STATE OF THE COUNTY — The third State of Jefferson County presentation was held Tuesday at Buckeye Local High School. -- Linda Harris

RAYLAND — The focus was on the future at Jefferson County’s third-annual State of the County event Tuesday — though commissioners did manage to work in a bit of a history lesson for the high school students who were in the gallery.

The briefing, held this year at Buckeye Local High School, included presentations by Youngstown State University’s Sarah Keeler, as well as Common Pleas Judge Michelle Miller, Ohio State University Extension’s 4-H Youth Development Educator Angie Allison and Buckeye Local Principal Lucas Parsons, as well as the three county commissioners.

Keeler told residents YSU is committed to building a sustainable educational model at its new Steubenville location, the 180,000-square-foot building that once housed the now-defunct Eastern Gateway Community College.

“We’re not just inheriting the building,” Keeler said. “We are investing in a future. When Eastern Gateway closed its doors, it left more than an empty building — it left a lot of uncertainty. It left students wondering what comes next. It left families questioning whether they would have access to higher education here in Jefferson County.”

Keeler stressed YSU Steubenville is “not a satellite, not a branch and not a technical school.”

This is Youngstown State University serving the Steubenville region, a full-service higher educational presence built with intention, sustainability and commitment, beginning (in the) fall.”

“We are taking what we call a ‘build it as we need it’ approach,” she said. “Slow, steady, sustainable, crawl, walk, run. We will not over hire before enrollment justifies it. We will not over-promise timelines and we will not duplicate efforts that already exist in this region. Instead, we will listen, we will collaborate, and we will grow strategically with you, because this is not about a quick launch — it’s about a generational commitment.”

On the economic front, the commissioners said there “was a lot of work behind the scenes” to reclaim the property “and I’m really proud that we got where, where we finally did.”

Commissioners retained about 70 acres, much of which they intend to develop.

“It’s a very hot piece of property, and we’re going to go out for a request for proposals,” Commissioner Tony Morelli said. “It’s exciting, because the property is worth a nice chunk of money in it, I think that we’re going to be able to get a national (franchise.) The RFP will be going out at the end of the month, and we’ll see where we go (from there.”

Morelli said there’s “lots of possibilities on that corridor … There could be some residential, more establishments, maybe some recreation, who knows? We’ll see what happens but remember — as it grows, there’s revenue that comes along with it so

Morelli also pointed to the work done to develop recreational trails and nature preserve areas: The Hellbender Preserve and nature trail opened in 2025, and the Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District is working on Piney Fork trail, including repurposing the old Roosevelt Inn. He said a lot of that work is helping preserve Jefferson County history– like the historic Lincoln Bridge at Hellbender Preserve in Bloomingdale, so named because Abraham Lincoln was forced to walk across the original, wooden train trestle on the way to his presidential inauguration because his aides feared the weight of his train would collapse it, and ended up falling dangerously on the slippery deck. One of his first acts as president was to order construction of a new bridge.

Hellbender Preserve also is home to twin train tunnels bearing the initials of workers who built them, including many former slaves, carved in the rockface, along with a Civil War Battlefield.

Commissioner Jake Kleineke told residents they’ve spent millions of dollars, some of it grant money, to replace bridges and repair slips on county roads, as well as rehabilitate water tanks and upgrade meters, while the Jefferson County Port Authority secured millions in brownfield funding. He also pointed out Maple Manufacturing moved into Jefferson County, bringing 35 jobs and an investment of $1.8 million, along with Brixxs Technologies, which turns fly ash into LEED-certified building and landscaping materials. Instead of focusing just on demolitions, he said the county land bank is building houses now — they’ve already done three and hope to do six more in 2026.

“It’s a good program for young people to stick around and buy their first home,” he added.

Miller updated residents on the success the county’s drug court has had in helping offenders turn their lives around, as well as outreach programs she’s undertaken to encourage high school students to consider careers in law.

Allison addressed the benefits of 4-H and the sense of community it fosters in young people.

Commissioner Eric Timmons, who served as master of ceremonies, pointed out that, “While we continue to have challenges like aging infrastructure and rising health care costs, as we heard today there are a lot of positives going on in Jefferson County.”