Cadiz council, commissioners clarify status of Dunbar School demolition

What began as a simple announcement during the Cadiz Council meeting Feb. 26, when Zoning Enforcement Officer John Vermillion said the owners of the Dunbar School building on N. Buffalo Street were no longer interested in seeing it demolished, did not last long. Owners Jerry and Leslie Cochran contacted the Harrison County commissioners as well as the News-Herald to say it was not true.

Vermillion then corrected the mistake at the following meeting March 12, telling council he had “misspoke” at the last meeting and that the Dunbar School is still scheduled to be torn down.

And on March 11, Commissioner Paul Prevot announced during the commissioners meeting that they had received calls from the owners saying “they have full intention of completing the demolition.” But the commissioners did approve rejecting the lowest bid received for the demolition because it “exceeded the project engineer’s cost estimate.”

“After further review of the Brownfield grant bids opened May 28, 2025, the commissioners have decided to reject all bids submitted for the demolition of the former Dunbar School,” Prevot said from a prepared letter.

The Department of Development has since confirmed that funds from a previously approved Brownfield grant allocation may be reallocated. Those funds were not used in a prior Brownfield demolition project and, as a result, the project will be rebid at a later date using the reallocated grant funds.

“The owners always planned to proceed,” Prevot said. “There’s never been any change with the owners.”

Also, Harrison County Department of Job and Family Services Director Deb Knight came before the commissioners at their March 11 meeting and announced one new hire and a promotion from within.

Knight spoke first about Maggie Goudy, a student at Ohio University Eastern studying social work. She spoke highly of Goudy, calling her work “exemplary” as an intern in the department since last August.

“[She] volunteers way beyond her hours and is very interested in the work,” Knight told the board.

She was offered the job of social service worker and was to begin work March 16. Goudy will remain a part-time employee until she graduates in early May from Ohio University Eastern. Her starting salary was announced at $24.92 an hour.

The second hire was actually a promotion for Jacob Barr. He was initially hired as a social worker in February 2022 before being promoted to workforce development supervisor. He will now become program administrator while retaining “supervision of our workforce department” along with human resources duties, as well as assisting supervisors with performance reviews.

Knight said his work in the human resources department would become a “huge” help to her as well. Barr’s new rate was announced at $30.73 per hour. The board approved both position changes unanimously, with Commissioner Dustin Corder absent.