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163rd YEAR, No. 85 Friday April 12, 2013 50 CENTS

Dry ground keeps flooding minimal in the county

By Irv Oslin T-G Staff Writer

In some parts of the county it rained more than three inches Wednesday and Wednesday night, but there wasnt much to show for it. With more rain in the forecast, that could change. Thanks to 16 days with absolutely no rain, the ground was dry and flooding was minimal. Black Fork of the Mohican River rose seven feet. However, it had been so low, the river didnt wander far beyond its banks. At Pleasant Hill Dam near Perrysville, the 24-hour rainfall measured 3.27 inches. As of noon Thursday, the lake was 5.67 inches above summer pool level. Dan Collins, dam keeper at Charles Mill Dam near Mifflin, reported 2.6 inches of rain on the gauge. However, the water level on Charles Mill Lake was only 1.28 inches above summer pool.

We just took it down to summer pool not too long ago, so we have a lot of storage capacity, Collins said. The Melco Gauge downstream at Rocky Fork of the Mohican River exceeded 10.5 feet, so the gates at Charles Mill Dam had to be closed. This allowed Rocky Fork to drain out faster, reducing the possibility of flooding along its headwaters in Mansfield. It also helped reign in flooding downstream on the Black Fork in Perrysville and Loudonville. Melco is dropping, but its still high in Loudonville, Collins said early Thursday afternoon. At that time, Black Fork of the Mohican was holding steady at around 10.4 feet in Loudonville. On Wednesday morning, it had been around 3.5 feet. Sgt. Tim Kitts of the Sheriffs Office reported minor flooding in fields in the

northern part of the county, but not enough to cause problems. The Sheriffs Office received reports of limbs in the roadways overnight Wednesday. But, in many cases, they had been removed before deputies arrived. Only a few individual power outages were reported in the county. Wednesdays storm was just round one. The National Weather Service forecast is calling for more than 1.25 inches through Saturday. More showers and thunderstorms are expected Monday night through Tuesday night. Prior to Wednesday afternoon, it had not rained since March 25. Rainfall for that day measured 0.41 inch. In some Times-Gazette photo/Tom E. Puskar parts of the county, Wednesdays rainfall Riverside Park in Loudonville was flooded after several exceeded the entire amount for the month inches of rain Wednesday and Thursday. Despite about of March, which was 1.96 inches.
Irv Oslin can be reached at 419 281-0581, ext. 240, or ioslin@times-gazette.com.

three inches of rain in parts of Ashland County, most of the area had minimal flooding due to dry ground.

Persistence pays off

2 secretaries uncover theft of $90,000 by Drotleff
By Missy Loar and Irv Oslin T-G Staff Writers

Inside Today
Special section
Samaritan Link offers many health tips and highlights services and upcoming events at Samaritan.

A clients request for a $170 receipt led to the discovery that Heather L. Drotleff had systematically skimmed about $90,000 from County-City Health Department funds during a five-year period. Two department employees, who have been hailed as heroines, worked many hours on their own time charting a paper trail, documenting the thefts and tying them to Drotleff, who was the departments registrar. Frustrated at first that their suspicions werent being taken seriously by their superiors and law enforcement, Linda Plice and Sherri Maneese pressed their case. Their persistence led to Drotleffs dismissal in January 2012 and ultimately her guilty plea to theft in office March 4. Drotleff, 39, of Loudonville is scheduled for sentencing April 29 in Common Pleas Court. While Plice and Maneese were reluctant to be interviewed, limiting their comments to a joint email message, a transcript of a deposition given by Plice on Jan. 30 in preparation for the trial, other court documents and interviews with those involved provide a glimpse into how the case against Drotleff developed. County Prosecutor Ramona Rogers was one of those praising the women for their persistence. I have read quotes before about the power of one to make a difference in life, but it never came so alive for me personally as in this case where I witnessed the power of two in Mrs. Plice and Mrs. Maneese, Rogers said. The ladies forged ahead with their information regarding wrongdoing despite the fact that it appeared that no one who could help was listening to them. Once the information they had collected was handled dismissively at their workplace, they continued pushing for help from officials despite great
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Ashland board discusses new facilities projects

By Courtney Day T-G Staff Writer

Submitted photo

Above, Linda Plice, left, and Sherri Maneese, secretaries with the CountyCity Health Department, didnt give up when their suspicions about Heather Drotleff, former CountyCity Health Department registrar, werent taken seriously at first. Eventually, their hard work paid off with Drotleffs dismissal, followed by her guilty plea of theft.

Left, Drotleff sits in Common Pleas Court on Monday, March 4 during her guilty plea hearing. Her sentencing is scheduled for April 29.
Times-Gazette file photo

Members of the Ashland City Schools board of education, at a special meeting Thursday, discussed progress of the districts new building projects, which include new middle and elementary schools as well as auditorium and secured entry additions to the high school. We feel that we are going to be within the budget. Thats the No. 1 thing, superintendent Doug Marrah told board members, but added there may be some things the facilities committees would like to include only if they can fit them within the budget. Board member Rick Ewing, who has been involved in planning each of the projects, said the auditorium project especially may need to be scaled back from what committee members hoped because that project is funded entirely with local dollars as opposed to co-funded with the state through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission. Weve got some areas where weve got to tighten the belt, Ewing said. For example, he said, the district originally talked about having a 1,000-seat auditorium, but then increased the seating to about 1,200 in the preliminary plans based on desires of the auditorium planning committee. When we got down to it, we said, we cant afford this, he said, so the committee decided to return to fewer seats.
Turn to ASHLAND, Page A10

began to unravel in December 2011. In her pretrial deposition, Plice told Rogers that a woman called the Health Department requesting a receipt for an inoculation for which she had paid $170. In the course of looking up the receipt on the computer, nursing secretary Plice discovered that, not only had that money not been receipted, but Missing receipt there were other discrepancies. Drotleffs web of deceit As the registrar and adminisTODAY: Mostly cloudy. Highs in upper 40s. A10 Classifieds. . . . . . . B5-10 Business. . . . . . . . . . . B10 Comics. . . . . . . . . . . . . B4 Church. . . . . . . . . . . A7-8 Lottery numbers. . . . . A2

pressures on them personally and professionally. These women are heroines and, as a taxpayer and the prosecuting attorney, I am very grateful to them for their hard work. I greatly admire both of them for their courage and willingness to do what was right despite resistance.

trative secretary at the time, Drotleffs duties included issuing birth and death certificates and recording cash receipts for both the certificates and other departments in a computerized receipt book system. Plice consulted with Maneese, a secretary and environmental health clerk, to confirm this. Plice then went to her supervisor, nursing director
Turn to UNCOVER, Page A10

School building plans meetings set

Ashland City Schools will have three community meetings Tuesday, April 16 to present building plans for the districts new middle and elementary schools and new high school auditorium and entry. The architects will give presentations and show drawings of the inside and outside of each facility, after which community members may ask questions or make comments. The elementary school meeting will be 6:30 p.m. followed by the auditorium meeting at 7:30 p.m. and the middle school meeting at 8 p.m. All three meetings will take place at McDowell Auditorium at Ashland Middle School, 345 Cottage St.
OBITUARIES Anne Heilman Caroline Murphy Eleanor Pamer
Page A2

Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . A2 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Scrapbook. . . . . . . . . . A6 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . B1-3 Tell-n-Sell. . . . . . . . . . . B5

HOW TO REACH US Ashland 419-281-0581 Loudonville 419-994-5600

A10 Friday April 12, 2013

From Page 1

ASHLAND TIMES-GAZETTE

Early on, complaints characterized as squabbling

UNCOVER
Continued from Page A1 Shirley Bixby. Plice and Bixby then spoke with Health Department administrator Al Sanders. According to Plices testimony, Sanders advised them to talk with Drotleff, who had been registrar since June 1, 2003. Apparently nothing came of that conversation. Plice pulled more 2011 Health Department records and found even more money missing. Plice testified in the deposition that, a few days later, she again approached Sanders. This time, she said, Sanders characterized her complaints as squabbling. In a recent interview, Sanders, who has been with the department 38 years, indicated that he took their concerns seriously. He said that, at that point, he was trying to digest the information that was available to him. I had them print out some stuff, but I couldnt make heads nor tails of it because of the way it was jockeyed around, Sanders said. It wasnt that we didnt think there was something there, we just couldnt pinpoint what it was. He indicated that Plice and Maneese were in a better position to interpret the data than he was. They have the most familiarity with the system, with receipts and how procedures were used, so they were able to piece it together, Sanders said.

Joint Health Dept. governed by separate boards

Members of the Ashland City Board of Health: According to information provided on Mayor Glen Stewart, president (by virtue the Ashland County-City Health Departof office per Ohio Revised Code Section ment website, the mission of the depart3709.05) ment is to improve the quality of life for Larry Norris, president pro-tem all citizens by promoting health, helping to William Achberger prevent disease and injury and respond to William Latham Jr. public and environmental health concerns. Bruce VanScoy Health Department administrator Al Janice Fridline Sanders noted that cooperative arrangement, having a joint department governed PARTIAL EMPLOYEE HIERARCHY by two separate boards the county and n Administration Health Commissioner: Dan Daugherty city makes it unique among its counterAdministrator: Al Sanders parts in Ohio. The county and city health boards meet at the same time and place, n Vital Statistics (birth and death but each board must vote separately on records) department business. The boards have Registrar: Dena Vermillion separate budgets, dual (city and county) accounting systems, dual personnel n Environmental Health records and procedures, payrolls, legal (sewage, water, recreational representation and purchasing practices. and institutional programs) The environmental health, nursing and Director: Pat Donaldson public health preparedness departments Registered Sanitarian: A.J. Sturgis serve different functions. Secretary: Sherri Maneese The city and county health districts used to operate separate departments n Food Protection Program but, in 1947, the two sides mutually Program Manager: Ed Howard agreed to combine operations. Secretary: Sherri Maneese Members of the Ashland County Board of Health: Stan Kopp, president, Jeff Hardman, president pro-tem Becky Cawrse John Peck II At the time, Daugherty and Sanders told the Times-Gazette that the department wasnt pursuing criminal prosecution because there didnt appear to be sufficient evidence to support theft charges. Sanders indicated in the recent interview that, after law enforcement became involved and, as the investigation progressed, it became evident that theft might have occurred. However, he explained, there were concerns with following proper procedures as required with Civil Service employees. My attention was turned to (the fact) that, not only did we have the potential for theft in office, but going through administrative procedure on an employee who we either needed to reprimand or dismiss, Sanders said. We had to follow standard operating procedures on both sides the city and the county. The city and county boards vote independently on such matters.
T-G Staff Report

Department. We wanted to do the right thing. Once we noticed a problem, we had to see it through. We would hope anyone in our position would do the same. As part of her plea agreement, Drotleff must promptly pay back the money she stole. Early on in the case, the state obtained a court order to seize her assets to ensure payment.

Pair should be compensated

Something going on here

On their own time, using personal days, Plice and Maneese pored over more than two years worth of records and found more money missing. It helped that Plice had been keeping copies of worksheets listing cash and checks collected at inoculation clinics. Drotleff had been shredding the original worksheets and manipulating data she entered into the computerized data base, which allowed her to skim funds undetected. After the initial concerns and more checking, it became more apparent that maybe there was something going on here, Sanders said. At that point, Sanders said he and Bixby met with Dr. Dan Daugherty, the health commissioner, and Sanders was told to contact County Auditor Phil Leibolt and Sheriff E. Wayne Risner. As the scope of the investigation broadened, Drotleff was placed on administrative leave. That was Jan. 17, 2012. Sometime later Plice could not give a specific date in the deposition a sheriffs detective came to the Health Department and interviewed Sanders. The detective did not talk with Plice or Maneese.

Drotleff dismissed
On Jan. 27, 2012, the County and City Health Department boards voted to dismiss Drotleff, citing statutory conduct and personnel policy violations. The bookkeeping discrepancies were characterized as a matter of Drotleff using department money as her own personal check cashing service and failing to keep accurate records. A document from a predisciplinary conference Jan. 20, 2012, read, in part: Writing personal checks to the district and removing cash receipts, regardless of whether or not you exchanged the monies in equal denominations, was something done for your own personal convenience so that you didnt have to use (an) ATM or go to the bank like other members of the public.

Times-Gazette article prompts call

The Times-Gazette article on Drotleffs dismissal and Daughertys and Sanders explanation ran Feb. 4, 2012. Plice testified during the deposition that she felt the article did not accurately reflect what was really going on, so she took her concerns to county Commissioner Barb Queer. Queer said she has been a personal friend of Plices for years. When Plice called, Queer was surprised by what she had to say. Ill never forget it because it was pretty powerful what she started telling me, Queer said. Commissioners Queer and Kim Edwards had attended the meeting at which Drotleff was dismissed by the boards of health, but Queer said Sanders had indicated that, at that time, law enforcement had determined there wasnt enough

Rogers believes Plice and Maneese should be compensated for the work they did on their own time. The ladies used their own personal time, vacation time and evenings to ferret out criminal activity time which, to date, I dont believe they have ever been credited for by their workplace or the Board of Health, she said. Sanders indicated that it would be up to the boards to make that decision. As far as I know, there hasnt been anything from the board directing me to do that, he said. Thats beyond my authority. Queer said she has discussed with the other commissioners the value of what Plice and Maneese contributed to the case. Most people today dont want to get involved, Queer said. Those two saw something amiss and took their personal time. ... It sounds like they were extremely accurate and they put a tremendous amount of work into it. Queer said the health department should be extremely thankful that their efforts helped save the department not only the nearly n Nursing $90,000 that was stolen but some of the cost of Director: Shirley Bixby Secretary: Linda Plice the audit. I would hope that every county employee Online information can be accessed at would have that ethical standard and, thank http://www.ashlandhealth.com/Home.html goodness we dont have to test it very often, but they certainly met the standard and passed the test of going above and beyond, Queer evidence to substantiate criminal charges. said. I honestly believe those girls deserve a After hearing from Plice, Queer suggested ticker tape parade because what they did was Plice talk to the county prosecutor and then commendable and, in this day and age, you just called Rogers herself to give her a heads up. dont see it. Rogers herself had not known about the internal investigation in the Health Department and some involvement by the Sheriffs Sad, disappointing situation Office in the Drotleff matter until Feb. 3, when The state auditors office had, on previous a T-G reporter called her for comments about occasions between October 2005 and JanuDrotleffs dismissal. ary 2008 issued non-compliance citations to the Health Department for failure to deposit money with the county treasurer in a timely Renewed investigation, audit manner as required by state law. This has not After Plice spoke with Queer, a sheriffs been tied directly to the case against Drotleff. detective interviewed her and Maneese. Sanders noted that, after the discrepancies Rogers pressed the Sheriffs Office to investiwere reported in December 2011, steps were gate further and requested a special audit from taken to revise accounting procedures. State Auditor Dave Yost. There were some weaknesses there that The state auditor was wonderful, Rogers needed to be strengthened, Sanders said. said. He had a team here very quickly. Plice and Maneese saved the Health Depart- Weve done a 360 evaluation of everything we ment at least $11,000 with their legwork. do here in the Health Department. The workAccording to Sanders, the state auditor esti- sheets and money are reconciled and the clerk mated the special audit would cost $28,000. enters the information from the worksheets into However, with the work Plice and Maneese the receipt book. Under the revised procedures, two employees performed previously, the cost of the audit was must count funds collected at immunization clinaround $17,000. Plice and Maneese declined to comment on ics. the specifics of the case or the investigation. Anything collected in nursing is receipted However, they did issue the following state- the same time its taken in, at the point of serment jointly via email. vice, Sanders said. That is put right into the The missing funds were first noticed on receipt book. That was adopted at the beginDec. 19, 2011. From that point forward our goal ning of 2012. was to stick to the facts, to be fair, to be honDaugherty, the health commissioner, est and to be objective. We were determined responded to requests to comment with a stateto accurately gather the facts and report our ment left as a phone message. findings to the proper chain of command. We The whole situation was very sad and disworked hand-in-hand with the states special appointing, he said. I believe we have learned audit team, saving the state 302 man hours a lot from the situation and hope to never face and the Ashland Health Department $12,402. it again. In combination with the owed restitution, Contact Irv Oslin at 419-281-0581, ext. 240, or more than $100,000 of Ashland County taxpay- ioslin@times-gazette.com or Missy Loar at 419-281ers money will be brought back to the Health 0581, ext. 237, or mloar@times-gazette.com.

Board talks about naming opportunities

ashland
Continued from Page A1 Ewing said he feels the board should establish a policy for naming opportunities to allow for additional funding sources. The district will need to establish which parts of the projects will have opportunities for naming and determine how much they believe someone would be willing to pay for naming rights. The board will need to decide, he said, whether it will take corporate donations in addition to individual donations and whether it will establish a minimum donation for naming opportunities. I think that we live in a world where everything is named, board member Jim Wolfe said, adding that he thinks the board would see little negative feedback from allowing corporations to give naming contributions. This would help defray the cost for taxpayers and allow the district to add components to the buildings that may not have been possible without those donations, he said. Board member Bryan Lefelhoc expressed concern that offering too many naming opportunities could diminish the value for donors. Personally, I have a difficult time not embracing or seriously considering someone coming forward saying, Id like to give you some resources. board President Tom Lavinder said. I agree with Dr. Wolfe. I think that just gives us more opportunity to use the revenue available to do some extra things. The board decided to get some expert advice from Ashland University and others who have experience with these issues and to establish some sort of policy before requesting donations. The board also approved resolutions designating Huntington Bank for depository services, Piper Jaffray and Co. for investment services and SE Blueprint Inc. for blueprints for the new buildings. Also at the meeting, business manager Robert Knabe said the district took bids on new bleachers for the high school gymnasium. The existing bleachers are becoming a maintenance issue and a safety concern, he said. At the next board meeting, the board will be asked to approve $143,600 to go with the low bid, which came from Farnham Equipment Co. of Columbus. The cost includes $135,800 to replace the existing, manually operated bleachers with motorized bleachers, $53,000 to add 75 additional seats on the west end of the gym and $25,000 for a filming platform. The project, scheduled to be completed this summer, will be funded with half coming from permanent improvement funds and half coming from athletic funds. Knabe said the new bleachers will be lightweight and handicap accessible. A new gym floor could come later but will not be added at this time, Marrah said.
Courtney Day can be reached at 419-281-0581, ext. 243, or cday@times-gazette.com.

Todays Weather
Around Ashland
Today: Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of rain showers. Highs in the upper 40s. Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. Tonight: Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. A chance of snow showers after midnight. Lows in the mid-30s. Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of precipitation 30 percent. Saturday: Partly sunny. Highs in the mid-40s. West winds 15 to 20 mph. Lows in the lower 30s.

Cloudy and cold

Illustration by Briar Funk, fifth grade, Hillsdale Middle School

Extended Local Forecast

Sunday: Partly sunny. Not as cool with highs in the upper 50s. Lows in the mid-40s. Monday: Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers. Highs in the lower 60s. Lows in the upper 40s.

Ashland Statistics
2013 2012 Record Wed. high 52 46 82 (1945) Wed. low 41 30 22 (1943) Sunset today: 8:06 p.m. Sunrise tomorrow: 6:54 a.m. Wednesday precipitation: 0.26 inch (As of 5 p.m. Wednesday) April precipitation: 1.87 inches