Commissioners issue National Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week proclamation

Highland County commissioners Terry Britton, David Daniels and Brad Roades recognized local probation officers with a National Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week proclamation during their Wednesday, July 15 meeting.

The proclamation was accepted by Highland County Probation Department Program Director/Chief Probation Officer Tonya Sturgill and some of the members of the probation staff, including felony officer Drew Balser, felony/pretrial officer Jennifer Benson, administrator Taylor Burchett, moderate/high-risk officer Frances Cochran, Common Pleas Court presentence investigation writer Dave Fulton, low-risk officer Jill Parr and deputy chief/drug court officer Jon Parr. 

Sturgill told commissioners that National Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week is observed annually by the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA). According to the APPA website, the 2026 PPPS Week theme is “Connected for Change: Building Bridges in Supervision” and is being observed July 19-25.

“It's just their way to honor over 100,000 community corrections professionals who balance public safety and rehabilitation every week of the year in order to make our communities a better place to live,” Sturgill said. “I try to make these guys feel appreciated every day of the year for the work that they do, but this week is just an opportunity to do a little bit extra for them, so we've got some fun things lined up. We've did some gift bags. We're doing a pizza lunch today. 

“The jobs that they do can be very stressful, and I've encouraged them to take some time this week and just also think about how rewarding this this job can be because we do see a lot of behavior change. We see a lot of positive outcomes.”

After giving each staff member an opportunity to introduce themselves, commissioners thanked the group for the work they do. Daniels read the proclamation declaring July 19-25 as Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week in Highland County and “encouraging all citizens to honor these community corrections professionals and recognize their achievements.”

In other discussion:

• Commissioners officially took action to restore longtime insurance broker Dave Brown of Brown/Raybourn as a broker for vision and life insurance, after removing him from the county’s dental and health insurance.

As previously reported, Britton and Roades voted June 17 to join the County Employee Benefit Consortium of Ohio (CEBCO) for the county’s health insurance plan. The county’s health insurance was formerly through Medical Mutual of Ohio and will now be on the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield network. Daniels voted his dissent to the decision July 8.

During that July 8 meeting, Human Resources director Amy Bradley spoke about a June 18 letter she sent to Brown seeking contact information for the county’s insurance companies. Bradley confirmed Wednesday that “at the very end of the day” July 14, Brown “finally” responded to her email asking him to provide “the contact information of all of the contracts at all of our different carriers” and spoke to her on the phone.

Based on those discussions, commissioners voted 3-0 to keep Brown as broker for vision and life insurance.

• In another matter carried over from the previous week, commissioners voted to award an air conditioning project quote for work at the Board of Elections office to Weller’s in the amount of $14,500.

At the July 8 meeting, Cierra Moore of the county’s maintenance department said that the Board of Elections wanted to give the contract to Wilkin Heating and Air, who had a quote of $4,750 for a mini split, or $5,400 counting permits from the city, for the board’s server room.

“When we looked at the quote, it’s calling for two mini splits instead of one,” Britton said. “I called Tom Mottie [at Weller’s] this morning and talked to him about this, and due to the refrigerants that they're using now that they have to use, and the indication that he got from the Board of Elections that they were going to be adding another server, that it's going to take a little bit more than one mini split to take care of that.”

• Britton reported that commissioners will be revisiting plans for fencing at a new recycling site on Hobart Drive after Rumpke told them their plan is “not configured correctly for their trucks to get in and out.” 

According to commission clerk Ashleigh Willey, commissioners will meet with recycling and Rumpke representatives July 22 for further discussions.

•  Commissioners voted 3-0 to issue a letter of support for the Highland County Board of DD regarding a proposed Regional Council of Governments model developed partnership as a result of a work session held Monday.

“There's a movement to form a 10-county consortium to do the administrative work for some of the Medicaid waiver programs being suggested by the state,” Daniels said. “We think there'll be efficiency that can free up some additional funding for us, but also there will be a cost to participate. 

“The other counties in the region have signed letters of support. We have been asked to do so as well.”

• Commissioners voted to approve the official promotion of Jennifer Maynard to records center manager at a higher pay rate, retroactive to the start date (July 12) of the current pay period, at the recommendation of Bradley.

“We hired her to take over [former manager Julie Wallingford’s] position because Julie told us that she was leaving at a certain period of time,” Britton said. “We had started Jennifer out as a lower pay, so now I think we need to promote her to the records manager to put her in line with where Julie was at.”

In an unrelated employment matter, commissioners approved the retire/rehire of a custodian, Jaydee Burba. 

• Britton announced that commissioners “have decided that we’re not going to go any farther” with discussions of implementing the Right Stuff timekeeping software countywide.  

Commissioners also made the following approvals, each by a 3-0 vote:

• A WIOA & TANF Subgrant Award PY27 contract extension among Highland County Commissioners, Highland County Community Action and Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley. 

• An allowance authorization for construction contract with Jay Car Construction Co. for the Highland County Engineer’s new truck/storage barn project.

• An Ohio Public Works Commission disbursement request for the New Market Road and Prospect Road reconstruction project.

• A resolution adopting a small purchase procurement policy for certain public improvement projects and authorizing its implementation.

• A resolution to authorize a “then and now” purchase order and to authorize the county auditor to issue warrants for payment.

• A request from the auditor for a budget modification within the 1000 County General fund in the amount of $24.

• A request from the Veterans Services Commission for a budget modification within the 1000 County General fund in the amount of $3,652.50.

Publisher's note: A free press is critical to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or costly paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the last 28 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be made to: The Highland County Press, P.O. Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include "for website" on the memo line.