C o n t i n u i n g To P r o u d l y S e r v e C a r r o l l C o u n t y S i n c e 1 8 3 1 $1.00
12 Pages
Thursday, January 31, 2019
freepressstandard.com
Conotton Valley to construct $18m Rocket Center By DON RUTLEDGE FPS Staff Writer A new $18 million Rocket Center and NO more school property taxes for residents of the Conotton Valley Union Local School District! Unbelievable? But it’s true. Conotton Valley School Supt. Todd Herman says construction is expected to begin this summer on an 80,000 square foot building to be termed The Rocket Center at an estimated cost of $18 million. He explained financing for the project is coming from public utility property taxes being levied on the Rover Pipeline, which has 15 miles of pipeline across the Conotton Valley Union Local School District. Herman said the district is to receive $3 million this year and $4.4 million next year while the incoming revenue to the school district is expected for the next 40 years. “Consequently, the Board of Education has decided to discontinue two tax levies at the conclusion of 2019!”, the Superintendent said.
They include an emergency levy that generates about $500,000 per year and a permanent improvement levy that yields approximately $140,000 annually. The savings will be about $200 a year on a $100,000 property valuation, according to Herman. “You can see from the renderings (in accompanying photo) there will be something for everyone in our community,” Herman continued. The Rocket Center, to be constructed in front of the Conotton Valley school on state Route 212 is to include a health cli nic, fitness and wellness center and a connection to the current school building. Herman said the Conotton Valley School District is considering incorporating a new indoor pool into the Rocket Center to provide year-round programs and services not currently offered in the community. In addition to an eight-lane competition pool, the Rocket Center is to include fitness equipment and exercise studios, performance gymnasium and storage, elevated walking and running track and team and family locker rooms. Also included in the project are a six-
A rendering of the proposed $18 million Rocket Center at Conotton Valley schools shows the anticipated Health Clinic, Fitness and Wellness Center and connection to the present Conotton Valley schools on state Route 212 between Sherrodsville and Leesville.
lane bowling alley, multipurpose and fitness rooms, daycare and preschool, senior center, media café, school kitchen and cafetorium, school band room and storage and a secure facility and access. The eight-lane competition pool will offer lap, open and family swimming, swim lessons and water safety education, swim fitness classes and water
aerobics, swim birthday parties and pool rental with the potential to offer competition swimming. The center will also include family locker rooms, upper level seating for viewing and will be free and low cost fees for taxpayers. “The Rocket Center will truly become the center of our community and it will be free for our taxpayers.
Our community has always supported this school and the CV Board of Education is committed to giving back!” he added. A public informational meeting to inform residents of the school district about the project is scheduled for this Thursday, Jan. 31, at 7:30 p.m. in the Conotton Valley High School gymnasium.
AEP Ohio offers tips for extreme cold weather The polar vortex is bearing down on a large swath of the United States and bringing extreme cold weather to Ohio. When the temperature drops, your home appliances may kick into overdrive, including heat pumps, gas furnace blowers and portable space heaters. These conditions can not only drive up your electric bill, but they can
be unsafe, too. Here are some key things to remember during the extreme cold. Being Efficient and Staying Warm
• Set thermostats as low as appropriate for staying healthy and comfortable. • Turn off lights and electric appliances that you don’t need or aren’t using. • Keep doors and windows closed as
much as possible, including overhead doors on attached garages. • Open curtains on the sunny side of the house to warm up your home. If there’s no sun, close the shades to keep warm air in. • Add door sweeps and weatherization strips to reduce outside air coming in. Cold Weather Safety • Take extreme care when using a
space heater. Place it at least three feet away from anything that can burn, including walls, and unplug it before you leave the room. • Never use a stove or oven to heat your home. • If you’re using a fireplace, use a glass or metal fire screen. Be sure it’s large enough to catch sparks or rolling logs. • Use generators correctly – never op-
erate one inside your home, including the basement or garage. • Guard against carbon monoxide poisoning. Make sure you have smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and that they are working properly and have fresh batteries.
See TIPS, PG. 3
Looking back 40 years after commissioners were arrested By KIMBERLY LEWIS FPS Editor Before President Donald Trump and the U.S. Congress tussled over the funding of a border wall, the Carroll County Commissioners had their own fight with Carroll County Common Pleas Probate and Juvenile Division Court Judge Patricia Anderson regarding an additional $13,284 to fund her court. “It is somewhat similar to the circumstances of today in Washington,” acknowledged Robert “Rock” Smith, then a 27-year-old, first-term commissioner in 1979. “We go through it every year. The elected office holder makes a budget request for the funding they want for the year,” Smith said. “It’s a request, nothing else.” In December 1978, Judge Anderson requested $54,068.22 for her 1979 budget, but the commissioners only appropriated $40,784, a deficit of $13,284.22. On Jan. 11, 1979, Anderson filed a judgement entry that the court “finds that certain items included (in the budget) have not been appropriated as ordered. The court further finds that no reason has been submitted to the court as to why the sums so requested for the proper operation of each division of the court have not been appropriated as ordered.” Anderson gave the commissioners until Feb. 1, 1979, to provide testimony or evidence to explain their decision. Commissioners Smith, Robert Kellogg and Dale Williamson declared they would rather go to jail than to appropriate additional funds for Anderson’s court. Not that they could, Kellogg and Smith noted. “We were always frugal,” explained Kellogg, then a 25-year-old, first-term commissioner. “For the 10 years prior, the county never raised taxes. The 1978 re-evaluation raised the value of property taxes and that didn’t happen,” he said. Smith noted the county Auditor Richard Walton would not have recertified the budget had they asked. “When we did the budget, the audi-
more inside
ROBERT KELLOGG
ROBERT “ROCK” SMITH
tor certies how much it is, but always holds some back in case the economy goes to crap. We did the best we could,” Smith explained. “We would have had to take the funds from someone else.” “We told her we would work with her at the end of the year if she needed the money, but we would not re-certify our appropriations budget,” Smith continued. “That was not good enough.” “We appropriated every dime we had,” Kellogg said. “There was no additional money, unless we took it from someone else. It was not fair to do that.” So on Feb. 1, the commissioners received subpoenas to appear in Anderson’s court. At the hour-long hearing, the three commissioners and the Auditor Walton testified. It had been reported the Revenue Sharing Fund had more than $88,000. Walton told Prosecutor John Heflin that “it has been a longstanding tradition that the county has had to subsidize the Revenue Sharing fund account and that it has not been a practice to use the Revenue Sharing money to augment the county’s general fund.” Smith noted he and Kellogg were in the third year of their first term. “We were familiar with the routine,” he explained. Williamson had just been elected, but his wife worked in the auditor’s office so he also was familiar with the routine.
Upon issuing her sentence, Anderson referred to a statement by Ohio Chief Justice Celebreeze, “American society is based on a system of law and penalties imposed are not just to punish, but also to show that all laws are to be honored. “As public officials, it is doubly imporant for you to uphold the law and to follow the strick letter of the law,” she told the commissioners. “... This has been an unnecessary waste of taxpayer’s money,” Anderson continued. “Therefore, since you have acted in contravention of the laws of this state, I find you to be in contempt of this court.” Anderson sentenced the commissioners to Carroll County Jail for 10 days and each was assessed a $500 fine plus court costs for failure to comply with a court order regarding the appropriation of funds for the 1979 operation of the probate and juvenile court divisions. Sheriff Dean Yeager escorted the commissioners to the women’s wing of the recently built county jail. Both Kellogg and Smith said they were not surprised to be behind bars. “We each had our own cell, but spent most of our time in the common area playing cards and things,” Kellogg recalls.
classified pg. 11
See ARRESTS, PG. 3
obits pg. 4
Photo Courtesy / Bailey McKarns
Glass, Boggess are homecoming royalty
Chloe Glass and Trevor Boggess were crowned Carrollton High School’s 2019 winter homecoming queen and king during a crowning ceremony held Friday evening, Jan. 25, at the Carrollton-Minerva basketball game. The queen was crowned by last year’s reigning royalty Angela Starr while the king was crowned by Chase Flanagan, the 2018 homecoming king. Daughter of Denny and Michelle Glass, Chloe is a member of the volleyball and basketball team, National Honor Society and Spanish Club at CHS. Her future plans are to attend Ohio University and major in criminal justice as well as enlisting in the U. S. Air Force Reserves. Boggess, son of Tim and Wendy Boggess, is a member of the football, basketball and baseball teams at CHS. His future plans are to attend Ashland University and major in criminology and enlist in the Army National Guard. Members of the queen and kings court were: Makayla Ball and Brandon Haney, freshmen; Cailyn Bright and Trevor Zinda, sophomores; Jayle Solomon and Jeff Russell, juniors, and Cindy Lewis and Kenny Barkan, seniors. The queen received a bouquet of flowers donated by Carrollton Country Flowers while the queen and king and their court celebrated at a homecoming dance held Saturday evening in the high school gym.
opinion pg. 5
sports pg. 7