SPRINGFIELD TWP. Robert Orr sworn in as new trustee

NEW SPRINGFIELD -- Robert Orr was sworn in as the newest Springfield Township trustee at a special meeting Monday after the other two trustees named him to assume his post early.
Orr, 49, of 6557 Metz Road, was the top votegetter in last week's trustee election. He succeeds Shirley Heck, who was forced to resign as trustee after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor count of having an unlawful interest in a public contract. If Orr had not been named, the seat would have remained vacant until the new year.
The other two trustees are James Holleran and Reed Metzka. Metzka was defeated in last Tuesday's election, and he will be replaced by Gerald Guterba in January. Holleran and Metzka voted Monday to allow Orr to take his seat early.
Orr, who had served as a township firefighter for 10 years, is retired from USF Holland, an Akron freight carrier. He works as a substitute bus driver for the Boardman school district and volunteers for Angelfood Ministries, and occasionally for Youngstown's Habitat for Humanity and Rescue Mission. He and his wife, JoMarie, have a daughter, Rachel, and a son, Jason.
He said he plans to be at township offices from 7 to 11 a.m. daily and hopes to serve while avoiding the political posturing and infighting that has plagued it. He said he hopes to focus on positives, such as its "great" volunteers and police department, and said he also wants to work for completion of the Petersburg sewer project.