< Woodsfield Water Debate Brings Scare, Possible Scam, to Area 

by Arlean Selvy Publisher
Whether it’s a matter of frightened residents or a scam, the superintendent of Woodsfield’s water department isn’t happy with current circumstances surrounding his department and the people it serves. The matter of alleged water testing by Woodsfield Water Department employees was brought to the attention of Woodsfield Village Council at its August 20 meeting by water department superintendent Terry Comstock.

“We’ve had two or three residents call with concerns about the Village of Woodsfield employees calling to test their water,” said Comstock. “Needless to say, the village of Woodsfield does not make a request to test anybody’s water.” Comstock claimed a company from West Virginia, which is trying to test residential water, has left the impression that they are working under the direction of the village water department. Comstock alleged the company talked to elderly residents and the company claims they have a solution to the village’s water problem. The solution is a $7,000 filter system.

He noted, too, that one resident claimed water samples had to be taken from each tap in her home. Comstock said he called the West Virginia company and asked why they were contacting Woodsfield residents and giving the impression they were working with the village.

He said the reply was, “We have not done that.” Comstock said he gets a different story from the people who call him. “It angers me that you would find that kind of vulture sitting on a limb waiting to pounce,” said Comstock. “The Village of Woodsfield [water department] will not enter anyone’s home to do testing unless we come back with a positive bacteria sample,” said Comstock. He noted that, in that case, they would have to sample four houses above and four houses below.

He said if a positive sample is reported, residents will be notified. “The entire village will be notified of the finding!” he said. “And we won’t be making phone calls either.” Comstock noted recent letters in the ‘Our Readers Write’ section of the Beacon in which he “does some bantering” with Jeffrey Daniel Woodell. Comstock, with regard to the letters mailed to residents about trihalomethane levels in village water, said there is no danger, and no need for a scare.

< Resident Questions Appointment

by Arlean Selvy Publisher

It was a morning at the fair as Monroe County commissioners took their Aug. 21 session to the fairgrounds where they conducted business and invited individuals to participate. Woodsfield resident Wayne Forshey and Grizzle Ridge resident Sharon Huffman spoke to officials, as did John Ackerman, president, Monroe County Agricultural Society (fairboard).

Forshey, attended the meeting with a question and complaint about a board member of the Airport Authority. He asked commissioners why there is a man sitting on the airport authority board who’s taxes are $4,100 in arrears for a two year period: 2006 and 2007.

“I thought members of that board are stewards for our community, and if a man doesn’t have enough regard for his community to pay his taxes, I’d like to know why he’s on the board.” “I’d like to request his removal immediately,” said Forshey. He questioned how board appointments are made. Forshey requested a time on the agenda of the August 28 meeting. He said officials could review his question and answer then.
"I’ll answer you right here, right now,” said Commissioner John Pyles. “We have $499,000 in delinquent taxes.” He noted there are delinquencies as much as nine years in arrears. “I’ve talked to the treasurer, the auditor and the prosecutor’s office about this,” he said. “It seems to me if we were going to look at that issue, we’d look at people who were nine, seven or five years in arrears, rather than one,” he said. Pyles noted officials do not ask, “Do you want to serve on a board and have you paid your taxes.” He indicated he has no problem with someone owing delinquent taxes sitting on a board. “It’s not a problem to me,” he told Forshey.

Huffman asked for an update regarding a request for water to be extended to homes on Grizzle Ridge. She said there are now 25 property owners interested in having water supplied to the area.

“I will do anything [to help get the water],” said Huffman, noting she will obtain signatures of Grizzle Ridge residents wanting the water if that is necessary. “I’ll do all the leg work,” she offered. Even with the recent rain, Huffman said she is out of water. “We have always had a problem, even in the winter wells can go dry,” she said. Commission president Francis ‘Sonny’ Block thanked Huffman for her perseverance.

“You’re not just asking for water, you’re willing to get down in the ditches and do some work,” he said. “That’s awesome.” Block commented regarding rain during fair week. “We need more county fairs throughout the year” he joked, adding, “It seems to rain at every county fair.” The fair’s annual kick-off parade which precedes the crowning of Fair Royalty, was cancelled this year due to a heavy rain.

Ackerman commended commissioners for “bringing the meeting to the fair.” He said he appreciates what commissioners do for the fair board, both financially and for the board members’ morale. He noted that although they have a limited budget, they have a good working relationship with county officials, which, he said, is important. Ackerman reviewed recent improvements at the fairgrounds, which include the rewiring of the grandstands, work on the Henri Coulson building and the addition of 25 new camp sites. He commended the many volunteers, including help from MACO and youth from the juvenile court system. He noted county officials, including former commissioner Mark Forni, were instrumental in getting a gas well drilled. Because of that, he said, free gas is heating the Coulson building and the fairboard’s office. “This will help with finances,” he said.

In other business, commissioneers signed a ‘notice to proceed’ for Truax Excavating to begin owrk on Bethel Township road repairs. With the approval of County Engineer Lonnie Tustin, all bids were rejected for a proposed project on a CR138 bridge. Bud Rousenberg was given permission to install a one-and a- quater inch gasline across CR17, Edwina Road, west of CR45. Commissioner Bill Thompson was absent. He was attending a meeting in Bridgeport with Rep. Charlie Wilson and officials from Belmont and Jefferson counties. The meeting targeted planning of economic development in the counties.

< Meeting Held to Discuss Future of Economic, Workforce Development

Submitted by Gwynn Clifford
A second meeting was hosted by Monroe County Department of Job and Family services on August 10 to continue discussion about the future of Monroe County’s economic and workforce development. The large group of stakeholders included representatives from the Ohio and Monroe Departments of Job and Family Services; Monroe County Chamber of Commerce and the Community Improvement Corp.; Guernsey, Monroe, Noble Tri-County CAC; Monroe County Economic Development Committee, local business owners; Buckeye Hills -Hocking Valley Regional Development District, Ohio Valley Employment Resources Office and the Monroe County Board of Commissioners.

In depth research and a review of what other counties and states are doing in partnering workforce training with economic development has been conducted over the post several weeks. With input from various group members and, after lengthy discussion, the overall consensus of state, regional and local representatives is that combining the efforts of the Monroe County Department of Job and Family Services, with those of Monroe County Works would provide the county a new and improved approach to creating and maintaining jobs in the county.

At present, goals have been established to consolidate the resources of the two offices under one organizational structure, and to create a position that will be responsible for workforce and economic development efforts. Another vital need identified by the group is to create a more long-term approach to ensuring that the county can sustain its efforts in workforce and economic development - efforts that in the past have been negatively affected by available funding resources. Through collaborative efforts between local partners, the private sector, elected officials, local government agencies, businesses, education, community members, workforce development partners and advocacy interests, the desired outcome of enabling Monroe County citizens to achieve the highest degree of self-sufficiency should be attainable. The group has committed to additional meetings and more details will be provided over the next several months as the plan is more fully developed.

Editor's Note:
A sub-committee was named and met August 17 to draft a description for the position of economic/workforce developer. The information will be used to advertise for the position when that time arrives. The next meeting slated to discuss economic and workforce development, hosted by Monroe County JFS, is scheduled for August 30 at 10 a.m. The meetings, held at the Department of Job and Family Services, are open to the public.

< Obituaries
(read the full obituary in the paper) 

< Ruth E. Headley, 68, Parkersburg, died Aug. 23, 2007, at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va. She was born in Sardis, the daughter of the late John and Hazel Fankhauser Riggenbach. Online condolences may be expressed at www.leavittfuneralhome.com.

< Martha Louise Owen Rohr, 81, of Marietta, died Aug. 21, 2007, Online condolences may be expressed at www.northsidechapel.com.

< Carolyn Marie Williams went home to her eternal rest, Aug. 23, 2007. She was born June 5, 1963, in Sacramento, Calif., a daughter of James Sr., and Phyllis Thomas.

< Fred H. Dougherty, 85, 111 Home Ave., Woodsfield, died Aug. 24, 2007, at Barnesville Hospital. He was born May 7, 1922, near Woodsfield, a son of the late Wade H. and Louisa Jane Turner Dougherty. Online condolences may be expressed at www.wattersfuneralhome.com.

< Marilyn K. English Elias, 78, North Canton, died Aug. 23, 2007, in Mercy Medical Center following an extended illness. She was born April 28, 1929 in Rinard Mills, a daughter of the late Clark and Minnie Burkhard English.

<Around the Burnside

By Denny Easterling

Words satisfy the soul as food satisfies the stomach; the right words on a persons lips brings satisfaction. Those who love to talk will experience the consequences, for the tongue can kill or nourish life. Well, the Monroe County Fair is well under way as I write. there are a couple of things you can generally count on during the fair, rain and hot weather. We’ve had both so far this year, however, the fairboard seems to be coping and things are running along as might be expected. Some sawdust or shavings under the entertainment tent might have been helpful. I understand the building of a pavilion is in the planning stage, which would be a great improvement. Someone suggested the possibility of building a handicap ramp to make it easier for those who have difficulty climbing up steps into the grandstand. I know it would be appreciated if it could be done. Last week when I was mentioning memories of the Pennyroyal Opera House, I forgot to mention Farmers Institute. We kind of looked forward to it, I think because it meant a day out of school. Our school always put on a program and there were a couple of speakers, some real boring, others interesting. There was a poster contest I enter a few times, however, that was another one of my abilities that did not fully develop. My poster got pitched every time. I guess it’s what’s called a learning experience. We had quite a rain Monday evening, at least at the fairground, as we were trapped under the grandstand for a spell. I couldn’t wait until I got home to find out how much rain we had in Lewisville. Wouldn’t you know it, the batteries in my rain gauge had run down and I got a big zero on the monitor. I don’t have a back-up rain gauge, so I couldn’t brag about how much rain we had in Lewisville. Kind of looks as though we are in for a good hot Thursday of the fair, 70 degrees all night. One thing for sure, there’s no shortage of food stands at the fair. I think I’ll pass on Elk Chili during this hot weather and I wish the homemade ice cream was closer to the grandstand. Football season gets underway this week and it appears that our Monroe County, rather our Switzerland of Ohio teams, are expecting a good season. Wouldn’t it be great if all three teams could make it to the state playoffs? too bad the teams, cheerleaders, and parents couldn’t get together for an evening of fun and raising money for some cause. Lack of this type of events is why some folks want to split the district. Since the time when we had a county band, I do not recall any county wide school activities. Maybe facilities and their location might have something to do with it. I couldn’t believe it. While walking through the floral hall, I spotted a plate of tiny tomatoes that would compete with my world record smallest tomato. As you know, there is no way to tell for sure because Esther ate mine but the size would be close. I have found out one thing about the small salad tomatoes. It’s really tough to make a tomato sandwich with them. I was talking to someone the other day who mentioned how they lived out of the garden during this time of year when they were growing up. I guess a lot of us remember living the same way, couldn’t wait until the garden started producing. OK, one of the first things came from the rhubarb patch. Then during the winter we still lived out of the garden as the basement was full of canned beans, corn, peaches, tomatoes, pickles and other things out of the garden along with our meat. Actually, I think we lived well. Remember the Victory Garden? You know I don’t think many youth today know how good things tasted when you ate them while in the garden. Seems like we were always pulling something out of the garden most of the summer. Seems to me, we’re living in a time of excess. The problem seems to be an excess of things not good. Turn on the TV and you see and hear of excess of just about everything bad such as sex offenders, child abuse, robberies, just name it and it’s there in excess. I don’t remember having much of anything in excess while growing up. Well, maybe soup beans, I remember plenty of them. I remember even eating soup bean sandwiches with mustard on it. The big thinkers try to make you believe they’ve made something great with a meatless hamburger. I had this a long time ago and I still like a little dab of mustard on my soup beans and I would eat a soup bean sandwich anytime, although soupy soup beans do not work too well in a sandwich, cold soup beans work better. Try it, you might like it. My oldest brother said soup beans were depression food and wouldn’t eat them. Just to give you an idea of what kind of a gardener I am. Because of the hot dry weather we’ve had this summer, there are spots in our lawn that have not been mowed for quite some time. We now have tomato plants growing in the yard away from our regular little tomato patch, even in bloom. Those little salad tomatoes like to take over everything. I guess we even have people like that. There is nothing more difficult than making advice agreeable. One nice thing about a one way street is that you can only be bumped in the rear. Church on Sunday? Try it. Bible readings: (Mon.) Psalm 8; From Genesis (Tues.) 1:1-5: (Wed.) 1:6-8; (Thurs.) 1:9-13; (Fri.) 1:14-19; (Sat.) 1:20-23; (Sun.) 1:24, 25.

< Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor,

It’s 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 21 and I have just returned home from the Monroe County commissioners meeting that was held at the county fair. Many times I have heard people say that nothing surprises them, well, I’m beginning to feel the same way. Our county started fiscal 2007 with a deficit of over $230,000. At the meeting I was informed that there are in excess of $492,000 in delinquent taxes, that’s a lot of money! (Why isn’t the collection of it being pursued vigorously?) I went before the commissioners with a concern. The operation of our county airport is overseen by seven stewards (the airport authority board). They are responsible for this valuable asset to our community. My concern was, why one of the members who sits in stewardship over our airport (a local business owner) is allowed to continue in that position when he is delinquent in his property taxes to the tune of $4,100 (per the county treasurer’s records on Aug. 20, 2007, which are public records, by the way.) This delinquency shows me that there is a lack of responsibility toward the community shown by this businessman. It may also indicate that he is not capable of acting in the best financial interest of the community and the airport. Bear in mind that these seven stewards manage the financial operation of this county entity. I asked the commissioners what their position was on this situation, and for the removal of this man from the airport authority. Mr. Block, the president of the commissioners, thanked me for my comment. Mr. Pyles did consent to give me an answer. He was the one who made the statement on the amount of delinquent taxes owed to the county, and that some people have had hard times. He also stated that many people were not as fortunate as I. Well, believe me, I’ve had my share of misfortune, and been behind the eight ball many times. He must not know too many aviators, we all have hard times all the time, but I’ve always been responsible enough to make things right. Mr. Pyles also stated that the matter of delinquency in tax matters was not a consideration in the appointment of persons to county boards to him. Can you believe that! Well, I would like to thank Mr. Pyles for his candor and frank answer. I have wondered many times why things are the way they are in Monroe County, now I’m beginning to figure it out. With people in leadership positions who have the view that the civic responsibility of paying taxes doesn’t count in the selection of persons to serve on county boards. I know why we’re in the shape we’re in, and I guess we deserve what we get. Mr. Thompson wasn’t in attendance as he had another county commitment to tend to, but I’d like to hear his thoughts on the matter. I asked for a spot on the commissioners agenda next Tuesday for an answer, why don’t you come and hear the answer too? We deserve the answer and promptly too. It should be interesting.

Sincerely,
Wayne Forshey Woodsfield