STEUBENVILLE — Impressed with how a weekly youth-only program at the YMCA has been received, the Jefferson County commissioners on Thursday committed $25,000 from their opioid settlement fund to assist its general operations.

Commissioners approved the funding for YMCA’s 5th Quarter program at the request of Prevention and Recovery Board Director Bill Holt, who was at the meeting to tout the importance of providing kids with a drug-free, alcohol-free alternative to the party scene.

In November, commissioners had turned down YMCA Director Marci Crawford’s request for roughly $176,000 in opioid settlement money for the program — largely because of the price tag, which represents about half of their county’s annual opioid settlement allotment — and asked her to work with Holt to tweak the budget.

Holt said he got involved “to help make sure we created a lasting plan for this,” but credits Crawford with being the driving force behind the 5th Quarter. Originally intended to provide a safe, supervised environment for kids on Friday nights after football games, participation has been so good that it’s been extended through the end of the school year.

“Part of the reason I’m so enthusiastic is they really just kind of threw it together in the beginning, but they’re consistently getting between 75 and 125 kids every Friday,” Holt said. “It’s been so successful, they continued it after the football season. Any time you get that level of participation, it’s pretty unusual, it’s pretty exciting to hear that level of buy-in from the community. We want to do everything we can to make it sustainable, to make a long-term difference in the community.”

Holt said he’s working with other organizations to try and get additional funding, mainly for transportation, so kids in other districts around the county can make it here.”

After the meeting, Holt said he learned that one of them, the Appalachian Children’s Coalition, had approved $10,000 for the program, “(and) there are a couple other grants we’re exploring to hopefully make the program the best it can possibly be and accessible to as many kids as possible.”

Commissioner Tony Morelli said when Crawford first came to them, it was the $176,000 price she quoted that gave them pause, not the 5th Quarter’s goal — to keep kids from turning to drugs and alcohol.

“It’s going through the Prevention Recovery Board, as it should,” he said. “Mr. Holt’s in charge of prevention and recovery in our county — this OneOhio (settlement) fund money is to be used for prevention, anything we can do that might keep people, especially children, from turning to drugs or alcohol.”

Morelli said it’s a small price to pay to try and save lives.

“This poison is killing our kids,” Morelli said. “If we can keep one kid alive, if one kid doesn’t get tempted to try drugs and get hooked on something, then we’ve really done something. That’s why I voted to do it.”

Holt, meanwhile, updated commissioners on the county’s involvement in the PAX program. He said PAX is a specialized program to help young children regulate their emotions, which usually helps improve their classroom behaviors.

He said some of the COVID-relief funds commissioners allocated to the board are being used to expand the program in Jefferson County schools. And, with help from Nationwide Childrens Hospital in Columbus, they’ve hired a full-time specialist to work in a county district “and consult directly with teachers to implement the program and collect data about effectiveness.”

He said the Edison Local School District responded to the request he issued for volunteers, so the trainer will work with teachers there.

“We’re getting really positive feedback from teachers who’ve gone through the training,” he added.

Commissioners also got their first look at the prototype for Gold Star memorial bridge signs honoring Jefferson County natives who lost their lives in battle, the first of which will be erected in the Gould’s area, and discussed updating a Medal of Honor display in the courthouse to include photos of the two most recent entries — Corp. Fred B. McGee, who served during the Korean War, and Private Philip G. Shadrach, a Civil War soldier who helped hijack a Confederate train in a bid to disrupt train and telegraph service.

Commissioners also:

• Hired Wayne R. Ruckman of Mingo Junction as a wastewater plant operator for the sewer department. Ruckman has a Class 3 wastewater treatment license and a Class 3 water supply license, Director Mike Eroshevich said.

• Approved a $45,000 allocation to the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency for its hazard mitigation plan update, required by FEMA every five years. It typically takes between eight and 12 months to complete.

• Signed agreements with two Pennsylvania counties — Washington and Franklin — to house youthful offenders in the county’s juvenile detention center. The Washington County agreement guarantees beds will be available for five youthful offenders every day and will generate more than $290,000 a year in revenue for the juvenile detention center. Franklin County is renting two beds per day, which will generate around $230,000 a year to offset the center’s operational costs.

• Appointed Amsterdam Mayor Jim Phillips to the Prevention and Recovery Board.