POLAND Seditz to appear in court on charge of DUI

The Boardman administrator has taken vacation time until a Sept. 12 trustees' meeting.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- Boardman Administrator Curt B. Seditz is expected to appear this morning in Struthers Municipal Court accused of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Seditz wasn't at work Thursday and couldn't be reached.
Trustees issued a written statement saying that Elaine Mancini, board chairwoman, placed Seditz on administrative leave for the day Thursday so that a preliminary inquiry could be conducted and legal counsel consulted.
That inquiry found that the incident didn't involve township time or property.
On the advice of counsel, the leave was to be terminated at the end of the day Thursday and no further action will be taken until the trustees meet Sept. 12. At that time, the issue will be considered in executive session, the statement says.
"Mr. Seditz requested, and has been granted, vacation time until that meeting in order to attend to pending personal issues," the trustees' statement says.
Christina M. Griffith, deputy administrator, will be performing the day-to-day duties of the administrator in the meantime.
What police contend
A village police report says two cruisers with lights activated were parked on state Route 170 about 11:20 p.m. Wednesday when Seditz, 42, of Tamarisk Trail, drove by in his pickup truck.
Police saw Seditz looking at them and he nearly hit another vehicle that was driving in the opposite direction, the report says. Seditz continued along Route 170, stopping at a green light at Riverside Drive.
An officer then followed Seditz's truck which turned onto North Lima Road, and at one point the truck's passenger tires drove off the road. The officer then activated the cruiser's lights and stopped Seditz.
When the officer approached, he noticed "an immediate and strong odor of an alcoholic beverage" and Seditz's speech was slurred, the report said.
He fumbled through his wallet and his briefcase but initially couldn't find his driver's license and produced his township employee identification card. Seditz later found his license.
In the report, the officer described Seditz as unsteady, noting that he appeared to slide off the cruiser's bumper where he'd been asked to sit.
'You got me'
After attempting the one-leg stand test, Seditz reportedly told police that he couldn't do it and then when the officer explained the walk and turn test, Seditz said, " 'I can't do this,'" the report said. "'You got me. I can't do this.'"
Seditz was arrested and taken to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Canfield Post, where a breath test indicated a 0.179 alcohol level, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08.
Seditz was charged with DUI and with driving in improper lanes.
While waiting to be picked up from the post, Seditz was talking with a trooper about the difference in pay between OSHP and township police. When the trooper asked how much a new township officer earns, Seditz said, "'I'm in no condition to operate a vehicle. There's no way I'll be able to remember those numbers,'" the report said.
Seditz, who has been township administrator since 1996, was charged with DUI, failure to control and driving with an expired license in February 2000 after the township car he was driving left the road, hit a utility pole and rolled onto its side. The charges were reduced in a plea agreement to reckless operation.