April declared sexual assault, child abuse awareness month

eral Rail Administration (FRA), in conjunction with the findings of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation, to recommend changes to how our nation’s rail system operates – from train length, weight to speed, and track standards.

• Increasing funding for Hazardous Materials Training for first responders.

• Increasing maximum penalties for violations of rail safety regulations.

• Increasing inspections on all trains, including those carrying hazardous materials.

• Auditing federal rail inspection programs.

Ohio, which has one of the country’s largest railroad networks, ranks fourth in the nation for serious train accidents and hazardous materials spills. From 2019 through November 2022, 281 train accidents occurred within the state.

Eleven members of the Ohio delegation are co-sponsors of the RAIL Act, including six Republicans and five Democrats.

Single in Scio

Dear Ann, I am a 26-year-old female who has recently moved to the area from a different state. I am a devout Christian. I like to be social, have intelligent conversations, and cook lots of food. I would really like to find someone who likes to have fun and is worthy of a first date. Do you know anybody, Ann? If you do, pass along my number: 541-704-5362.

Sincerely,

Single in Scio

Dear Single in Scio, Welcome to Ohio!

Since you mentioned that you take your faith seriously, I believe you would do well to find a good church, one that teaches the Bible and has an age range of attendees. It sounds like you are very out - going, which will make it easier for you to find someone to connect with. Please be careful and don’t let yourself get into a vulnerable situation. Pray and ask God to bring the right person in your path—it may not happen right away, but God’s timing is best. You could also get involved in local events where you could meet people with similar interests. Summer is a busy time for that! And who knows, maybe someone reading this will share your number with a single someone.

Much Love, Ann

By Cornelia Grace Harrison News-Herald Reporter

CADIZ — Commissioners

Amy Norris and Paul Coffland began the April 5 meeting by opening two requests for proposal for the project-manager position for the Appalachian Community Grant Program. The proposals came from Neighborhood Strategies and The Montrose Group, LLC. Both were tabled for review.

Commissioners then opened bids for the courtroom renovation project. The first bid was from Grae-Con Construction, Inc. for $256,000. The second bid was from Catrell Companies, Inc. for $199,500. The third bid was from Border Patrol LLC for $203,800. All bids were tabled for review.

In other matters, Sexual Assault Program Facilitator JaQue Galloway from Tri-County Help Center announced April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

“We just wanted to thank you all for taking the time to recognize April as sexual assault awareness month,” Galloway said. “The theme we chose this month is ‘Be the One.’ Which is to encourage our community, our three county area, to be the one to stand together against sexual assault. Although we’ve seen an increase in sexual-assault survivors seeking our services, we’ve actually seen a decline in those who were willing to report to law enforcement or other providers.” She said they will take the month to focus on how to make the community safer to share survivor’s stories.

The commissioners passed resolution 21-23, which officially recognizes this for the county.

April is also Child Neglect and Abuse Prevention Month. Department of Job and Family Services Director Deb Knight shared some harrowing statistics with the commissioners. Coffland read resolution 22-23 to declare the awareness month for the county. There will be pinwheels displayed at the DJFS office, each one representing a case of child abuse or neglect that happened in the county last year.

In 2022, there were 362 intakes for child abuse and neglect in Harrison County. Of those intakes, 33.6% were reports of neglect. There are currently 33 children in

DJFS custody, eight of them are in permanent custody.

Knight reported that placements continue to be an issue for the agency. Some children are placed as far as 90 miles away. This can be very hard on children as it means they must be enrolled in a new school, go to new doctors, and find new counselors. Ideally, the department places children with relatives in what are called kinship placements. However, this is not possible for many children in the county. For information on how to become a foster placement, please call Kathryn Caldwell at 740-942-6030

The DJFS will be hosting a community day on April 29 from 11-1 p.m. at the John W. Stephenson Center in Cadiz to continue raising awareness.

“We are hopeful we can get some of our local partners to join with us to provide information to the families that come,” Knight said. She said there will be food and activities for the kids. “We hope to make this an annual event so that families will have something to do and we can get the word out about prevention.”

Scio sanitary project funding still pending

By Kristi Tullis Harrison News-Herald Staff Writer

SCIO

— The village of Scio held a council meeting on March 22.

The meeting touched upon ongoing updates from the Village Administrator Jason Tubaugh.

Funding for the Hilltop Drive Sanitary Project is still pending and is in its planning phase. Several options for this project will be presented to the council and could potentially be combined with a downtown revitalization project.

An additional waterline project is awaiting line identification through the SSB grant on East Elm Street and East- port Road. The new lines replaced in the distribution system were fully funded by ARC, CDBG, OEPA, OPWC, and H2O. The project is 80 percent completed.

As a reminder, the court date is set for May 3 at 11:30 a.m. to hear oral arguments for the annexation petition that was filed with the Seventh District Court of Appeals. This date is set for Ordinance 2021-007, and a list of dates for the lawsuit has been provided.

The invoice has been received for the maintenance of the water storage tank. This project is now complete. The water-line projects are ongoing for Brown, Maple, Walnut, and Grandview streets. The paving portion will follow the completion of this and is slated for this spring. The VA and the Thrasher Group are working on preliminary planning and engineering for the water-line replacements. Part of this funding will be from the $300,000 grant provided through the Congressionally Directed Spending Fund and was facilitated by Senator Brown’s office.

A pre-construction meeting was held on March 22 with ODOT at the District 11 office for the construction of state Route 646. Phase V of project ID 1129+5 HAS646-6.37 has been awarded to TUCSON Inc.

Tubaugh reiterated that the wastewater treatment plant’s ultraviolet system is operating and will be in service beginning May 1. There is also no additional information regarding an update for 152 E. College St. at this time. Also noted is that the grant submission for the Ohio EPA funding is still pending.

The park is now open to the public as maintenance is underway. The storm-sewer line replacement for 104 Maple Ave. is pending. Columbia Gas line maintenance is being conducted on Main Street, Church Street, East College Street, and Lee, Carrollton, and Utility Streets.