Bellaire police officer going through civil rights criticism in federal court docket | Information, Sports activities, Jobs

BELLAIRE – A Bellaire village police officer faces a civil rights lawsuit in federal court.

The local council held a closed session on Thursday to learn about legal disputes.

After the session, village attorney Michael Shaheen said officers had just learned that a police officer was being sued in the United States Southern District Court for alleged civil rights violations.

He said Police Chief Dick Flanagan would look into the matter immediately.

“The mayor, the council and I are deeply concerned about the allegations” said Shaheen.

Shaheen declined to provide any further information, such as the officer’s identity, as the village did not find out about the allegations until Thursday and Flanagan had yet to speak to the officer.

“It’s a civil rights complaint, but it has nothing to do with racist statements.” said Shaheen.

On other matters, Barb Goodwin, the village’s new representative on the board of directors of the East Ohio Regional Wastewater Department, urged the council to consider passing laws that would further protect the village’s water source. She said it was something EORWA was concerned about.

“We have to take action” She said.

Goodwin provided the council with a copy of the relevant legislation, which it said is already in effect in the town of Martins Ferry. It calls for restrictions on certain businesses and traffic that could be potentially harmful.

Larry Merry, director of Belmont County’s Port Authority, also spoke, adding that he was not opposed to the village passing the laws, but that they should be adapted to the needs and geography of the village.

“I’m not against it, I just think you have to think it through.” Merry said, adding that he decided to attend the council meeting after hearing that laws could be passed on Thursday evening.

Shaheen said he would facilitate a meeting between the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

Council members and a Bellaire company he did business with, MPR, to further discuss the issue of what could help in deciding what should be included in the legislation.

MPR announced a $ 9.5 million investment in May that will include the renovation and construction of 19,000 square feet of facilities and infrastructure improvements at its Bellaire facility on 50 acres of land adjacent to the Ohio River and Ohio 7.

Meanwhile, Councilor Elizabeth Dugmore said she recently learned that EORWA will charge $ 5 for estimated water values ​​from September 1.

She added that if a water customer sees an estimated reading on their bill, they should call the water department before the 20th of the month to get an actual reading as soon as possible.

Dugmore also spoke about the newly installed picnic tables in the village park that were bought with federal funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. The new furniture is made of plastic and replaces old, hard-to-clean wooden parts.

“You are lovely. … people use them. “ She said.

Flanagan noticed he was having a couple of blown street lamps replaced. He said the council could consider replacing the lights with LED bulbs, which would save the village money in the future. He said it would be cheaper to only replace three or four at a time.

Flanagan also mentioned that St. John Central Academy is holding a concert on Saturday and the street would be closed. The concert starts at 4:30 p.m.

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