Ann Obrecht Case Summary

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WOOSTER — Wayne County Commissioner Ann Obrecht stepped back in time, in a manner of speaking, as the former school teacher gave a lesson in county government to a group of home-schooled students prior to the commissioners’ business meeting Wednesday.
The students were from the Apostolic church, said Pam Zollinger, as she introduced the group during the meeting. The seventh- through 12th-grade students spent part of the day learning about how county government operates, and they toured the Wayne County Dispatch Center, aka 8500, after they left the commissioners.
Auditor Jarra Underwood also addressed the students, talking about her role and encouraging them to get involved in the voting process when they turned 18 years old.
Obrecht was not …show more content…

It is a routine matter, but Obrecht took time to explain the County Home’s bills are paid out of a levy fund.
When Planning Department Director Betsy Sparr rose to talk about a resolution dealing with a change to a parcel of property, she ended up giving a short lesson on the Planning Commission, its makeup and the role it plays in reviewing land use changes.
Just as Underwood encouraged the students to have a voice in the structure of government through voting, Obrecht also informed them there are other ways to get involved in government without being elected. The commissioners make appointments of volunteers to several boards, like the Planning Commission, the Mental Health & Recovery Board of the Board of Developmental Disabilities.
One resolution on the agenda was a change to the county’s safety manual. The form county workers fill out after an accident needed to be changed in order to capture information needed by administrators. Normally, the commissioners would spend about 30-60 seconds approving it.
But, county Administrator Patrick Herron took the time to let them know the change was a very minor thing in the grand scheme of things, however, the commissioners are a public body. By approving the change in a public meeting, citizens can know what the county is doing and to provide

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