Editor’s note: Following is a month-by-month look back at the top local news stories from 2023 as reported by The Times-Gazette.

July

1 – Rozzi Fireworks planned to make a return to Highland County on July 3, when fireworks came to the Highland County Fairgrounds. Scott Lewis, organizer of the event, said the VIP area would include food trucks, a DJ and music, while outside that area on the hillside, Giovanni’s Pizza with pizza stations and a KONA ICE truck would be present.

3 – Hillsboro resident Robert Pegan, 65, lost his life following a two-vehicle motorcycle crash. Pegan was traveling westbound on U.S. Route 50 on a Harley Davidson motorcycle a short time after 9:45 p.m. when, at the same time, a Chevrolet Avalanche turned eastbound from Rapid Forge Road onto U.S. 50, as the two crashed head-on.

6 – The Sims Family Golf Center announced an open house at its driving range and golf center for Thursday, July 13, to celebrate the facility’s 25-year anniversary. Sharon Sims, the golf center’s owner and LPGA professional, said the open house would include multiple contests, games and hitting golf balls, with people wanting to hit golf balls to receive one complimentary bucket and a raffle ticket.

11 – Melissa Norris, 40, Hillsboro, indicted for murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence, was among 11 people indicted by a Highland County grand jury. According to court documents, the Hillsboro Police Department responded to a 911 call on Treewood Drive on North West Street, with it being determined that John Norris suffered a fatal gunshot wound.

14 – Hillsboro resident Patrick Shanahan was in attendance at a Hillsboro City Council meeting and commented that the Proud Boys are a fascist and violent hate group following the group’s attendance at a Pride at the Park event held at Liberty Park. Shanahan also said he “stood there and watched them for five hours do nothing but threaten and bully and harass people.”

August

2 – Thunder in the Hills was held at Rocky Fork Lake and included all-day boat racing over the entire weekend. Mike and Joey McGuire, the event’s organizers, said they planned to have the trend continue in the coming years, with the year’s event including live entertainment, kids’ games, vendors, a beer garden, a record car show and fireworks, among other events.

2 – Michael Phillips, 41, Winchester but also with a Highland County address, was found guilty in Hillsboro Municipal Court of one count of animal cruelty, a second-degree felony, following dead pigs and possibly the carcass of a goat being found on his S.R. 136 property. Phillips was sentenced to a 90-day suspended jail sentence.

8 – Highland County Recorder Chad McConnaughey restored a school bell from the old C.S. Bell Company in Hillsboro that was almost 250 years and displayed it in his office. The bell was a part of the old Maple Grove schoolhouse in Clay Township that was deeded to the local school district in 1877.

9 – Former Highland County deputy sheriff Dustin Malone, charged in the fatal shooting death of a Hillsboro man, was found not guilty of reckless homicide by a jury in Highland County Common Pleas Court. Malone had submitted a motion to dismiss the case after Highland County Coroner Jeff Beery ruled the death a suicide, with Judge Rocky Coss denying it.

10 – Voters in Highland County resoundingly voted for Issue 1, which, if passed, “would have required a majority of at least 60 percent of voters to enact new amendments to the state constitution and changed the signature-gathering process for citizen amendments.” However, Ohio as a whole voted against the motion by 57 percent, setting up a major November election battle.

14 – Leesburg resident Kenneth Davis was one of four people enshrined in the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame on Aug. 4 by the Ohio Agricultural Council. Davis has served as the chairman of the board for South Central Power Company, worked with the Ohio Farm Bureau and served on the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company’s board of directors.

18 – Multiple Hillsboro business owners spoke at a Hillsboro City Council meeting to voice their disagreement for a proposed Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) safety project that would improve crosswalks on U.S. Route 50 and U.S. Route 62 in Hillsboro. Their reasoning was that the project would remove around 30 parking spots, with the project still up for comment.

29 – Greenfield native Ralph May and Hillsboro resident Herb Day were inducted into the Ohio Country Music Hall of Fame at a ceremony at the Keepin’ It Country Farm near Waynesville. May started a rock band in 1965 when he was 15 and has performed alongside Johnny Paycheck, among others, while Day has been broadcasting for nearly 50 years and also did performing of his own.

September

1 – A ribbon-cutting was held to officially dedicate the new Highland District Hospital Livestock Facility at the Highland County Fairgrounds. The new 125-foot by 225-foot barn was planned to be used to house swine, goats and sheep, combining multiple barns from prior years into one. Highland County Fair Board President Mark Baldwin said the new barn replaced multiple buildings that were “in bad shape.”

6 – The 2023 Highland County Fair King and Queen were crowned with Brendan Hagar and Kathryn Ogden winning the contests. Ogden said she wanted to take a step forward in her involvement in 4-H and she how much she could benefit the community, while Hagar said he wanted to try to win it after “coming up short” last year.

7 – Leonard Oxley, 68, Hillsboro, died in a water-related incident at southern Hatteras Island at Cape Hatteras National Seashore. At around 10:30 p.m., a 911 call was reportedly placed to report an unresponsive visitor in the ocean off southern Hatteras Island. Reportedly, two bystanders said Oxley was swimming when he shouted for help and saw him go underwater, after which they swam out and pulled him to shore.

25 – The Highland County Health Department announced its Brake for Breakfast drive-through event in the coming weeks in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Shirley Cox, registrar at the Highland County Health Department, said the event would bring free educational material on breast health.

28 – Four-day school weeks have gotten increasingly more popular, but all five Highland County school district superintendents said that four-day weeks were not in their plans. Bright Local School District Superintendent Jason Iles also said that he believed it was important to maintain the five-day school week.

29 – The Highlanders Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) Chapter and the Waw-Wil-A-Way Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Chapter announced a kick-off meeting for the Highland County Community American Revolution War Memorial project planned for the county.

Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.