Wednesday, November 23, 2011Serving All Of Jackson & Vinton Counties • www.thetelegramnews.com • Vol. CXXII, Issue 94 • 75¢

Happy ThanksgivingFrom the staff of The Telegram

and The Radio

By Steven P. KellerTelegram Managing Editor

With all necessary legislation being earlier adopted byCoalton Village Council, eight bids were opened Mon-day evening, November 21, to see what company will beawarded a contract to install all new waterlines in thevillage. Consultant Gary Silcott of Stantec opened thebids at the beginning of the regular meeting of villagecouncil.

Silcott estimated the project cost to be $2,000,000, butonly one of the bids was over that amount.

Submitting the lowest bid was TAM Construction ofAthens at a price of $1,497,068. Next lowest was UngerConstruction, LTD, with a bid of $1,781,688. Next came abid of $1,796,456.60 from SJM Construction.

The high bid of $2,104,167 came from Stonegate Con-struction, Inc.

Silcott told council he would take the bids, check withthose who had the lower bids to make sure everything wasin good order, such as math. He said determining the lowbid was easy, but determining the best bid was difficult. Hesaid he had worked with several of the firms who submittedbids and was very familiar with TAM who submitted thelow bid.

Silcott said he would bring a recommendation back tocouncil the first meeting in December to be held the 5th. Ifthe low bid turns out to not be the best bid, he will furtherstudy the second lowest bid. The bid he recommends will bethe one he considers to be the lowest and the best.

Eight bids opened forCoalton Water Project

By Steven P. KellerTelegram Managing Editor

On Tuesday, November22, at about 9 a.m., officials

from the Wellston PoliceDepartment went to assistthe Jackson County Munici-pal Court Probation Depart-ment on a routine probation

check at a local residence inthe 1200 block of SouthNew York Avenue. Officersquickly discovered evidenceof drug possession and drug

trafficking and obtained asearch warrant from Jack-son County MunicipalCourt Judge Mark Musick.

As a result of serving thissearch warrant, officers wereable to seize over 23 gramsof a suspected cocaine basedproduct, over $4,200.00cash, two automobiles, andan all-terrain vehicle.

Charges are expected to befiled pending review fromJackson County ProsecutingAttorney Jack Detty. Boththe male and female resi-dents of the household werearrested and are being heldon Probation Violations atthis time.

Wellston Police ChiefJohn Hall would like tothank the Municipal CourtProbation Department forstaying and helping to exe-cute the search warrant.

Drugs, cash, vehicles confiscated in Wellston after search

This photo of money, drugs and other items was submitted by the Wellston Police Department.

By Barbara Summers

No injuries reported in Route 35 crash at Sour Run RoadNo serious injuries resulted in a freak wreck which occurred at 1:35 p.m. Tuesday, November 22, on U.S. Route 35 at the inter-section of Sour Run Road west of Jackson. According to the jackson Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, an eastboundsemi tractor and trailer driven by George Guy of Hamptonville, North Carolina, was headed eastbound when two of the trail-er tires came off at the axle and were thrown across the median and into the path a westbound pickup truck driven by DavidSlutz of Londonderry. The impact caused the pickup to go out of control and it crossed the median and came to rest on theside of the eastbound lanes. Slutz suffered minor injuries, buy was not transported from the scene by emergemcy medicalambulance. A relative was to take him to Pike Community Hospital to be checked out. Guy was not injured, but was cited forUnsafe Motor Vehicle. Pictured is a Coalton firefighter checking out the damage to the pickup truck.

Jackson County Prosecutor John L. (Jack) Dettyreports a Ross County man has been sentenced to a termin state prison for his involvement in a burglary whichoccurred in the City of Jackson earlier this year.

Jackson County Common Pleas Judge LeonardHolzapfel sentenced 25-year-old Paul Hamilton ofKingston to a 4-year prison term.

“My office is aggressively going after these individualswho choose to break the law in this manner,” Dettyexplained. “I want to do all in my power to try and makeour county and our communities a safer place for all ofus. If someone chooses to break into someone’s homethen I am going to do all I can to make sure that personends up in the penitentiary,”

Detty continued, “My office will continue to work handin hand with law enforcement to prepare the best caseswe possibly can to get the best results possible. I am hap-py with the sentence in the Hamilton case. However,there is more to do and the Prosecutor’s Office will takeall action it can to go after these individuals who chooseto commit these burglaries, breaking and enterings, andthefts.”

Prosecutor Detty concluded, “My goal and pledge asprosecutor is to do all I can to make our communities andcounty a safer place for our families. I will do everythingin my power with the resources available to see thatthese criminals are convicted and that justice is served.”

Ross County man receives 4-yearsentence for burglary in Jackson

By Pete WilsonExecutive Editor

The alertness of both thecrime victim and his neigh-bor, plus the quick responseof law enforcement officers,led to the capture of twoburglary suspects in JacksonCounty Tuesday afternoon,November 22.

The daytime theft occurredshortly before 1 p.m. at theJerry Mollett residence at8083 Pattonsville Road,which is in BloomfieldTownship, approximatelyseven miles east of Jackson.

At the time of the crime,Mollett happened to be justacross the road at his neigh-bor’s property when anotherneighbor told him a strangewhite car was parked in hisdriveway. That car pulledaway, but Mollett was ableto get in his vehicle, getbehind the white car, and getits license number.

Mollett returned to hisunlocked residence to dis-

cover five rifles and threeshotguns had been stolenfrom his gun case. He called

the Jackson County Sheriff’sOffice at 1:02 p.m. and pro-vided a description of the

white car and the licensenumber.

Just four minutes later at1:06 p.m., a Jackson Policeofficer located the suspects’car parked on the MainExpress convenience storeparking lot at 279 Chilli-cothe Street in the city.

One male suspect was inthe car and eight guns werefound inside the vehicle,which were later identifiedby Mollett as being hisguns. The other suspect wasinside the store and appar-ently chose to lock himselfin the women’s restroom.However, a Sheriff’s Officedeputy who had arrived onthe scene was able to talkthe second suspect into sur-rendering without any moretrouble.

Pending the filing ofcharges, the names of thetwo suspects have not beenreleased. However, the twomen are likely to be ques-

Theft suspects nabbed minutes after crime

Photo By Pete Wilson

Pattonsville Road resident Jerry Mollett (right) and Jackson CountySheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jim Ephlin pose with the eight gunswhich were recovered literally minutes after they were stolen fromhis residence Tuesday afternoon. Two male suspects were appre-hended in Jackson and face charges for the crime.

See GUN THEFT, A3

Gallia-Vinton Educational Service Center Board MeetingThe Gallia-Vinton Educational Service Center (ESC) Gov-

erning Board will hold its regular monthly board meetingWednesday, Dec. 14 at 5 p.m. in Room 131, Wood Hall, onthe University of Rio Grande campus.

Veterans Service Office Announces ClosingsThe Jackson County Veterans Service Office will be closed

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week, November23, 24 and 25, for the holiday.

By Steven P. KellerTelegram Managing Editor

For the past couplemonths, the City of Well-ston has not been sellingbulk water to customersneeding that service.

During the WellstonCouncil meeting of Novem-ber 17, Wellston Treasurerand Mayor-Elect ConniePelletier said she felt resi-dents needed to know whythe service had been discon-tinued since some cus-tomers had asked her aboutthe situation. She said shewas told customers prefer tobuy water from Wellstonsince it is less expensivethan that sold in Jackson.

Discontinuation of theservice followed a mandatefrom the Ohio EPA sayingthere was no “air gap” in thesystem which dispensesbulk water. The EPA feelsthis represents “a seriousrisk to the health and wel-fare of customers who uti-lize the service.”

When it was announcedthe bulk water servicewould be stopped, StateRepresentative John Careysent a letter to the city withinstructions on how toinstall the equipmentwhich would create an airgap. He mentioned howthe City of Jackson usedthe air gap, and felt therepair to remedy the issuewould be inexpensive.

After the receipt of theCarey letter, City EngineerTim Wojdacz said an air gapwould have to be installedas much as 10 feet off theground to accommodatelarge trucks. Customerswould have to climb a lad-der and supply their ownhose in order to get water.Wojdacz cited the elementof danger to customers, andpossible liability on the partof the city.

On November 8, WellstonCouncil President MattPetersen sent a letter toCarey which outlined thevarious reasons why bulk

water was not being soldand said, “There is norequirement to sell bulkwater at the North Waterplant.” Petersen wrote if thecity does return to sellingbulk water is must be donein a way that is profitable,customer safety be consid-ered in hooking up to an airgap device, security fenc-ing should be installed inthe location of the bulkloading station, and anemployee would have totake time off the job towatch the loading opera-tion. He also mentionedthere would have to be amethod of collecting feesfor water purchases.

Councilman Tony Coxsaid he would break downthe various components ofthe Petersen letter and for-ward it to the media. Hisbreakdown is as follows:

1. Safety of customers inhooking up to a new air gapdevice and potential liabilityincurred by the city.

2. Increased loading time

with air gap device resultingin operator inefficiency hav-ing to watch loading opera-tion at time of reduced plantmanpower.

3. Current security riskincreased without aredesign of the loadingstation resulting in a pos-sible increase in theftoccurring at the plant.(The city is) also currentlyexperiencing an expensedue to illegal dumping ofrefuse in plant waste con-tainers, and

4. Therefore redesign isnecessary should bulk load-ing be reimplemented at asignificant cost increase.

Robert E. “Bobby” House-holder, Jr., age 56, of Wellston,passed away unexpectedlyMonday morning, November21, 2011, at the Holzer Med-ical Center ER in Jackson,Ohio. He was born September26, 1955, the son of the lateRobert E. Householder, Sr. andLouise Dixon Householder.

Bobby was a 1973 graduateof Wellston High School andwas also a graduate of the OhioUniversity. He was a licensedinsurance agent for WaughInsurance, in addition to beingan employee of Pizza Pub inWellston. Over the years, Bob-by was involved in numerousclubs and organizations in Wellston.

He is survived by a niece and a nephew, along with his co-workers and friends. Besides his parents, Bobby was preced-ed in death by his sister, Kathy Householder Largent. In keep-ing with Bobby’s wishes, his body was cremated. A celebra-tion of his life will be held Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Piz-za Pub in Wellston. Please stop by and share memories ofBobby while enjoying pizza.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be given inhis memory to Secret Santa of Jackson County, P.O. Box 386,Jackson, Ohio 45640. Arrangements are under the direction ofthe McWilliams Funeral Home. Online condolences may besent to www.mcwilliams-funeralhome.com.

A2 • Wednesday, November 23, 2011 The Telegram

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PUBLIC AFFAIRS

OBITUARIES

Bobby Householder

Marlin D. Mapes, lovingfather, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother andfriend, age 88 of Jackson,passed away peacefully onSaturday, November 19, 2011with his family by his side. Hewas born April 20, 1923 to thelate Orville and Garnet Mapes.In addition to his parents, Mar-lin was preceded in death byhis wife of 65 years, MaryBelle (Kern) Mapes; infantbrother, Wendell Mapes; andsisters: Phyllis Shephard andGeraldine Hickman.

Marlin is survived by hisdaughter and son-in-law: Mar-lene and Tom Sexton; son anddaughter-in-law: Jerry andNorene Mapes; grandchil-dren: Shawn (Melissa) Sex-ton, Will Sexton and Tonya (Chris) Thaxton; great-grand-children: Lacey, Ali and Morgan Sexton; step grandson,Matt Kinnamon; step great-grandson, Austin Kinnamon;brother and sister-in-law: Jack and Norma Mapes; sister,Glenna Pasden; many nieces, nephews, other family mem-bers and dear friends.

Marlin was a veteran of the U.S. Army, having served hiscountry during WW II as a pipeline engineer in Africa, Indiaand Burma. Upon returning from the service, he was calledin to the Priesthood of The Reorganized Church of JesusChrist of Latter Day Saints, known now as The Communityof Christ Church. He served in the priesthood for over 60years. Marlin was employed at French Dry Cleaners, MeadCorporation and retired from GTE. He was a member of TheCommunity of Christ Church and the Wellston Senior CitizenCenter, where he enjoyed daily fellowship with dear friendswho he considered family.

Marlin enjoyed life to the fullest each and every day. Heserved the Lord, loved spending time with his family andenjoyed having fun with his friends at the senior center. Hewas a wonderful father and the most incredible grandfatherthat anyone could ever ask for. He will be missed by all whoknew him.

A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Wednesday,November 23, 2011 at Eisnaugle-Lewis Funeral Home, 28Harding Avenue, Jackson, where the family will receivefriends for two hours prior to the service, from 12 to 2 p.m.Burial with military honors to follow at Fairmount Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Marlin’smemory to the Wellston Senior Citizen Club, 407 South NewYork Avenue, Wellston, Ohio 45692 or to The Community ofChrist Church, Corners of Orange and Starr Streets, Jackson,Ohio 45640. To send a special message to the family, pleasevisit www.e-k-lewisfuneral.com.

Marlin D. Mapes

Marlin Mapes

Joyce (Porter) White, age 74, of Jackson, died Saturday,November 19, 2011 at her daughter's home. Arrangements areby Eisnaugle-Lewis Funeral Home, Jackson, ph. 286-2010.

Joyce (Porter) White

Robert E. “Bobby” Householder, Jr.

Anna M. Craft, age 84, ofWellston, passed away Tues-day, November 22, 2011, atthe home of her daughter,Joanne, surrounded by all ofher family and loved ones.She was born April 12, 1927in Coalgrove, Ohio, thedaughter of the late CharlesDebord and Della BoydDebord Reynolds.

Anna was a loving mother,grandmother and homemak-er. She attended the WorldOutreach Church. She was alifetime member of the Wrangler’s line dancers and wasalso an avid bingo and card player.

Anna is survived by her children, Linda Compston (Earl)of Wellston, Carrie Wimer (Gomer Moore) of Gallipolis,Ted L. Craft (Tina) Wellston, William E. “Bill” Craft(Sandy) of Wellston, Donald E. Craft (Kathy) of Wellstonand Joanne Skaj (Walter) of Wellston; as well as 14 grand-children, several great-grandchildren, one great-great-granddaughter and three very close friends, Clara Woods,Ona Whetstone and Phyllis Stewart.

Besides her parents, she was preceded in death by herhusband, Ted R. Craft.

Calling hours will be Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. at theMcWilliams Funeral Home in Wellston. Funeral serviceswill be Saturday at 1 p.m. at the McWilliams FuneralHome with Pastor Rob Ervin officiating. Burial will followin the Salem Cemetery. Online condolences may be sent tothe family at www.mcwilliams-funeralhome.com.

Anna M. Craft

Anna Craft

By Pete WilsonExecutive Editor

Many consider Winter tobe drab, dreary, gloomy, anduninviting, but masterpainter Alan Gough bringsits stark and simple beautyalive in a new exhibit nowon display at the MarkayCultural Arts Center indowntown Jackson.

Gough, a Chillicothe resi-dent who has spent a longlife honing his considerablepainting skills, was on handFriday evening, November18, at the Markay to greetvisitors at an opening-nightreception. His exhibit, “TheDynamics of Winter” willremain on display throughFriday, December 23.

Nobody’s smile wasbroader Friday evening thanthat of Southern Hills ArtsCouncil Executive DirectorBarbara Summers, who istruly thrilled and honored tohave Gough’s paintingshang in the Markay.

“From my perspective, Iconsider him to be the pre-mier realistic landscapepainter in Southern Ohio,”Mrs. Summers praised, inreference to both his cre-ative and technical skills.“We have wanted himhere since we’ve openedthis gallery.”

Gough was thoughtfulbefore opting for a Win-ter theme.

“I just like to have somekind of cohesive theme,” hetold The Telegram, “and itjust seemed to me that Win-ter is coming. If these paint-ings are able to convey thesomber beauty of Winter,then I feel my purpose as anartist has been served.”

In a statement regardingthe Markay exhibit, Goughexplained why he is drawnto winter.

“One is given the opportuni-ty to contemplate familiarscenes clothed in Winter’sgrab that sets this season com-pletely apart from Spring,Summer, or Fall,” Goughwrote. “Even at times whenhaving to endure a blustery,cold day, the stark contrastspresented are like no other.There is also the added delightof experiencing the sensationof a silent magical stillnessthat can often accompany afreshly fallen snow.”

Among the paintings inthe Markay exhibit is oneentitled “Beyond Kingston”

which former Ohio FirstLady Janet Voinovich choseto hang in the Governor’sResidence during GeorgeVoinovich’s governorship.

Included in the Markayexhibit are “field sketches,”which served as structuraloutlines for the full oilpaintings which come later.

Gough did not have towander far to find his land-scape subjects. The titlesindicate he found them inhis own Ross County.

“Our area may not be asdramatic as Maine or Ore-gon, but it has a quite under-stated beauty,” Goughjudged. “It’s the differencebetween a symphony and astring quartet and I choose

the string quartet.”For his part, Gough is also

delighted about bringing hispaintings to the Markay.

“This Arts Council is soenergetic in its efforts in pre-senting paintings and per-formances to the general pub-lic,” Gough said. “The peoplehave been kind to me and I’veentered Foothills (Art Festi-val). I thought it was time thatI give something back.”

The Markay Gallery, locat-ed at 269 East Main Street,is open to the public onWednesday through Fridayfrom 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. andSaturday and Sunday from 1p.m. to 3 p.m. Specialarrangements can be madefor groups.

Winter takes on a different feel inMarkay Cultural Arts Center exhibit

Photo By Pete Wilson

Accomplished painter Alan Gough (left) of Chillicothe poses alongside one of his landscapesthat is part of his “The Dynamics of Winter” exhibit now on display at the Markay CulturalArts Center in downtown Jackson. Welcoming him at Friday night’s opening-night receptionwas Southern Hills Arts Council’s Barbara Summers (right) who considers Gough to be one“the premier realistic landscape painter in Southern Ohio.”

Discontinuation of bulk water salesin City of Wellston explained

NEWS BRIEFS

Wednesday, November 23, 2011 • A3The Telegram

By Pete WilsonExecutive Editor

Anticipating an imminentincrease in the demand forlocal jail space, JacksonCounty Municipal CourtJudge Mark Musick hasproposed the establishmentof a Day Reporting Programto supervise certain offend-ers who otherwise might beincarcerated.

Musick announced hisplans Monday evening,November 21, during ameeting of the court’s DrugCourt Advisory Panel andLocal Correctional PlanningBoard held in the MunicipalCourt’s courtroom.

Musick’s proposal is indirect response to recentlyenacted state legislation,

House Bill 86, which isdesigned to reduce the num-ber of prisoners in the statepenal system by placinglow-level, non-violentoffenders in local communi-ty corrections programsrather than having themserve time in state prisons.Some of these redirectedoffenders could also be sen-tenced to serve time in localjails. Musick expects localjurisdictions to be impactedby the new law very soonand feels, “it is time forlocal action.”

“We have to do somethingdifferent before we starthaving to rent out morebeds,” Judge Musick said,referring to the prospect ofthe Jackson County Correc-tional Facility being filled to

capacity and local jurisdic-tions having to rent out jailspace outside the county --or even consider expandinglocal jail space.

“There are 12,000(inmates) getting their thingspacked at the (state) prisonsand they are ready to comeout,” warned D. Ray Venat-ter, the chief probation offi-cer for the Jackson CountyMunicipal Court.

Of course, 12,000 is astatewide figure, but allcounties will feel the impactof dealing with convictedoffenders which the statewill be redirecting to thelocal level.

“Our numbers are going todouble on us,” Venatter esti-mated. “Community controlis going to have to manage

this. They don’t say howwe’re going to pay for it, justthat we have to control it.”

Jackson County Prosecu-tor Jack Detty, who wasamong the local officials inattendance, explained:“Those charged with a 4th-degree or 5th-degreefelony, the judge has nocontrol except to placethem on probation. This(law) ties the hands of thejudges and ties my handsas a prosecutor.”

Musick figures the pre-cious local jail space willhave to be used for the morefelony-level offenders andthat another option must befound for some of the mis-demeanor-level offenderswho now are sentenced tojail time.

Musick’s proposal is torun the Day Reporting Pro-gram through the court’scommunity correctionsdepartment with the OakHill Police Departmentserving as a partner and theOak Hill City Building as abase of operations. In thebeginning, at least, Musickis not counting on incurringadditional expense as theprogram will operate withexisting staff, augmented byvolunteers.

Musick has already dis-cussed the partnership withOak Hill Police Chief ChrisGruber and said he plannedto explain the program tovillage leaders at the OakHill Village Council meet-ing of Tuesday, November22. The judge says the localmunicipalities in the county

will have to approve hisplan for the program tomove forward.

The new program wouldrequire offenders to reportdaily for an 8 to 10 hour peri-od for what he describes as anintensive supervision pro-gram. The objective would beto save the public money bykeeping non-violent offend-ers out of jail, but keepingthem occupied and produc-tive in the new program.

Daily attendance is manda-tory and drug testing couldbe done at any time. Failureto comply would likelyresult in them ending up injail. The program would alsoprovide more local controlover female offenders, which

currently poses an expensiveproblem since the local jailcannot house them. The pro-gram could also providerehabilitating offenders withlife skills and other helpfulservices.

“They (the offenders)would be out of jail, but stayon good behavior and willbe in a place where thepolice can find them 8 to 10hours a day,” Musickexplained. “It’s somethingwe’re going to try. I think ithas a shot.”

If the principal parties areon board and there are nodelays, Musick speculatedthe Day Reporting Programcould be operational by thefirst of the year.

Judge proposes new Day Program to avoid additional jail costs

Speaking at a joint meeting Monday evening of the Jackson Coun-ty Municipal Court’s Drug Court Advisory Panel and Local Correc-tional Planning Board, Judge Mark Musick announces his proposalfor the establishment of a new Day Reporting Program, whichwould supervise certain offenders in a structured situation whilekeeping them out of jail and reducing those costs to the public.

Photos By Pete Wilson

Jackson County Municipal Court Chief Probation Officer D. Ray Venatter speaks about the impact ofnew state legislation which will result in low-level felony offenders becoming a local responsibility. Heis shown displaying just a small number of the drug-related items and paraphernalia which lawenforcement and probation officers have confiscated in previous operations.

tioned in connection withother daytime burglaries andthefts which have occurredin rural areas of the countyin recent days. As many asfive such crimes werereported last Friday alone,including one on PattonvilleRoad about a mile awayfrom the Mollett residence.

Jackson County Sheriff’sOffice Chief Deputy JimEphlin noted that thieves arenot shy about stealing inbroad daylight.

“They know people aregoing to work and they arestudying, watching andwatching for their chances,”Ephlin said. Typically, hesaid thieves steal items inorder to trade for drugs ormoney for drugs.

Veteran Deputy Lieu-tenant Tony Robinson notedmore suspects can be caughtif property owners andneighbors are vigilant andwatch out for suspiciouspeople and vehicles as theydid in the Mollett case.

GUN THEFTS From A1

By Steven P. KellerTelegram Managing Editor

When Coalton voters rejected a 5 year, 6mill operating levy in the November 8 Gen-eral Election, the village will receive lessrevenue than originally thought based onestimates by Jackson County Auditor ClydeHoldren.

During the November 21 meeting of Coal-ton Village Council, members were given apiece of legislation, Resolution No. 2011-13, which amended the amounts and rates tobe received by the village in 2012.

Holdren’s information indicates revenuewill be reduced by $20,129 due to the lossof the levy.

The village still has a 5 mill levy in effectwhich brings in $11,700 each year.

Council really had no choice in the matterand the resolution was adopted as an emer-gency measure.

Council also adopted Resolution 2011-12which approves an amendment to the Gal-lia-Jackson-Meigs-Vinton Solid WasteManagement District’s plan. Essentially, theamendment allows the district to reduce theamount of the fees it pays to the landfill.

Loss of levy causes revenue adjustment in Coalton

by Pete WilsonExecutive Editor

Jackson County Elections Office officialsand board members came together Sundayafternoon, November 20, to conduct the Offi-cial Count for the recent General Election.

All the ballots cast on Election Day,November 8, were recounted and a total of181 previously uncounted provisional andlate-arriving absentee ballots were alsoadded to the total.

The bottom line is while vote totalschanged, no outcomes changed and the win-ners remained the same.

In Bloomfield Township, in a very close

race for trustee, the margin between first-place finisher Robert Ervin and second-place finisher Curtis Arthur was reducedfrom six votes to three votes (147 votes forErvin to 144 votes for Arthur), but the per-centage difference is still too large to triggeran automatic recount.

Elections Director Cheryl Browning saysthe difference must be one half of one percentor less to trigger an automatic recount. If thedifference would have been two votes insteadof three between Ervin and Arthur, therewould have been an automatic recount,Browning said.

As it is, Arthur can request a recount, but hewould have to pay the expenses of conducting it.

Bloomfield Trustee race tightens,but no changes in Official Count

By Pete WilsonExecutive Editor

Vinton County Elections Office officialsand board members conducted the OfficialCount Monday afternoon, November 21, forthe recent General Election.

All the ballots counted on Election Day,November 8, were recounted, plus countedfor the first time were provisional ballotsand late-arriving absentee ballots.

None of the actual outcomes changed,including the very close race for mayor inthe Village of Hamden where only fourvotes had separated incumbent and apparentwinner Gary Eberts and second-place fin-isher Bob Rodgers, Sr.

As it turned out, their vote totals remainedthe same as a result of the Official Count:Eberts 82 votes and Rodgers 78 votes.

The margin is not close enough to triggeran automatic recount.

Vinton County: no change in election winners

By Steven P. KellerTelegram Managing Editor

Coalton Village Council appointed twomembers to sit on the Firefighters Depen-dency Board which meets one time a year.The Coalton Fire Department named John-ny Baker and Joyce Jenkins to the board. Ona motion by Councilman Brett Shultz,

Councilman Todd McClaskey was namedas council’s representative and CindyMcDonald was named as a community rep-resentative.

Councilman Matt McCarthy also reportedthe furnace in the fire station has beenrepaired and the front pad had been filled in.He said the village had not yet received abid for electrical work at the station.

Coalton Council names reps to Firefighters Dependency Board

By Barbara SummersTelegram Staff Writer

Pete Wilson, Executive

Editor of The Telegram, wasthe featured speaker at theOctober 5 meeting of theJackson Lions Club. Not

surprising, Wilson detailedthe history of newspapers inJackson County.

He began with the JacksonAurora, a weekly newspaperfounded in 1846. It survivedless than one full year, Wil-son explained.

Wilson moved easilythrough the long list ofnewspapers then focused onthe founding of what is nowThe Telegram. Its roots canbe traced back to Coaltonand it later moved to Well-ston in the 1890’s.

More recently the paper wasa weekly owned and pub-lished by Managing EditorSteven P. Keller. Senior StaffWriter Barbara Summers wasa member of that staff.

Both Keller and Summersmade the transition as thepaper’s headquarters movedto Jackson and expanded itsstaff. The newspaper is now

published twice weekly. Inaddition a Sunday Shopperis delivered in Jackson andVinton Counties.

Wilson noted how proudstaff members are of theOhio Newspaper Associa-tion garnered over the pastfive years. In the paper’sdivision, The Telegram haswon more awards than anyother paper in competition,regardless of division.

As a point of comic relief,Wilson shared with Lions anumber of headline errors,none of which were local.

By Barbara SummersTelegram Staff Writer

It’s impossible to attendSanta’s Workshop at theJackson Branch AmericanCancer Society’s AnnualFestival of Trees in a badmood. The anticipation inthe children’s eyes as theyclimb onto Santa’s lap tohold a private conversationabout their Christmas wish-es puts a smile on all faces.

Mrs. Claus, in her whitemob cap, always has a circleof children surrounding her.They listen as she spinstales of this joyous season.

Chairwomen AnnaCramer, Tiffany Hoyt, andCourtney Wiggins made

certain each child gotsomething nutritious toeat. There were bananaslices and grapes to enjoyalong with tiny muffinsand plenty of milk.

Assisting in serving foodand helping children with aChristmas craft were mem-bers of Jackson HighSchool’s Student HealthCouncil. These young ladiesand men do a lot of good inour community.

They assist in the tradi-tional Community Thanks-giving Dinner at theirschool which always drawsan outstanding crowd.

As a whole, the councilis adopting a family thisChristmas. Members

don’t know who the fami-ly is but each one hasbeen given a slip of papertelling them the age ofeach child and whetherit’s a boy or girl. Each isresponsible for donating atoy or clothing item.

Health Council membersare also involved withSecret Santa this year.

At the workshop, theseyoung people helped the lit-tle ones with crafts. Theytore red and green tissuepaper into small, easily han-dled bits, and assisted kids increating ornaments shapedlike stars, Santas, boots, andballs. Topped with a ribbon,the ornaments are tree ready.

People’s Choice Awardwinner, announced FestivalCo-chair Judy Wiggins,was sponsored by The BearVillage. Entitled “Glam-

orous Glitz-mas,” the treewas decorated by LynnDenny, Tracy Osborne, andElla Osborne.

Judy Gordon was the luckywinner of the Raffle Tree enti-tled “Nature’s Winter Won-derland,” which was donatedby Elizabeth Frisby of Eliza-beth’s Flowers and Gifts.

When all the accountingwork is over, Tri-chair Tere-sa Costilow, Susan Ridge,and Judy Wiggins expectabout $22,000 to have beenraised for the Society’s con-tinuous war against cancer.

The trio expressed deepestappreciation to the army ofpeople who stepped forwardto contribute items and elbowgrease for the 21st Festival ofTrees. They added anotherround of thanks to all suc-cessful bidders.

“We were very pleased,”

Wiggins told TheTelegram, “by the turn outfor the gala.” Consideringthe continuing down turnin the area’s economy,organizers were con-

cerned, but big heartedfolks proved to be stead-fast in their support.

“People are very kind” Wig-gins concluded, “and generousin contributing to this cause.”

A4 • Wednesday, November 23, 2011 The Telegram

Holzer Clinic Wishes You a

Happy &Healthy

Thanksgiving!Visit us for your healthcare needsduring the busy holiday weekend!

Holzer Clinic’s Urgent Care – Open 7 Days a Week

Holiday Weekend Hours:

Thursday, November 24 - Thanksgiving DayGallipolis 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.Meigs Noon - 6:00 p.m.Jackson Noon - 6:00 p.m.Athens Noon - 6:00 p.m.

Friday, November 25Gallipolis 1:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.Meigs 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.Jackson 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.Athens 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday, November 26-27All locations open regular hours, includingThe Clinic at Walmart in Athens.

For more information, call your localHolzer Clinic Urgent Care location:

Gallipolis: 740-446-5287Meigs: 740-992-0060Jackson: 740-395-8871Athens: 740-589-3120

www.holzerclinic.com

Children hear Christmas tales, visit with Santa at ACS workshop

Photos By Barbara Summers

The Jolly Old Elf had quite a lapful as he visited with, from the left, 9year old Blake, 5 year old Macy, and 9 year old Isabella Womeldorf,the children of Eric Womeldorf and Mandy Stacey, of Wellston.

The ever gracious Mrs. Claus read seasonal stories to enchantedchildren. Pictured in Mrs. Claus’ lap is Reagan Skidmore. McKenzeeLizone is seated on the right.

These members of the Jackson High School Student Health Coun-cil helped children with Christmas crafts during Santa’s Work-shop. Pictured, from the left, are Kyle Shasteen, MalloryMcCorkle, Joshua Cutright, Ann Billman, and Kirsten Mullins.

By Steven P. KellerTelegram Managing Editor

The Jackson School District is bringingnationally acclaimed anti-bullying expertJodee Blanco to the school district Wednes-day, December 7, in a program sponsoredby General Mills. Blanco is a New YorkTimes best selling author and the messageshe will bring has been termed “life saving.”

Blanco is a survivor turned activist andwill share her powerful story and offer prac-tical strategies and solutions for students,teachers, parents, and adult survivors. Pre-sentations to students will be held at Jack-son High and Middle Schools and an

evening presentation, open to the public,will be held in the Jackson Middle SchoolAuditorium.

Her program will be called, "The Voice ofAmerica's Bullied Students." The bookwhich tells of her experiences is entitled,Please Stop Laughing at Me.

A presentation to students will be held atJackson Middle School beginning at 8:30a.m.

A second presentation to students will beheld at Jackson High School beginning at1:45 p.m.

The parent/family seminar will be heldthat evening in the Jackson Middle SchoolAuditorium beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Anti-bullying expert, Jodee Blanco, will offerpresentation to Jackson students, public Dec. 7

Pete Wilson outlines history of JacksonCounty newspapers for Jackson Lions

Submitted Photo

Pete Wilson, left, Executive Editor of The Telegram, accepted a tokenof gratitude from Jackson Lions Club President Carol Downton forhis interesting and informative talk on the history of Jackson Coun-ty newspapers.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Wednesday, November 23, 2011 • A5The Telegram COMMUNITY

The Wellston Rotary Club is all about community. Their latestproject was sanding, priming and painting the downtownlight poles. The group’s next project will be replacing themissing street signs. To help fund these projects, the club isselling trash bags. Please contact a Rotary member if you areinterested in purchasing them. Members meet every Wed-nesday at Sts. Peter & Paul at noon.

Wellston Rotary Club‘Making Wellston Beautiful’

The Sylvester Memorial Wellston Public Library ended its successful read-ing program with parties for all age groups that included certificates,awards, prizes, and pizza. Pictured are some of the students who took partin the program.

PICTURED ABOVE: Preschool Top Reader honorees were, from the left:Maverick Ervin (111), Max Stabler (121), Wyatt Channell (153), SamanthaCottrill (160), Johnas White (167) and Karly McCray (365). Top Readersreceived a summer reading program T-shirt and a toy.

PICTURED BELOW: Teens showing off their tye-dyed T-shirts they madethis summer during the "Your Are Here!" summer reading program were,from the left: Matthew Baldwin, Sabrina Baldwin, Heather Hollingshead,Sydney Hollinghead, Takara Teasley, Tiffani King, Hannah Hollinghead,Emily Brady, Bri Shepherd, Ashley Stanley, and Molly McKinniss.

‘One World, Many Stories’celebrated at Wellston Library