Adena council addresses park safety after reported harassment

A Facebook post dated April 13, which has since been removed, described the alleged harassment of two young girls at Adena Park earlier that week. The post referenced crude language and behavior by two male minors and claimed the girls were prevented from leaving the park before eventually getting away.

At the April 14 Adena Village Council meeting, the girls’ mother, Rhonda Payne, attended with her daughters and addressed council. Mayor Brenda Roski offered her the option of speaking publicly or privately with Police Chief Casey Robinson of the Adena Police Department. The mother later filed a report with Robinson and spoke publicly under the topic of park safety.

“So, a couple of older boys were sexually harassing her and one of her friends,” she said. “And I went down and I dealt with them, which the mom apparently didn’t appreciate because she showed up at my house yesterday threatening me.”

She said she contacted the sheriff’s office, but deputies told her they could not take action at the time due to the lack of cameras at the park.

“That’s absolutely right,” Roski said. “We don’t have the money to put cameras at the park because when you put cameras at the park you also have to have Wi-Fi.”

Roski apologized, noting the village also cannot afford a 24-hour police presence.

“I’m sorry, I wish we did, but do you know of any other town around here that has it?” she asked.

Council member Marla Bechtel said the fire department has cameras that use Wi-Fi and capture activity at the park, with recordings retained for about 21 days, though she was unsure of the image quality.

“But I do think like, over the years there has been vandalism, [but] this is ridiculous,” she said. “And I do think we do need to look into that further.”

Bechtel suggested upgrading the system and investing in higher-quality cameras. Council member RJ Konkoleski noted past incidents captured on camera did not result in action.

“They were on camera, this all happened and we did nothing,” Konkoleski said. “So, I’m all for this stuff but what are we going to do with it. This is known, we know who these boys are.”

Konkoleski added that current Wi-Fi coverage is limited to the park area and maintaining equipment can be difficult.

Robinson said he would request the sheriff’s report and address the situation.

“I’ll absolutely request it,” he said. “I will say this publicly on our behalf, and I think the village would probably back me on this, any nonsense at any of our properties will not be tolerated.”

Robinson added those involved could be banned from the park.

“This makes me sick,” Roski said. “And like I said there is nothing I can publicly do for you tonight here at that table. We all don’t like this and we will do everything we believe we are allowed to do.”