Editor’s note: Following is a month-by-month look back at the top local news stories from 2022 as reported by The Times-Gazette. We wish our readers a Happy New Year.

October

5 – James Morris, a Greenfield native, took over the position of educator covering agriculture, natural resources and community development for the Highland County Ohio State University (OSU) Extension Office. Morris said the position involved talking to agriculture producers and business owners in the county in either one-on-one or group settings.

7 – The Highland County Visitors Bureau unveiled its new website at www.visithighlandcounty.com. Jamie Wheeler, the executive director of the Visitors Bureau, said the redesign wasn’t “completely finished” at the time and that in the months following the announcement, the organization would continue to add to it. She said the organization would also “start to gather statistics on what items people still” want to have access to.

17 – Madisyn Hollen, a junior at Hillsboro High School, was named the 2022 Miss Fall Festival of Leaves. Hollen also had her attendants with her, those people being Rachelle Priest, the first attendant from McClain High School; Sophi Stauffer, the second attendant from Paint Valley High School; and Reagan Truitt, the third attendant from Paint Valley High School.

24 – The Greenfield Rotary Club announced its decision to step down from the role of festival sponsor for the Greene Countrie Towne Festival after 35 years at that position. According to a news release, it appeared that a new organization was going to be formed that wanted to “carry on the traditions of the festival with some new energy and ideas, and likely some changes.”

31 – The Highland County Workforce Development Center celebrated its grand opening in Greenfield. Julie Bolender, director of Highland County Economic Development, said the center had one big room that could also be split into two as needed thanks to a divider as well as three smaller private work areas for residents to use that want to possibly work remotely or in silence.

November

2 – The Visitors Bureau of Highland County announced that it had a successful year at a morning meeting of the Highland County Board of Commissioners. Wheeler said the successful year came from multiple aspects like the new website, Ohio’s Co-op Advertising Program, where a video was released advertising the county’s outdoor activities, and the 2022 Social Media Influencer Tour, among a couple of other projects the bureau completed.

9 – The unofficial results for the 2022 general election were released by the Highland County Board of Elections. Brad Roades, Republican, defeated Tara Campbell, Democrat, for a seat Highland County Commissioners seat left by Jeff Duncan, and Shane Wilkin (R-Hillsboro), won a state senator against Gary Boone (D-Hillsboro).

15 – The Lynchburg-Clay Marching Mustangs scored the highest possible rating at the 2022 Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) State Marching Band Finals held at Alexander Stadium in Piqua. The performance was the second straight state finals for the band, as they received a Superior (I) rating for their rendition of “Under the Moonlight.”

29 – The bid for a new livestock facility at the Highland County Fairgrounds was awarded to Perkins Carmack Construction at the weekly Wednesday meeting of the Highland County Board of Commissioners. The project plan was announced to include the steel building and erection, the concrete foundation, a concrete slab and electrical work, and was scheduled to be finished before the 2023 fair.

30 – The Transportation Committee attended the weekly Wednesday morning meeting of the Highland County Board of Commissioners to offer updates on Family Recovery Services (FRS). Damon Lucas, the FRS transportation director, said the organization was looking into making a downloadable app for the service where people could schedule their own trips and also see where their vehicle is located.

December

6 – The Ironclad, a bowling tournament, was scheduled to be held at Highland Lanes in Hillsboro. The tournament was planned to have 40 varsity girls and boys teams from 20 different high schools in Southern Ohio. It was announced the teams “are primarily competing for bragging rights” as well as a trophy and medals in the second year of the tournament.

6 – A new Appalachian Community Grant was detailed at the morning meeting of the Highland County Board of Commissioners. Julie Bolender, director of Highland County Economic Development, said the new grant had three different buckets of funding, which were for infrastructure, health care and workforce development.

19 – The Bright Elementary Spelling Bee was held for the first time in five years and Natalie Burnett, a sixth grader, won the event. Twenty-four students were involved in this round of the event following “a difficult spelling test that more than 70 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students attempted.” The win for Burnett meant that she moved on to the regional qualifying round of the Scripps Spelling Bee.

20 – Matthew Campbell, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service (NWS) in Wilmington, said that there was a possibility for a White Christmas. Campbell said an inch was forecast at the time for the Thursday evening into Friday morning prior to Christmas, also saying that whatever snow comes down would still be on the ground on Christmas.

22 – Ethan Emery, Hillsboro High School 2013 graduate and current FOX 19 meteorologist, was awarded the distinction of Kentucky Colonel because of his work as a meteorologist covering the tornadoes in Western Kentucky for his previous station, WBKO in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.