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Saturday, February 11, 2023
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2023
HARRISONNEWSHERALD.COM
Cleveland Browns Fan of the Year BY ESTHER MCCOY Harrison News-Herald Staff Writer
SMITHFIELD—Imagine that a dream of a lifetime could come true just from following a football team. Since his youth, Smithfield's Tim Zifzal has been following the Cleveland Browns along with his dad, Russell, becoming acquainted with players and personnel from the organization over the years. Tim has been a season ticket holder since 1978 and attended every home game with his father until he married his wife Kim and began attending games with her in 2001, rarely missing a game. Tim wears Browns' paraphernalia at every game and every other possible moment to promote his devotion to the team. In the fall of 2022, he thought he was going for a standard tour of the stadium because he was a season ticket holder, but the organization surprised him and announced that he was being
Scio finally able to fix intersection BY KRISTI TULLIS Harrison News-Herald Staff Writer
SCIO—The Village of Scio held a council meeting on February 8 at 6 p.m. It was mentioned that the residents need to be aware that TUCSON Inc. will begin construction on April 1 of this year at the intersection of St. Rt. 646 and East College Street. This is a project that will take a while to complete. The village also owns a lot that will be utilized for the storage of materials. The council would like residents to be aware of this upcoming project to be able to prepare in advance for the road closure. The timeframe for construction is currently unknown. For this reason, the council previously voted to have no large vehicles on College Street during this time, as there would be no way to route traffic for a detour. Therefore, it is also noted that this will most likely affect the Scio Street Fair if construction is still ongoing. Village Administrator Jake Tubaugh announced that the Seventh District Court of Appeals has reported there will be a trial date set for sometime this May for the village annexation. Tubaugh also stated the new water lines in the distribution system are fully funded by several agencies (list on hand). The clarifier rebuild project is also fully funded. It is noted that within the next two weeks, the inner paddle wheel of the oxidation ditch will be brought back online. Ongoing project updates include the 50% deposit for the quote on the water storage tank maintenance, as well as the paving portion for the water line project slated for Brown, Maple, Walnut, and Grandview Streets will begin this spring. The grant from Senator Brown’s office will be used in conjunction with additional grants for new water line replacements. The VA and The Thrasher Group are working on preliminary planning and engineering. This is pending additional funding opportunities. In other news, the Ohio EPA grant was submitted. On January 24, notice was sent that the application was accepted. The village will be notified if selected to receive the grant for $10,000. The Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) for Harrison County was reviewed. Once accepted by the state, the village will then need a resolution to adopt the HMP. A contract extension was done on February 8 for the youth program. This will extend to April 1. It has been recommended that the participant be hired to the part-time position on March 25. The personnel manual needs to reflect the employee work-hour changes. This will be forwarded to the personnel committee. The next meeting is set for March 1 at 4:30 p.m.
named the 2022 Cleveland Browns Fan of the Year. He was able to meet Coach Kevin Stefanski and was given tickets to the Super Bowl. Not only was Zifzal named Cleveland Browns Fan of the Year, but he was also nominated for NFL Fan of the Year. In 2022, Sports Illustrated joined Captain Morgan Spiced Rum and the NFL for a contest to find the NFL Fan of the Year. The magazine that provides from-the-heart stories featured 32 fans from across the football-adoring country. From 32 football team nominees, it could be someone from the tiny village of Smithfield, Ohio, who could win. One who has done much to further the popularity of the Cleveland Browns and doing good in their name. The NFL Fan of the Year contest celebrates extraordinary fans, and Tim Zifzal fits that bill. According to nbcsports.com, the plan is to announce the winner at the 12th Annual NFL Honors on Thursday, February 9, 2023.
Tim Zifzal reminisces about his father, who had a heart attack at a Browns game. The team took care of his hospital care, bringing him back to good health for 17 more years. Tim says, “The Browns gave my dad 17 more years of good life.” NH PHOTO/ESTHER MCCOY
‘Everyone helps each other’
Jewett considering mayor’s court BY CORNELIA GRACE Harrison News-Herald Reporter
New Athens Mayor Joe Petro sits proudly behind the desk he’s occupied for 6 years, with hopes of more years to come. NH PHOTO/ALYSSA HOWARD
BY ALYSSA HOWARD Harrison News-Herald Staff Writer NEW ATHENS—Joe Petro has been the mayor of New Athens for six years. One day he came into the village building to get some information. The mayor and council members asked him to take a seat; they were having a meeting and would help him with his questions soon. He discussed what he came in for, and they asked him to come again the next month. That next month one of the ladies on the council resigned. The council then offered Petro a seat on council, which he accepted, and he served on council for a good while. The mayor at the time worked for the state, but he ended up resigning due to a conflict of interest. In the event of that happening, the president of council temporarily moves up to acting mayor until one is elected. With Petro faithfully participating in the village council, he was elected as president of council. After a bit of time, the new mayor decided that he wanted to settle around his children and grandchildren, so he resigned as well. Petro then temporarily moved to the mayor's seat. Petro went to the board of elections, got a petition, and went door to door. He got on the ballot that year and was elected mayor. He got another petition when that term expired. He is currently in his second term and is planning to run for mayor again next year. "I'm probably going to do it one more time," Petro said. "I might do it more; I don't know yet." Petro mentioned that he has hopes of getting some paving done in the village and
getting a few new water meters to replace some troublesome ones. He also has plans to replace a couple of water lines within the next few years. They recently acquired a little piece of land, and they are discussing the idea of making a small park with a gazebo in the area. Council hopes it will be a nice place for the residents to go. "All good things take time, and acquiring the funds to do the projects takes time," he said. Petro iterated that getting involved in your community is important. "I live here in town, so what happens in town affects me. So I got involved. I try to do what I can." He mentions that everyone is welcome to attend the council meetings about any concerns or questions residents of the village may have. Meetings are held on the second Monday of every month, starting at 6:30 p.m. Petro said his favorite thing about living in New Athens is that it is a good tight-knit community. When the tornado hit in July of 2021, the community banded together to help one another. Residents came out, and the police and fire departments. He said, "Route 9 was closed because of trees down and a roof on the road. They drug the roof off the road, cut all the trees down, and hauled them off. Route 9 reopened because of them. The state didn't even need to come out because it was all done". Petro said, "That is what's great about living here. Everyone helps each other." He wants good things to happen here. It is obvious that he cares deeply about the village and its residents, and he has hopes that, as mayor, he can help them move forward and succeed.
JEWETT—Jewett Council began with public comment from a few residents. Jim Thompson asked about a property near the Veteran’s Park. The land is village property, and every Memorial Day, the veterans set up crosses there and in the park itself. Thompson was concerned that people had been creating ruts in the grass by parking there. Councilmember Paul Privot said he would fix the damage before Memorial Day. One resident asked about the Wildcat Center demolition, specifically about the memorial items around the school. She wondered who the memorials belonged to, the person they were made for, or the village since they were placed on village property. “We’re going to work with everybody on that,” Mayor George Bailie said. It had been previously discussed that the memorial plants and items would be moved to a safe place and then moved back, but if she wanted to take her son’s memorial and find a new, permanent home, the council would be more than willing to help her do that. Village Administrator Mike McBee shared that several sidewalk and retaining wall projects had been completed or were nearing completion. Several council members commented on how nice Main Street looked with the improvements. Police Chief Ron Carter shared in his report that the department was in need of new radios. Several departments across the county are looking into replacing radios over the next few years. “Our radios in our car and our portables have always given us issues,” Carter said. “Recently, they’ve been horrible. They shut off, they go into maintenance mode, and you can’t get [service] in some areas.” The current models are 20 years old and will not be able to be serviced by 2025. “For Jewett, we keep two portables and a car radio. If we order with Cadiz, the mobile unit for our car to be bought, programmed, and installed is $5,236. Our portables are $5,558.95 a piece.” Council certainly felt the sticker shock on the cost, “So we’re up to $15,000 right now,” Joshua Walters said. Having the line of communication open with dispatch and other officers is crucial to the safety of both officers and residents. See MAYOR’S COURT Pg.- 2
OBITUARIES
Rosemary Adams Johan Holmes USPS Publication No. 236-080 One Section, 10 Pages Vol. 55, No. 40