STEUBENVILLE — The Jefferson County Commissioners are fine-tuning plans for their second State of the County forum, an opportunity to share some of the good things that are happening.

The forum is set for Feb. 25, beginning at 11 a.m. in Indian Creek High School.

“It’s a privilege to present this year’s State of the County address at Indian Creek High School,” Commissioner Tony Morelli said. “This venue holds special significance for me, as I am an alumnus of Wintersville High School, now known as Indian Creek High School. Our plans are to alternate the setting every year so that we eventually reach all the schools in our county.”

Morelli said this year’s forum will “take a broader view of our county.”

“And, we want to introduce some of the other elected officials in the county, along with other leaders, so residents can put some faces with some names.”

Morelli and Commissioner Eric Timmons say residents will hear from a variety of public officials.

“Our clerk of courts, auditor and recorder will all have an opportunity to speak on just what their departments do and the progress they have made,” Morelli said. “And, Beth Rupert-Warren will talk about the Jefferson County Resource Network, which has been a huge success with her leadership.”

Each of the three commissioners also will offer updates on projects going on around the county, such as the spec building they’re planning for the Jefferson County Industrial Park. Major gains have been made with the Tower building and new parking lot, he said, and a new fence is being erected at the airpark — all signs that good things are happening, he said.

“We always hear the negative stuff,” Timmons said. “But it’s nice to talk about the positive … we have a good lineup of speakers and they’ll be talking about some of the good things going on in the county. That’s the objective.”

Timmons said sharing their message with residents countywide is a priority.

“Before I decided to get involved in government, I wanted representatives who were available and traveled around,” he said. “I think this is a step toward doing that as much as we can.

And he said it’s important that residents understand the gains that are being made.

“I think it’s everybody’s responsibility to know that,” he said. “It’s easy to get on social media nowadays and be critical, dwell on the negatives, but there are a lot of positives going on.”

While the forums kicked off in 2024 at Steubenville High School, Timmons said they always intended to take the show on the road, so to speak.

“We are about the whole county and we’re going to be moving it around,” he said. “Hopefully, next year we can go to Buckeye Local and the year after that, Toronto.”

Commissioner Jake Kleineke said he’s looking forward to the opportunity.

“This will be my first one,” he said. “We just want to be informative to citizens of the county, so they are up to date on some of the things we’re working on this year.”

He figures he’ll learn from it, too.

“Being a new commissioner, I have plenty to learn,” said Kleineke, who says his background in construction “put me in a good position to understand the challenges the water department is having, and our spec building that we are investing in. I’ve done buildings similar to (the spec building) all over the eastern United States.”

Kleineke said he also wants voters to understand they “have a very diverse team of commissioners to oversee the county’s budget.”

Timmons, meanwhile, said many speakers will be making their forum debut.

“I’m excited to have it at Indian Creek and showcase what’s going on there,” he added. “Superintendent T.C. Chappelear will also be there to talk about the school and how far they’ve come. It’s important that people know we’ve got good things going on all over Jefferson County.”