Event focused on mayoral, school board races

COAL GROVE — Candidates for the general election ballot appeared before voters on Oct. 12 in Coal Grove, as part of forum hosted by the Coal Grove Betterment Club.

The event, which took place in the village’s new community center, focused on the Coal Grove mayoral race, as well those running for Dawson-Bryant school board, which serves the village and the surrounding area.

In the mayoral race, incumbent Mayor Gary Sherman, who is running for a second term, was not present. Michael McKenzie was also not part of the forum, but had a letter read from a surrogate, stating he had a prior commitment and outlining his case for election.

The only candidate there in person was council member Andy Holmes, who noted he is a 44-year, lifelong, multi-generation resident of Coal Grove.

“It’s important for me to be involved,” he said. “I look forward to the opportunity to manage resources here.”
Holmes, who has served on council since 2017, said his background as a business development manager has given him experience at building relationships and handling a multi-million-dollar budget.

Holmes said he would like to focus on infrastructure, including roads and utilities, while he also brought up the issue of residential rehab centers in the village run by recovery groups, an issue that was prominent in last week’s Ironton political forum as well.

“I understand that they are needed,” he said, but said there were too many per capita coming into the village.

Holmes said the council has passed some legislation to deal with the issue.

“We don’t want to inundate our neighborhoods with people ordered to be in a group home,” he said.

Holmes said one of his goals is to better utilize the riverfront, with his “dream” to bring a riverfront amphitheater to the village, as well as increase camping opportunities.

Overall, he said his goal is to bring more efficiency to village government.

“We can tighten our belt to do a lot more for the community,” he said.

In the school board race, incumbent members Jessica Bryant and Becky Gannon were present, as well as candidates Adam Blackburn, Shanna Murphy and Vivian Schug.

Bryant, is running for a second term. “I feel like I have a lot to offer and have a good vision for our district,” she said.

As a parent of students in high school, she said there was no single issue that was dominant in her vision, but that she wanted to focus on the area of mental health, and she addressed the issue of bullying in schools.

Bryant said that there was a “new dynamic” to bullying that should be considered, citing things such as social media that have grown since she was a student.

On the role of a school board member, she said they should be “open minded” and “not micromanaging” faculty and administrators.

Gannon said she and the board have “great projects in the works and vision for the district.”

“We need to keep moving forward,” she said.

Gannon said she has volunteered in the district since her children were in school.

“And they are in their 20s now,” she said.

Among her accomplishments she cited was helping to re-establish the athletic boosters in the district, which she said inspired her to run for the board.

Like Bryant, she said it is important that board members do not micromanage things.

“You need to hire the right people to have things taken care of,” she said.

Blackburn noted that there were two things differentiating him from the other candidates — one, that he was male, and, two, that he was not originally from the village, coming from Belfry, Kentucky.

“But I want to get more involved and solidify myself in this community,” he said.

Blackburn, who is an entrepreneur in the construction business, said his work history gave him expertise.

“I think it would help with the financial side of things,” he said.

He is the parent of students currently in Dawson-Bryant Schools.

“And I want to make sure my children have the best opportunities possible,” he said.

Murphy, whose background includes work as a respiratory therapist for Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital, said she was running because she believes “we have to be an active participant.”

In addition to academics, she said she would like to see the schools teach basic skills to students on life, such as cooking and sewing.

“So they can be a proud member of society when they leave here,” she said.

Murphy said she wanted a bigger focus on community pride.

She noted, while the football team receives accolades, the district has an award-winning band and a STEM guitar-making program they can be proud of.

On the role of a board member, she said they need to “let the administrators do their jobs and only step in when they can’t.”

Schug said she thinks “everyone should run for office and get involved,” noting that she was encouraged to get on the ballot.

“I love our community and want to do something for our schools,” she said.

Her background includes 20 years working as a membership marketing supervisor for Sam’s Club, which she said had given her experience in following policies and procedures.

In addition, she has worked for Lawrence County Municipal Courts and worked with youth sports cheerleading.

“We need to make sure these young people have the best and that we give them the best opportunities,” she said. “We are putting them out there and I want them to be ready.”

The general election in Lawrence County is set for Nov. 7