B ETHEL JOURNAL
Your Community Press newspaper serving Bethel, Chilo, Felicity, Franklin Township, Moscow, Neville, Tate Township, Washington Township
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2013
75¢ BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS
Throwing candy is banned at parade By Keith BieryGolick kbierygolick@communitypress.com
Parking in front of the Bethel Baptist Church on Plane Street is causing visibility issues for people trying to turn onto the street. This was discussed at a recent village Safety Committee meeting, but no immediate solutions were found.
STREET PARKING SPACES TO REMAIN
By Keith BieryGolick
kbierygolick@communitypress.com
BETHEL — Residents who attend Bethel Church of Christ and Bethel Baptist Church might need to say a prayer before turning onto Plane Street after Sunday services because there doesn’t appear to be a solution to their traffic problems. “I’ve had somebody from one of the churches complain about the parking on Plane Street Sunday mornings,” Mayor Alan Ausman said during a recent village Safety Committee meeting. There are two churches
within close proximity and residents park on the street in front of them, which causes visibility problems, Ausman said. “I’m wondering if we can move the parking,” he said. Council member Jeremiah Hembree said spaces run into almost the middle of the churches’ front steps. “Outside of changing zoning is there anything we can do?” Hembree said. The amount of parking spots create problems, even though everyone follows proper procedure, Ausman said. “You just flat-out can’t see,” he said.
Another problem spot is the intersection of Union and Plane streets because of the amount of people parked in front of the Midway Theater, Ausman said. “I don’t believe I have the authority to move parking spaces,” said Police Chief Mark Planck. The Union and Plane intersection is more than a problem – it’s dangerous, said Priscilla Johnson, council member. “It’s (a) blind (intersection),” Johnson said. Trying to walk across the street residents must “go as fast as you can” to avoid getting hit, she said.
Johnson said council should look into getting a light at the intersection. “That’s never going to happen,” said Travis Dotson, village administrator. Dotson said traffic lights were put up, but they were never warranted by the state so they had to be taken down because there wasn’t enough traffic. “There’s a time of day you can get out and there’s a time of day you can’t,” Hembree said. Residents should try to use other routes to get to traffic lights on Charity and Main streets, he said.
Clermont seeks bids for sewer work By Jason Hoffman jhoffman@communitypress.com
BATAVIA — Clermont County received one bid for its Shayler Run sewer-replacement project. Welsh Excavating from Cleves recently submitted its bid for $612,237. The company’s bid is $142,997 higher than Clermont County Engineer Patrick Manger’s estimate. “Likely our recommendation
will be to reject the bid,” said Lyle Bloom, utilities director for the Clermont County Water Resources Department. “We will make any necessary adjustments to the plans ... and rebid the project.” The project would install a 24-inch connecting sewage line under state Route 32, said Kevin Kappers, project manager for the Water Resources Department. “The sewer pipe is connecting to a recent trunk-sewer pipe
FOOD
HEY HOWARD!
This moist, “good keeper” cake recipe ushers in the apple harvest season. Full story, B3
Beware of emails claiming to come from the post office and Federal Express. Full story, B4
installed a couple years ago.” Traffic along the highway shouldn’t be affected by the work because it will be under the road.
Contract change saves taxpayer dollars
County Commissioners recently approved an alteration to a contract with Clevelandbased Garland/DBS Inc., which replaced the roof at the Middle East Fork Wastewater Treatment Plant in Batavia Town-
ship. The county spent $85,311 of taxpayer dollars on the project after the $1,000 reduction was approved. “This completes the project,” Bloom said. “There will be a closeout but this is the final change order for the project.” Want to know more about the stories that matter in Clermont County? Follow Jason Hoffman on Twitter: @jhoffman_cp. For the Postmaster
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BETHEL — When residents celebrate Bethel-Tate’s homecoming parade in October, students and other participating groups won’t get to show off their candy-throwing ability. That’s because village officials will only allow participants to hand candy to residents this year. “One of these days someone is going to get hurt,” said Police Chief Mark Planck. “My biggest fear is a little kid getting run over.” Planck said candy often lands clear of oncoming vehicles, but then bounces back into the road creating a safety concern. Village Administrator Travis Dotson said another welcome change would Planck be slowing down the speed of the parade. “We did this for years with the Lion’s Club and most people couldn’t handle the speed,” Dotson said. “Slowing it down will make it safer for those walking too,” said Jeremiah Hembree, council member. The parade is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, and will start at the middle school, 649 W. Plane St. Another upcoming parade is Bethel Down Home Christmas, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 7. “We look forward to that every year,” Planck said, who organizes the parade with auxiliary officer John Wallace. “That goes against our liability insurance,” Dotson said. “Our insurance encourages us not to have any involvement in a public event.” Planck said he has “always done it.” “Organizing a parade can be considered sponsoring a parade,” Dotson said. Other council members said they assumed members of the Community Savings Bank organized the event. “I’ve always done it on my own time,” Planck said. Planck may have organized the event on his own time, but he is the Bethel police chief “24/7,” said Mayor Alan Ausman. Wallace can continue to organize the event because he is only an auxiliary officer, but Planck told the village safety committee he would step down from the event.
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Vol. 114 No. 23 © 2013 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED