Members of local government agencies met together when Tecumseh Local Schools Board of Education (BOE) held a special joint government meeting at the Smith Park shelter house on Mon., Nov. 28. The public meeting is a chance for government officials to ask questions and update each other on any business they are currently working on.

Representatives from Bethel Township, the City of New Carlisle, and the Board of Clark County Commissioners were among those in attendance.

Monday’s meeting was also a chance for local officials to congratulate longtime Clark County Commissioner, John Detrick, on his impending retirement from public service. Detrick has served as Commissioner for 20 years. He addressed his last joint government meeting by complimenting everyone on the hard-fought-for progress the area has made in recent years.

Detrick praised the BOE and how it has improved Tecumseh Local Schools, calling the district “one of the best.” He also ran through a list of the accomplishments Clark County has made during his 20 years as a county commissioner, including the county’s AA Bond Rating and how several of the county’s businesses are some of the busiest and best in the country. But he especially praised the accomplishments of western Clark County and New Carlisle.

“With Heritage of Flight festival and airplane parade, the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop, the swimming pool, a great school district, a local newspaper...the growing number of businesses, New Carlisle and Western Clark County is growing. It has become a destination spot for people. Heck, just go down and look in the Melodee’s parking lot...even it seems to have license plates from all over the world in it!...This is a great area with great people, and their support is growing. Good things are happening in Clark County, and a lot of them are happening here...”

A Retirement Reception and Open House for Commissioner Detrick will take place between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on Dec. 8 at the Springview Government Center in Springfield.

Bethel Twp. trustees, Nancy Brown and Dave Phares, thanked local citizens for supporting the two fire levies on the November ballot. The trustees also fielded questions about a proposed expansion to St. Rt. 235 in Park Layne.

The trustees say although nothing has been finalized yet, they do know that work on the highway will take place. Phares says the township continues to field calls asking about logistics and topography of the site. They have also been told of some of the buried utility cables along St. Rt. 235 may be unburied and hung above ground when a road expansion happens, but the trustees are not in favor of such a change.

Bids for the St. Rt. 235 project will be accepted in December and work is tentatively planned to begin in April.

New Carlisle Mayor, Mike Lowrey, reported New Carlisle’s Christmas Parade is scheduled to take place at 10:00 a.m. on Dec. 3 and will go down Main Street. Lowery says New Carlisle will also once again host a New Year’s Eve Ball Drop event, complete with free horse-drawn carriage rides. The event has grown in popularity every year since it began.

Mayor Lowrey answered questions about the money the city lost on the pool during the 2016 season. The mayor explained how after the purchase of a new pump system, the pool “only lost about $2,000.” Mayor Lowrey says the loss is small when one considers “everything the pool did for the town,” including providing a place for local children to go and an opportunity for teens to earn money. The mayor says the loss is also small financially when compared to recent seasons, and that the pool’s increasing popularity means it should begin turning a profit soon.

New Carlisle City Manager, Randy Bridge, thanked New Carlisle residents for passing the recent Health levy, stating it is another sign how “support of the city continues to rise” and further shows that “great things are in store for New Carlisle.”

New Carlisle Fire Chief Steven Trusty thanked the Heritage of Flight Committee for its generous donation to assist the fire department’s efforts to raise funds for the purchase of a LUCAS CPR tool. The tool ranges in price from $13,000 to $14,000, administers “perfect CPR,” and increases the safety of victims needing CPR, especially the elderly. It also saves medics and firefighters from standing in the back of an ambulance to administer CPR on the way to the hospital—a serious safety hazard. Chief Trusty says a LUCAS tool will be invaluable in increasing a victim’s chance for survival during the average 20 minute ambulance ride it takes to get to a local hospital.

BOE President, Kurt Lewis, thanked voters for passing the Tecumseh Local School District’s levy renewal. Lewis also reported the district did not run into any problems with staying in session on Election Day, citing the ability of the district to accommodate voters while keeping them separated from students.

District Assistant Superintendent, Paula Crew, reported New Carlisle Elementary School won a coveted Ohio Board of Education “Momentum Award, which recognizes schools for exceeding expectations in student growth. Schools must earn straight A’s on all Value-Added measures on the Ohio Report Card, and have at least two Value-Added subgroups of students. Of the four schools in Clark County earning the award, Carlisle Elementary was the only elementary school to be recognized.

The BOE voted to approve the deposit of public funds with Security National Bank effective retroactively from Oct. 1, 2016 through Oct. 31, 2021.

Lewis announced the annual Senior Citizens’ Luncheon will take place at 1:00 p.m. on Fri., Dec. 2, and several Holiday Concerts will be taking place beginning in November and throughout December. The dates and times of the concerts can be found on the district website at http://www.tecumseh.k12.oh.us/.

The next joint government meeting is at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 30 at the Bethel Township government building. The meeting is always open to the public.

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