An upcoming event regarding workforce development was among updates given for the Highland County ACCESS Program at the weekly Wednesday meeting of the Highland County Board of Commissioners.

Julie Bolender, Highland County Economic Development director, said the event was the Highland County Manufacturer’s Summit and was planned to be held at the Hillsboro campus of Southern State Community College on Nov. 2, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Bolender said the main topics would be removing hurdles to employment, paid student internships and industry sector partnerships. She said this summit planned for manufacturers would be a place for them to discuss workforce issues, barriers or any other issues they might be seeing with other peers in a roundtable format.

Tim Dettweiler, Highland County ACCESS Program director, said that the summit will include a panel of high school students who will be asked sets questions. He said they have tried to make sure the students don’t know what the panel is about so their answers will be genuine.

Dettweiler said the number of students participating n the ACCESS Program has already increased from 156 at the end of the 2022-23 school year to 256 currently in the 2023-24 school year.

One area the organization has found it needs to address is payments. Dettweiler said he’s finding that there are internships available, but students are scrolling right past the ones that are unpaid. He said the organization is looking at finding ways to give out stipends for those internships because there are things that students need to pay for during the internships such as required attire and transportation.

He said that to address this issue the organization is looking at multiple funding angles, such as the Gen Z Challenge, the Highland County Community Fund and the BestOhio Grant.

“Well, it’s real obvious that this is working, just from the sheer numbers that we’re seeing and, you know, we’re 100 percent behind you guys on this thing,” commissioner Terry Britton said. “I think some of the hurdles that you’re talking about as far as the employment, getting the industry in groups together, is very key for this.”

In other news, Jim Goldick, a former employee at The Patriot House, was in attendance at the meeting to appraise the board of commissioners of a situation at the restaurant and the health department. A former employee of the Patriot House, Goldick said he was harassed and eventually fired when he pointed out health issues at the restaurant.

The board said it would contact the Highland County Health Department to see about this issue, but also said that was all that they could do.

The board approved the repainting and repair for the pillars at the front of the Highland County Courthouse for $4,500 and the front of the Administration Building for $1,500 from BNM Painting and Remodeling.

The board approved the purchase of two new 2024 Dodge Durangos for a total of around $110,000 which will not be received until sometime in 2024.

The board approved two authorizations to execute, those being a right-of-way easement between the board of commissioners and South Central Power Company for 9585 and 9645 North Shore Road/Drive for an electric line, and a Contribution-In-Aid-of-Construction Agreement for Electric Distribution Services on 526 John St. from AEP Ohio.

Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.