P
&auto
The
Since 1972
Eagles are ranked 9th See Sports
Ohio Supreme Court upholds chief’s dismissal
RESS September 21, 2015
FREE
Serving More Than h 33 33,000 000 H Homes & B Businesses i iin 4 C Counties ti
SEPTEMBER 21, 2015 | SPECIAL
SUPPLEMENT TO
The Press Newspapers
Fall Home and Auto See second section M
By Melissa Burden and Kelly Kaczala kkaczala@presspublications.com In February, a ruling by a Lucas County Court of Common Pleas judge in 2013 to reinstate the former fire chief in Jerusalem Township after trustees fired him was reversed by Ohio’s Sixth District Court of Appeals. The appellate court, consisting of Judges Mark L. Pietrykowski, Arlene Singer, and James D. Jenson, unanimously voted on Feb. 6 to uphold the trustees’ dismissal of former Fire Chief Harold Stanton. Stanton filed an appeal of that decision with the Supreme Court of Ohio in March. On September 16, the high court decided to not accept the appeal for review. In its ruling, the court simply wrote, “Upon consideration of the jurisdictional memoranda filed in this case, the court declines to accept jurisdiction of the appeal. The latest court action effectively exhausts all appeals in a case that has been active since 2013. Stanton filed a lawsuit against the township after trustees fired him on March 19, 2013 for allegedly permitting an individual who was not a member of the fire department to actively participate on emergency calls. Trustees initially suspended Stanton, who had been part-time fire chief since 2008, then later decided to dismiss him following a hearing. Trustees had stated in a letter to Stanton that they had repeatedly instructed him to not permit individuals to assist in the fire department during emergency situations unless they had been lawfully appointed Jerusalem Township firefighters. Stanton insisted he never had invited Jim Gray to fire scenes and that he would just show up. He also said he had informed Gray in the past that trustees did not want him responding to calls. Stanton believed his dismissal was politically motivated because Gray is the brother of former Trustee Joe Gray, with whom Kiss was often at odds when both served on the board of trustees. On August 19, 2013 Lucas County Common Pleas Court Judge Dean Mandros Continued on page 2
Q
uote
of The Week
He would say, “As long as I can march, I’ll march.” Jim Helle See page 11
Pumpkin time is here
Kyle Rhulard and Isaac Truman help out with farm chores at the Fleitz Pumpkin Farm, Oregon. The two are members of the Fleitz family. (Press photo by Ken Grosjean)
Woodmore
Challenge to board seat dismissed By Larry Limpf News Editor news@presspublications.com The Sixth District Court of Appeals has unanimously dismissed a complaint by the Sandusky County prosecutor’s office that challenged an appointment to a vacant seat on the Woodmore Board of Education. The court ruled the school board had followed state law when it selected Daniel Hoppe in May during a special meeting to fill a seat vacated by Grant Cummings, then the board vice president, who had resigned earlier that month. The prosecutor’s office filed its complaint June 11, arguing the Ohio Revised Code requires an appointment to be made by a probate court judge when a school board doesn’t act within a required time frame. The complaint asked that Hoppe prove he is rightfully a member of the board and, failing to do that, asked to remove him from the board. Board President Steve Huss applauded the decision. “The board felt that it acted properly by a majority vote within the 30-day period to appoint Dan Hoppe to fill the vacancy,” he said in a prepared statement. On Thursday, he said the case “was a great injustice to district taxpayers, especially those in Sandusky County.” Hoppe said he was “…pleased to con-
Heartbeat Diamond Collection The Diamond Moves to the Beat of Her Heart
tinue my role on the board of education. I volunteered to serve on the board to help advance the education of our children and I look forward to doing that.” The board met in a special meeting May 12 to interview five candidates. However, three board members couldn’t agree on who should fill the vacant seat when they met during a regular meeting on May 19 – about 13 days after Cummings resigned. Huss then scheduled a special meeting for May 31 and the members present, Corinna Bench, Julie Bowman, and Huss unanimously voted for Hoppe. Board member Joe Liszak decided to not attend the meeting, saying the board had missed the deadline set by state law to appoint someone to the vacant seat. At Liszak’s request, Norman Solze, an assistant prosecutor with the Sandusky County office; Mark Mulligan, the Ottawa County prosecutor, and Jim Stucko, of a Columbus firm retained by the board, had offered interpretations of the statute. All said a board is required to fill a vacancy at its first meeting – whether it’s a regular or special meeting - sometime between a 10day waiting period after the vacancy occurs and a 30-day deadline from when the seat is vacated. Timothy McCarthy, an attorney with a Toledo law firm retained by the board, in a June 5 email to Thomas Stierwalt, county
prosecutor, said the prosecutor’s interpretation of the relevant statutes is too strict. “A board of education has a window of opportunity that opens 10 days after a vacancy occurs and closes 30 days after a vacancy occurs in which it may select a successor to fill a vacancy,” the email said. “That successor can be selected in the “next regular” meeting of the board of education or in a “special” meeting of the board. If the board of education is unable to agree, by a majority vote, upon a successor during that time, the decision defaults to the probate court.” Solze on Thursday said with an election set for November for four seats on the board it would be pointless to appeal the decision. “The court basically said it was a discretionary and not mandatory type of statute,” he said. “So, as long as it was done within the 30 days it didn’t have to be done at the first meeting.” Nine candidates are seeking seats on the board in November. Incumbents Huss, Hoppe and Julie Bowman are vying for three open seats along with challengers Cara Brown, James Kamman, Kelly O’Connor, Samuel Preston and Sean Rizor. Incumbent Corinna Bench is the only candidate for the seat held by Grant Cummings with an unexpired term ending Dec. 31, 2017.