Adena council member raises concerns about harassment

Council held its March meeting March 10, and after a few topics were covered, things took an odd turn. Council member Marla Bechtel decided to go public with something, though she noted that most in the room were aware of the problem of harassment and possible vandalism on her property.

“I’m not going into extreme detail …” Bechtel said. “There’s an issue with people damaging property in Adena, and I feel at this point, it’s excessive.”

What she was describing were caltrops, star-shaped metal objects that fit in the palm of a person’s hand and have sharp edges, that she has found on her property. According to the Lieber Institute of West Point, or lieber.westpoint.edu, it is described as an “ancient weapon” and reportedly is being used by Ukraine, which drops them from drones against Russian troops.

Bechtel has been finding them around her property on and off since last summer. She knows of another person who is being targeted and speculates that it might be related to her in some way, but also speculated that it might be just because she is serving on council. She specifically found some where she parks her vehicle and stepped on one that stuck to the bottom of her shoe just a few days before the meeting.

“And it seems to me at this point that I’m being targeted, and I just want that on people’s radar,” Bechtel told council. “I’m starting to be less angry and more concerned for my safety and my family’s safety, of course.”

Bechtel said she wanted the situation on record and asked anyone with information that would help to come forward. She stressed that she did not want this happening to anyone else and said she was not sure whether it was because of her serving on council.

“Keep it on your radar,” she said.

Police Chief Casey Robinson confirmed that it has been reported to him and that “we’ve had conversations.” Questioned after the meeting, Robinson said he could not go into a lot of detail but said Bechtel was not the only one being targeted. He said there was only one reason someone would use these caltrops, and that was to cause damage. He added that he was not aware of other communities fielding these types of complaints.

“It is concerning, and we’re looking into it,” Robinson said.