LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

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Since 2004

Tag: Mary Makley Wolff

  • Miami Township Trustees Appoint Chief of Police

    Miami Township Trustees Appoint Chief of Police

    Miami Township, Ohio – The Miami Township Board of Trustees has named Lieutenant Robert Hirsch as Miami Township’s new Chief of Police. Hirsch has served 17 years with the Miami Township Police Department, and has held the role of supervising the daily operations of the department since 2021. Hirsch is a United States Army veteran and also a graduate of the University of Cincinnati.

    In a press release the Township said, “While with the Miami Township Police Department, Mr. Hirsch implemented new community initiatives to further promote relationships and transparency between the police department and citizens. His experience ranges from operational and administrative aspects of policing, including patrol operations, criminal investigations, as well as developing strategies for crime reduction and community engagement.”

    Mary Makley Wolff (LinkedIn image)

    Mary Makley Wolff, Chair of the Board of Trustees said, “Mr. Hirsch possesses a thorough understanding of critical issues and priorities affecting the Township. We know he will lead and inspire our police department personnel while continuing initiatives to ensure public trust in the department, improve personnel wellness, and address crime in our community.” She added, “We are confident in Mr. Hirsch’s leadership and believe he is the perfect fit as the Township’s newest Chief of Police.”

    “I am both honored and humbled to be selected as the new Police Chief for Miami Township,” Hirsch said. “All employees of the Miami Township Police Department will constantly strive to improve upon the delivery of world-class police services while maintaining strong community involvement as we continue to make Miami Township a safe place to live, work, visit, and play. I am completely committed to leading an efficient, well-managed department that is rooted in service to the Miami Township community.”

    Chief of Police Mike Mills

    In June, current Chief of Police Mike Mills announced that he would be retiring after 31 years of public service. Mills will retire from his position on July 31. He was hired at the Miami Township Police Department as the Assistant Chief of Police in March 2014 where he has served until his appointment to Chief of Police on February1, 2019.

    The Miami Township Police Department is an internationally accredited police agency with 50 sworn officers with a mission “to continually improve the delivery of unparalleled services, while fostering effective partnerships, and, in turn, preserve the quality of life our residents have come to enjoy.”

    Hirsch will be sworn in during the Miami Township Board of Trustees’ Business Meeting on Tuesday, August 20, at 7PM at the Miami Township Civic Center located at 6101 Meijer Drive, Miami Township, Ohio 45150.

  • Second step in securing grant money to preserve Grailville a success

    Second step in securing grant money to preserve Grailville a success

    David Miller is the Managing Editor of Loveland Magazine

    by David Miller

    Miami Township and Loveland, Ohio – “The members of the Grail Land Preservation Group in attendance were excited by the unanimous support of the Miami Township Trustees. The opportunity for open green space to be protected in perpetuity has been a desire for many group members,” said Loveland resident Sharon Scovanner.

    The quest to get formal support from three government jurisdictions moved to step two last evening when the Miami Township Board of Trustees voted unanimously to give their stamp of approval. Andy Dickerinson with The Cardinal Land Conservancy, based in Miami Township, appeared at the township meeting to explain the proposal and answer any questions. His appearance was probably unnecessary as both Ken Tracy and  Mary Makley Wolff, as well as Township Administrator Jeff Wright spoke enthusiastically about the Grailville land remaining greenspace.

    Loveland City Council voted their unanimous support in June. The next step is to seek the support of the Clermont County Commissioners. (Council endorses request by residents for Grailville grant application filing)

    The Cardinal Land Conservancy and many Loveland and Miami Township residents are asking local governments to lend their support to a plan that could save 89 acres at Grailville as dedicated green space in perpetuity. Dickerson, on behalf of the Conservancy, is requesting votes of support for a grant application that would be submitted to the Clean Ohio Conservation Fund, to purchase 89 acres of the Grail property.

    This is the site where Drees Homes was denied the zoning change they requested in 2022 after local residents filled Planning and Zoning chambers to urge that the site be protected. The Kentucky home builder had requested the land become a Special Planning District which could have allowed 209 homes on the site. The same parcel is also where the Loveland City School District proposed building a campus until the funding they wanted was denied by voters in 2019. The site is bounded by O’Bannonville Road and State Route 48 (Oakland Road).

    After the re-zoning Drees requested was denied, local Grail members and other local residents coalesced to find the solution. The Grailville Land Preservation Group worked together to stop the zoning change Drees wanted.

    If the grant application is successful, the 89 acres of land would be deeded as dedicated green space in perpetuity. The proposed purchase by the conservancy would be adjacent to the 100-acre Clermont County Park District property, which was also acquired from the Grail using Clean Ohio funding.

    Scovanner added, “It has always been our hope that the land will be preserved to respect not only the legacy of the Grail and their members past and present, but to also be a gift to future generations. We appreciate our partnership with Cardinal and look forward to garnering support from the Clermont County Commissioners as the next step in the process.”

    In this LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV video, Andy Dickerson explains the details of the grant and what he was asking the Miami Township Trustees to do.

    For background: History of Grailville – The Grailville Archive

  • Mary Makley Wolff to lead statewide suicide prevention effort

    Mary Makley Wolff to lead statewide suicide prevention effort

    Miami Township, Ohio – Mary Makley Wolff has been named associate director for the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation, starting Feb. 8.

    Mary Makley Wolff (Provided Photo)

    Wolff, a Miami Township trustee, for the past six years has served as director of the Coalition for a Drug Free Clermont County.

    “I’m proud of the work we are doing building the coalition in Clermont County, including getting funding for years 1-5 and now 6-10,” Wolff said. “And now I’m looking forward to helping build a robust statewide suicide prevention coalition.”

    Wolff sees parallels between her work for the drug free coalition and the suicide prevention foundation.

    “We want to make sure our communities are responding as best as they can, now that we are in the COVID-19 era,” Wolff said. “It’s such a rough time for people with the isolation associated with the pandemic.” Strong communities have strong community-level prevention activities and policies happening everywhere.

    For example, Wolff said teens are getting shamed if they test positive and cause a whole team to quarantine. They can find themselves under attack on social media.

    “We know social media is both good and bad,” Wolff said. “It provides connection, but cyber-bullying and too much screen time make a problem worse.”

    Her main focus at first in the new job includes: Seeking grants for capacity building and furthering a partnership with the Voinovich School at Ohio University and Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services to build an understanding of how to build a coalition. She will assist OU and local staff in building an advocacy group among coalitions to see if policy or law changes need amending so more people may be helped.

    With assistance, 30 partners across the state had developed the first Statewide suicide prevention plan. The plan focuses on prevention, intervention, and “postvention.”

    Postvention involves helping survivors or family members who lost someone.

    “We’re really good immediately after a tragedy,” Wolff said. “It’s the weeks and months later when people have stopped bringing the casseroles and the survivor or family member has to grapple with this alone that provides the biggest challenges.”

    The plan identified three key groups with the strongest need: veterans, older male adults, and youth.

    “But we want to build a network inclusive of everybody,” Wolff said “I’m really looking forward to it. It builds off of work have done with the drug prevention coalition. We all need to be prevention people: Faith community, law enforcement, educators…. We’ve got to share the message of being healthy and safe.”

    For those interested in helping locally with either the Coalition for a Drug Free Clermont County or the Clermont County Suicide Prevention Coalition contact Lee Ann Watson, associate director of the Clermont County Mental Health and Recovery Board at 732-5200.