2024: The Year in Review, Part 1

The Highland County Press is recapping some of the top stories from 2024. The following is Part 1 of the series.

January

• Larry Gray was named Highland and Fayette County Board of DD superintendent effective Jan. 1, following the retirement of Debra Buccilla after nearly 40 years of work in the field of developmental disabilities.  

• The Highland County Board of Elections met Jan. 2 to certify candidate petitions and questions/issues for the March 19 primary election.

• In the Hillsboro Christian Academy varsity boys basketball team’s Jan. 4 win against Fayette Christian School, Kellin Storer set the school record for scoring, with 736 points at that time.

• On Jan. 4, Leesburg Mayor Rita Smith-Daulton swore in newly elected council member Kenny Worley in the Leesburg Council Room.

• Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director Bruce Vanderhoff announced Jan. 5 that the Public Health Fund of Ohio (PHFO) awarded $50,000 to the Paint Valley ADAMH Board to be used for the Highland County Suicide Prevention Coalition and the Pike County Suicide Prevention Coalition.

• The second annual Chad Hodson Classic was held in Grandle Gymnasium at Fairfield High School Jan. 6, as six games were played with all five Highland County schools represented in the all-day event.

• Highland County commissioners kicked off 2024 with their organizational meeting Jan. 8, where they voted to appoint David Daniels as chairman and Brad Roades as vice chairman for 2024.

• Following a brief trial Jan. 8, a jury seated in Highland County Common Pleas Court convicted Allen W. Shoemaker, 65, of Hillsboro of one fifth-degree felony count of violating a protection order or consent agreement, with an additional finding that he had been previously convicted of the same offense. Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss sentenced Shoemaker to two years in prison.

• The Hillsboro City Schools Board of Education reorganized for the 2024 calendar year Jan. 8. District treasurer Ben Teeters administered the oath of office to board members Tom Milbery and Bill Myers, who were reelected in the November 2023 general election; Myers again, as board president for 2024; and Beverly Rhoads, as the board vice president.

• Travis Gibson, 43, of Hillsboro was sentenced Jan. 10 to 18 months in prison on theft by deception charges in Highland County Common Pleas Court, in a case where he was accused of accepting money from individuals under indictment to “make their criminal cases go away.”

• The Bright Local Schools Board of Education Jan. 11 welcomed newly elected board member Dr. Nicole Barnett and re-elected board members vice president Tammy Hauke and Jobey Lucas. 

• Hillsboro senior Gary Reno Jr. celebrated his 100th high school wrestling win on Jan. 13 at the Western Brown Hammer and Anvil Tournament.

• The Ohio High School Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association presented Fairfield’s Associate Head Coach Tom Purtell with their Sportsmanship, Ethics, and Integrity Award at their annual conference Jan. 13.

• On Jan. 16 at Eastern High School, the Fairfield Lions continued their then-undefeated record on the season with an improbable win. The Lions didn’t hold the lead at any point in regulation until they went on a 10-1 run with 47.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter, tied the game with three clutch free throws with 8.7 seconds on the clock off shots from senior Gabe Fouch and won 56-50 in overtime.
 
• Austin Cole Gilroy, 31, of Greenfield, who had been in prison for nearly six months, was sentenced to an additional three-year term after pleading guilty to felonious assault, a second-degree felony, on Jan. 17.

• Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs senior Macy Etienne scored her 1,000th career point Jan. 18 in a 68-32 win at Ripley.

• Shay Snyder was nominated, appointed to and sworn in to the open seat for Leesburg Village Council on Jan. 18.

• Longtime Whiteoak High School boys varsity baseball Chris Veidt was inducted into the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Jan. 19.

• Six individuals were celebrated for successfully completing the New Way to Recovery Drug Court Docket of the Highland County Common Pleas Court during the program’s fifth graduation ceremony Jan. 21.

• Pap’s Hilltop Distillery announced plans Jan. 23 to invest $494,000 to expand its operations in Bainbridge, creating three new jobs.

• Highland County Auditor Alex Butler shared an update on CAUV recoupment for 4,487 acres of land now devoted to solar development during the Jan. 24 Highland County commission meeting, with a total amount billed of $373,578 in recoupment.

• Whiteoak senior Jaylie Parr scored her 1,000th career point in a 66-28 WHS win Jan. 24 over the visiting Manchester Lady Greyhounds.

• On Jan. 26, after 39 consecutive regular-season wins, the Fairfield Lions basketball team suffered their first loss of the 2023-24 season — and first regular-season loss since Feb. 11, 2021 — with North Adams winning, 59-50.

• Joseph Dylan Houser, 24, of Hillsboro was sentenced to six years in prison Jan. 29, after pleading guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge in a case involving the overdose death of an area teenager.

• Over two years after a much-debated retirement payment to a former Hillsboro Municipal Court clerk, the Ohio Auditor’s Office issued a finding for recovery of $25,357 Jan. 30 as part of the city’s 2022 calendar year audit.

• Robert G. Jackson, 58, of Lynchburg, who was serving a nine-year prison term for felonious assault, was sentenced Jan. 30 to an additional 18 months after pleading guilty to retaliation.

• Hillsboro Mayor Justin Harsha shared his annual State of the City report with council members during a Jan. 31 special city council meeting.

February

• Judge Rocky Coss ruled Feb. 1 that Stacie Rhonemus, not Ashley Watson, was elected to the Lynchburg-Clay Board of Education, following a lawsuit filed by Rhonemus against the Highland County Board of Elections.

• Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustang senior Addison West scored her 1,000th career point Feb. 1 at West Union, as LCHS won over the hosts, 64-25.

• Magistrate Thomas W. Scholl Feb. 1 ruled in favor of Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins and the City of Hillsboro in a quo warranto case involving the Hillsboro Area Economic Development Corporation, a community improvement corporation founded in 2015 under the tenure of former Hillsboro Mayor Drew Hastings.

• The City of Hillsboro assumed operations at Shaffer Park as of Feb. 2.

• Members of the Highland County Task Force executed search warrants and made several arrests Feb. 5, as nineteen of the 30 indictments handed down by a Highland County grand jury Feb. 6 were a result of Highland County Task Force investigations in “Operation Fetty Stop.”

• On Feb. 6, the Fairfield Lions won the Southern Hills Athletic Conference boys bowling championship for the 2023-24 season, compiling a combined score of 7,512.

• Durant E. Peters, 46, of Washington Court House was sentenced Feb. 7 by Judge Rocky Coss to at least six years in prison after pleading guilty to felonious assault, a second-degree felony, and abduction, a third-degree felony.

• The Ohio University football program announced its mid-year roster additions Feb. 7, including tight end Beau Blankenship of Hillsboro, formerly of Marshall University and a graduate of Paint Valley High School in Bainbridge.

• Lynchburg-Clay inducted Wendy Martin and Laney Lewis into the Lynchburg-Clay Athletic Hall of Fame Feb. 9 prior to the varsity boys basketball game.

• Cameron D. Renner, 19, of Chillicothe was sentenced Feb. 14 to four years in prison after pleading guilty to a felonious assault charge in Highland County Common Pleas Court.

• "The Lincoln School Story," a video documentary from Ohio Humanities that examines the fight for school desegregation led by Hillsboro mothers and their children in 1954, made its TV broadcast debut on PBS stations across Ohio Feb. 16.

• Hillsboro junior Tate Davis was named the 2023-24 Frontier Athletic Conference Boys Basketball Player of the Year Feb. 17.

• Greenfield Rotarians Pat Hays and Steve Pearce surprised Jennifer McNeil Kennedy of Sitterle Insurance by bringing her a pin and certificate recognizing her as a Paul Harris Fellow, the Club announced Feb. 19.

• Highland County had 10 boys basketball players named to the 2023-24 District 14 Coaches Association All-District teams Feb. 20. Receiving first team honors were Hillsboro’s Tate Davis and Fairfield’s Larkin Friend.

• Highland County had 14 individuals earning 2023-24 District 14 Coaches Association All-District girls basketball honors, as announced Feb. 20. First-team honors went to McClain’s Paisley Pryor and Whiteoak’s Jaylie Parr, while Hillsboro’s Ben Fouch was Div. II Assistant Coach of the Year.

• The 2023-24 regular season came to a close for the Fairfield Lions boys basketball team Feb. 20, as they finalized their SHAC Division II championship season with a conference record of 11-2.

• The Highland County Republican Party held their annual Lincoln Day Dinner before a large crowd Feb. 21. The Republican of the Year Award was presented to Shawn C. Priest, former mayor of Leesburg.
 
• In a special meeting Feb. 22, members of the Highland County Land Reutilization Corporation (land bank) board awarded demolition bids for seven properties to Evans Landscaping, while they also added two more parcels to a list for potential future demolition.

• McClain senior Elana Unger wrapped up a successful high school swimming career on the highest possible stage Feb. 23, as she earned Top 3 finishes in two Para-Swimming events at the 2024 OHSAA Swimming & Diving State Tournament. Unger swam in the 50-yard freestyle (state runner-up) and 100-yard butterfly (third place) for a third straight year at the state meet at the C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton.

• The Southern Hills Athletic Conference announced the 2023-24 All-SHAC winter teams Feb. 26, with 22 Highland County basketball and bowling athletes, plus three coaches, honored. Player and Coach of the Year honors included: Boys Bowler of the Year Ethan Fetters of Fairfield; Girls Bowler of the Year Kylee Chaney of Lynchburg-Clay; Boys Bowling Coach of the Year Jarred Combs of FHS; and Girls Bowling Coaches of the Year Shawn McLaughlin and Sean Ison, both of LCHS.

• The Highland County Republican Central Committee, through its members residing in the city of Hillsboro, appointed Cristal G. Kier to serve as City Treasurer for a term ending Dec. 31, 2025, the party announced Feb. 27. She replaced Deborah J. Sansone, who had served since April 2023 and resigned Feb. 19.

• The poster child and poster adult for the 52nd annual Ernie Blankenship Radio-Telethon were introduced by representatives of the Highland County Society for Children and Adults Feb. 28 at the Hillsboro First State Bank branch, as First State was this year’s event sponsor and host. Zaphod Cooper of Leesburg was named the 2024 poster child, and Darlene Robinson of Hillsboro was selected as the 2024 poster adult.

• Over 16 months after pleading guilty to attempting to commit a hate crime, Tres Genco, 24, of Hillsboro was sentenced federally Feb. 29 to 80 months in prison. Genco previously entered a guilty plea Oct. 11, 2022, where he “admitted he plotted to commit a hate crime, namely, a plan to shoot women at a university in Ohio.”

• The Highland County Justice Center received a $247,599 grant to complete Direct Digital Controls upgrades, as announced by the Ohio Department of Development Feb. 29.

March

• Wilmington College’s Board of Trustees selected Dr. Coreen “Corey” Cockerill as its 20th president during its winter meeting on March 1. Cockerill, of Leesburg, had served as interim president for the previous 11 months. She is now the College’s first inaugurated female president.

• It was standing room only at the Highland County Chamber of Commerce’s 12th annual Ag is Everyone’s Business event on March 1 at Boeckmann Farms, owned and operated by Jason and Amy Boeckmann.

• The Lynchburg-Clay varsity bowling teams concluded their successful season at the 2024 OHSAA State Bowling Championships at HP Lanes in Columbus, where the boys were 16th (March 1) and the girls were 14th overall (March 2). The Lady Mustangs had one bowler in the Top 20 individual results, that being freshman Kylee Chaney, who was 18th.

• Wright State junior Cierra Lively, a Hillsboro High School alum, earned a second-place finish in the high jump event at the 2024 Horizon League Indoor Championships March 2.

• City, county and state leaders — including Governor Mike DeWine — as well as tenants, investors and partners gathered in uptown Hillsboro March 4 for the official ribbon-cutting and opening of the Hillsboro Business Complex, an over $1 million development owned and financed by local entrepreneur Dale Martin with the support of a JobsOhio Vibrant Community grant.

• Alex Roman Nguyen of California pleaded guilty March 4 to a federal charge of transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, after being apprehended in Texas with a juvenile from Hillsboro in 2022.

• McClain senior Lily Barnes signed her letter of intent to be a thrower for the Div. I Ohio University track and field team, as reported March 5.

• The first headlining act of the 2024 Festival of the Bells was revealed March 7, as event organizer Brian Robinson announced that Riley Clemmons would open this year’s festival July 4 as the featured Christian artist.

• On March 8, the Fairfield Lions basketball team defeated the Federal Hocking Lancers, 56-52 to win their fourth district championship in program history, and their first since 2014 (exactly 10 years ago, on March 8, 2014).

• Fairfield FFA member Adam Berwanger was announced as a Top 4 State Finalist for his Diversified Crop Production Proficiency, as reported March 8.

• McClain senior Ethan Hill wrestled two days at the 2024 OHSAA State Wrestling Championships March 8-9 at the Schottenstein Center on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, going 1-2 in his matches in the 285-pound weight class.

• The Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association released their 2023-24 All-Southeast District girls basketball teams March 9, with Highland County having 13 players represented. Leading the way was Lynchburg-Clay senior Addison West, who was named to the first team in Div. III.

• The Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association announced the 2023-24 All-Southeast District boys basketball teams March 9, as Highland County was well represented with 12 players. Highland County’s selections were led by one first-team honoree in Div. IV, Fairfield senior Larkin Friend.

• The family of Charles and Susie Coleman Sr. of Greenfield, and Josh McCoy, Senior Executive Officer of Adena, were honored when the African American Awareness Research Council (AAARC) and the Highland County District Library presented their annual Black History Month program on March 9. The program also featured a speech by Ohio State Representative Dontavius Jarrells of District 1.

• Highland County commissioners voted via resolution to officially endorse the Highland County Children Services levy renewal issue on the March 19 primary election ballot during their March 13 meeting.

• A Roundball Reunion was held March 13 at Wilmington College in recognition of the 60th anniversary of the last Clinton and Highland County tournaments.

• Highland County Sheriff Donnie Barrera informed The Highland County Press that effective March 12, Chief Deputy Brandon Stratton was again placed on administrative leave, after being fully reinstated earlier in the same day, pending an investigation. Stratton was officially “relieved of his duties” in a letter by Barrera March 20.

• A valiant comeback effort by the Fairfield Lions was just a few points short of making history for the program, as they lost in the Division IV Regional Semifinals March 12 to the South Webster Jeeps, 48-45 at the Ohio University Convocation Center.

• State Senator Shane Wilkin (R-Hillsboro) earned the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Award for Conservative Achievement, as announced March 14.

• Hillsboro City Council members recommended a change to their current election terms and heard the first reading of a new ordinance implementing a minimum water bill during their March 14 meeting.  Council also heard the first reading of a much-debated Ohio Department of Transportation resolution for pedestrian crosswalks.

• Festival of the Bells committee president Tom Zile and vice president Tiffany McCoy March 15 announced the 2024 Festival concert series headliners (Shane Profitt and Tyler Braden) and several exciting changes to the three-day schedule. 

• The inaugural This Is Me, a gala event for individuals in Highland County, was held March 15 at Fairfield Local Schools.

• On March 15, Lowell Chambers and Rusty Fite from Chambers-Fite Realty Co. in Hillsboro attended the 2023 Southern Ohio Association of Realtors Elite Club Gala at Roberts Centre in Wilmington, where Fite was named REALTOR® of the Year.  

• Members of the Hillsboro City Schools Board of Education heard from a group of Hillsboro FFA representatives at the board’s March 18 meeting after the board accepted the resignation of Elizabeth (Libby) McNeal, a longtime vocational agriculture teacher at the middle school/high school and Hillsboro FFA adviser.

• On March 18, the Fairfield Local Schools district posthumously awarded the high school diploma of Robert Lawson, a member of the Fairfield High School Class of 1968. His widow, Barbara Lawson of Leesburg, and their grandchildren accepted the diploma.

• A Hillsboro man indicted on 27 counts in connection with a Highland County Task Force investigation was sentenced March 19 to a minimum of 13 years in prison and ordered to forfeit cash, weapons and vehicles. Justin Anderson, 37, had pleaded guilty Jan. 29 to engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity; an amended count of aggravated trafficking in drugs (Adderall); trafficking in marijuana in the vicinity of a school zone; and a forfeiture specification.

• March 19 primary election results showed Highland County voters supporting current Highland County Task Force Chief Investigator Randy Sanders, who defeated challenger Brandon Stratton with 65 percent of the vote in the race for Highland County Sheriff. In the only other countywide race, Highland County voters unofficially rejected a replacement levy for the Highland County Children Services agency.

• The Highland County Land Reutilization Corporation (land bank) submitted their application for the new round of the Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program, while the land bank continues to utilize funding from the program’s first iteration, as discussed at their March 21 meeting.

• Maddie Burke, a fifth grade student at Hillsboro Elementary, won the RPHF Solid Waste District’s annual Earth Day poster contest for Highland County, as announced March 21.

• Sara Pelfrey of Hillsboro placed fourth in the 2024 Women's Amateur 3 division in the United States Women’s Disc Golf Championship, March 21-24 in Austin, Texas.

• In their second meeting in a week, Hillsboro City Council members continued ongoing discussions for a proposed pedestrian safety project for the uptown district March 21.

• It was announced March 22 that Bright Morning Star Films, Paradestormer Productions and Silver Screen Indie are in development for a feature film based on the award-winning book “The C.R. Patterson and Sons Company: Black Pioneers in the Vehicle Building Industry, 1865-1939” by Christopher Nelson, focusing on the company from Greenfield.

• On a very windy and 39-degree afternoon March 23, the Hillsboro Indians opened their brand-new baseball field on the campus of Hillsboro High School.

• The Division III and IV girls basketball All-Ohio teams were announced March 25 by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association. Highland County's Division III and IV girls basketball All-Ohio selections were Addison West, Faith Donley, Jade Massey and Jaylie Parr.

• The Division I and II girls basketball All-Ohio teams were announced March 26 by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association. Highland County's Div. II All-Ohio honorees were McClain's Paisley Pryor and Hillsboro's Blake Herdman.

•  Elizabeth (Lisa) A. Davis, 46, of Hillsboro was sentenced March 26 to five years in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in connection with a May 2023 overdose death.

• Multiple local fire departments were dispatched to a fire March 27 at Trustwell Living at Bell Gardens Place on Harry Sauner Road in Hillsboro, which temporarily displaced the assisted living facility residents.

• The Division III and IV boys basketball All-Ohio teams were announced March 27 by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association. Highland County's Div. III/IV All-Ohio selections included Fairfield's Larkin Friend and Trey House and Lynchburg-Clay's Denver Clinton.

• The Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs had a trio of pitchers toss a no-hitter on March 27 on the road, as the Mustangs defeated the host East Clinton Astros, 10-0.
In the win, LCHS had the no-hitter come from Braedon West, Christian Flowers and Trevor Niehaus, as the three pitchers went all seven innings combined.

• Surpassing $160,000 for the first time since 2008, the Hillsboro and Greenfield Rotary Clubs, along with event sponsor First State Bank, raised $165,161 for the Highland County Society for Children and Adults during the 52nd annual Ernie Blankenship Radio-Telethon March 27.

• It was announced March 28 that Fairfield Local School District and Highland Health Providers will partner to open a new school-based health center and STEM - Workforce Center thanks to a $3,235,560 grant announced by the Ohio Governor’s Office. In partnership with Highland Health Providers (HHP), Fairfield Local School District will build and open a school-based health center in the Fairfield Local School District to meet the health and wellness needs of students, families and the local community.

• The 51st anniversary of the day the final U.S. troops left Vietnam was observed in Highland County, as a group of local veterans, their families and other members of the community gathered for a National Vietnam War Veterans Day ceremony March 29.
The annual observance was held at the Hillsboro Eagles 1161 Aerie and at the Highland County Veterans Memorial.  

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