T-L Photo/KAILEY CARPINO State Sen. Brian Chavez, R-Marietta, speaks during the Belmont County Township Trustees Association meeting Thursday.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — New state Sen. Brian Chavez visited the Belmont County Township Trustees Association for the first time Thursday.

“I’m here to listen more than to talk, so I’m not your typical politician because I’m not a politician,” Chavez said.

Chavez, R-Marietta, was recently appointed to replace Frank Hoagland of Mingo Junction after Hoagland retired on Dec. 1.

“Senator Hoagland was a friend. I’m sorry to see him go, but it was a good opportunity for me. I raised my hand and said I’d be willing to take the challenge, and it has been a challenge,” Chavez said. “The good news, I hope, for the district is I’m one of you.”

Chavez discussed some of his background. He said he has a degree in chemical engineering and worked for Intel Corp. for 12 years.

“I met my wife there. She worked there for 14 years, so we have a lot of big corporation experience. But her parents had a small oil and gas company down in Marietta. About 15 years ago, we moved to Marietta to be part of the family business,” he said.

Chavez said he was proud to be in a room full of people who “believe in what they’re doing and are doing it for the people.”

Ohio Rep. Don Jones, R-Freeport, also spoke at the meeting. He said he was impressed by the turnout.

“Not every county has an active association and not every county has well-attended meetings. I mean, you guys and Carroll County probably have the best-attended meetings that I’ve ever been to, and I don’t have Carroll County anymore,” he said.

In other news, Bobbi McMillen, Belmont County program director at JB Green Team, said Belmont County is gearing up for its annual cleanup days. She said she is working on scheduling cleanups in each township, and the cleanups will be either on Saturdays or Thursday afternoons.

Samantha Hearn at Belmont County Soil and Water said the department is partnering with JB Green Team to collect and recycle tires on the cleanup days.

“I have started a tire recycling program for Belmont County. It will begin this year, and I have split the county into two sections. There are only four people that work in my office, and recycling tires is not something that we do. So we had to make this manageable for us. So I’m only doing the southern eight townships this first year in March and April, and then I will do the northern eight townships next year again in March and April,” she explained.

The southern eight townships are Warren, Goshen, Smith, Mead, Somerset, Wayne, Washington and York townships.

Tire collection in Flushing, Wheeling, Colerain, Pease, Kirkwood, Union, Richland and Pultney townships will take place in 2025.

“This program is available to any county resident, and it’s at no cost to them,” Hearn noted.

Hearn said Belmont Soil and Water is collecting two types of tires.

“So I have at-fault tires, which are tires that people have stored in their garages. I have to pay to have those recycled. … At this point in time, I’m only able to accept 268 at-fault tires per township. I’m cut off after that – I have no money. But I’m also accepting no-fault tires, which are tires that have been illegally dumped,” Hearn explained.

She said she can accept an unlimited number of “no-fault” tires through a grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

“They will take any outside tire because it creates mosquito habitat. So if it is an outside-stored tire, the EPA will take it from me for free. At-fault tires are going to Joe’s Tires to be recycled. For no-fault tires, I have an agreement with the EPA and the Belmont County Fairgrounds. They will be stored there,” Hearn said.

JB Green Team and Belmont County SWCD will release more details and a schedule for the cleanup days in the future.