By Rebecca Miller
Despite the fact that they were unable to meet together and enjoy a delicious meal while doing their monthly business, the Williams County Mayors chose to meet by phone on December 2, 2020. President (Montpelier Mayor) Steve Yagelski was pleased that there was a quorum with Bryan Mayor Carrie Schlade, West Unity Mayor Don Leu, Edgerton Mayor Bob Day, and Holiday City Mayor Pam Clark present along with himself.
No commissioners were on the call, but as they are not voting members, he was fine with that. Also present were two members of the media, Secretary Jessica Apple and Williams County Engineer Todd Roth.
The group voted to approve the minutes of the October meeting (there was none in November), and the financial report. With no old business to discuss, Yagelski welcomed Bryan Police Chief Chris Chapa as the speaker for the meeting, representing Cops with Kids.
Cops with Kids used to be known as Shop with a Cop but that name has been copy righted so the Williams County group calls themselves Cops with Kids now.
Chapa shared that he has worked with Cops with Kids for the past six years and they work with kids in K-4th grade, with the schools helping them know which children should be involved. In the past they have taken all the children along with their families to a movie, fed them all the pizza they could eat and given them all candy as they left, as well as taking them shopping at Walmart.
Of course, this year, due to COVID-19 that will be different but they are still trying their best to do as much as possible. They are choosing to give gift certificates (amount not yet determined) to Walmart and provide enough pizza for a meal for each family involved. “We are running behind as it has taken time to determine what we could do under the circumstances,” Chapa explained.
In response to a few questions, Chapa explained that the child chosen will get a phone call or some type of notification that they have been chosen, but the group will do what they can to do something special for each child in that family as well.
They will most likely be using Marco’s Pizza this year as they reached out and are being given a great deal. In the future they will return to using local pizza shops but for this situation, going with a large corporate chain is helping them achieve their goal. “Marco’s wants to be good partners with us and there are many of them available in our area,” Chapa added.
Mayor Yagelski shared that he had received a call from Shop with a Cop from a bigger city and wondered how people can know that they are helping the local group. Chapa said that there is a core group that receives the calls, people who have donated in the past, but if someone wants to donate and is not getting a call, they can drop it off at the Bryan Police Station or call the Bryan Police Department. Chapa thanked the mayors for the support they get from each community and administration as it is county wide, not just a Bryan group.
Following a short discussion prompted by Mayor Schlade those present voted to donate, as a group, the same amount, $1500, which they did last year. Chief Chapa expressed his appreciation to them and said, “This will put some smiles on some faces. We know you are in our corner.” Mayor Yagelski stated, “You guys are doing a good job, and we thank you.”
The balance following the donation was $2921.84. Mayor Schlade made a motion that as they were unable to eat at Drop Tine for November, to make a donation of $100 to them. Mayor Day seconded and everyone voted to approve it. Mayor Yagelski wished everyone a Merry Christmas and the meeting adjourned at 6:22 p.m.
Rebecca can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com