Conversations With Columbiana County

County GIS Coordinator, Gabe Durrant, swings by to tell us about what GIS is (spoiler: it stands for geographic information system), how it is used in the county, and who can and should use it.

Gabe also tells us about the county's aerial drone program and ground penetrating radar, along with his favorite bands.

Haedan Panezott joins us to discuss many of the projects he accomplished as the Executive Director of the Columbiana County Land Reutilization Corporation (a/k/a the Land Bank). 

Haedan recently stepped down from that role to focus on an ever-important role at the Columbiana County Port Authority.

Haedan describes some of the demolition work, brownfield cleanup, rehabilitations, and beautification projects he's worked on and educates us on anime and manga.

Columbiana County native, Kathy Schulz, join us to discuss her recently published book, The Underground Railroad in Ohio.

Kathy tells us what the Underground Railroad was (and what it wasn't!!). We learn why Ohio was truly at the heart of the Underground Railroad and the important role that Columbiana County had in the Underground Railroad.

We are also introduced to a number of very interesting characters whom exemplify the people of the Underground Railroad.

Click here for a link to the book's website.

If you enjoy this podcast, you can catch one of Kathy's presentations as part of her book tour:

Ohio Book Tour 

Mad River Theater Works, Yellow Springs, Friday Jan 13, 7pm  (panel discussion and play)

Clark County Public Library, Springfield, Saturday Jan 14, 2pm

Union Township Public Library, Ripley, Sunday Jan 15, 2pm 

Mechanicsburg Public Library, Saturday Jan 21, 1 pm

Delaware County Historical Association, Sunday Jan 22, 2 pm 

Dresden Branch, Muskingum County Library/Prospect Place Historic Home, Thursday Jan 26, 5pm

Mindfair Books, Oberlin, Saturday Jan 28, 2pm

Loganberry Books, Cleveland, Sunday Jan 29, 1pm

Crestview High School, Tuesday January 31, 9am

Underground Railroad Museum, Flushing, Sunday Feb 5, 2pm

Massillon Public Library/Spring Hill Historic Home UGRR Site, Monday Feb 6, 6pm

Haines House UGRR Museum & Rodman Public Library, Alliance, Tuesday Feb 7, 6:30pm

Columbiana Public Library, Wednesday Feb 8, 2pm

Cozad-Bates House, Cleveland, Saturday Feb 11, noon (docent talks)

Fireside Books, Chagrin Falls, Sunday Feb 12, 1pm (signing only)

Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, Monday Feb 13, 2pm

Salem Historical Society, Tuesday Feb 14, 7pm

Mulberry Street Books, Lebanon, Thursday Feb 16, 2pm (signing only)

Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, Thursday Feb 16, 7pm

We welcome retired YSU geography professor, Dr. Tom Maraffa to the podcast.

Tom recently conducted an analysis of the Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) program, with a special focus on the City of Columbiana's relatively new (but active) CRA program.

We talk about what a CRA is, what it tries to do, and how it works. Then Tom takes us through his analysis, the problems it presents, his conclusions, and his recommendations.

To see Dr. Maraffa's power point presentation, click here.

Wes Vins, the Health Commissioner of the Columbiana County General Health District joins us for this episode.

In this interview (part 2 of 2), Wes tells us about the COVID pandemic, explains some of the science, and details all aspects of the response from the local, state, and national perspective.

Wes Vins, the Health Commissioner of the Columbiana County General Health District joins us for this episode.

In this interview (part 1 of 2), we learn a bit about Wes, the history of public health, and some of the specific activities of the Columbiana County General Health District.

Current Columbiana County Treasurer, Linda Bolon, joins us to discuss why she would like your vote for Columbiana County Treasurer.

Current Mayor of the City of Columbiana, Bryan Blakeman, joins us to discuss why he would like your vote for Columbiana County Treasurer.

Tom Butch and Eileen Dray-Bardon, Chair and Vice-Chair respectively, of the Columbiana County Parks District Board of Commissioners join us for this episode.

Learn about some of the great facilities the Parks District has to offer in Columbiana County, including the Greenway Bike Trail, Scenic Vista Park, Hellbender Bluff Park, the site of the first Ohio Supreme Court gathering, disc golf, pump track, and many other programs.

Tom and Eileen tell us about how they manage and maintain all this, what it costs to do it, and how they fund it. They also tell us about their upcoming levy request: a quarter-mill, five year levy that, if passed, would cost the owner of property valued at $100,000 about $8.75/year.

This is the first in a series of podcast episodes dedicated to candidates and issues on the November 2020 ballot. If you are a candidate, or would like to discuss an issue that will appear on the November 2020 ballot, we would like to have you on the podcast. If interested, please contact us at [email protected]

The episode nobody has been waiting for!!!

Peter Wilson returns to interview Columbiana County's Director of Economic Development, Tad Herold (that's me).

Peter asks me about my work at the Office of Economic Development, including the establishment and administration of the Columbiana County Land Bank; my work as a Port Authority Board member; and some of the current initiatives I've been working on, including the county's geographic information system (GIS), and the county visitors bureau.

Peter also asks me about my days as a Columbiana Clipper, disarms me with a question about one of my favorite artists (Don Dugal), and demands to know about my top 5 golf courses within an hour's drive.