SABINA — So far this month, there have been four overdoses in the village.
In those instances, charges were filed or are pending, stated Sabina Mayor Dean Hawk who recited the police chief’s submitted report at Thursday’s meeting of village council.
In mid-April, Sabina Law Director Melissa Upthegrove announced Sabina police would start citing people with inducing panic when they overdose on heroin. The purpose of the approach, she said last month, is to try to channel the person who overdoses “into some type of treatment program, and maybe save someone’s life.”
Overall, as of Thursday, May 25, there were 19 drug-related reports in the month within the town, according to the police chief’s written report.
Councilwoman Peggy Sloan, who is chairperson of council’s Police Committee and represents Sabina council with the SRWW Joint Fire District 2 and EMS, spoke up later in the meeting.
She said for drug dealers it’s a business, and “they’re killing their customers off.”
Sloan also said the drug dealers are willing to drive “down here” and “give this stuff out for free” to get people addicted.
Councilman Bob Storer spoke about a 22-year-old Washington Court House man who, when he was released from the Greene County Jail in Xenia, no one came to pick up. However, according to Storer’s information, a drug dealer did pick up the young man who later overdosed on heroin and is “buried out here at the cemetery now. Twenty-two years old. Life gone.”
During the mayor’s report to council, Hawk said Sabina needs and can support another large assembly or logistics company in available facilities.
“We also have facilities for retail businesses, and business offices. We need additional housing as there are many jobs coming available in nearby Wilmington. And we have the new Friendship Trail that will bring more people to town in the next few years,” said the mayor.
In Village Administrator Rob Dean’s twice-monthly report to council, he said he and other village employees have been doing a lot of work to prepare the municipal swimming pool for summer.
Councilman Bill Lewis, chairperson of the newly formed FEMA Flood Zone Relief Committee, said nine people attended the committee’s first meeting. The group’s goal is to have parts of Sabina that are currently designated as a flood zone re-classified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which would help relieve residents who have required flood insurance on their mortgages.
The next meeting of the committee will be 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 13 at the council room in the municipal building. Members of the public are encouraged to attend, Lewis said.
Village officials said that other than beach balls, no other type of balls (football, basketball, soccer) are allowed in the municipal swimming pool. They stressed that the rule, meant to make the pool safer for users, will be enforced and violations will not be tolerated.
Town officials also emphatically urged residents to not mow grass into the streets, where the cut grass finds its way into storm sewer drains and then stops up the storm sewer. The solution, said Councilman Dan Osborne, is for an operator to have his or her mower face the yard for the first two street-frontage rows.
The next meeting of council’s Planning & Records Committee will be 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 30 at council chambers in the municipal building. The topic will be the possibility of medical marijuana operations wanting to locate in the town.
And council voted 6-0 to approve Erin Hoge’s request to split into two separate parcels a South Howard Street property that has a front house and a back house on the same parcel. Lewis expressed some concern about Sabina having a lot of congested housing stock, but he added that Hoge’s plans to knock down a garage and the back of one of the houses may make the situation there a little better than it is now.
Reach Gary Huffenberger at 937-556-5768.
