents as possible, as they continue testing, disease investigation and contact tracing, as well.

Marion man killed in Route 31 accident
From Marysville JT Staff reports
The Marysville Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal crash involving an SUV and commercial tractor-trailer.
While investigators have not listed a cause for the crash, in its information about the crash, the patrol “reminds motorists to limit the distractions while operating your vehicle.”

OSU Extension urges winter farm preparedness
Editor’s Note: The following information is supplied by Wayne Dellinger, Union County Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources.
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With the turn of the calendar year coming off a year with a record setting number of tropical storms, what should we expect for early 2021?