Orrville council roundup: Lives saved, K-9 Hulk catches burglary suspect, 2022 crime down

Shams Mustafa
·3 min read

Orrville City CouncilMonday, Feb. 20 meeting

KEY ACTION Recognized the Orrville YMCA and Tillison Fitness Warehouse for saving the lives of two people who suffered cardiac arrest.

'The right place at the right time'Lifesaving workout: Wayne County woman returns to Orrville gym where members revived her

Orrville YMCA Director Lindsey Baumgartner is presented with a plaque by Councilman Kyle Shanklin at the Feb. 20 City Council meeting. The YMCA and fire and police departments were recognized for saving Jennifer Zehnder's life in 2019, when the Zumba instructor collapsed. An automated external defibrillator unit was used to revive her.
Orrville YMCA Director Lindsey Baumgartner is presented with a plaque by Councilman Kyle Shanklin at the Feb. 20 City Council meeting. The YMCA and fire and police departments were recognized for saving Jennifer Zehnder's life in 2019, when the Zumba instructor collapsed. An automated external defibrillator unit was used to revive her.

DISCUSSION A plaque was presented to the YMCA and the Orrville fire and police departments also were recognized after they saved the life of Jennifer Zehnder. The YMCA's Zumba instructor collapsed from a cardiac arrest while instructing a class in July 2019. Members rushed to her aid administering CPR, then used an automated external defibrillator unit to revive her.

Thad Tillison, of Tillison Fitness Warehouse, receives a plaque from Councilman Kyle Shanklin on behalf of Orrville City Council at the Feb. 20 meeting. Tillison's purchase of an AED unit for his gym was instrumental in saving Linda Thompson's life when she suffered cardiac arrest on Dec. 28. To Thompson's right are Melinda Budd and Ryan McAllister who also helped revive her.

Thad Tillison of Tillison Fitness Warehouse also was awarded a plaque after he and other gym members used an AED device and CPR to revive Linda Thompson. Thompson was working out at the gym on Dec. 28 when she suddenly fell ill.

Orrville police dog K-9 Hulk sniffs out burglary suspect

Chief Matt Birkbeck presented the annual report of the Orrville Police Department. Birkbeck noted the department was the 2022 winner of the first responders photo challenge by Light Ohio Blue.

The OPD welcomed Officer Mathew Amendola in December. He previously worked for Navarre police in Stark County. The department expects to hire two more officers soon.

“I hope to have some positive news the next couple of weeks,” Birkbeck said.

Orrville Police Chief Matt Birkbeck reviews 2022 during his report to City Council on Monday, Feb. 20, 2023.
Orrville Police Chief Matt Birkbeck reviews 2022 during his report to City Council on Monday, Feb. 20, 2023.

Police dog Hulk highlighted the presentation. Birkbeck included a picture of Hulk with his handler, Officer Mike Smith, while searching for a burglar. K-9 Hulk successfully located the suspect after searching the house.

Last year witnessed a huge reduction in crime, according to Birkbeck. The number of reports went down from 320 in 2021 to 268 in 2022.

The public safety camera system helped OPD in reviewing car accidents and solving several crimes, he said. For example, it aided officers in tracking a missing senior citizen who was located in Akron. It also helped resolve a disputed stabbing incident in a gas station parking lot.

Juveniles taken into custody last year totaled eight, with four of those involving unruly/runaway situations. Adult arrests last year totaled 94 compared to 65 in 2021.

There were 118 accident reports with the majority on Main Street. The primary time for traffic crashes was 2 p.m. on Thursdays.

Nate Maimone was nominated as the 2022 Officer of the Year for the Wayne-Holmes NAMI Crisis Intervention Team.The department selected Sgt. Cory Seiler and Maimone as Officers of the Year.

OTHER BUSINESS

  • Approved purchasing a Ford Escape for the staff engineer. In a 2021 meeting, council agreed to buy a Ford truck for the engineer. However, the vehicle was never delivered due to supply chain issues. The Board of Control needed to look for alternatives as they are in the process of hiring a new staff engineer.

  • After approving construction of the skate park project, council agreed to seek bids for concrete work. The skate park, located beside the dog park, is projected to be ready by summer. The dog park will be partially available for residents and may need to be completely closed until the project is completed.

UP NEXT Meets at 7:30 p.m., Monday, March 6.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Police chief: K-9 Hulk sniffs out suspect, crime down in Orrville