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740-472-0734 ■ P.O. Box 70, Woodsfield, OH 43793 ■ monroecountybeacon@sbcglobal.net
Below are links to portions of this week's news articles. For the full story, pick up a paper at your local newsstand or send $2 ($2.50 if the issue is over 3 months old) with date of paper requested, your name and address to P.O. Box 70, Woodsfield, OH 43793 and we will send you a paper.
May 27, 2010
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The Columbia Hotel, originally named Hotel Smith, is shown to
the right with a glimpse of the courthouse. The building served
as a hotel for almost a century. The center building was the
First National Bank, which was built in 1900. The second and
third floors were used by the bank. The Woodsfield Post Office
and the Monroe Gazette were on the first floor with a barber
shop in the basement. The Opera House occupied the fourth floor.
(Information from Maienknecht’s “
Drug
Investigation Results in Arrests
Sheriff Charles R. Black, Jr. reported on May 21 an ongoing drug
investigation was concluded with the execution of two search
warrants. The warrants were executed on two residences located
in Clarington. During the execution, eight
Melissa Labuda, 30, of Holiday Ave., Woodsfield is charged with
four counts of complicity and two counts of trafficking in drugs
with specifications. Labuda is currently held in the Belmont
County Jail.
James Henning, 39, of Sykes Ridge, Clarington, is charged with
four counts of trafficking in drugs with three of those having
specifications. Henning is currently held in the Noble County
Jail.
Rickie Talbot, 26, of Sykes Ridge, Clarington, is charged with
four counts of trafficking in drugs with three of those having
specifications. Talbott is currently held in the Belmont County
Jail.
Augustina Chambers, 28, of Sykes Ridge, Clarington, is charged
with one count of trafficking in drugs. Chambers was released
after investigators conducted interviews.
Jason Chambers, 33, of
Joshua Potts, 22, of
David Pedelose, 24, and Dustin Pedelose, 23, both of
All incarcerated are expected to be arraigned on May 25 in
Monroe County Court. Additional charges are expected after
consulting the Monroe County Prosecutor Lynn Riethmiller. During
the searches, a variety of items were seized. Items range from
drugs, cash, firearms and drug paraphernalia.
Dear Editor,
One of the topics we plan to exhibit and are currently
developing for our temporary opening of the
The new river museum will hold a temporary opening with limited
hours during the upcoming Clarington Sunfish Creek Festival,
June 12 and 13. (Hours will be from noon - 3 p.m. on Saturday;
noon - 4 p.m. on Sunday during the festival.) We hope everyone
will stop in to view our museum. Of course, the exhibits will be
limited to what we have available, telling the story of visiting
showboats in the area, featuring the stages of Clarington’s
boat-building history, with hopes of expanding this as we
collect other items, and several wonderful surprises we think
the public will truly enjoy.
Our committee has done a magnificent job preparing the facility
for this early opening and we applaud our many wonderful
volunteers and businesses who have generously donated their
time, talent and money to make this opening a reality. We are
just in the beginning stages of our development, and hope to
have information on our Foundation available for membership
during the upcoming months.
Anyone who has an item or memories to share, is urged to contact
me to make appropriate arrangements for the
Barbara L. Rush, Curator
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The Monroe Memorial Pool is set to open for the season on May 28
at 4 p.m. Chris Tamasovich, manager, says the pool will be
better than ever this year. There will be a free swim June 10,
2-8 p.m. weather permitting; moonlight swims, aerobic classes
and more. Swimming lessons will be available in July. Easy up
canopies will be available for rent and new lounge chairs will
be in place. A solar cover has been ordered to help keep the
water at a consistent 80 degrees and will help prevent
evaporation of water and chemicals. Jackie Roberts-Krider, a
physical therapist and massage therapist, will have aerobics
classes. Fundraisers will be held to pay for additional
equipment. Lifeguards include: Roberts-Krider, Eve Lindamood,
Colton Lindamood, Ryan Richter, Mariah Marley, Mandy Reed, Phil
Stephen, Richele Ricer, Coleton Pritchard, Liz Schuerman, Emma
Betts, John Eddy and Cody Pittman. Shown, from left, are: Don
Harmon, recreation board president; aerobics instructor and head
life guard Jackie Roberts-Krider; and Chris Tamasovich.
George Tremblay enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps soon after his
18th birthday, a few months after Pearl Harbor was attacked and
brought the
The day was one of the most emotional ones that he has ever
spent. He was so impressed with the gratitude expressed to the
veterans by the Honor Flight volunteers and the civilians whom
they saw throughout the day. Honor Flight Columbus made Tremblay
and the other veterans feel very honored and special. “The day
was a great day and I’m glad I was chosen by Honor Flight
Columbus,” said this Marine Corps veteran.
Twenty-nine veterans, each accompanied by a guardian, made the
trip May 22. On returning to
He reports that all the details of the trip were well planned
and carried out according to the schedule that had been
provided. All travels plans were made to accommodate the
veterans. There was a mail call where each veteran received
mail, letters and notes, handwritten and typed, from kids and
adults alike thanking them for their service. The pilots on the
Southwest planes and the bus drivers all welcomed the veterans
on their trip, as did all the civilians around. Unex-pectedly,
their bus had a motorcycle escort into D.C.
Honor Flight Columbus recognizes and celebrates World War
II veterans by flying them to Washington, D.C. to visit
memorials dedicated to their important service. This trip is
free to these veterans, who are provided this tour-of-honor
experience as a token of gratitude and respect for their service
to the
“The World War II Memorial was dedicated in May 2004. It is a
long overdue tribute to the men and women who sacrificed so much
for our freedom, and a memorial to those who made the ultimate
sacrifice,” say Honor Flight Columbus organizers.
“Regrettably, many of these aging veterans have been unable to
visit their memorial in a conventional way on their own due to
the lack of funds or travel impediments. Through volunteer
guardians who pay their own way, we overcome many of the
problems and escort them on this ‘trip of a lifetime.’ These
all-expense paid, one-day trips to the Nation’s capital occur
April through November as donations permit. All flights are made
on commercial airlines.”
U.S.Marine Corps veteran George Tremblay is shown in front of
the Iwo Jima memorial in
Court Ruling Ends Year-and-a-Half Dispute in County
by Taylor Abbott
A year and a half long dispute between Commissioner Tim Price
and Auditor Pandora Neuhart ended after a court ruling by Common
Pleas Judge Julie Selmon.
Price had worked for a period of 23 years as a deputy sheriff
prior to running for Monroe County Sheriff in 2004. He was
sheriff for one term prior to running for Monroe County
Commissioner.
The dispute began in late December of 2008. At that time, Price,
then sheriff, retired on Dec. 23 and was subsequently elected as
Monroe County Commissioner.
It was at that time that Price requested payment of his earned
and accumulated, but unused vacation pay that was accrued. The
money had been carried over as a liability by both the sheriff’s
and auditor’s Offices.
However, in March 2008, Neuhart removed Prices' hours as a
liability to the county. Neither Price nor the sheriff’s office
had knowledge of this. Court documents show that the sheriff’s
office continued to submit budgets providing for payment of the
money owed to Price under the appropriate line item.
It is undisputed that Neuhart never notified Price or the
sheriff’s office that he had to withdraw his vacation paywithin
three years of the time that he became sheriff.
In court documents, it is further undisputed that Price was not
made aware that his vacation pay had been removed from the books
by Neuhart in March 2008.
On Dec. 28, 2008, Monroe County Prosecutor Lynn Kent Riethmiller
sent a letter to Neuhart’s office authorizing the payment of the
accrued vacation pay. In the letter, it also indicated that
Rieth-miller’s position was supported by Ohio Auditor of State
Mary Taylor.
Court documents show that Neuhart refused to pay Price his
vacation pay and instead requested the opinion of Ohio Attorney
General Richard Cordray. His office responded in a letter dated
Apr. 27, 2009 but provided no conclusive opinion to solve the
matter.
Following this, special prosecutor Clifford N. Sickler,
Price requested that the 491.92 hours of vacation pay totaling
$9,035.98 be paid to him. Neuhart claimed that he was not
entitled to this vacation pay since he failed to collect it
within the three year time frame.
Through Sickler, the State of
The court found that Neuhart was obligated to pay this money
when due at that time of Price’s retirement. It is undisputed
that he had earned and accumulated the amount requested.
Neuhart consistently claimed that she did not want to be held
responsible or liable for paying Price what was owed to him,
despite being authorized to complete the transaction by
Riethmiller and Taylor.
In June of 2008,
Selmon’s ruling finally declared that Price was entitled to
fully collect the $9,035.98 lawfully owed to him. The court also
ordered that costs of the within matter be assessed in full to
the auditor’s office.
The ruling came on May 17. Monroe County Commission-ers met on
May 24 to discuss payment of the court order.
Price abstained from all votes and motions dealing with the
matter. During the session, debate centered on where the
$9,035.98 should come from.
Commissioner John Pyles phoned Neuhart and requested that she
meet with them to discuss payment options. Neuhart declined and
said she had no money in her budget to pay it.
Price commented, “When I first requested payment of my vacation
time, the money was there at that time. At the time I retired, I
deferred my vacation time due to budget constraints.”
After a short discussion with Price and Commissioner Carl Davis,
Pyles again phoned Neuhart. Speaking to her about payment
options he said he favored a budget reduction from her office to
pay the settlement. Neuhart responded by saying that he could
not legally do that.
At the conclusion of the call, Pyles then phoned John Leutz,
Esq. and Senior Policy Analyst for the County Commissioners
Association of Ohio. Leutz was informed of the situation over
speaker phone.
Pyles asked about the legal options the commission could take to
solve this matter and asked if a budget reduction could be used
to make the payment.
Leutz responded by saying, “I think the county auditor made a
mistake by pulling the hours off the book without notifying
Price. Legally, I think right now it would be best to take it
from the county budget or unappropriated funds.”
Pyles responded by saying, “This mistake made by Auditor Neuhart
has been a burden to the county. It is unfair and disrespectful
to Tim for this to have been drug so long.”
“I really would like to apologize to Tim for any embarrassment
or discomfort he has experienced through all of this,” said
Price responded by saying, “It would have been taken care of a
year and a half ago and it’s unfortunate that it had to go
before the court.”
At the conclusion of the lengthy debate, Pyles made a motion to
pull the full $9,035.98 from the county’s unappropriated funds
and was second by
Both Davis and Pyles agreed that there may be cuts in budgets at
the end of the year should this payment affect the county
budget.
While interviewing Neuhart, she said, “When the GAAP audit was
being done by the State Auditor’s office, they asked me to
remove it [Price’s hours] from our books.”
She spoke of Price not turning his vacation time in by saying,
“He did not turn it in when he was transitioning from deputy to
sheriff. I never said the money was not owed to him. The
question was whether or not it was legal for me to pay him that
money.”
When asked about the duration of the case and the effects of it,
Neuhart said, “I am only doing my job. All I wanted was the
court to tell me what to do. There were so many varying opinions
in this case.”
At the conclusion of the interview she said, “I ran my campaign
on three things: truth, honesty, and integrity. I hope nobody
ever criticizes me for doing the job I was elected to serve.”
Timothy Haught, attorney for Price, called the Beacon and said,
“The auditor refused to pay Mr. Price but all of the findings
showed that he was entitled to the money he has earned.”
The judgment further said, that Price, through his counsel
Timothy Haught, questions Neuhart’s motive and suggests that her
failure to act is a result of either a mistake, incompetence, or
purposeful act against Price. The court documents indicate that
no ruling regarding this matter will be made as it would, “serve
no purpose by inquiring into the potential motives of the
Auditor Neuhart concerning why she continued to refuse to pay
Price his accrued, earned vacation pay.”
“I have no hard feelings towards Tim through all of this. I hope
he has none towards me,” said Neuhart.
Laughing is good exercise. It’s like jogging inside.
You can knock the chip off the other person’s shoulder by
patting him on the back.
Well, I guess we will have a new top on Rt. 78 between
Seems like about every day we hear about something we should not
eat or maybe should eat that causes something bad or maybe good.
I guess it gives them something to do. Right or wrong who knows
what. I’m probably wrong, but it seems that just about
everything that tastes good is bad for you.
I’m kind of glad they were not around when I was growing up. We
didn’t have anyone except Mom saying anything about what we ate.
As long as I ate plenty of bread and butter she never said much.
We seemed to have plenty of meat and potatoes to keep us from
going hungry.
We were outside most of the time and there seemed to be a lot
of things to nibble on and eat. A few I recall included green
apples, rhubarb, a ripe tomato, sometimes dig up a potato, any
kind of a berry in season, sheep sorrel, and probably other
things I don’t remember. Oh yes, we had what we called white
grapes, although they were green and good; this plus the regular
grape vines were favorite spots. Did I miss green onions? Then
most of us drank raw milk of probably five percent fat. While in
Then I get to thinking. Is this the reason I take five pills
each day plus rat poison, have worn out two pacemakers and
bothered with A Fib? Plus it takes about five minutes to get in
gear when I get up in the mornings. I wonder.
I had heard it was going to happen but I didn’t know it was
done. I was driving to the bank and saw the old Columbia Hotel
was just a pile of bricks. Kind of reminded me of someone who
had a front tooth knocked out. I know a few more buildings that
need to take the trip.
Then again maybe they are nearly as bad as the building housing
the Health Department in
Esther and I once again enjoyed my alumni banquet even with
chicken for the last four years. I was wrong. I thought a buddy
of mine who grew up in
The most pleasant surprise was a cousin whom we hadn’t seen for
two years. We had an enjoyable visit.
A lot of fun to visit with former classmates, friends and a few
former students. Hope I can make it next year.
You know you’re getting old,if you happen to fall down and start
wondering what you can do while you’re still down there.
Seems as though the weather is very cooperative. We have a
couple of not so pleasant days giving the grass a chance to
grow, then a day of sunshine and everyone gets to mow their
lawn. The cycle starts all over again. Who could ask for more?
Is it going to keep this up all summer? I’d like a good day when
I didn’t have to mow. Why am I complaining? It only takes a
little over an hour to do the job and I can sit on my mower and
ride. The alarm in my watch just rang. Time to take my rat
poison.
Baseball season is in full swing now. High school and college
winding down and major leagues go at it all summer. I’m not much
of a baseball fan, although I did get with it when Skyvue was
state bound. I expect if I lived close to OSU I would attend
most of their home games.
I do have kind of a favorite team. I kind of lean toward the
Someone who would pay ten bucks, maybe more, to sit in the hot
sun, drink beer watching millionaires play baseball four hours
might be considered a true fan. Not me! Well, back to mowing the
yard.
Remember: No matter how hard you try you cannot baptize a cat.
Going to church is an excellent habit.
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Classifieds
ROSELVA D. IRVIN
She was a Baptist by faith. Surviving are her mother, Hazel
Heddleston Livingston of Sistersville; a son, Michael (Deanne)
Irvin of New Matamoras; two daughters, Shelly (Dean) Wohnhas,
Joannie (James) Wells, all of Sardis; two brothers, Kenny
(Becky) Livingston of Sistersville, Greg (Becky) Livingston of
New Martinsville; 11 grandchildren, BreAnne (Joe) Nixon, Travis
Wells, Lexy Wells, Ariel Wells, Danielle Irvin, Jared Irvin,
Mandy Wohnhas, Megan Wohnhas, Skylar Wohnhas, Michael Wohnhas,
Alex Pyles; a great-grandson, Ashton King and great-grandson to
be, Bryce Chandler Nixon.
She was preceded in death by his father, Charles Livingston;
husband, Michael E. Irvin; and a brother, Sonny Livingston.
Friends were received May 23 at Grisell Funeral Home,
Sympathy expressions at grisellfuneralhomes.com.
NELSON O. LYONS
He was retired from Red Hill Farms and Blaney Lumber.
Surviving are three grandsons, Kelsie (Phyllis) Westfall of
Elizabethtown, Ky., Rick (Mary Jo) Westfall of Lewisville, Brian
(Jennifer) Westfall of Summerfield; seven great-grandchildren;
two great-great-grandchildren; a brother, Larry Chapman; seven
sisters, Louise Mifsud, Gaorgie Lyons, Brenda Whetzel, Irene
Carmeron, Darlene Perrine, Gloria and Rhonda Lyons; and a
special caregiver, Betty Hashman.
Friends were received May 21 until time of service at Campbell-Plumly-Milburn
Funeral Home, Barnesville, with Rev. Ed Emory officiating.
Burial followed in
She was an employee at
In addition to her parents, surviving are her husband, Douglas
Michael Gehrig, whom she married July 8, 2000; two daughters,
Halle Gehrig, Gracie Gehrig, both of the home; a son, Daleyn
Paul Gehrig of the home; a brother, Josh (Bethany) Moore of
Barnesville; maternal grandmother, Bernice Marshall of Rinard
Mills; a niece, Addyson Moore of Barnesville; a nephew, Braydon
Moore of Barnesville; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Lewis and
Susan Gehrig of Woodsfield; a brother-in-law, Darin Gehrig of
Woodsfield; and several aunts, uncles and cousins.
She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Paul Marshall,
Judson and Frances Moore; a brother, Matthew Moore; and a
sister, Elizabeth Moore.
Friends were received May 25 at Watters Funeral Home,
Woodsfield, where funeral services will be held May 26, at 1
p.m., with Mark Tonkery officiating. Burial will follow in
Memorial contributions may be made to her children, c/o WesBanco,
Online condolences may be expressed at
www.wattersfuneralhome.com.
OLIVE GLISTA GORBY
Surviving are two sons, Mike (Jayne) Baters, Shannon Baters,
both of Clarington; a daughter, Linette (Joe) Chizmar of Rocky
Point, N.C.; two brothers, Norman Barron of Somerset, Pa., Orlin
Barron, Jr. of Rockwood; five sisters, Emma Gean Emert of
Ligonier, Pa., Kathryn “Susanne” Mullins of Uniontown, Bonnie
Blough of Rockwood, Violet Barron of Meyersdale, Pa., Linda
Zearfoss of Listie, Pa.; seven grandchildren, Christopher Baters,
Cody Baters, Erin Baters, Jani Baters, Kate Baters, Branden
Chizmar, Stephanie Chizmar; and several nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her
first husband, Carl L. Baters; second husband, Kenneth H. Gorby;
three brothers, William, Charles and George Barron; and a
sister, Bettie Jane Singo.
Friends will be received May 26, from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. at
Grisell Funeral Home, Clarington, where funeral services will be
held May 27, at 11 a.m., with Rev. Richard Wilson officiating.
Burial in
Sympathy expressions at grisellfuneralhomes.com
A man walked down the street the other day,
Unknown Author
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Last
weekend through Honor Flight Columbus, Tremblay enjoyed a trip
to 
JAMIE
JOY GEHRIG