GALION—This week, the Northmor Board of Education held their October meeting.

During the public participation portion of the meeting, Dan Meadows, a member of the summer baseball and softball league, spoke to the board about using fields on the Northmor property—the old high school field and the smaller field by the elementary playground—to play summer ball on, and to eventually have their own fields on school grounds.

“We would like to get everybody over at Northmor eventually because we still have that Johnsville and Iberia divide,” Meadows said.

The league currently uses the two fields in Iberia and the three fields in Johnsville. However, we are looking to get away from using the Johnsville fields due to poor upkeep, as the fields are often subjected to vandalism, and the fields are overgrown.

In individual contracts between the school district and the townships in Iberia and Johnsville, one of the stipulations is that for them to get the land for one dollar per year for ninety-nine years, they must maintain the grounds.

Members of the summer league board have put in their own personal time to try and keep up with the Johnsville properties.

Should this be approved, the league would still use the Johnsville fields as practice fields, but games would not be held there.

With the money the league has, they are willing to pay to add fences and dugouts to the small field by the elementary.

There was no board discussion or decision on the matter.

The district has hired Deputy Andrew Kennedy as the School Resource Officer.

Deputy Kennedy has been with the Morrow County Sherriff’s Office for a little over a year in the detective bureau, went on third shift patrol, and on to the SRO position. Deputy Kennedy has also served as a police officer at Otterbein University for twelve years.

“I try to meet everybody as they walk into the building in the morning—I want to be visible and I want to see how everyone’s day is going. I’m at every single lunch for junior high, high school, and even the little kiddos,” Deputy Kennedy said. “I’m trying to have interactions with all of the students and I’m going out to all of the recesses. I’m trying to build relationships with the kids to see if I can help them.”

Deputy Kennedy’s goal is to try and change the perception of law enforcement as it is today.

The next board meeting is November 15 at 5:30 p.m.