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, September 5, 2019
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County officials to apply for flood relief By NANCY SCHAAR FPS Correspondent
FPS photo/Georgette Huff
Committee chairman Mike Stone (from left) retired University of Mount Union professor Charles McClaugherty, author Ray Novotny, and Amsterdam mayor Jim Phillips were among the speakers at the August 31 unveiling of a bronze plaque honoring teacher and naturalist Forest Buchanan and his wife, Clarice.
Forest and Clarice Buchanan honored with memorial plaque in Amsterdam By GEORGETTE HUFF FPS Contributor Mike Stone, chairman of the fundraising committee, opened the Aug. 31 unveiling of a bronze plaque honoring the late Forest Buchanan and his wife, the former Clarice McKibben, with a story that had been told to him, of the day “Randy came running,” in something of a dither because there was “a dead man in the back yard.” Turned out, it was “just Forest.” As he was driving by, a flower had piqued his interest, so he jumped out of his car, leaving its door open and engine running, and was lying in that back yard, taking close-up photographs of that flower. As anyone who knew Buchanan can attest, it was a “vintage Forest” moment in a life defined by boundless curiosity about the natural world, from big game to birds to bugs and every manner of flower or weed. Stone recounted Forest’s personal and professional history: attending grade school at #7 School on Apex Road, graduating from high school in both Amsterdam, which offered only two years in the 1920s, and Bergholz in 1924, and graduating with a degree in English from Mount Union College
in 1928. Buchanan taught English from 1928 to 1947, in Amsterdam High School, and 1947 to 1954, in the consolidated Springfield Local High School, served as principal from 1954 to 1967, and guidance counselor from 1967 to 1971, then retired in 1971. He graduated from Cornell University in 1947, with a degree in biology. The Ohio State University’s College of Biological Sciences later published his senior thesis, “The Breeding Birds of Carroll and Northern Jefferson Counties, Ohio,” After graduating from Mount Union and teaching for a few years, he was anxious to see what was out there. Lacking the funds for his first choice, Africa, he instead journeyed to Brazil in 1930, where he explored the Amazon and Rio Negro rivers and collected numerous specimens. Other trips followed, including safari hunts in Tanganyika, Rhodesia and Kenya, a bison hunt in the Northwest Territories of Canada, and multiple trips to Puerto Rico, where he discovered, named and catalogued over 200 unnamed species of native ferns, and a nature trail has been named in his honor. On one memorable occasion, he and his companions were dropped off for a research trip to a remote location in northern Alaska accessible only
by plane, by a pilot who then forgot about them. By the time he fetched them, two weeks later, they had exhausted all their supplies. Buchanan, who died in 2002 at the age of 96, received numerous accolades throughout his long life. Ray Novotny, a Youngstown resident who met Buchanan in 1979 and “adopted him as my grandfather,” recounted nominating him for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ “Conservation Achievement Award” which was presented by then-Governor Richard Celeste in 1985. In 1996, Buchanan was named “Naturalist of the Year” by the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History, and in 1999, he was inducted into the ODNR’s Hall of Fame. Additionally, he was honored with a plaque commemorating his work in preserving the Stillfork Swamp Nature Preserve in Carroll County. Professor Charles McClaugherty, now retired from the University of Mount Union, recalled they first met when Mr. Buchanan “wandered” into his office about 30 years ago. In 2006, the university posthumously dedicated the “Forest W. Buchanan Explorers Trail” at the Huston-Brumbaugh Nature Center on state Route 183, south
See BUCHANAN, PG. 2
Emergency Management Agency Deputy Director Brett Lee reported to commissioners that due to the flooding our county experienced in June, he received an email from the government regarding our appeal for financial recovery help. “The next step will be the (county) engineer to take the lead. All the information on flooding will go to the engineer, regarding either people or townships. All paperwork must go to the engineer now. Then it will be presented to the state,” said Lee. The county hopes to receive 75% reimbursement from the state and residents will be responsible for the other 25%. But work that has already been done can cover the 25% due from residents. County Employees Benefits Consortium representative Wendy Dillingham presented the second quarter report to commissioners. In her report, Dillingham said that the county insurance membership is 54.3% female and 45.7% male. The average female employee is 48 years old and the average male employee is 47. The top inpatient facility used was Akron Children’s Hospital accounting for 89%. Ten members of the plan incurred more than $50,000 in claims. Dillingham was pleased that 98.4% of claims were in the network, which does produce a cost savings.
The top diagnosis for medications was diabetes and inflammatory conditions were the second highest diagnosis. “Am I reading this right that one claim this year totaled $1,896,000?” questioned Commissioner Bob Wirkner. Dillingham said yes. Dillingham said they are changing prescription services from Express Scripts to Anthem Scripts just because of the bottom line. “It wasn’t an easy decision. We had no problems with Express, but it came to the bottom line,” said Dillingham. County Treasurer Jeff Yeager explained how the upcoming tax lien sale that is being planned from his office will affect residents. Anyone with delinquent taxes will have 30 days to pay these back taxes off or they will be sold. For more information, residents are asked to call the treasurer’s office at the courthouse at 330-627-4221. In other business, commissioners: - APPOINTED Debra Shaw to the Carroll County Board of Developmental Disability through December 31, 2022. - ANNOUNCED the 2019 annual report for the county prosecutor is on file. - APPROVED a new fund for administration. - RECEIVED the dog pound report with four impounded, three adopted out, one redeemed, none destroyed, two citations issued for no license and two citations issued for running at large.
Hoopingarner announces retirement from MWCD John Hoopingarner, executive director of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, has announced that he will retire on May 31, 2020 after more than 30 years of service to the MWCD. A native of Tuscarawas County, Hoopingarner was appointed to his position with the MWCD on Sept. 1, 1989, at the age of 35. Prior to his appointment as executive director, he served as legal counsel to the MWCD for 10 years while in the private practice of law in New Philadelphia. “It has truly been an honor to provide leadership to the MWCD. We are a unique organization dedicated to providing the benefits of flood reduction, conservation and recreation in the Muskingum River Watershed. Every day of my career has been both challenging and rewarding. It has been a privilege to work along-side a staff of responsible stewards so dedicated to our mission,” said Hoopingarner.
JOHN HOOPINGARNER
See MWCD, PG. 2
CIC to transfer properties to CCH Environmental By NANCY SCHAAR FPS Correspondent
FPS Photo / Nancy Schaar
Dellroy Elementary demolished Dellroy Elementary alumni said goodbye to their school last week as crews from Eslich Wrecking Company began demolishing the building. Crews will be spending this week cleaning up the debris.
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The Carroll County Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) met Thursday and agreed to transfer three acres of property to the Carroll, Columbiana and Harrison Environmental Group. The three acres have been selected from Commerce Park and is just off of State Route 171 and State Route 9. “We’re paying rent now. Our trucks are currently sitting out in all kinds of weather and that’s not good for the trucks. When the drivers get ready on a winter morning, they have to do ice and scrape those trucks before they can get to work,” said Commissioner Bob Wirkner. By having their own facility the cost of rent will not exist. The trucks will sit inside the building and the department will have less repair and maintenance expenses because the trucks will be protected from the elements, according to Wirkner. Wirkner also stated that even if commissioners approve the sale of the acres
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at $5,000, the Solid Waste Board will still have to approve the transfer. “All efforts are to save costs that won’t be passed down to the constituents. We can keep a cap on rate increases,” said Wirkner. “This would push us further down the road long before that would happen. It will help our cash flow tremendously,” said Commissioner Jeff Ohler. The CIC members agreed to sell the three acres at $5,000 per acre, with the stipulation that if the property is ever sold, the county has the first right of refusal, and if the property is not developed as specified within five years, the property reverts back to the county. After lengthy discussion, CIC members agreed to offer a $50,000 grant to Griffeth Trucking to help get the business up and running at its new location on Lisbon Street. Griffeth’s will be operating a public inter modal at the new business site. The grant will specifically be used to help get the inter model operational and for rail development. In other business, the board discussed replacement members for several that are no longer members.
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