Local Archived News

Hamilton joins incumbents on village council
By Ally Lanasa, Richwood Gazette
According to preliminary results from the Union County Board of Elections, Jackie Hamilton will be joining the three incumbents — Von Beal, Patrick Morse and George Showalter — on the Village of Richwood Council.
Hamilton received 119 votes of the 570 total votes, or 20.88%. Beal and Morse received 131 votes each, or 22.98% each, and Showalter received 125 votes, or 21.93%.

Health dept. 0.5-mill levy approved
By Kayleen Petrovia, Marysville J-T reporter
Union County voters supported their health department’s replacement levy in Tuesday’s election.
The Union County Health Department sought to replace a 0.5 mill levy originally approved in 2001, which was collecting at a rate of 0.31 mills. Approval of the replacement will reset the effective rate to 0.5 mills.

Villages may form joint sewer district
By Ally Lanasa, Richwood Gazette
The Village of Richwood Council is involved in early discussions to create a multidistrict wastewater plant with Magnetic Springs that will be based in Richwood.
Craig Mescher, a project manager at Access Engineering Solutions, informed the Village of Richwood Council about the proposed plant during its meeting on Monday.

Northern Union County to honor veterans
Several events are planned to honor veterans in the northern part of Union County.
The Somersville Evangelical Friends Church, 27522 Route 31 in Somersville, is offering a free dinner to veterans, law enforcement and their families on Nov. 7 from 5-6:30 p.m. The menu will be homemade beef and noodles, mashed potatoes, rolls, green beans, cookies, coffee, punch and water. The church asks that attendees call ahead at 937-935-2041 or email kenperdue@embarqmail.com so it can prepare enough food.
Additionally, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), 9 W. Blagrove St. in Richwood, is hosting a free brunch for veterans and their guests on Nov. 11 between 10 a.m. and noon.
North Union Elementary School students are eager to pay tribute to veterans on Nov. 11. This year, local heroes are invited to participate in the first “Reverse Veterans Day Parade.” Weather permitting, the parade will begin at 1:15 p.m. from the intersection of Veterans Way and Grove Street. Participants are asked to line up from Lynn Street and make their way past the Veterans Memorial as the parade route proceeds down Grove Street and onto the North Union Elementary School grounds. Any veteran, who served during peace or war time, is invited to attend and is encouraged to decorate his or her vehicle for the reverse parade. A virtual assembly will also be shared online that morning on the elementary school’s web page and Facebook page. For additional information, veterans may contact North Union Elementary School at 740-943-3113.

NU committee to meet about school calendar
Submitted by Richard Baird, Superintendent of North Union Local Schools
The North Union Local School District Board of Education has requested that a community sub-committee review the district calendar to discover any changes that may be possible or requested by the community. The sub-committee will submit information to the board of education as they vote to approve the calendar for the 2022-2023 school year.
A sub-committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 9, at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome to this meeting. Whether you can attend the meeting or not, please complete the survey linked below. The information from this survey will help lead the conversation at the meeting. https://forms.gle/BU9wGeJq5ipjqWdX7
Thank you for your time and consideration.

Village revitalization committee debates changing consultants
By Ally Lanasa, Richwood Gazette
The Richwood Revitalization Committee voted 3-2 during its meeting last Thursday to continue working with Sarah Barr of Raising the Barr for a feasibility study of the former opera house and town hall building.

Council to accept land
By Ally Lanasa, Richwood Gazette
The Village of Richwood Council agreed to accept land from the Union County Land Bank during its meeting on Monday.
The Union County Land Bank acquired 17 Lynn St. and tore down the house and out buildings on the property.
“The Trail Blazers would like to turn that into a small green space along with a parking lot for the North Union (boys’ baseball) if at all possible,” said Mayor Scott Jerew.

Health dept. schedules shots for children 5-11
From Richwood Gazette staff reports
The Union County Health Department began scheduling vaccination appointments for 5- to 11-year-olds on Nov. 3. Appointments can be booked online at www.uchdclinic.org. Please make sure to select the “Union County Health Department PEDIATRIC” location from the location dropdown. For those without reliable internet, appointments can be booked by calling 937-642-2053.

Area resident remembered for his artwork
By Sherryl Sheets, Richwood Gazette
Greg Ballinger remembers as a youngster, seeing a man sitting across the street painting a picture of the Ballinger Funeral Home. He later found out that man was Donald L. Dodrill.
Dodrill, a central Ohio native with Richwood ties, died in 2017, at the age of 94, but his artistic legacy lives on in Richwood.

North Union Board of Education reviews calendar options for next two school years
By Ally Lanasa, Richwood Gazette
The Calendar Subcommittee presented four proposed academic calendars for 2022-23 and 2023-24 to the North Union Board of Education during its meeting on Monday.
Superintendent Richard Baird said the Ohio Department of Education and Ohio General Assembly require the minimum of 910 hours for students in full-day kindergarten through sixth grade and 1,001 hours for students between seventh and 12th grades. Currently, students receive a total of 1,170 instructional hours with the length of the school day and 180 days of instruction.

Park sees major improvements over the years
Submitted by the Union County Health Department
“It all started in late summer of 2013 with a small group of extremely dedicated people,” said the Village of Richwood Mayor Scott Jerew.
Since Aug. 7, 2013, significant changes have been made to the Richwood Lake (Lake Baccarat) and the surrounding park. Grant funds in the amount of nearly $2 million have been obtained to make the improvements at the Lake and Park. The major funders for the projects were Ohio Capital Bill Improvement Projects, the Green Space Conservation Program and the Reeves Foundation.

Memorial Hospital receives national honor for practices
Submitted by Memorial Health
Memorial Hospital achieved “Straight A” recognition in the Fall 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, the nation’s most prestigious honor for patient safety. This recognition is awarded in step with a grade of “A” in the Fall 2021 announcement, marking seven straight “A’s” in protecting patients from harm and error in the hospital.

Council hears concerns from residents about livestock in the village, beautification
By Ally Lanasa, Richwood Gazette
Residents Steve and Chris Davis approached the Village of Richwood Council during its meeting on Monday with concerns about livestock in the village, beautification of the downtown area, snow and ice removal and apartments in the downtown area.

Board considers installing turf field at NUHS
By Ally Lanasa, Richwood Gazette
The Outdoor Facilities Subcommittee of the North Union Local School District Board of Education is considering replacing the grass football field at North Union High School with turf.

Union County virus numbers see uptick
By Kayleen Petrovia, Marysville J-T reporter
Union County Health Commissioner Jason Orcena said the area recently began seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases, though it’s too early to tell if another surge is on the horizon.
During Board of Health meeting on Nov. 17, Orcena noted that there has been a sustained increase in reported COVID-19 cases since late October.

North Union team off to good start in academic competition
Submitted by Brenda Blankenship
North Union High School’s In the Know team began its season on Nov. 8 against Delaware Hayes. The Wildcats fell to the Colts by 55 points. The Wildcats are led by five juniors, Griffin Salyer, Hunter Barker, Mitchell Marlette, Max Cronley and Coulter DeBoer, and freshman Miles Marlette. The high scorer was Barker with 55 points followed by DeBoer and Marlette with 25 points respectively.

Events slated for the holidays
By Ally Lanasa, Richwood Gazette
The Village of Richwood is celebrating the holiday season this year with the theme of an “Everyday Hero Christmas.” The month of December has a full lineup with visits from Jolly Old Saint Nick and festive activities that are guaranteed to bring fun for the entire family.