Sheriff Gene Fischer dies
Longtime Greene County Sheriff Gene Fischer passed away in office on Nov. 16. He died of a medical complication while attending a Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association conference in Sandusky.
Fischer had served as sheriff since 2003 and was a Xenia police officer for 30 years. Fischer was remembered for his sense of humor, kindness and professionalism.
Greene County jail levy fails
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
Greene County voters in November rejected a 0.25% sales tax that would have funded the construction of a 384-bed jail and sheriff’s office.
The levy would have imposed a 0.25% temporary sales tax on purchases made in Greene County and funded the construction of a new facility for $53 million. The county jail is 52 years old and has been under a consent decree for 32 years, which limits the population of the jail to prohibit overcrowding.
Xenia Towne Square development
Xenia is working to redevelop the Towne Square shopping center. The city acquired the buildings and assumed the leasehold interests for $3.3 million in January and is soliciting the public’s input for the 77,000 square feet of shopping space.
Development of the properties won’t happen quickly, but the city’s full ownership of the property means the Xenia Development Corporation can move forward more easily on a section of town that Xenia residents have wanted to see revitalized.
U.S. 35 Superstreet opens between Beavercreek and Xenia
The Ohio Department of Transportation all but completed its $14.9 million Superstreet project, designed to improve traffic flows along U.S. 35. Construction work will be fully completed in spring 2022.
Superstreets prohibit side-street traffic, in this case vehicles traveling on Factory Road and Orchard Lane, to turn left or go straight through the mainline intersection. Instead, drivers coming from the side streets will turn right onto U.S. 35 and do a legal U-turn at a median crossover. From there, cars can continue onto U.S. 35 or turn right to continue to the side street on the other side.
Bellbrook school levy passes after three rejections
Bellbrook voters passed a 7-year, 4.9-mill property tax levy, which will raise $3.22 million a year and cost the owner of a $100,000 home an additional $171.50 annually. The hotly contested levy passed in May after three previous failed attempts.
School officials said the money would be used to hire two librarians so that all school libraries could be open every day, reinstate STEM classes for students in kindergarten through fifth grade and the reinstate 31 small supplemental contracts for extracurricular activities.
Greenewood Manor closes down
Greenewood Manor, the county-run nursing and rehabilitation center, closed permanently in July, uprooting about 35 residents and eliminating nearly 50 jobs.
Greene County commissioners closed Greenewood Manor because of its low population and because of economic trends exacerbated by COVID-19. The closure is indicative of larger trends as nursing homes close and assisted living facilities are on the rise.
Beavercreek mask policies
Beavercreek announced in mid-August that it would require masks for grades K-6, later requiring masks for all students, citing a rising number of COVID-19 cases.
Parents staged protests and packed crowds at Beavercreek school board meetings, including those who were adamantly against mask mandates in schools, and others who defended them.
Fairborn breaks ground on new high school
Fairborn broke ground on the site of the area’s newest high school in June. The $76 million facility will replace the current high school, and include state-of-the-art classrooms, technology, and expanded athletic and arts facilities.
Located on Commerce Center Boulevard, the new Fairborn High School will include updated classrooms, technology, a 2,000-seat basketball arena, a 5,000-seat football stadium, and a 1,000-seat performing arts center.
Yellow Springs housing development
Oberer Homes, a Miamisburg-based company that builds new developments, plans to build about 140 new homes on 55 acres south of the village. Available homes in Yellow Springs have become increasingly expensive and scarce, but, some residents oppose the project, including comedian Dave Chappelle.
Chappelle threatened to pull his business interests from Yellow Springs if the housing development goes through as planned.
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