MOUNT VERNON — Small acts of kindness and care have a ripple effect throughout the community, and that’s the purpose behind Giving Tuesday.
Now in its 13th year, Giving Tuesday is held on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
Each year, Knox Pages participates in Giving Tuesday to connect local journalism with direct community impact.
For the 2025 campaign, Knox Pages partnered with the Knox County Dog Shelter, donating 50% of every new annual membership purchased between Nov. 24 and Dec. 2 to a local nonprofit making a meaningful impact in the county.
“Through that effort, Knox Pages readers helped raise $950 for the shelter’s Animal Care Fund, which supports medical treatment, rehabilitation, and specialized care for dogs in need,” Leah Gesouras, head of community investment at Source Media Properties, said.
“The donation reflects Knox Pages’ belief that strong local journalism and strong local institutions go hand in hand — both relying on community support to serve Knox County.”
The state approved the county’s request to create a Direct Animal Care Fund this summer. The fund will be used only to pay expenses related to direct animal care, such as food or medical care.
Anyone wishing to donate to the fund can make checks payable to the Knox County Treasurer. Write direct animal care fund on the memo line.
You can also donate on the shelter’s website. There is a 3% processing fee, which goes to the vendor, not the county.
November statistics
In November, 29 dogs entered the dog shelter. Fifteen were owner surrenders, and 14 were strays.
Thirty-five dogs left the shelter, with 20 being adopted and nine returned to their owners.
As of Dec. 15, the shelter housed 10 dogs, eight of which are available for adoption.
“All the dogs that we adopt out are chipped,” Dog Warden Brian Biggerstaff told the county commissioners.
“All the dogs we adopt out are are spayed or neutered, up to date on their rabies, have bordello and distemper vaccines, are heartworm tested, and have flea and tick preventative care for one month.”
(Below is the full November report.)
Water and wastewater
Water and Wastewater Superintendent Jeff Pickrell reports that Well #6 is operating again after workers completed rehab work. It was out of service for three months.
“It was very beneficial. It’s also a $50,000 expenditure that we were not expecting to spend this year,” Pickrell said on Dec. 15. “But we paid it out of the budget and we’re back online.”
Construction for Phase 1 of a new Well #7 is out for bids. The commissioners will open bids in early January.
The engineer’s estimate for Phase 1 is $94,000. Phase 1 includes drilling the well, water samples to test quality, and pump testing to determine the gallons per minute.
“All of that information is gathered, and then we do what’s called a PTI — permit to install — to the Ohio EPA,” Pickrell said.
“They will approve, hopefully, what we’re planning on doing, and then we’ll get a PTI.”
Pickrell expects to have an estimate for Phase 2 by Dec. 31.
He said the big expense in Phase 2 is building the well housing and hooking it up. The housing includes control panels, pumps, pipes, and a flow meter.
Pickrell expects to start construction in 2026.
“The goal was to be online before peak times, which are June, July, and August, but we should be on hopefully by late summer, I would say, or very early fall,” he told the commissioners.
Drilling the new well requires the county to prepare a new wellhead protection plan.
The plan covers a 300-foot circumference around each well.
Pickrell noted that the Ohio EPA appreciated the county installing the fence and other controls to protect the wellheads.
Job & Family Services
JFS Director Scott Boone reported that child support has remained stable since August. The case load hovers around 100, with 467 seek-work cases.
“We’re approaching about $4.5 million in collections for the year, a 97% paternity establishment rate, and around a 94% support order establishment rate,” Boone told the commissioners.
The public assistance division is currently short-staffed.
Boone said JFS is exploring whether to have the call center handle only Knox County calls and applications, rather than those from other counties.
The current staffing is enough to take care of Knox County.
To receive state technical support, Knox still has to be part of a collaboration or group. However, Knox County would support other counties on an emergency basis.
“Part of it’s an attempt at prevention and part of it’s maintaining the status quo and making sure that we’re continuing the excellence of the work that we’ve had for the last number of years,” Boone said.
The social services division is approaching its goal of 30 or more licensed foster homes.
“We should have 32 by the beginning of 2026,” Boone said. “We’re still hovering around 62 kids in custody, and we have two adoptions planned for early next year.”
Boone said that adoptions cost around $2,000 in legal fees. It frequently takes six to eight months for attorneys to file paperwork.
JFS will start filing on behalf of adoptive parents to expedite the process and eliminate the legal fees.
Public Children’s Services Association of Ohio accepted Knox County JFS into the second cohort of the PACT program (Practice in Action Together).
PACT is a collaborative practice model that builds culture and relationships and involves families who have experienced the social services system.