Overview:
The Clear Fork school board is set to appoint a new board member on Wednesday. The board will vote to replace Koti Epperson, who resigned in August. Five people have applied for the position.
BELLVILLE — The remaining four Clear Fork school board members will likely select someone to fill a vacant seat at its meeting Wednesday night.
Board president Lori McKee told Richland Sourcethe board will review applications, interview candidates and select an appointee at its Sept. 20 meeting. The board will meet at the high school library media center Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Five school district residents have applied to serve the remainder of Koti Epperson’s term. Epperson resigned last month, citing a family move.
“It has been a privilege to serve the students, teachers, and the staff of the Valley,” Epperson said. “We’re definitely a mixed bag of emotions in leaving, but it was my honor to serve in the community and I wish them nothing but the best.”
The board’s appointee will serve through the end of 2025, when Epperson’s seat is up for re-election.
Richland Source obtained the five applications submitted to the board through a public records request. Below is a summary of the information candidates provided.
Bobby Fannin
Bobby Fannin resides at 151 W. Durbin Avenue in Bellville. He is employed as operations manager at Strassell’s Machine Inc. He is also the owner of Fannin Machine Co. He spent a year as general manager of Scott Automation. Prior to that, he worked as program manager for Honda Manufacturing.
Fannin earned a bachelor’s in business administration from Mount Vernon Nazarene University in 2004 and a master’s in business administration from Ashland University in 2010. He is a member of the professional project managers organization.
Brian Johnson
Brian Johnson resides at 17980 Mishey Road in Butler. is a project manager for oil and gas at NiSource. He previously worked as a project manager for Infrasource and US Pipeline. Prior to that, he was a project manager for Deer Creek Excavating and the owner of concrete company IPW Inc. He also worked as a project engineer for Kokosing and a surveyor for Complete General, according to his application.
Johnson graduated from Clear Fork High School in 1989 and the University of of Toledo in 1992, where he studied civil engineering. He attends Storyside church, where he’s served on the pastor’s council for three years.
Dick Miller
Dick Miller resides at 6296 State Route 95 in Butler. He has been a field operation manager for the Ohio Department of Administrative Services’ Multi-Agency Radio Communication System (MARCS) since June 2006. Prior to that, he worked for the Ohio State Highway Patrol for 27 years. During that time, he worked as a trooper, motor vehicle inspector, Sergeant and Post Commander Lieutenant.
Miller graduated from Maysville High School in 1976. He’s a member of the Sons of the American Legion, Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) and the OWLs. He’s also a Freemason.
Troy Tingley
Troy Tingley resides at 6850 Armstrong Road in Butler. He is a laborer at Tingley and Sons Seamless Spouting and Trenching. He graduated from Clear Fork High School in 2008.
Tingley is the only one of the five applicants who filed to run for a seat on the school board in November, according to the Richland County Board of Elections.
Carl Gonzalez and Ryan Knuckles, who currently serves as board vice president, are both up for re-election in November and running to retain their seat. Terry McDermott is also running for the seat.
Adam Wade
Adam Wade residents at 4909 State Route 546 in Lexington, which is part of the Clear Fork school district. He is a pharmacist with Avita Health System. He’s worked at Avita since May 2013.
He also served as a staff pharmacist at Rite Aid and a technology assistant at Shelby City Schools. Wade earned his doctorate in pharmacy from Ohio Northern University in 2010.
