Folks hoping to tune in to the Scioto County Commissioners’ weekly meeting on Facebook were left scratching their heads on Thursday. Instead of the usual agenda drop and live stream, viewers were met with a bright red graphic simply announcing the meeting had been canceled—no explanation offered.
The cancellation comes amid a string of high-tension meetings sparked by recent scandals and community outrage.
Most notably, the Robert Horton scandal continues to rock the local government. Horton, formerly associated with the Scioto County Economic Development Office and the Southern Ohio Port Authority, left behind a political and economic mess that’s still unfolding. Read more here.
On top of that, the county’s booming rehab housing industry has drawn criticism from residents concerned about transparency, safety, and oversight. Public meetings have seen heated exchanges as locals demand answers about the influx of recovery homes across the area. Catch up on that debate here.
And if that weren’t enough, Scioto County Children’s Services is also under scrutiny, following reports that a 14-year-old child went missing from a group home and was allegedly unreported for four months. Questions about the agency’s handling of the situation are likely to dominate upcoming meetings. That child is still missing. SCDN broke the story and continues to follow the details. You can read more about her here.
While there’s no word yet on why this week’s session was nixed, one thing is clear: there’s no shortage of issues waiting to be addressed.
The Ohio Revised Code states that county commissioners are required to meet at least 50 times per year. With a once-per-week schedule, that leaves very little room for missed meetings.
The next meeting is scheduled for May 1.