Holmes County begins preparing for bicentennial celebration, which may encompass two years

MILLERSBURG − Village council heard of plans in the works to celebrate the bicentennial of Holmes County.

WKLM radio personality Melissa Patrick serves as chairperson of the bicentennial committee. She explained plans for a yearlong celebration to incorporate all villages and towns in the county, using existing dates of festivals and events to be part of the festivities.

Patrick said because there has been some debate over the official date the county was founded, be it 1824 or 1825, the committee has decided to celebrate in both years.

"We want to celebrate with each of the towns and areas in Holmes County to make sure we include everybody," she said. "We want to utilize festivals that already exist instead of creating a bunch of new things. We can add in the 200th anniversary.

"In our search for information, we have found that the centennial celebration ... Holmes County celebrated with the village of Millersburg," Patrick said. "The village of Millersburg may want to look at participating in the second half or the even first half of the bicentennial celebration."

Village, township, business and group leaders invited to planning meeting

Patrick added it is up to the village to decide if it wish to celebrate with the county or the date it was incorporated, noting the village celebrated its centennial in 1925 with the county, according to a program from that event.

Mark Boley at the Holmes County Historical Society has a program from the centennial celebration.

A meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 24, at the Chamber of Commerce for people from the towns, townships, business groups and organizations from throughout the county who want to participate.

"We want to have a beginning and an end with celebrations in between," Patrick said. "200 years is pretty important, and we've got a lot of great ideas we're working on. We're moving forward."

Patrick added the committee would like to have each community and area put together time capsules to be opened in 50 years.

Newly elected Council President Brad Conn expressed his desire to help out. He has seen an old photo from the early 1900s of elected officials on the courthouse steps.

"I think it would be cool to get all the current elected officials together and stand on the courthouse steps to show how far we've come, kind of a before and after," Conn said. "I'm glad someone has recognized and thought about the 200-year anniversary."

Patrick pointed out Killbuck is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.

Another important date to remember is March 28 at 7 p.m., when Millersburg kicks things off with an event in the newly renovated American Hall Building on the square downtown.

Mayor sets office hours; a county-village collaboration

New Mayor Kelly Hoffee established office hours of 4-6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays for anyone interested in stopping by to talk.

Hoffee asked council members to provide a list of goals for 2024, including addressing problems members feel are facing the village and possible solutions. She also asked what positive things council members see going on in the village.

"Think about some of those things and we can discuss them at the next council meeting," the mayor said.

In other business, Holmes County Commissioner Dave Hall spoke to council about plans to work more closely with the village.

"I wanted to reach out and share some of the things we're doing at the county level with the potential to partner with you," Hall said. "(Councilman) Bob Shoemaker and I serve on the Ohio opioid board, and we're looking at grants with the opportunities for prevention. We're trying to figure out how 10 counties can go after these dollars (from the opioid settlement)."

Hall added the state is trying to address dealing with cyber security.

"We are working with a team from the University of Cincinnati on some free training to dealing with attacks by entities that try to steal information and hold it hostage," Hall said. "We are looking at training for our staff, and if the village is interested, let us know."

Hall added he is hoping to hear from the state soon on Appalachian grants he worked on with Village Administrator Nate Troyer.

On Saturday, April 6, the county will hold an infrastructure grant program, including major funders of grants from OMEGA to Muskingum Watershed District, and possibly USDA Rural Development, to talk about available grants, Hall said.

"It'll basically be like putting together a telephone book of where to find funding and who you can partner with," he said.

Hall thanked the village for partnering with the county on the sidewalks at the new Health Department Building on Glen Drive, which he reports is on time and under budget.

"We should be having a grand opening in June if everything continues to go well," he said.

Hall added there is some potential to partner with the village on downtown projects involving bed tax dollars. He will keep council posted.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Holmes plans a two-year bicentennial party; true founding date debated