August.2025 Newsletter

 August 2025

Next Monthly Meeting - Monday, September 8th, 2025, 6:30pm, Morral Fire Department Meeting Room

They’re Trying To Take Away Our Rights In Morral, Will You Let Them?

“Just because you own a property, doesn’t mean you can do with it what you want to” ~ Said At The August 2025 Public Meeting.

Deb Thibaut, Karen Hughes, and Scott Hughes, all three of these people have made it extremely clear during the monthly public meetings NO ANIMALS! If you have animals in town, you like farming, are in the FFA or 4-H, or anything else, well that’s too damn bad. One council member herself has said many times she doesn’t want to look in her neighbors or anyone else’s yards and see animals there.

This is a farming community, it always has been, but even when last month Asch Tilley brought up that he has chickens that are also beneficial for their eggs since the store is expensive, he was told to go buy them anyways, because someone doesn’t like seeing chickens, and that apparently for years all these animals have been an issue… to them and their friends (again this is being said at the public meetings).

But I think this issue goes past animals, with the new election coming up I’m left curious, not only was this issue (allegedly) left until last minute to hopefully ensure that they had people voted in during the election who will vote for the new ordinance that Deb Thibaut wrote (attached to this article is a copy of what she gave everyone), but I’m also left curious, what comes after the animals?

Will certain fences also face scrutiny? What about people fixing up cars and lawn mowers in their driveways or garages? Too many cars in a driveway? Steps without railings? “Aggressive” dog breeds banned? Campers banned? (It’s been talked about), Issues with garage doors? (We’ve had a problem with that in the past too). How many more new things will suddenly be an issue requiring a new ordinance to be voted for and allow for them to charge the Morral residents fines until they get rid of it all and become quite similar to a “nice” little HOA community.

But currently we’re stuck on the “this isn’t a farming community” problem. “This isn’t a farming community”, this isn’t a farming community??? Morral has 1,728 acres, just one farmer alone has over 600 acres in you guessed it, farmland inside Morral limits. We have barns older than 100 years inside the limits that do or used to have countless animals inside them. We have and have had: horses, cows, pigs, chickens, etc… inside the Morral limits. We have always been and should always remain a farming community. Even the auditor website shows us as such. Morral Companies LLC inside town is also a large business that is hugely agriculturally based, even providing jobs to the Morral residents, as well as greatly helping the agricultural community. The same can be said for Forry and Son Farm, and Fetter and Son Farm.

It was also said that if you want to own animals, you should have more than 2 acres to do so, knowing very well that no one has that except for roughly four or so residents inside the limits. It has been explained to them that they are openly telling people not to move here if they have kids in 4-H or FFA because they don’t want even two chickens in town (this has been said in the public monthly meetings. Which are the second Monday of every month, 6:30pm at the Fire Department). They have said children Have to ask their neighbors permission, and Must come to meetings and ask permission from the council to have animals for projects, but they can be denied, and from anyone who has attended these meetings, it’s very widely believed they will be denied simply because they don’t want animals within the limits. It has also been said publicly at the meetings, if you want to own such animals, “go buy a farm outside of the limits somewhere”.

Morral has roughly 156 households, around 36% have children under the age of 18 years, roughly 24% of residents being Under the age of 18 years old, and you can be in 4-H until 19 years old as of January 1st here. They’re saying that those families should move if they want their children to be in any agricultural organization if they want to have animals. They’re telling roughly 36%+ of residents to leave our village, and telling who knows how many families, not to move into our village. How embarrassing and rude, Not the signs of a friendly little community if they get their way and can set those standards in place. Is that really what we want for our village? Is this really what we’re going to allow to happen here in a town many of us grew up in and love?

The general election is coming up in November, the deadline for write-in ballots is August 25th. Reach out or visit the Marion County Board of Elections for more information if you plan to run for Town Council, there are currently as of the 16th of August four seats open and five people running. If you run, please, please, PLEASE make sure people know so if they choose, they can write your name in. IF at any time you get confused when trying to vote for someone who is a write in, just Ask, it’s not silly to get confused, and it’s better to ask and know, than let someone you don’t want to get voted in and then walk all over you, your rights, and your beloved village.

 

Currently running are: Barb Forry, Amber Belcher, Darla Hicks, Deb Thibaut, and Karen Hughes.

If you plan on running, please let me know, and I will gladly add your name to the list of people to look out for, or be able to write in.

~~~~~~~~

In other news:

•The Morral Fireman’s Festival is set for October 11th, 4pm-9pm. There will be Bingo, Food Trucks, the Dudley Creek Band will be performing, Raffles, A giant inflatable for the kiddos, and more! Also, this year there will be a parade celebrating 150 years of this beloved farming community! Amber has made an event for this on Facebook that you should be sure to check out!

•Don’t forget to watch out for any other news and events on Amber’s Facebook page: Village of Morral Community News and Activities, if you haven’t joined the group please do so, as she regularly plans fun events for the community. In the past hosting: A Neon Dance and Glow party that had a DJ and Karaoke, and Sunday Funday with Live Acoustic from Brooklyn Wallace.

•There’s also the Facebook page: The News of the Village of Morral, Ohio. Be sure to keep tabs on that as well.

•There will also be a public meeting regarding the Sewer System at 12pm and 7pm, on September 17th.

•On October 1st - 3rd, 7am-5pm Daily, we will have Tree Cutters in town… More information regarding that is up at the Firehouse in the Meeting Room on the Bulletin Board (right to the door when walking in).

•There was also discussion regarding the broken handicap swing at the park, which was broken due to misuse. As well when put in, the posts weren’t concreted properly by the company installing it, and the people are supposed to come back and fix it, to make sure in the future no one gets hurt, and that we have a nice ready to use swing for those who need it. It will hopefully be back up and in working condition before September when the park technically closes. It should also have warning signs placed up when it is ready for use again, until then it is roped off and off limits to visitors.

•Another bulletin board will be going up soon at the Morral Park for events and things going on in Morral, be on the look out for that whenever you visit our wonderful park. It will be built by our Mayor Marjorie Moyer.

•New Street Signs and a Bus Sign will be bought and put up by Scott Hughes in the near future.

•Amber Belcher and Shannon Tilley are in planning for our town Christmas season, Shannon has many happy plans that we look forward to hearing more of and seeing this season, and for hopefully future seasons as well.

•If anyone is interested in decorating the poles in front of their houses, it is really recommended that you do so, as planting flowers and such looks very nice, especially in front of your homes.

 

•Reminder that the next Village Monthly Meeting is Monday, September 8th, 2025, 6:30pm, at the Firehouse. I hope to see you there :)

 

~~~~~~~~~

Thank You for reading. If they’re any updates I will post them, until then, I will likely see you next month. Be safe y’all!

~GF.

 

***REGARDING THE ORDINANCE IDEA THIBAUT WROTE BELOW, THE ONLY THING CROSSED OUT IS THE ADDRESS OF ASCH AND STEPHAINE, AS I BELIEVE THEY DESERVE THEIR PRIVACY REGARDING SUCH A THING. AND I THANK YOU KINDLY FOR RESPECTING THAT***