CHILDREN SERVICES Director begs voters to back agency's levy

Trustees also urged township residents to support state Issue 1.
CHAMPION -- The executive director of Trumbull County Children Services made a plea to township trustees and residents to support the agency's upcoming levy.
The agency has a 0.8-mill, 10-year replacement levy on the Nov. 8 ballot. It will be the first county issue on the ballot and listed as Issue 6.
Robert A. Kubiak, children services executive director, told trustees Monday that the agency investigates and assesses reports of child maltreatment, provide crisis intervention and protection for children as needed (including out of home placement), and provides ongoing services of strengthening bonds of family life to keep families together if possible.
Last year, children services responded to more than 5,500 children and 3,000 families, he said.
Maintaining services
Levy approval will help maintain the quality of the services and programs that are offered, provide mental health treatment that some of the children require, and keep the staff trained to the highest standards needed to help the children get back to a normal and happy life, Kubiak said.
Trustees also approved a resolution supporting state Issue 1 on the November ballot, urging residents to vote "yes" in support of it.
Issue 1 is a state capital improvement program that was approved in 1987 and renewed in 1995. The measure would provide $2 billion over the next 10 years for jobs and funds to use on education, road resurfacing, storm and waterline improvements and other projects.
The county pays 19 percent to 31 percent for capital improvement projects, and the state pays the rest.
Safety award
In other business, fire Chief Lewis Austin reported the township fire department received the 2004 Life Safety Achievement Award by the Residential Fire Safety Institute in conjunction with Operation Life Safety and Grinnell Mutual. This award represents zero fire deaths in 2004.
A total of 792 fire departments in the United States, Canada, Iceland, Italy and Greece received the award.
Lewis said firefighters will be going door to door each weekend in October between 2 and 5 p.m. asking to check smoke detectors within the home or apartment unit to ensure they are working. Firefighters will replace batteries and smoke detectors that are not functioning, he said.
Police Chief Dennis Steinbeck said the township has a Senior Check List program in place in which police check on the elderly once a week to make sure everything is all right.
Police check on 28 seniors in the program. Steinbeck said if township senior citizens want to be put on the list, they should call the police department.