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The following is a press release from Andrea Johnson, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment and Communication for Pike-Delta-York Schools Local School District. It is a great idea and I hope it catches on.
PDY Partners with Fulton County Board of Elections to Bring Voting Machines to DHS
Delta High School (DHS) Student Council Advisor Mrs. Michelle Egan and Recent Levy Chairperson Mrs. Leigh Mattin are working with Fulton County Board of Elections (BOE) Director Ms. Melanie Gilders to bring DHS students an authentic voting experience. On September 8, all DHS students will participate in voting for Homecoming Attendants by using Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines on loan from The Fulton County Board of Elections.
This unique and valuable experience was born from many conversations between Ms. Egan and Ms. Mattin over the summer about Ms. Mattin’s past experiences helping students and community members through the voter registration process. Ms. Mattin has worked closely with the BOE for several years and when Ms. Egan suggested there was a unique opportunity to possibly partner with the BOE, the plan grew from there.
Explains Ms. Mattin, there is sometimes “hesitation to vote because new voters don’t know what to expect when they get to their polling location” and this opportunity will help alleviate that hesitation. Ms. Egan notes that she “recognized that this opportunity will teach our students how to vote, from checking in to voting on the actual voting machines. [Students] will be voting on ‘candidates,’ the homecoming attendants, and even one ‘issue’ – which class will win the spirit stick this year.” PDY is very excited to take this opportunity to tie students’ civic responsibility into a very relatable event – DHS’s 2021 Homecoming – in a way that gets all high school students involved in an experience they would not otherwise have.
Ms. Mattin notes both she and Ms. Egan “are thrilled that our incoming freshmen will have many opportunities to participate and [their] hope is that this will transition the student into an active voter at age 18” by helping to demystify the voting process. Ms. Egan made a point of noting she and Ms. Mattin “are so thankful to the BOE for volunteering their time to do this for our students.” The district appreciates the partnership with the Board of Elections and is grateful for the shared goal of helping students recognize the importance of voting.
Swanton Police Chief Adam Berg addressed the Public Safety Committee of the Village Council regarding the creation of a “storage” lot for vehicles impounded by the Swanton Police Department (SPD). Currently, vehicles seized and towed by the SPD for reasons such as Driving Under the Influence (DUI), suspended license, drug trafficking or illegal parking, will be towed to the towing company’s lot. In addition to the towing charge, the vehicle’s owner could also be liable for storage fees or, in cases of abandonment, lose title of the vehicle to the towing company.
In recommending the Village operate its own storage lot, Chief Berg said it would give the SPD better access to the vehicles if needed and be able to collect storage fees and auction off abandoned vehicles with the receipts to be used as a public revenue source. The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, Archbold and Fayette all have these types of lots as outlined by the Ohio Revised Code (ORC) Section 4513.60-621.
The proposed lot would be placed on Village property, possibly on the site of the Water Treatment Plant. It would be fenced in, covered with gravel and be monitored with security cameras. The next step is to obtain quotes for materials, including fencing and develop a policy regarding the management of the impounded vehicles.
A request of new property owners of 3810 Waterville-Swanton Road to build a driveway over the waterline easement that runs through the property was approved by the Council upon further review by the Village Solicitor regarding the easement documentation. The waterline runs from Airport Highway to the Cannaley Treehouse Village.
Representatives from Foertmeyer and Sons Greenhouse were present to discuss a submitted land survey on the amount of storm water run-off coming from their property into the Village’s storm water sewer system. Foertmeyer was contesting the Village’s initial monthly charge of $589 per month based on a calculation using a satellite image of their property which found approximately 168,000 square feet of impervious area. However, because the documentation was delivered to the Village offices that day, Village Administrator Rosanna Hoelzle did not have time to examine the findings and the representatives were asked to return for the next Council meeting.
Ms. Hoelzle reported that Aden Dzierzawski, a senior at St. John’s High School and a Swanton resident, had reached out regarding his Eagle Scout Service Project. He wants to construct bat boxes and place them in Memorial and Pilliod Parks. Bat boxes are used to house bats that help control the mosquito population. Bats are known to be able to consume up to 1,000 mosquitos per hour in an evening. Because the boxes must be placed very high, Village has agreed to use a bucket truck and install the boxes.
The next Council meeting will take place on September 13, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. in the Swanton Municipal Office building at 219 Chestnut Street.
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Soccer at its finest was on display last night as the Swanton Lady Bulldogs traveled to Archbold to take on the Lady Blue Streaks at Spencer Field in an NWOAL match. Tight defense, great goal tending and precision passing by both teams made for an exciting contest. The Streaks scored late in the first half for the game’s only goal and a 1-0 victory.
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This past Sunday evening at Evergreen High School, returning players, parents and coaches gathered to unveil the 2021 NWOAL Softball Championship banner that will soon take its rightful place high on the wall of the “Big House” alongside many other Viking athletic titles. The 2021 Lady Viking Softball team captured their first NWOAL title since 2013 with a dramatic extra-inning walk-off victory over the Swanton Lady Bulldogs in the final game of the regular season.
The occasion also provided an opportunity for Athletic Director Derek Stoup to introduce Evergreen’s new head softball coach, Jim Zoltowski, who is taking the place of DJ Shuster who stepped down following last season but was also present at the unveiling. Coach Zoltowski has coached softball for over 10 years at both the high school and college level with stops at Milan (Michigan) High School, Sylvania Southview, Hillsdale College and the University of Toledo. He talked about how special championships are, what it takes to win one and praised Coach Shuster, his staff and the players for the effort it took last season to accomplish that goal.
Coach “Z”, as he is sometimes called, laid out a short list of priorities he wants his ball players to focus on this school year. They are academics, family/religion and softball. In that order. He said the goal this coming season is to build on the great tradition of Evergreen softball and to make it better. The Lady Vikings lost four highly talented starters to graduation last year but are expected to contend again for the top spot with a very experienced returning group.
Pictured: Lady Viking softball players and new coach Jim Zotkowski
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Swanton defeated Delta in straight sets, 25-10, 25-13, 25-10. Click on the link above for access to all photos which can be downloaded for no charge.
In April of this year, Tom and Cynthia Sheperak, a couple in their late 70’s, of 102 Oak Street in Swanton, had an arborist tell them they had a dying 95-foot red oak tree on their property that quickly needed to be removed before it fell. The arborist said root damage was the cause of the tree’s failure and it was likely caused when the Village or a contractor performed a sewer repair on Oak Street.
The Sheperaks notified the Village which then asked the Swanton Tree Commission (STC) to assess the tree. The STC came out and assessed the damaged tree and advised the Sherperaks to submit a formal request for assessment. The request was submitted and the STC returned, reassessed the tree and filed a report with the Village.
The report read, in part: Very large (30” diameter) and tall oak tree. Serious rot at the bottom of the trunk on the SE side of the trunk. Trunk also has a horizontal crack on the south side. Dead limbs in upper branches. Potential hazard to homes and other trees in the area. Measured at 24’ from the center of Oak Street making it a street tree. Recommendation: High priority to remove ASAP.
With the STC labeling the dying oak a “street tree” it became the responsibility of the Village to take care of. However, Village Administrator Rosanna Hoelzle wanted confirmation of the tree’s location to be sure it was in the Village’s right-of-way and therefore, its responsibility. This started a process involving the Fulton County Engineer’s office which caused a two-week delay. Ultimately, it was confirmed that the tree belonged to the Village.
In the meantime, acting upon the STC’s recommendation, the Sheperaks had the tree removal work estimated by five companies with the lowest price coming in at $2,145 from Sidonian Tree Service, a company the Village had used in the past. They were also told by one of the estimators that if the tree fell it would land on their neighbor’s house. Given this information and the urgency of the situation, the Sherperaks had the tree removed, eight days before the Village received confirmation that it owned the tree.
Sometime after the Sheperaks were informed that the tree did indeed belong to the Village they asked to be reimbursed for the $2,145. Unfortunately, because they did not obtain a permit to remove the tree as stated in Ordinance 2009-24, the reimbursement was denied. Also stated in the Ordinance is the property owner must receive approval from the Tree Commission which the Sheperaks thought they had. However, Ms. Hoelzle said that the STC “recommendation” does not mean “approval”. In effect, weaponized semantics.
There are several things to consider with this case. First, it was undisputable that the tree needed to come down ASAP, As Soon As Possible, not when all the red tape requirements were satisfied. Second, also undisputable, the tree was the responsibility of the Village. In fact, it was very possible the Village caused the damage to the tree. And it was during a time of the year of rapidly changing weather conditions in Northwest Ohio, changes that often trigger storms, storms with heavy rain and damaging winds.
It was close to the same time just two years ago when an oak tree of comparable size came down in Memorial Park and crushed the Beard Pavilion. It was in the morning of a school day just after all the kids were in class and nobody, fortunately, was hurt. You know what they say. “Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.” We can only wonder what could have happened if the tree at 102 Oak Street had not been removed when it was.
The Sheperaks appealed in front of the Village Council for reimbursement and were told a decision would be rendered at the August 23rd Council meeting after it was discussed by the Village Services Committee members Dave Pilliod, Craig Rose and Katy Kreuz. After some discussion, Mr. Pilliod, chairman of the Committee, spoke to the Sheperak’s request. “I thought it was very legitimate, he said. You didn’t exactly cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s but you came close enough for me to reimburse you. That’s my feeling.”
Mr. Rose, on the other hand felt differently. “I thought it could have been handled completely different,” he countered. “Looking at the folks you had who said it was a safety hazard, I’m not sure that those people we would have necessarily called upon to assess the damage of that tree. I’m going to go ahead and say I’m not in favor of compensating for that.”
Mr. Sheperak then reminded Mr. Rose that it was the Swanton Tree Commission that assessed the tree and said it had to come down “high priority, ASAP”. Ms. Hoelzle interjected and said the Village still needed to go through their procedure and by the time it was done, the tree had been removed, inferring that the opportunity for the Village to be held liable for the expense had been lost.
When asked for her opinion on the issue, Ms. Kruez said she did not know if she would be “willing to go the whole amount” but did not know what amount she would agree to. Eventually, Councilwoman Dianne Westhoven suggested the cost be evenly split between the Village and the home owner. A motion to split the cost evenly was made and seconded.
The vote was taken and went this way. Mr. Pilliod (Yes), Mr. Rose (No), Ms. Kruez (Yes), Mr. Stuart (No), MS Westhoven (Yes) and Mr. Rochelle (No). It was tied at three apiece forcing Mayor Neil Toeppe to cast the deciding vote. Mr. Toeppe voted yes and the motion for each party to pay $1,072.50 was approved.
What I find hard to understand with respect to this case is what motivated the Village administration and several council members to push back so hard not to cover the cost of a bill they were morally obligated to pay. Why were they willing to let a public safety hazard remain for as long as they did? There are times when circumstances need to take priority over what protocol and procedures outline, especially when the safety of the public is at risk.
They even questioned if there was enough money in the Village’s 11-million-dollar annual budget to cover the $2145 bill, a bill they would have had to pay if a permit had been filed. Maybe they were just trying to get out of having to pay the bill by taking advantage of a 79-year-old resident who was not familiar with the ordinance. Yes, most of us know that ignorance of the law is not a defense or an excuse. They even had the courtesy to explain that to Mr. Sheperak, a retired attorney.
What if the tree had fallen after the Village became aware of its condition and had caused damage or injury or, God forbid, a fatality? What would that have cost the Village? As I see it, the Sheperaks did the Village of Swanton a big favor. But you know what else they say, “No good deed goes unpunished.”
Pictured: Mr. Thomas Sheperak in Council chambers
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