Harrison News-Herald 07-28-18

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$1.00 Cadiz, OhiO

Towers go up to bring Internet to rural residents SATURDAY, JULY 28, 2018

By JD LONG

jim@harrisonnewsherald.com

NEW ATHENS – Talk of Internet availability for rural Harrison County residents moves one step closer with the raising of the first two towers. Imperial Networks, which is manned by Larry Bertolino and backed by local farmer and entrepreneur James Coffelt have now raised two of the projected four towers they planned since the start of this endeavor. e first tower to go up was early morning Wednesday near Tappan Lake. Once that was secured, Bowers

Contracting crane service rolled along and into New Athens and the second tower was erected at e Lodge, owned by Coffelt. Damian Kovarik’s crew (Kovarik Excavating & Hauling LLC) did the securing of four bolts on the three legs already cemented five feet deep into a large block of concrete. “He’s been a big team player,” Bertolino said of Kovarik’s work. Bertolino, who operates myLocalPCpro in Cadiz said the progression in plans has gone beyond expectations. And those expectations include providing Internet service for county residents that have been left out

in the cold while the main Internet providers load up inside the villages and obvious areas. “We’re the Robin Hood in the woods,” he said of the operation. “is is going way better than initially thought,” Bertolino, whose wife Katie is also a partner in this and has been right there every step of the way, said while throwing out excited words he’s used before such as “game changing,” as being a phenomenal addition to Harrison County. He gushed at what he called countless

SeeTOWERS, PG. 2

Scio hires engineering firm for waterline project By JD LONG

jim@harrisonnewsherald.com

Congressman, Bill Johnson (left) and The Bluffs CEO Richard Foster, PhD toured the former Atwood Lodge last Friday. The Bluffs is one of four rehabilitation centers privately owned called, Addiction Campuses. Johnson was impressed by the layout and what they are trying to do. Foster stated of 160 beds 70 are vacant and they are looking to hire more staff.

Congressman Johnson tours addiction rehab facility By JD LONG

jim@harrisonnewsherald.com

SHERRODSVILLE – Merely one year after moving into the former lodge at Atwood Lake, e Bluffs, which is a rehabilitation center, has picked up quite a bit of steam and is now heading towards full capacity. e Bluffs is one of four rehab campuses (others are in Texas, Massachusetts and Mississippi) as part of the Addiction Campuses. Last Friday, Congressman Bill Johnson (R-District 6) visited the Sherrodsville campus and touted it as a muchneeded place to combat the ever present opioid wave of addiction, not to mention alcohol abuse. “Very impressive,” Johnson told the throng of media and staff. “We need more facilities like this. I’ve said many, many times you know, the addiction crisis that we have in America is not something we’re going to be able to legislate our way out of or arrest or incarcerate our way out of. We’re going to have to lead people out of that dark place and back in to regaining their self confidence, their integrity, their feeling of accomplishment and a belief that they can live a life of addiction free.” Johnson continued to rave about the operation calling it “comprehensive from start to finish.” He said what impressed him the most was that it was a

Events

Bethel UMC prepares for bicentennial

e Bethel United Methodist Church is celebrating their bicentennial this weekend with shows, sermons, and great food. See Page 3

privately funded operation and not a Washingtonbased governmental program where people had to wait to receive help. “Your company saw a need and you went out and you made it happen and that’s very, very encouraging,” Johnson told everyone. When asked about public-private partnerships Johnson explained they were “doing some of that.” He said $4 billion in federal funds had already been contributed towards the opioid epidemic with 57 pieces of legislation passed just three weeks ago, according to him. He said that legislation was geared specifically towards opioid addiction with three bills he introduced “that was a part of that.” He said one was to recognize “organizations and institutions” for teaching health care providers about substance abuse and handling “pain management without the use of opioids.” He also spoke of Telehealth and telemedicine, which he acknowledged was not in this area. According to the National Telehealth Policy Resource Center’s website (www.cchpca.org): “Telehealth is a collection of means or methods for enhancing healthcare, public health and health education delivery and support using telecommunications technologies.” He called “peer specialists” a great help, which he also acknowledged that e Bluffs practices. ese

Sports

Coach-pitch all stars enter Pinto Challenge

e Harrison County coach-pitch all stars baseball team headed to Wheeling on July 19 to participate in the Pinto Challenge. See Page 6

NEWS-HERALD

specialists are people who have gone through their own pain and recovered from addiction and are now helping others who are enrolled in the program they once were in. Karson Neal is one of those specialists who is now the alumni coordinator and talked of how proud he was to be doing what he, not only is doing but where. Neal is from Washington state and after recovering from addiction found himself homeless for several days, and at his own choice because of certain circumstances, but it didn’t break him. “To be honest when you’re in it,” Neal said referring to addiction, “it feels 100 percent like a disease and I had to learn about that. But after about a year or so, it starts feeling like a choice again.” Neal has been sober for nearly three years now. Johnson does tout the public-private partnership and said he and some of his colleagues have attempted to obtain grants for treatment programs that work. He said this along with faith-based treatment centers can be very effective as well, which have been included in those attempts seeking grants. “Because there’s a heart element to this,” Johnson began explaining. “You know, we can change a

School

Conotton Valley BoE purchases band trailer

e Conotton Valley Board of Education agreed to purchase a new band trailer that’s larger and more spacious than what they’re currently using. See Page 3

SeeJOHNSON, PG. 3

SCIO – Council for the village of Scio made it official when they approved to sign on with W.E. Quicksall & Associates’ engineering firm. Don Quicksall addressed council for the second time in a month and provided a few more updates concerning the village’s major waterline project. Quicksall said he would return upon the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) setting new rules for the next funding cycle, which they have. His firm prepared a mock application “to see if we can get you the most points and how will we best get those points for you.” Receiving grants such as this is based on a village accumulating points based on certain criteria and Quicksall told council they have a shot at the first 58 points with many more out there that “we have no control over,” for which they also have a chance at. Quicksall explained that some criteria they just don’t have control over with one being a District Priority Rating, for example. “And so we have no control, can’t put any costs on that or getting points for it,” he told council adding that last year’s points cutoff was at 64. “So at 58 that’s pretty good,” he said referring to the village’s possible points with 20 more still out there. He said Village Administrator Jason Tubaugh was also assisting with letters to the EPA, low to moderate income surveys and other conditions that would help accumulate points. “One thing we wish we could get more points for was the age and condition of the system,” Quicksall told them while acknowledging how old it is (40 years) stated that OPWC needs documentation of when it was actually built. “Otherwise, if you don’t have that they take the term of the current mayor and say that’s the age…” Quicksall told them to the astonishment of council. Clerk Treasurer Trish Copeland jokingly asked if they could just take her age, referring to Mayor, Michelle Carpenter instead, but after the

SeeSCIO, PG. 3

Question of the week Should the smoking age be raised to 21?

Last week’s question

YES 60% (12 VOTES) NO 40% (8 VOTES)

Next week’s question Question

Do you have good Internet service where you live? YES • NO

Vote@HarrisonNewsHerald.com

HARRISON

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Harrison News-Herald 07-28-18 by Harrison News-Herald Archive - Issuu