Local Archived News

NU FFA students named 2022 Agronomy Runners Up in national agronomy event
By Michael Williamson, Richwood Gazette
A group of North Union FFA students entered 2023 with a reason to be proud.
Four high school students were recognized at the February meeting of the North Union Board of Education as the 2022 National FFA Agronomy Runners Up.
Superintendent Rich Baird highlighted the accomplishment of students, Glade Jolliff, Chloe Hall, Madelyn Taylor and Cenlee Holloway during the meeting, presenting the team with awards.

Walking trails in the works in Richwood
By Michael Williamson, Richwood Gazette
Richwood officials are looking to put together a steering committee for future walking trails projects that could come to the village.
Tamisha Matus, health educator at the Union County Health Department, told council Monday evening that her plan for 2023 is to find funding for those projects.

Charges stem from funny money pizza payment
By Mac Cordell, Marysville J-T Reporter
A local woman has been charged after allegedly trying to pay for delivery pizza with counterfeit cash.
The Union County Grand Jury has indicted Andrea M. Woodworth, also known as Andrea Hayslip, 40, of 173 Beatty Ave., Richwood, charging her with one count of counterfeiting.

Magnetic Springs sewer system falling behind
By Michael Williamson, Richwood Gazette
The Magnetic Springs sewer system project is behind schedule, but officials said progress is still being made.
Craig Mescher, project manager with Access Engineering Solutions, updated the Union County Commissioners during the board’s regular meeting last week, noting the six-month delay on starting. Mescher said the project isn’t where he wants it to be, but behind the scenes work is still being accomplished.
“We haven’t gotten as much done as we hoped to have done at this point, but we’ve actually gotten a lot done in the background,” he said.

Charges highlight online dangers for teens
By Mac Cordell, Marysville J-T Reporter
A Richwood man has been indicted for allegedly using social media to connect with a teenage boy for sex.
The Union County Grand Jury has indicted Paul K. Schmelzer, 33, of 208 W. Ottawa St., Richwood, charging him with one count each of importuning and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
Union County Prosecutor Dave Phillips said that in April, Schmelzer met the victim, a 15-year-old boy, on a social media app.

Fatal shooting believed to be self-inflicted
From Staff Reports
Local officials responded to a 911 call Saturday evening involving what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
According to Union County Sheriff’s Office reports, deputies and units from the Northwestern Joint Fire District responded to a residence in the 20000 block of Evans Road at 9:03 p.m. Saturday.

Council OKs equipment purchase to harass geese
By Michael Williamson, Richwood Gazette
Richwood Lake will soon have some equipment to help with its geese problem.
Council recently approved a measure to spend money on new equipment that will “harass” the geese and deter them from nesting at the lake.
Mayor Scott Jerew said he received a permit to work on the problem and encouraged those interested in helping to do the same.

Richwood continues partnership with county EMA
By Michael Williamson, Richwood Gazette
The Village of Richwood will continue to participate in its Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan with Union County.
At a recent village meeting, council voted to continue the agreement, which ensures the county’s Emergency Management Agency will handle hazard mitigation during disaster events.

UCHD works to make food truck inspections better
By Kayleen Petrovia, Marysville J-T Reporter
The local health department and fire departments are working together to ensure all food truck operators can easily have their trucks inspected, and residents feel confident dining at them.
The Union County Health Department and area fire departments will host a “food truck round-up” on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout March, during which food trucks can be inspected by both agencies in the health department parking lot, 940 London Ave.

Charges filed in OD death
By Mac Cordell, Marysville J-T Reporter
A local woman has been charged in connection with the overdose death of a Richwood man.
The Union County Grand Jury has indicted Casey North, 39, of 173 Beatty Ave., charging her with one count each of involuntary manslaughter, corrupting another with drugs and aggravated trafficking in drugs.
According to court documents, on Oct. 4, North allegedly sold more than three grams of methamphetamines to Dana Michael Hughes.

NU Robotics team takes state title
From Richwood Gazette staff reports
North Union VEX Robotics teams dominated the state championship last week at the John S. Knight Convention Center in Akron as middle school and high school teams competed with the top teams from around the state. Out of over 560 registered VEX Robotics teams in Ohio for the 2022-2023 season, the 2023 Ohio VEX State Championship was comprised of the top 60 middle school teams who competed on March 1 and the top 96 high school teams who competed on March 2.

Drainage complaint leads to flooding discussion
By Michael Williamson, Richwood Gazette
Drainage issues persist in Richwood and residents and village officials said they don’t feel like they’re getting any help.
At the regular council meeting on Monday night, one resident asked the group why nothing has been done to fix the flooding that affects her property on the west side of town.

Hiring an issue for Richwood PD and UCSO
By Michael Williamson, Richwood Gazette
The Richwood Police Department is actively recruiting officer positions but Chief Jim Hill told the village council Monday night, much like other agencies, filling positions isn’t easy.
“We are accepting applications for part-time police officers,” he said. “However, there’s not been a great response.”

4H application deadline passes, another looms
By Michael Williamson, Richwood Gazette
Ohio 4H Week came to a close recently and Union County’s OSU Extension Office officials said the enrollment deadline for new families is quickly approaching.
Christy Leeds with the OSU Extension Office recently told the county commissioners that families have until April 1.

NU approves new playground equipment plan
By Michael Williamson, Richwood Gazette
After months of planning and discussion, North Union officials approved a vendor for the district’s new playground renovations.
At the regular board of education meeting Monday evening, members voted to have Midstates Recreation, an outdoor playground equipment builder, tackle the building of the district’s new playgrounds.

RBC: Community bank model works better
By Michael Williamson, Richwood Gazette
Following the failure of two large national commercial banking institutions, the head of Richwood Bank wants to reassure residents that the issues that led to those closures don’t apply to the local level.
“It doesn’t affect anybody locally as long as they don’t want it to,” said Chad Hoffman, the bank’s president and CEO. “What those big banks do and what we do here locally are completely different but it also has to do with confidence and trust in your bank.”

NU middle and elementary school robotics teams take state awards
From Richwood Gazette staff reports
The 2023 Ohio VEX IQ Robotics State Championship took place at the Marion Fairgrounds Veterans Memorial Coliseum on March 10-11. Some 50 elementary teams competed on Friday, March 10 and fifty middle school teams competed on Saturday, March 11. Like their older counterparts, they were competing for a chance to qualify and advance to the next level to compete at the VEX World Championship, to be held in Dallas, TX, in early May.

UCHD reflects on COVID response
By Kayleen Petrovia, Marysville J-T Reporter
The Union County Board of Health took a moment during its most recent meeting to reflect on its “final wrap-up” of the health department’s response to COVID-19.
In a presentation to the board, Health Commissioner Jason Orcena called the pandemic the “single most impactful event in living memory for public health agencies.”

Village council approves budget for 2023
By Michael Williamson, Richwood Gazette
Richwood approved the village’s budget for 2023 including funds for the new water plant, but officials said the timeline for the new facility is still a little bit up in the air.
At the regular meeting on Monday night, council approved the village’s budget after a third reading which now allows it to be sent to Union County for certification.

Opera House Committee set to start feasibility study
By Michael Williamson, Richwood Gazette
The Richwood Revitalization Committee is moving forward with a financial feasibility study for the Opera House project.
Committee members recently voted to hire Michael Hurwitz of the Telesolve Company in Reynoldsburg to run the study.
Telesolve is a theatrical consulting company that advises architects and theatrical venues on restoration efforts.
Hurwitz first met with the group before COVID and discussed his process, noting he has worked on several restoration projects around Ohio such as the Holland Theatre in Bellefontaine, the opera house in West Liberty and has written a book on the restoration process.

Richwood man indicted for assault, burglary
By Mac Cordell, Marysville J-T Reporter
A Richwood man could be facing nearly a decade and a half in prison after allegedly attacking a woman then going to her house to break in.
The Union County Grand Jury has indicted Christopher Michael Underhill, 49, of 26 S. Franklin St., Apt C, Richwood, charging him with one count each of burglary, robbery, domestic violence and petty theft.

Tree Committee talks Arbor Day projects and goals for 2023
From Richwood Gazette staff reports
With Arbor Day approaching, the Village of Richwood Tree Committee would like to provide education and information to the community regarding its goals and projects. The Village of Richwood previously held the designation of a Tree City, USA and it is the goal once again to achieve that. Tree City, USA is a community improvement initiative from the Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the National Association of State Foresters and the USDA Forest Service. Tree City, USA provides a basic framework for community forestry management for cities and towns across America.

Magnetic Springs drug kingpin pleads guilty
By Mac Cordell, Marysville J-T Reporter
The man prosecutors called “a major source of drug supply in Magnetic Springs” has pleaded guilty to a series of drug charges and to stabbing another man.
Just days before he was set to go to trial, Thomas R. Welsh, 60, of 45 S. Main St., Magnetic Springs, pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated possession of drugs, two counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs and one count of aggravated assault.