BARNESVILLE — Village officials discussed a number of public safety issues after touting the success of this year’s Safety Day event.

Mayor Jake Hershberger remarked on the success of the Barnesville Police, EMS, and Fire departments’ Safety Day that had been held in early August, thanking Police Chief Rocky Sirianni and Fire Chief Tim Hall for their efforts.

Hershberger said the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Belmont County Sheriff’s Department, WVU Medicine and many other entities set up for the annual event that featured safety-focused demonstrations, lessons and activities for all ages.

Councilman Les Tickhill said he had recently been questioned about whether there was any thought of putting more crosswalks in the village after a young person was recently struck by a car while crossing Main Street on a motorized scooter near Dairy Queen.

Hall said the prevalence of scooters has increased in the village and that he had witnessed a number of “dangerous situations” involving young people on scooters.

Councilman Brad Hudson said he had seen three boys on scooters passing and zig-zagging around traffic at Memorial Park one day and mentioned another instance when he saw a boy go zipping across the street without checking for traffic at all.

“I don’t know what to do about it, but I wanted to bring it up so maybe it will get out there and parents would maybe talk to their kids about it,” Hudson said.

Sirianni said he and others had been discussing the issue over the past few weeks, noting that it seemed like the number of the scooters around the village had increased greatly in recent months. He said that he and other officers had stopped and talked to different groups of kids about paying attention since they are not as visible to drivers as other vehicles.

Hudson agreed with Sirianni’s assertion that he liked seeing the kids out having fun instead sitting inside staring at screens.

Tickhill said he thought a crosswalk across Chestnut Street near Euclid Avenue might be appropriate, since that is near the park entrance. He also asked about requiring helmets for scooter riders, while Hudson remarked that the riders he had seen were wearing helmets.

Sirianni said he would look into the issue further.

Council President Tony Johnson said that while he was looking in on a repair in progress near his house, he had watched numerous vehicles ignoring the temporary traffic lights that had been set up for the repair. He said the traffic patterns were messed up and, as a result, people were cursing at the village workers as if they were causing the problem.

“That’s a scary place to be to start with,” Johnson said, adding that like Hudson, he had wanted to bring up the issue to hopefully make people more cautious and aware.

Johnson, who works for a waste removal company, also spoke about the dangers that can be caused when lithium batteries, like the ones commonly used to power cordless tools, are thrown in the garbage instead of being properly disposed of. He said that the batteries can rupture when compacted in the back of the truck, causing a major fire risk. He noted it is particularly dangerous since many modern waste haulers’ vehicles run on natural gas.

It was noted that J.B. Green Team has an annual collection for such hazardous household items and materials, and this year it is being held from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Oct. 4 at the Belmont County Fairgrounds on Roscoe Road, St. Clairsville.

Hall put forth the idea of making the intersection of Church and Arch streets a four-way stop, saying that there has been a noticeable increase in traffic in the mornings and that it would get worse with the school year starting.

Sirianni said he didn’t see any problem with making that change and noted that a lot of people from out of town stop when they don’t have to at that intersection anyway.

Councilman Tim McKelvey asked about getting someone to trim the bushes next to the AT&T Building on the southwest corner of that intersection. Hall said that had recently been done, but he wasn’t sure if it had improved the visibility there.

Meanwhile, Village Administrator Roger Deal introduced a resolution to apply for Ohio Public Works Commission grant funding for a street paving and improvement project for 2026, with council holding the first reading of that resolution.

McKelvey proposed that the village use money from one of its investments or from gas and oil lease funds to significantly increase the street paving budget for next year.

“I think everyone would agree that our streets aren’t in the best shape right now,” he said. “Just think about it. Roger does a good job with the grants, but I don’t think it’s enough anymore.”

Deal noted that the work being done on Bond Avenue that Johnson had spoken of earlier was due to a wet spring that had been particularly productive this year and crews were working to add catch basins and other infrastructure to redirect that water.

In other business, council approved paying bills in the amount of $81,463.26 and approved building permits for Scott Gallagher to construct a new garage at 237 Roosevelt Road and for Roger Clark to demolish a house at 380 S. Chestnut Street.

Council also heard and said they would consider a proposal made by Barnesville Chamber of Commerce Director Jill Hissom and owner of the Blue Moon Cafe Susan Lapham to loosen outdoor alcohol restrictions for an upcoming Chili Cook Off and Cornhole Tournament being planned for Oct. 26.