Commissioners proclaim Highland County Suicide Prevention Awareness Day

Highland County commissioners Brad Roades and Terry Britton proclaimed Jan. 15 as Highland County Suicide Prevention Awareness Day during their first regular meeting of the calendar year Wednesday, Jan. 10.

As David Daniels — who was appointed commission president at the Jan. 8 organizational meeting — was absent due to illness, commission vice president Roades presided over the meeting for the first time. 

Accepting the Suicide Prevention Awareness Day proclamation were members of the Highland County Suicide Prevention Coalition, including Cathy Faulconer and Leslie Rosselot of Highland District Hospital; Jessica Ison of Highland County Community Action Organization; and Melinda Sheets of Paint Valley ADAMH.

As explained by Faulconer, the coalition, which began in 2020, meets monthly and also includes representatives from the Highland County Health Department, REACH For Tomorrow, the Chillicothe Veterans Association and Highland County Children Services. 

“Our goal and mission is to get the word out to people that they have another option, that they're not alone,” Faulconer said. “There are resources that are within our county and community, and also state and national resources as well.”

One of those resources mentioned by Faulconer is the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which is just a three-digit number, much like 911. According to 988lifeline.org, by dialing 9-8-8, you can receive access to “24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals in the United States.” The 988lifeline.org also has a number of resources for individuals in specific demographics.

“Part of our mission within our Suicide Prevention Coalition is to again bring awareness, really trying to reach out to multiple age groups,” Faulconer said.

Some of the coalition’s work has included outreach efforts in all five Highland County school districts, as well as through billboards and other signage, including yard signs; providing “care packages for families that are affected by suicide;” and drafting “a community resource list of mental health providers.” The coalition has also worked for the past three years at the Highland County Fair to host Harvesting Healthy Minds, which is geared toward mental health and suicide prevention efforts for farmers and others in the ag industry.

“Also, the Veterans Administration was able to supply our coalition members with bathroom informatics posters to put around different places within the community,” Faulconer said. “We also have plans, again, with continued outreach to our schools, providing them with items with the 988 messaging on those items, and then also trying to get to our adult population, looking at adding things into pharmacy bags that through our local pharmacies.

Faulconer told commissioners that local and national suicide statistics in recent years are “quite alarming.

“Looking at our local trends, and then also nationwide, the largest risk group is white males age 59 and older,” Faulconer said. “Eighty-six percent of our local people that have committed suicide have a high school diploma or less. Tragically, the year of 2022 was the highest recorded number of suicides nationwide, with 49,449 deaths.”

Additionally, Faulconer said that three suicides have been reported in Highland County alone in the past two months.

“We appreciate being able to be here today,” she told commissioners. “Our mission truly is to get the message out there to our community, that if people are contemplating suicide, that there are resources available, and they are not alone. First and foremost, call the hotline, 988.”

Commissioners thanked the group for their efforts, while Roades read the proclamation recognizing Jan. 15 as Highland County Suicide Prevention Awareness Day and urging “all citizens to join this special observance.” 

In other discussion:

• Highland County Mobility Manager Chris Hetzel met with commissioners to discuss upcoming changes to the county’s transportation plan.

According to Hetzel, the Ohio Department of Transportation is “moving toward regionalization of coordinated transit” and is asking the entire region — which includes Highland, Adams, Brown, Gallia, Jackson, Lawrence, Pike, Ross, Scioto and Vinton counties — to have a “coordinated plan.”

“We are, as a group, working on that,” Hetzel said. “Ours [in Highland County] isn't due till 2026, but ODOT wants us to do a regional coordinated plan instead of each county having its own. Each county will still be responsible for updating goals and strategies every year, which is normal, in the transit plan as well as do a complete rewrite every five years.

“That is what we are in the process of starting. The OVRDC, Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission, is our lead agency for the coordinated plan. They've already started preparations for that. They've hired a transit specialist who will be coordinating all 10 counties.”

Hetzel added that plan will likely not be completed until late this year, with “our implementation goal as mid-2025.

“The ultimate goal is to be able to expand transportation services outside of the county, within our region,” Hetzel said. “Here in Highland County, we're at the northwest corner of our region. We have a hard time with coordinating with Clinton County and Fayette County [because] they're in a separate region. Ours is basically the entire Appalachian region. We can coordinate some with agencies who are willing to coordinate with us, but it's very, very difficult with the guidelines that ODOT gives us as far as the funding.”

Britton asked what the “big picture” would be for combining with the other nine counties and whether there would be “one hub” to organize the public transit system.

“ODOT’s goal is to have one call center for the region,” Hetzel said. “Do I see it happening? Yes. It’s going to take time, and ultimately, it’s going to take money, a lot of money.” 

On a similar topic, Hetzel told commissioners that Highland County is a part of the Region 7 Mobility Council, which was recently awarded “one of the four grants that was given nationwide” from the National Center for Mobility Management.

“This is going to aid in our regionalization because a lot of the same information that we're gathering — through surveys, through interviews with elected officials, business owners and residents about their transportation needs, wants and how to expand — is something we can directly correlate with the regionalization process,” Hetzel said. “We did get that the first level of the grant, which was $20,000. We're in the midst of working on that right now.” 

Hetzel said the group is working with a facilitator in Washington, D.C. and hopes “to advance to the second and third phase of this grant, which is an implementation phase, to be able to start a pilot program.”

• Commissioners voted 2-0 to approve a professional service agreement with Woolpert, Inc. for the Highland County base mapping program, which will be utilized by both the Highland County Auditor Alex Butler’s office and Highland County Engineer Chris Fauber’s office.

“That is the company that will be the flyover photographer, and both Chris and I use that imagery,” Butler told commissioners. “For my purposes, I'll use it for the state-mandated 2024 [property tax] reappraisal year. We'll be reappraising all the property as mandated by the state, so that new photography will be helpful to us because the appraising involves a desktop review portion.

“Also, we can update the county auditor's website with imagery as well for the public to use in their property searches and research and things that they use the website for. Additionally, you know, we've had some economic activity, especially in the Hillsboro area, and a lot of solar construction, since the last flyover photography has been done, so it's time to update this.”

Fauber added that the photography “goes hand in hand” with the Geographic Information Systems and is used by the Engineer’s Office and Tax Map Office.

“We do it about every two years, I think,” Fauber said. Butler agreed, saying spring 2022 was the last update.

• Rita Smith-Daulton, who recently took office as the new mayor of Leesburg, attended the meeting and introduced herself. She said she is working with Highland County Economic Development Director Julie Bolender on opportunities for the village.

“Leesburg is a vibrant part of our county,” Britton said, adding that they have industries that are major employers for the county as well as an industrial park with room for additional growth. 

• A resident of Mowrystown asked to meet with commissioners. He said that he has lived in his home “since 2013” and has met with each mayor that has taken office in Mowrystown during that time frame, but has never had a problem at his home resolved.

“I’ve got a street drain that the pipe is collapsing across my backyard,” he said. “I’ve got nine or more holes that are a foot wide. They started out small holes, but over the last few years, they've been getting big. The property around the house is actually starting to sink because it's all getting washed through the pipes. I had a side porch, and the concrete on the bottom of the side porch actually fell off and went into a hole. 

“Every time I get somebody to come down and look at the situation, they’ve got more, better things to do.”

The gentleman said that he “put a sign up” — which he said people thought was installed by the county — to warn that the property was dangerous.

“It’s been over 10 years since it’s been going on,” he said.

Britton and Roades apologized, but Britton said that the county’s “only responsibility we have is the plant.” The lines are the responsibility of the village, Britton said. 

Commissioners offered to reach out to Mowrystown administrators and/or the Highland County Health Department to try to help get the situation resolved.

• Commissioners voted 2-0 to authorize the commission president to execute three items related to the county’s new records storage building being constructed: a commercial application permit from Pike Natural Gas; electric distribution from AEP Ohio; and a change order for roofing changes from Alpha Construction/Weller’s HVAC.

“That is actually a credit,” Roades said of the change order. “We’re changing the membrane that's on the roof, which means we don't have to have a dehumidifier, so that was subtracted, plus the roofing system I guess is cheaper than what was originally put in.”

• Commissioners also held work sessions with Bolender and Shaw Construction; with Highland County Sheriff’s Office and EMA representatives to discuss MARCS radio upgrades and the 911 Wireless Plan; and an executive session regarding personnel discipline. No action was taken, according to commission clerk Ashleigh Willey. 

In other approvals, commissioners voted 2-0 to: 

• Approve an annual film storage agreement contract among commissioners, the Highland County Recorder’s Office and the Montgomery County Microfilming Board for the 2024 calendar year;

• Authorize the execution of an application for payment from Doll Layman Ltd. for work at the Rocky Fork Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant;

• Accept a quote from Crane Pumps & Systems for 40 new pumps at a total cost of $74,800 for the Rocky Fork Lake system; and

• Accept a quote from Cornele Plumbing for backflow recertification estimates at a total cost of $475.

Commissioners also approved the following resolutions, each by a 2-0 vote:

• A blanket resolution to cover all travel of Recorder Chad McConnaughey to all state and district meetings as deemed necessary for 2024.

• A resolution to authorize the Highland County Engineer to use the R.C.325.19(F) to establish an alternative vacation leave schedule during four 10-hour days from April 2024 to October 2024 as set.

• A resolution to authorize the Highland County Engineer to use the existing county employee forces and proceed by “Force Account” in the construction, reconstruction, improvement, maintenance and repair of roads, bridges and culverts as determined by the County Engineer in Highland County during the year 2024.

• A blanket resolution to cover all of Christopher Fauber, P.E., P.S., Highland County Engineer, to the list of meetings and all additional meetings as necessary for 2024.

• A resolution to self-certify $50,000 micro-purchase threshold for use of federal funds.

• A resolution to appoint Dennis Kirk, Attorney, to the Law Library Resources Board, effective Jan. 10, 2024 and ending Dec. 31, 2028.

• An additional appropriation from unappropriated funds within the Capital Improvement Airport (4220) fund in the amount of $32,000.

• A reimbursement of funds from Child Support Enforcement, 2115 to Public Assistance, 2050 in the amount of $90,000.

• A reimbursement of funds from Child Support Enforcement, 2015 to Public Assistance, 2050 in the amount of $23,992.

• A budget modification within DCC – Youth Services Grant, 2075 in the amount of $300.

• A resolution to establish the Board of DD budget, fund 2125 in the amount of $650,000.

• A resolution to establish the Board of DD budget, fund 2400 in the amount of $106,315.

• A resolution to establish the Board of DD budget, fund 2470 in the amount of $139,593.

• A resolution to establish the Board of DD budget, fund 2490 in the amount of $667,976.

• A modification from County Transfers Out to County Advances Out for $450. Also requested was an advance to Block Grant PY 22 in the amount of $450.