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Saturday, August 7, 2021
Harrison News-Herald Area
Adena Heritage Days returns with new queen and grand marshal BY JD LONG jim@harrisonnewsherald.com ADENA—After a year off and COVID-19 interfering with many functions, Adena’s Heritage Days is back, and it kicks off Friday, Aug. 13; the traditional Saturday parade and some pomp and circumstance are on the agenda. The 92-year-old Jeanne Donley of Adena has been crowned queen this year, with Dirk Harkins as the grand marshal. But Harkins will be conducting his master of ceremony responsibilities a little different than years past. He looks at it as an honor to be tabbed the grand marshal of Heritage Days and represent all first responders. “I’m just fortunate to be the one to represent all the first responders,” he said. Harkins doesn’t want to sit and ride and wave to the crowd; he wants to be among the crowd, with all the veterans and first responders who will be in attendance. “There’s not going to be just one grandmaster of ceremonies,” Harkins said, wanting to make it for all the ones who put themselves on the line. “It’s their day,” he added. Jeanne Donley also sees her appointment as an honor but, in a way, might be called the reluctant queen. President of the Heritage Days committee Lynn McConnell said she had to do a little persuading to get Donley to fall in line. “First thing I asked: ‘Do I have to make a speech?’” Jeanne said, then laughed. Donley was born in 1929 to Beatrice and Morris Walker and attended Adena High
School in 1947. “She helped take care of her mother until she could start work at the age of 21,” said Karen DaVia, one of Jeanne’s daughters. Donley worked at Scio Pottery from 1950 to 1955, and after spending two summers in California, she met her husband Jerry on a blind date. They married after he was discharged from the Navy while serving in Korea. Jeanne has lived most of her life in Adena; she figures she’s spent about 85 years in her hometown. She moved in with Karen after Jerry died in 2009, but the house was built on the same land where Donley was born. Jeanne has three daughters, one grandson, three granddaughters, three great-grandsons, and two great-granddaughters. As for grand marshal Dirk Harkins, he’s a veteran and a member of Adena American Legion Post 525; he’s been closely involved with the needs of military veterans, especially combat veterans (he himself is one). Harkins signed up as the result of 9/11. After ending a day at work and seeing what had happened on September 11, he went home and told his wife at the time: “We’re going into the military.” Friday’s Heritage Days festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. and stretch until 11 p.m. On Saturday, the parade will start at noon, followed by the presentation of flags and the national anthem. Events will last throughout the day ending with the 10 p.m. fireworks. Among the entertainment is a cornhole tournament on Saturday at 6 p.m. and a car show preceding. In addition, a DJ will be live, and a 50-50 raffle with door prizes is also scheduled.
Harrison County receives deed to US 250 property BY JD LONG jim@harrisonnewsherald.com CADIZ—The old gas station on U.S. 250 that is no more has finally seen the last step in its transformation from an eyesore to an empty lot ready for future use. President of the Harrison County Community Improvement Corporation, Dale Arbaugh, Harrison County Economic Development Director Nick Homrighausen, Stock Township trustee Jeff Crall, and BJAAM Environmental vice president Jason Grecco appeared before the Harrison County Commissioners to officially present the deed of the U.S. 250 property. The station and the surface have been raised and leveled, and the gas tanks were all removed well before COVID took control, but the missing deed became the final piece to the puzzle. “Four years ago, we took on the project... to clean up abandoned petrol gas stations and so forth,” Arbaugh explained. “And one of the sites we addressed was the Tappan Coultraps site down [U.S.] 250” Arbaugh then gave a little summary of the process that began back in 2017 trying to find the owners who he called “nonexistent.” And with no success, it led to a long court process to take over the property. When that was accomplished, BJAAM Environmental was able to move in for the eventual cleanup. “The state provided all the funds for all the environmental cleanup on the property,” Arbaugh said. An initial grant came in for $249,000, with a second grant adding just over $211,000, which he said covered more surface cleanup, such as tires that had covered parts of the property. “So, it was not just petroleum, but it was also tires and things like that that took place there,” Arbaugh reminded the board. He said it took three years from the time the physical process began to finally complete all the paperwork. Economic Development Director Homrighausen said tax issues were one of the problems that
needed to be straightened out, as well. He told the board the state program that the Community Improvement Corporation took advantage of doesn’t normally take this long, but it was unavoidable with all the hurdles mentioned. “You know, it’s been a problem in various years, I would say, from the seventies on [with] various ownerships and issues with the taxes, so we were able to clean that up,” Homrighausen explained. “Now we have a clean property, you know that doesn’t have any back taxes on it, and the ownership will be with the county commissioners, which was what it was always intended to be.” He noted that the abandoned station was not only along a main thoroughfare for residents and visitors passing by but was also within the “flood over-spillway” of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, which added more complications and inspections. “It was a great project; it took longer than what they typically do,” Homrighausen stated. “But the abandoned gas station program from the state is a good program, and there’s other properties and-or gas stations that are looked at in the county.” He called it a “real group effort” to complete the project, including their former attorney John Tabacchi and the commissioners. “This project is a big win, no question when it comes to that particular area; it was a mess. It was just abandoned,” Commissioner Don Bethel added. He then congratulated the Community Improvement Corporation and Homrighausen for their efforts. They both noted the cost of cleaning up a small property “less than a tenth of an acre” with well over $400,000 spent. However, they hoped it could eventually be put to good use. And BJAAM Environmental vice president Jason Grecco reminded the board and public that the grant required no matching funds from the county. He added that there was more funding for additional projects, which would include the environmental aspect. “And we’re excited to see this property redeveloped,” Grecco told the board.
Harrison Hills Board of Education declares COVID masks optional BY JD LONG jim@harrisonnewsherald.com CADIZ—The upcoming school year won’t enforce mandatory masks, but they will remain optional for anyone to wear. The Harrison Hills Board of Education voted last Thursday to make mask-wearing optional, a decision carried over from early summer, according to superintendent Dana Snider.
Harrison News-Herald Photo/JD LONG Dirk Harkins and Jeanne Donley have been named Adena’s grand marshal and queen for this year’s Heritage Days, as it makes its return following last year’s COVID cancellation.
Scio residents not responding to income tax letters BY JD LONG jim@harrisonnewsherald.com SCIO—Not much time was spent on the subject, but the message was short and to the point: Residents aren’t responding to income letters. Last Wednesday, Scio’s income tax administrator Janeen Scott once again stressed the importance of the public responding to courtesy letters
regarding income tax inquiries. It’s been a problem in the past and a recurring one. While not all residents were unresponsive, Scott made the point that there were enough to make it a problem for the village. “There’s a number of people that are not responding to courtesy letters of delinquent taxes,” Scott explained. “Taxes must be filed and paid; this will not go away.”
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School busses are a different story, though, as she added that federal guidelines still require mandatory mask-wearing during bus transportation, so Harrison Hills will have to adhere. But in connection with the school, bus rides are the only area where mask-wearing is mandatory. The vote also goes for faculty and staff; it’ll be optional for them, too. “For now,” Snider added. “We will monitor it closely with what is going on in the county.”
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