Fulton County Ohio Media

In March of 2020, when the State of Ohio issued COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings along with social distancing guidelines, the Swanton Village Council had to live-stream their meetings using Zoom and Facebook.  The live-streaming on Facebook gave access to Council proceedings to the entire Swanton community in real time and also recorded the meetings so they could be viewed by anyone at their convenience.

Eventually, another meeting venue was located that was large enough to accommodate the mandated social distancing guidelines and the Council chose to end the live-streaming.  Despite multiple requests from Mayor Neil Toeppe to resume the practice and bring transparency to Swanton’s Village Government, Council rejected the practice.

At the first Council meeting this year, with four new Council members now seated, Swanton resident John Schmidt gave a presentation of his and fellow resident Rick Maynhart’s efforts to implement live-streaming of all Swanton government meetings by way of a local ordinance voted into law by the Village citizens.  Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Maynhart circulated petitions to obtain enough signatures, 141 as required by law, of registered voters to place the ordinance on the ballot in November of 2021.

“Surprisingly, every single person I spoke with was for the live-streaming and it didn’t matter the demographics, old or young, married or single, retired or working, disabled or abled.  It didn’t matter,” said Mr. Schmidt relating his experience.  “Everyone knew what live-streaming was.  I was rather taken by surprise by that.  Every single one of them said ‘Yes. Let’s make sure that Council is aware that the citizens would like to see the live-streaming of Village Council meetings.’  Most were disappointed that it stopped after the emergency law expired and the streaming was suspended.”

Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Maynhart were able secure more than enough valid signatures to place the issue on the ballot, however, unlike petitions for candidates, it was required that their petition be reviewed by the Village before being resubmitted to the Fulton County Board of Elections.  Because Village officials were allowed 10 days for this review, the petition was not able to be submitted before the official deadline.  It was for this reason Mr. Schmidt addressed the Council.

“I’m here on behalf of the citizens of Swanton to say please consider and hopefully pass an ordinance that allows live-streaming of the Village Council meetings,” said Mr. Schmidt.  He went on to relate to Council some of the reasons different citizens said why they wanted live-streaming such as not being able to attend the meeting because of work, taking care of family matters, other commitments or just being unable to physically leave the house.  The biggest reason given was wanting to know what is going on in the Village.

Mayor Toeppe then asked Village Administrator Rosanna Hoelzle to place the issue on the agenda for the next Council meeting.  Ms. Hoelzle has been researching available live-streaming options and will bring them before Council.

Pictured:  Swanton resident John Schmidt advocates for live-steaming of Council meetings.

To open the new year, three individuals, John Schaller, Steve Brehmer and Kristina Oberheim were sworn in to begin another four-year term on the Swanton Board of Education (BOE).  Mr. Schaller was elected to the BOE in November to his first full term after previously serving twice by appointment to fill vacated seats.  Mr. Brehmer was re-elected to serve his third term and Ms. Oberheim will be serving her fourth consecutive term.

Following the “new” members taking their Oath of Office, nominations for BOE President and Vice-President were accepted.  Ms. Oberheim was nominated for President and was voted to the position unanimously.  Ben Remer was nominated for Vice-President and was also voted to the position unanimously.  Both Ms. Oberheim and Mr. Remer occupied the same seats in 2021.

The Board members proceeded to set dates and times for the calendar year of 2022.  All BOE meetings will take place on the third Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. with the following exceptions: The February meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 15, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. and the June meeting will take place on June 29, 2022 at 6:30 p.m.  There will be no meeting held in July and special meetings will be scheduled as needed.

District Superintendent Chris Lake provided the Board with an update for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  For the second year in a row the district has remained open for in person instruction every day for our students. Due to the widespread availability of testing and vaccines for ages 5 and up the district has maintained a mask optional approach this year. Additionally, the changes to the state quarantine protocol have allowed for more students to remain in school after a potential exposure by simply wearing a mask. Based on our internal data the greatest risk of exposure to COVID comes from outside of the school building and in particular family spread has led to the greatest number of cases. 

First Quarter:

1. Positive cases = 34

2. Quarantines = 106

Second Quarter

1. Positive Cases = 49

2. Quarantines = 51

The highest number of positive cases in the district happened in the week of 10/11 – 10/15 when we had 17 (1.3%) positive cases and 36 quarantines. Since that time the positive cases have ebbed and flowed but remained below the high of 17 with an average of 6.8 cases per week. This represents a positivity rate of roughly .5% for the district population each week. 

Regarding school taxes, Mr. Lake recommended the BOE pass the following resolution: A RESOLUTION DETERMINING TO PROCEED TO SUBMIT TO THE ELECTORS OF THE SWANTON LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT THE QUESTION
OF THE RENEWAL OF AN EXISTING TAX LEVY, PURSUANT TO SECTIONS 5705.194 THROUGH 5705.197 OF THE REVISED CODE.

The Emergency Levy is a fixed sum levy that will collect $825,000 each year for five years.  As property value in the school district changes, the millage amount will be adjusted so the levy will collect $825,000 each year.  Homeowners will continue to receive discounts for owner occupied residences – Rollback & Homestead amounts.  

For tax year 2021, payable in 2022, the $825,000 Emergency Levy is being collected at 3.2 mills.  The cost to the owner of a $100,000 home is $8.17 per month. The millage amount that will be listed on the ballot will be 3.2 mills.  

The valuation of the district has increased over the years, so the millage to raise $825,000 has dropped from 4.45 mills to 3.2 mills.  With the 2022 Minimum Wage increase in Ohio from $8.80 to $9.30, Mr. Lake recommended that the substitute rates for a few classifications be increased to $9.50.

The next BOE meeting will be held on February 15, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. in the BOE Offices on Main Street.

Pictured:  Re-Elected Board members John Schaller, Steve Brehmer and Kristina Oberheim

Delta junior Lexi Brown rolled an impressive 405 series with games of 181 and 224 to lead all girl bowlers but the Lady Panthers came up short, losing 2072-1894 to the Liberty Center Lady Tigers on Friday night at the Swanton Sports Center.  Other Delta series scores were Ciarra Flickinger with a 319, Maddie Johnson with a 289, Karsyn Gillen with a 274 and Serena Shelhart with a 233.  Gwyn Murrey led the Lady Tigers with games of 191 and 153 for a 344 series.

The Delta boys were close, but also fell short, losing to Liberty Center 2301-2240.  Brody Waugh led the Panthers, rolling games of 217 and 183 for a 400 series.  Other Delta series scores were Gabe Syverson with a 352 including a 201 game, Kaiden Hawkins with a 339, Paul McQueen with a 315 and Dylan Stricker with a 289.  For the Tigers, Tim Blaton bowled games of 244 and 248 for a 492 series and Landon Amstutz had games of 235 and 204 for a 439 series.

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Ryan O’Shea drained a shot from behind the three-point arc giving the Swanton Junior Varsity Bulldogs a 31-30 lead over the Patick Henry Patriots with 9.2 seconds left in the game. However, the Patriots worked the ball down low for a game-winning shot and drew a foul with just 0.4 seconds on the clock. After a heated exchange between a Bulldog player and a referee, a technical foul was called against Swanton. Patrick Henry sank three of four foul shots to win the game 33-31.

Charlie Wood led the Bulldogs in scoring with 10 points. O’Shea scored seven points and Brennon Mersing and Drew Smigelski had five points each.

Click on the link above to access all photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format and can be downloaded for no charge.

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For the second consecutive Friday, the Swanton Bulldogs had to hold their collective breath until a final shot at the buzzer fell harmlessly to the floor before being able to celebrate another NWOAL victory.  The Patrick Henry Patriots, who had rallied from a late 12-point deficit to pull within three, inbounded the ball from the far end of the court but their attempt to tie and send the game into overtime came up very short and the Bulldogs walked away with a 46-43 victory at home.

What looked like might be an easy win when Swanton jumped out to a 7-0 lead to open the game, quickly turned into a battle as Patrick Henry finally began hitting their shots to keep the score close. The Bulldogs led 9-4 after the first quarter, 24-18 at halftime and 36-26 and the end of the third and started to put the game away when the scored the first basket of the fourth quarter.

However, still holding a 44-37 advantage with just over 18 seconds left in the game, Swanton allowed the Patriots to jump back into it with a layup and converted foul shot followed by a three-point basket and suddenly the Bulldog lead was a shaky one point.  Needing to foul, Patrick Henry sent Luc Borojevich to the line where he sank one of two shots with 3.1 seconds showing on the clock.

Attempting to inbound the ball, the Patriots threw it across court and out of bounds and again had to foul Borojevich.  He hit one of two free throws for the 46-43 lead which went final following the missed three-quarter court shot.

Nic Borojevich scored a team-high 15 points for the Bulldogs.  Luc Borojevich was right behind with 14 points and Same Betz had 11.  The victory moves Swanton to 2-0 in the league and 11-1 overall.  Patrick Henry falls to 1-1 in the league and 9-3 overall.

Swanton travels to Fayette on Tuesday, January 18, to take on the Eagles then returns home on Thursday, January 20, for league matchup against Wauseon.

Click on the link above to access all photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for no charge courtesy of the fultoncopuntymedia.com website.

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In a game where both teams outscored all the other league teams in action that night, the Evergreen Lady Vikings defeated the Delta Lady Panthers 71-58 in an old-fashioned shootout.  It was evident after the first quarter that the visiting Vikings and the home-town Panthers were zeroed in on the basket when Evergreen blistered the nets for 20 points and Delta kept pace with 19. 

Both offenses cooled off in quarter number two, but not much.  They each managed to score in double digits, Delta with 12 points and Evergreen with 11, and contest was tied at 31-31 at halftime.

In the second half, however, the experienced and talented Lady Vikings opened with an 8-0 run in the first 90 seconds and went on to score 24 points to the young Lady Panthers’ 11 to take control of the game.  Viking senior Bekah Bowser, a serious contender for NWOAL Player of the Year, scored 10 of her game-high 24 points including two of her six three-point shots.  Delta’s Grace Munger had 11 of her team-high 17 points in the quarter including three of her four triples, but was the only Panther to find the net and Evergreen had a 55-42 advantage heading into the final eight minutes.

The Vikings pushed their lead out to as much as 20 points early in the fourth quarter before the Panthers battle back to put the final margin at 13 to end the game.

In addition to Bowser’s 24 points, Evergreen got 13 points from Lucy Serna, 11 from Macy Chamberlin and six each from Jocelyn Schuster and Addison Ricker.  Delta got 12 points from Sophia Burres, nine each from Chloe Weber and Alani Haas, and six from Olivia Smith to support Munger’s 17.  The two teams combined to drain 14 shots from behind the arc with seven apiece.

Click on the link above to access all photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for free courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Following the swearing in of recently elected Council members Derek Kania, Patrick Messenger, Mikey Disbrow and Samantha Disbrow, the Swanton Village Council began the process of assigning members to the four Village Standing Committees and establishing the overall leadership structure.

The first order of business was to elect the President Pro-Temp of Council, the individual who will assume the duties and responsibilities of the mayor in the mayor’s absence.  Councilman Dave Pilliod nominated Councilwoman Diane Westhoven.  The nomination was seconded and Ms. Westhoven was elected with five votes in favor and her abstention.

It was also established that the Council will follow the Ohio Revised Code (ORC) and name the mayor as President of the Council, a return to this practice that had been abandoned the past two years by previous Council.  In this position the mayor, currently Neil Toeppe, will chair the Committee of the Whole.  The mayor will also return as “ex-officio” of the Village Standing committees, a position where the mayor will be allowed to give input but will not have a vote on committee decisions.

The four Village Standing Committees, definitions and assigned Council members are as follows:

Finance Committee – Village Council serves as the primary authority over the expenditure of public dollars and possesses the power of the purse in the Village of Swanton.  The Committee addresses matters pertaining to budget and capital improvement plan legislation while conducting oversight on the use of funds by the administration and developing policies to guide the Village.  The Committee also meets as needed throughout the year to consider legislation referred to it by the Council including any proposed changes to the budget and other Finance related topics.  Finance Committee members are Diane Westhoven, Derek Kania and Patrick Messenger.

Water and Sewer Committee – Addresses matters pertaining to the Water Treatment Plant, Water Distribution System, Water Resource Recovery Facility, Wastewater Collection System and the Storm Water Drainage System.  Water and Sewer Committee members are Dave Pilliod, Mikey Disbrow and Patrick Messenger.

Public Safety Committee – Addresses matters which affect the safety and welfare of the citizens of the Village of Swanton such as crime prevention, fire response, disaster preparedness and traffic management.  Public Safety Committee members are Samantha Disbrow, Derek Kania and Diane Westhoven.

Public Service Committee – Addresses matters which affect the functions pertaining to public parks, public places, public buildings, public playgrounds, streets, alleys, waste collection and disposal.  Public Service Committee members are Mikey Disbrow, Samantha Disbrow and Dave Pilliod.

Chairs for each of the Committees will be chosen at their first official meeting.  The Council also chose Village Administrator Rosanna Hoelzle to represent the Village on the Fulton County Regional Planning Commission.  Ms. Hoelzle is the current representative on the Commission and serves as its Vice-President.

The next Council meeting will take place on January 24, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. in the Swanton Municipal Building at 219 Chestnut Street.

By: Dave Kina

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On Monday 1/10/22 the Delta Panthers Varsity Bowlers hosted Bryan at the Swanton Sports Center.  The Panthers started very slow with Bryan grabbing a 154-pin lead which they never relinquished.  Kaden Hawkins bowled a 182 game which was the high score for Delta.  Matt Meade had a 216 game and LeLyn Boothman rolled a 200 score to lead the Golden Bears.  In the Baker Games both teams rolled games of 210 for Delta and 213 for Bryan.

The Lady Panthers fell behind by over 100 pins in the first game and could never catch up.  Ciarra Flickinger shot a 199 game for Delta.  Faith Harding and Jessica Federspiel both shot 201 games for the Lady Bears.
 

Delta will host Liberty Center on Friday 1/14/22 at the Swanton Sports Center.  Match time is 4 PM.

Several photos from the match are on the link above.

Last night, to begin the first Swanton Village Council meeting of 2022, four first-time Council members, Derek Kania, Patrick Messenger, Mikey Disbrow and Sam Disbrow were ceremoniously sworn in by outgoing Village Solicitor Alan Lehenbauer who had earlier in the day submitted his resignation.  As significant as these changes were, replacing two-thirds of the Village Council and the Village’s attorney, they were just the beginning of constructive changes that were enacted that night with many more to be voted in going forward.

This near wholesale turnover of the legislative body in the Village of Swanton came as a result of a well-organized grass roots effort by local citizens who had become aware of the many counter-productive decisions made by the sitting Council and the detrimental effects it was having on the community.  Through this group’s determination, it was able to recruit four community-focused individuals who were willing to challenge the old guard, reject the anti-progressive decision making, bring the Village forward and not let it get left behind by the surrounding towns. 

The four candidates campaigned on a platform of transparency in government, economic development and pro-business policies among other forward-thinking ideals and took their message to the public with several meet-and-greet events and social media postings.  The four incumbents got the message as well and all chose not to run for reelection.

The first Council meeting was a major step in the right direction, but it was only one step.  There will be more positive changes coming as well as some previous Council policy reversals and these will take time and require patience among the Swanton residents.  Not everyone will agree with every decision this new Council will make, but I have faith they will be made in the best interest of the community.

There is, however, one caveat.  If there is one thing the previous Council has taught us in the past two years, it is this.  We need to pay attention to what our Council is doing.  Call it political vigilance.  We must maintain an awareness long after we cast our ballots.  It benefits us all and, hopefully, will prevent future Council leaders from pushing their own self-serving agenda. 

Understand that we should never be “followers” of politicians.  We can be, on some high level, supporters of their policies and platforms but first and foremost, we are “constituents” and they work for all of us. 

I am excited about the makeup of this Council with the four new members joining with the two remaining and Village-oriented Council members, Diane Westhoven and Dave Pilliod. All six are keenly aware of their duties and responsibilities and are willing to work together, with the mayor and other Village officials for the betterment of the Village.  Expectations are high and early indications are that major positive changes are forthcoming, beginning with the return of Mayor Neil Toeppe’s report to Council, giving a stronger voice to the citizens of Swanton in meetings and providing greater transparency into Council proceedings.

So, stay tuned.  Seriously.  Stay tuned.

Pictured:  Derek Kania, Patrick Messenger, Mikey Disbrow and Sam Disbrow

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The Evergreen Lady Vikings traveled to the McQuade Gymnasium in Swanton for an NWOAL contest and came away with a relatively easy 53-18 victory over the Lady Bulldogs.  Swanton, playing without senior standout Frankie Nelson due to an injury, had no answer for the intense full-court pressure defense employed by Evergreen coach Brittaney Cymbolin.

The Vikings took advantage of multiple Bulldog turnovers and raced out to a 16-4 first quarter lead.  The second quarter was much like the first and Evergreen held a 25-7 advantage when the halftime buzzer sounded.

Swanton managed to find their offense in the third quarter, scoring 10 points, but still allowed Evergreen to put 15 more points on the board to increase the margin to 23 points entering the final frame.  Both teams made liberal substitutions in the fourth quarter with the outcome basically decided.

Bekah Bowser led Evergreen and all scorers with 16 points, including adding three more triples to her school record set earlier this season.  Macy Chamberlin had 10 points and Lucy Serna and Addison Ricker each added nine.

Emma Sullivan and Alaina Pelland each scored four points for Swanton.  Jayden Hendricks, Trista Eitniear and Emma Crow had three points apiece.

Click on the link above to access all photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for no charge courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.