Longtime Whiteoak head coach Chris Veidt honored by Highland County commissioners

Highland County commissioners Terry Britton, David Daniels and Brad Roades issued a proclamation in honor of longtime Whiteoak High School baseball coach Chris Veidt, who will be inducted into the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in January.

Veidt and Bright Local Schools superintendent Jason Iles arrived roughly three minutes into the meeting, as the honor was planned as a surprise. Veidt was greeted by commissioners as well as a crowd of family members and friends, including his assistant coaches and other representatives from the school, when he walked into the commissioners’ office.

“Oh, my goodness,” Veidt said, as the crowd began applauding upon his arrival and all three commissioners stood to shake hands with the coach.

Those in attendance to join in the celebration included Veidt’s wife, Kelli; his parents, Christopher and Karen Veidt; his mother-in-law, Drema Howard; several members of Veidt’s coaching staff, including John Combs and his wife Danielle, Bret Malone and DJ O’Cull; Bright Local superintendent Jason Iles and his wife, Kimberly; Whiteoak principal JP Gauche; Whiteoak athletic director Miah Call; and Bright Local Schools board member Steve Cox and his wife, Ginger.

Britton told Veidt that they wanted to recognize him for the recent announcement (in October) that Veidt was selected as a member of the 2024 class of the OHSBCA Hall of Fame.

“You've done a tremendous job down at Whiteoak High School for many, many years with the baseball program,” Britton said. “We’ve seen all the information that was in the paper, and we felt we owed you some recognition.”

As previously reported by Highland County Press sports editor Stephen Forsha, “Veidt has been a head coach for the Whiteoak baseball program for 32 consecutive seasons, earning an overall record of 462-346, as his teams have won 57 percent of their games in that time frame.

“His teams have won 12 Southern Hills Athletic Conference championships, 16 sectional championships, four district championships and one regional championship, and in that 2018 season the Wildcats earned a trip to the Division IV State Semifinals.

“Numerous individual honors for Veidt leading up to his Hall of Fame nomination include being named Southern Hills Athletic Conference Coach of the Year five times; Southeast District Coach of the Year nine times; State Coach of the Year two times: 2013 Mizuno All-Ohio Coach of the Year and 2023 Augusta All-Ohio Coach of the Year; and 2018 National High School Baseball Coaches Association Region 4 Coach of the Year.

“His Whiteoak teams have been state-ranked 10 times, including a first-place poll ranking in 2018 and a No. 2 final poll ranking in 2023. Veidt has also coached 26 All-Ohio athletes and has had 25 players go on to play college baseball.”

(To read the complete feature on Veidt, go to: https://highlandcountypress.com/sandlots-hall-fame-whiteoaks-chris-veid….)

“We just want to thank you for all the hard work and dedication that you put into this for the kids in the county and all the young men that you’ve mentored throughout this process,” Britton told Veidt. “We just want to congratulate you for that.”

Roades read the proclamation, which highlighted some of Veidt’s many accomplishments, including being what is believed to be “the first baseball coach to be inducted from Highland County” into the state Hall of Fame.

“The Highland County Board of Commissioners does recognize, congratulate and thank Coach Chris Veidt for his years of dedicated service to student-athletes at Whiteoak High School and continued success throughout the seasons to come,” Roades read from the proclamation.

After another round of applause for Veidt, Britton again congratulated him.

“It’s just a great honor, being the first baseball coach in Highland  County to be inducted,” Britton said. “It’s a great honor for you and for the community itself. I just want to thank you.”

Veidt was then given an opportunity to speak, as he thanked commissioners for the recognition and credited his family and the Whiteoak community for their support over the years.

“Saying that [commissioners] felt like you owed it to me — you don't owe me anything,” Veidt said. “These things wouldn't be possible without the people in this room. I mean, it's a group effort. You're not able to do something for as long as I've been able to do it, for as well as we've been able to do it, without great community support and school support.

“It’s the people in this room that have helped make all that possible. I'm more appreciative than anything else.”

The group then posed for a photo with commissioners before leaving to continue celebrating at breakfast together.  

In other discussion:

• Commissioners commented on the outcome of the previous night’s election, with a proposed replacement levy for Highland County Children Services failing in the Tuesday, Nov. 7 general election.

Unofficial results showed the issue failing with 6,471 votes against the levy and 4,915 votes for the levy.

As previously reported, commissioners voted in August to approve a request from Highland County Job & Family Services Director Jeremy Ratcliff to seek the five-year, one-mill replacement levy for Children Services, amid rising cases and associated costs for the agency over the past several years.

The current tax levy, which was first approved in November 2013 and renewed by voters in November 2018, is a five-year, .9-mill levy for Children Services placement costs and expires Dec. 31. Ratcliff said in May that the levy generates approximately $700,000 per year for the agency. The proposed levy replacement would have been an approximate increase of $12 per year per $100,000 valuation.

“The only thought that I've got on Issue 2 is it's kind of a shame that we can vote in marijuana, but we can't vote in something to help our children,” Britton said. “It seems like that we're feeding the source that's causing all the issues with the Children Services.

“When I saw the results last night I was just sitting there and thought, you know, this is just really not right.”

Britton added that was only his “personal opinion,” but Roades agreed that Britton’s assessment was “perfectly put.”

Daniels said that the issue failing was “disappointing.

“I know that any time that we ask for additional revenue from the citizens of Highland County, it's a difficult decision that we have to make to allow those things on the ballot,” Daniels said. “But I think that Children Services has shown, over the course of the past two or three years, that the need is there. We see from the prosecutor's office, from law enforcement, the problems that we have with substance abuse that are fueling these things, and we must make provisions that take care of those children that are affected by that.”

In July, Ratcliff spoke to commissioners about the number of children in the agency’s care — including foster care placements or kinship placements — in 2023 compared to a decade ago when the levy was first approved by voters. As he said, there were “253 kids in care at any point” during the year the levy was first passed, whereas in 2022 alone, there were 425. In the first six months of 2023, Highland County had 338 kids in the agency’s care.

“I know that probably there's going to be some discussion in the Children Services world, at Highland County Children Services, about where we go from here and the things that we need to be doing as we go forward to meet the needs of the kids that are involved and that are recipients of those funds,” Daniels said.

• Commissioners approved a fee schedule for Dinkler Law for legal representation for the Highland County Prosecutor’s Office during pending legal proceedings.

Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins, and assistant prosecutors Molly Bolek and Adam King, met with commissioners Nov. 1 to discuss retaining counsel for a pending legal case.

Collins told commissioners that allegations have been made against herself and Bolek as part of a civil lawsuit, and when Collins sought to retain an attorney from the County Commissioners Association of Ohio’s County Risk Sharing Authority, she was told that was “outside of their contractual obligation.” Commissioners told Collins to reach out to law firms to seek representation for an upcoming deposition.

In unrelated business for the Prosecutor’s Office, commissioners approved a service agreement contract with Maximus US Service Inc., effective Jan. 1, 2024.

After the regular meeting, commissioners also entered an executive session with Collins to discuss pending litigation.

• Commissioners authorized an application for payment from Doll Layman, Ltd. for Rocky Fork Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant improvements.

Commissioners previously voted in April to award the Rocky Fork Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements Project (Phase 1) bid to Doll Layman, Ltd., in the amount of $2,597,700.

According to the project description, bids were to include “all labor, tools, equipment and materials necessary” for a number of improvements, including construction of two new secondary clarifiers; construction of new RAS/WAS pump station; replacement of up to four brush aerators in the oxidation ditches with new disc aerators; replacement of existing mixer with new mixer; construction of new flow splitter; demolition and utility relocation work; yard piping/valves; and electrical work.

“I can tell you that they are working on new clarifiers out there,” Daniels said. “I saw a concrete pump out there the other day. They've got the excavation done and are moving forward. It’s my understanding they're trying to get two pours done before winter sets in, and I think they're pretty much on schedule with that.”

• Commissioners also approved a request for authorized certifications for Ohio Public Works Commission disbursements in the amount of $895,032.95. Britton said this is for the Highland County Engineer’s New Market Road project.

• A quote for new headsets and adapters for the Highland County Sheriff’s Office was accepted. The quote was from Advanced Radio Technology, but it was noted by commission clerk Ashleigh Willey that the recommendation was to purchase the headsets through Amazon at a reduced cost.

According to Britton, the cost was $1,319.47 for new headsets and $2,480.75 for three new adapters, at a total cost of $3,800.22.

• During their regular passage of resolutions, commissioners voted 3-0 to approve an additional appropriation from unappropriated funds within the Revolving Loan Fund, 2605 budget in the amount of $1,000,000.

According to Britton, this is the state funding for the planned Marriott Hotel project in Hillsboro.

“We haven’t received the funding yet, but this is just to increase appropriations to allow for that to happen,” Daniels added.

Commissioners voted Oct. 24 to approve an open-end mortgage, Cognovit promissory note and loan agreement contract with LEO Capital Investment LLC in the amount of $1 million for the planned project. According to Highland County Economic Development Director Julie Bolender, the county would then be able to “request our drawdown” from the state.

Commissioners also approved a lengthy list of resolutions (each by a 3-0 vote), including:

• An additional appropriation from unappropriated funds within the Capital Improvement (911) 4030 budget in the amount of $3,500.

• A budget modification within the County General (1000) in the amount of $30,000.

• A budget modification within the County General (1000) in the amount of $300.

• A budget modification within County General (1000) in the amount of $400.

•  An additional appropriation from unanticipated revenue within the Emergency Management Agency fund in the amount of $12,391.57.

•  A transfer of funds from Children Services Fund, 2115 to Public Assistance Account, 2050 in the amount of $68,416.84 for children services shared cost distribution.

• A transfer of funds from Public Assistance Fund, 2050 to Children Services Fund, 2115 in the amount of $103,172.88 for foster care cost utilizing Title XXT funding.

• A transfer of funds from Public Assistance Fund, 2050 to Children Services Fund, 2115 in the amount of $54,916.11 for foster care cost utilizing Title XXB funding.

• A modification within 2115 Children Services Special Fund in the amount of $50,120. Also authorized is an additional appropriation from unappropriated funds in the amount of $50,120.

• A modification within 2050 Children Services Special Fund in the amount of $121,000. Also authorized is an additional appropriation from unappropriated funds in the amount of $121,000.

• An additional appropriation from unanticipated revenue within the County General, 1000 budget in the amount of $4,937.07.

• An additional appropriation from unappropriated funds within the Lakeside Subdivision Sewer District, 5050 budget in the amount of $2,000.

• An additional appropriation from unanticipated revenue within Airport Capital Improvement, 4220 budget in the amount of $30,156.28.