Portsmouth Code Enforcement Offers Services To Help Kids
Portsmouth Code Enforcement Officer Andy Gedeon offered his services to the Scioto County Children Services Board to help protect kids.
Gedeon, who moved from the health department to concentrating on code enforcement in the city last spring, made the offer at Tuesday’s monthly meeting.
Gedeon started by congratulating Director Jason Mantell for recent improvements at the agency. “The turnaround in Children Services is tremendous.” He cited a case where his agency had put in a call to CPS and caseworkers had responded before he even made it back to the office. “Any time you make a call, within an hour or so, Director Mantell calls. It’s an absolute pleasure to work with them.”
In fact, Gedeon enjoys his interaction with the agency so much, he’s willing to respond in his off-hours.
He wants to make his personal phone number available to the agency, so they can contact him when they encounter a situation where he can be of help. “Any time I’m at home and available, I will respond.”
Additionally, Gedeon says he is ready and willing to inspect any home before a child is returned to it to ensure that the environment is safe and sanitary. “Not that Children Services isn’t doing their job. It’s completely the opposite. This would take the burden off them.”
Gedeon also hopes there will be cooperation between other local agencies. He feels their personnel should be on the lookout for issues that might put children in danger and CPS workers could notify other agencies of situations that require their attention.”
He concluded by saying that he’s pleased with the changes since Mantell took over the troubled agency. “This agency is now a totally different agency.”
Editor’s Note
Andy Gedeon is a true hero of Portsmouth. For years, he’s worked selflessly behind the scenes to make the town safer, better, and more attractive to visitors and potential investors. There are many hard workers, like Andy, that put endless hours of effort to better our town.
A personal and sincere thank you to Andy and all of the unsung heroes that work and/or volunteer hundreds of hours each week for us.