COMMISSIONERS Security will be stiffened at Columbiana courthouse

An effort is under way to close an old road used by ATV riders.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Courthouse safety will be enhanced through a security force.
Columbiana County commissioners agreed Wednesday to create a five-person team later this year.
The proposal, part of a joint agreement among commissioners, the sheriff and common pleas judges, calls for the force to be funded by the court.
The cost is unclear right now, said Commissioner Jim Hoppel, adding three of the five part-time officers will probably be hired and begin duties this fall.
The courthouse already has two part-time security officers on the second floor, where most of the common pleas courtrooms are located.
Three more officers are needed to staff a security station that will be established at either the first-floor main entrance or in the basement near another entrance, Hoppel said.
Visitors will have to pass through scanning devices.
County department heads have submitted proposed 2004 budgets totaling about $18.6 million.
Revenue projections stand at about $17.9 million next year, largely through fees and taxes.
That means commissioners must trim about $700,000 from the 2004 budget proposals by year's end so they can adopt a balanced spending plan.
Mackall Road
A July 23 public hearing is set on a proposal to permanently close little-used Mackall Road, which is off Pancake-Clarkson Road in Middleton Township.
Ohio Department of Natural Resources officials have told commissioners they want the overgrown road to be closed.
The officials say the dirt pathway is routinely used by all-terrain vehicle riders who drive off it and into Sheepskin Hollow Nature Preserve, which is prohibited.
Should the road be closed, possession of it would revert to the owners of adjoining property, which includes state and private land.
A hearing time has not been set.