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
Thursday, June 6, 2019
freepressstandard.com
Shake up in Sherrodsville as mayor resigns By NANCY SCHAAR FPS Correspondent Mayor Ken Moffat turned in his keys and resigned from the office of mayor of Sherrodsville during a special meeting held Saturday, June 1, at village hall. “Here are my keys and credit card. I’m tired of being criticized, scrutinized, everything, but homicide,” said Moffat. Throughout the meeting Moffat kept asking council members to finish anything that needed voting on. When that was completed, Moffat resigned and abruptly left village hall. An issue was brought before council by member Sean Leggett regarding the unauthorized use of the new village truck. Last month, the village took possession of a new truck to be used by the village service department. Moffat,
who is employed by the basketball camp, has been reportedly using the truck at the camp. When questioned by Leggett, Moffat said they have loaned us their trucks and equipment many, many times when we’ve needed help and he didn’t think it was wrong to use the village truck to assist them now that the village has a truck of their own. Leggett asked where the village truck is and Moffat said it was out at the basketball camp. Leggett asked where are the keys? Moffat said they were in the truck. After Moffat left the meeting, council members discussed the damage to the truck that has been reported. Questions regarding who was driving the truck when the damage occurred and questions about insurance coverage were also briefly discussed. Following the departure of Moffat, council president Michelle Higgenbotham was asked to serve as mayor
and after contemplation, Higgenbotham agreed. The oath of office for mayor was administered to Higgenbotham. Leggett agreed to take the seat of Council President. Ong clarified to council that council needs people to fill the open council seats. Ong said that they started this meeting with only four members because there have been two open seats for some time. But with Higgenbotham taking the office of mayor, that leaves council with only three members. Anyone interested in serving on village council should submit a letter of interest or call Fiscal Officer Valerie Gardner. In other matters, council discussed the option of hiring a police officer to handle enforcement of village ordinances in the village. One person that is interested in the position has told Sherrodsville village solicitor J. J. Ong
that she would serve as an employee but will not take the job as a private contractor. “She has a bad reputation. I don’t want her,” stated council member Michelle Higgenbotham. Council member Sean Leggett brought the village grass mowing up for discussion. Leggett said he realizes the village employee who usually does a great job is recovering from surgery but the village needs to hire someone, because the village looks bad. Volunteers have been trying to fill in but have not been able to keep up with all the mowing. Council agreed to hire someone just to do the mowing and authorized up to $1,000 for for the project. In other business council: - WILL hold a 2020 Budget Hearing July 15 at 6:30 p.m. - ANNOUNCED that Blessings in a Backpack will hold a BBQ at Baxter’s June 9 from 11 to 4.
- ACCEPTED a donation of playground equipment from Conotton Valley for the village park. - WAS informed that the village had missed the deadline for Community Development Grant Fund applications. This was for funding for the next two years. - LEARNED that street repairs have been made to Dawn, Crane, Park, Gayle, and Hazleton. - HEARD no report was available regarding the EMS district due to the continued absence of Sherrodsville EMS Chief Kevin Vandegrift. - ANSWERED questions by Karen Love regarding the tornado siren for the village. - CONFIRMED that BJ Booth will have access to the eat stand, the former fire department building and can use picnic tables from the park for the homecoming July 27. - LEARNED no one has expressed an interest in two open council seats.
OhioMeansJobs looking for youth needing job placement If you are 16-24 years old and need a job, OhioMeansJobs may be able to help! The Comprehensive Case Management Employment Program (CCMEP) at OhioMeansJobs places eligible youth in local jobs. Youth who are in households that have income at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines and have a minor child in the household may be eligible. Individuals or households currently receiving food assistance (SNAP), Medicaid, or Ohio Works First may also be eligible. Youth will be paid $8.55 per hour and can work at the participating work sites up to 40 hours per week. Staff will attempt to match eligible youth with businesses that fit their interests and/or
career plans. Youth will also participate in weekly workshops to learn new skills such as career exploration, how to be a good employee, financial planning and more. This program is an excellent way for local businesses to have extra help for the summer months, at no cost to the business, and to invest in our local youth. We have many job sites that are still open and in need of employees. OhioMeansJobs Carroll County is located at 55 E. Main St. (rear), Carrollton. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. They can be contacted by calling 330627-2571, Option 5. You can also visit their Facebook page by searching OhioMeansJobs Carroll County.
Malvern Council asked to rid town of dilapidated building By NANCY SCHAAR FPS Correspondent Submitted Photo
NOW: Lifelong friends Tyler Maple, Matthew McNutt and Austin Maple have been accepted into the Ohio CAT Think Big Internship Program, which will earn each of them an associate degree in applied science.
Carrollton seniors accepted into elite college program By NANCY SCHAAR FPS Correspondent Three Carrollton High School graduates will be attending Owens Community College in Toledo this fall. The three young men applied and were accepted into a very elite program at the college. Tyler Maple, Matthew McNutt and Austin Maple have been best friends since pre-school and attended Carrollton Schools and spent their last two years at Buckeye Career Center. All three boys share interests and all three applied for the Ohio CAT Think Big Internship Program. This is a special program that will yield an Associate Degree in Applied Science for each of them. There are only 700 students world-wide who are accepted into this program each year. “Their teachers at Buckeye said the boys had a better chance of winning the lottery than for all three of them to be accepted,” said Carrie McNutt, mom to Matthew. For three students from the same school to be accepted at the same time is a very rare occurrence, according to college representatives.
more inside
Property owner JoAnn Cinson addressed Malvern Village Council Monday evening, June 3, regarding the property adjacent to one she owns on Wilson Street. The current owner of the dilapidated property has refused to comply with orders from the Carroll County Health Department and the health department has turned the issue over to the county prosecutor to seek a resolution, according to Cinson. The business has been closed for years. The roof has caved in. There are holes in the wall, rodents, broken windows, and probably black mold, according to Cinson. “I have a petition with 100 sig-
natures of residents who want this building torn down or repaired,” stated Cinson. She also supplied photos of the property and the issues that need addressed. “What does council do to protect us from people like him? Maybe the ORC can step in and tear it down. I’m hoping you can address this,” said Cinson. Village Administrator Marcus Benson said the owner has complied with the village requests to clean up the debris on the sidewalk and outside of the building. Council member Barb Burgess advised Cinson that there are no zoning laws in Malvern and the hands of the village are tied as to what they can
See MALVERN, PG. 3
Early deadlines are in effect
Submitted Photo
THEN: Tyler Maple, Matthew McNutt and Austin Maple have been friends since pre-school, attended Carrollton schools and will now go off to Owens Community College in Toledo for an interneship program.
The program pays for their schooling and they are guaranteed a job once they graduate from Owens Community College, as diesel mechanics. Classes at the college are held for eight intensive weeks and then the
classified pg. 13
boys will work at CAT for eight weeks. This is the schedule they will follow for the next two years but they are happy they will still be all together and are guaranteed great jobs when the course is completed.
obits pg. 4
The Free Press Standard will have early deadlines for Independence Day, July 4. The deadline for display advertising is noon Thursday, June 27. For classified ads, the deadline is noon Friday, June 28. Editorial deadlines are as follows: News: 4 p.m. Friday, June 28. Sports: 4 p.m. Friday, June 28. Obituaries: 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 2 Letters to the Editor: Noon Friday, June 28. Accent: 4 p.m. Friday, June 28. The office will be closed Thursday, July 4, for Independence Day.
opinion pg. 9
sports pg. 5