Ashland County enjoyed safe eclipse day, EMA director reports

Barry Fortune
·2 min read

EMA Director Anne Strouth briefed Ashland County commissioners about the solar eclipse day and how smoothly everything went in the county.

“Thanks for inviting me to give an update on our wonderful experience that we had with the solar eclipse,” said Strouth. “No incidents occurred. There was nothing reported with injuries at the Walk-In Clinic or UH. I think everyone listened with the recommended eye protection, which was great.”

She said there were about 200 people at Freer Field, with many of those coming from out of state. She said there were others from out of state scattered throughout the county.

“There was quite a few out at the airport, I heard,” added Commissioner Mike Welch.

Strouth added many smaller airports in the state were busy with people flying in and out for the day.

“I was in this building when the eclipse occurred,” she said. “And traffic came to a standstill. Everybody stood by and watched and participated. What a great event. I am glad we were prepared and had everyone in place.”

Emergency Management Service workers were on hand at Freer Field for emergencies on Monday, April 8, total solar eclipse day. No incidents were reported countywide.
Emergency Management Service workers were on hand at Freer Field for emergencies on Monday, April 8, total solar eclipse day. No incidents were reported countywide.

In other business commissioners:

  • Made re-appointments to the County Transportation Improvement District effective through April 2026 for Shane Kremser, Steve Uhler and Cameo Carey. Authorized new appointments for Garrett Dewitt and Leslie Farley for the same time frame.

  • Authorized a resolution to declare an emergency regarding repairs to the ceiling in courtroom No. 1, which allows the board to dispense with competitive bidding requirements and move forward with a contractor to make the repairs.

  • Accepted an estimate from Simonson Construction Services in an amount not to exceed $210,000 for the full replacement of the courtroom ceiling.

  • Accepted an estimate from BCU Electric for $10,500 for the removal, re-installation and purchase of additional light fixtures in the courtroom.

Commissioners will meet 9 a.m. Thursday in the Commissioner’s Conference Room on the second floor of the County Office Building. The meetings are open to the public. They are livestreamed on the Ashland County Government Facebook page.

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashland County enjoyed safe eclipse day, EMA director said