PROCTORVILLE — The village council voted on Thursday to add three new officers to Proctorville’s police force.

At the recommendation of police chief Bill Murphy, the council approved the hiring of Anthony Todd Riley, Jr. as a part-time officer.

“He’s just out of the academy, has two young kids and is looking to get started,” Murphy said of Riley.

Murphy said Riley would see an additional two weeks of training in the form of ride-alongs with officers before “being turned loose,” mainly to familiarize him with the village.

“The big thing is to know where people live,” Murphy said. “So if you get called, you’ll know where to go.”

After the 5-0 vote, Dunfee said he would swear Riley in for duties later this week.

Council member Dale Burcham welcomed him to the force.

“This is a great village,” he said. “It’s a great place to grow up. We hope you do well. Welcome to Proctorville.”

He also had praise for Murphy.

“This guy is super,” Burcham said. “You’re going to be working for a good guy.”

Murphy also recommended, and was approved by council to add Brittany Littleton and David Adkins as auxiliary officers.

Adkins is a native of the village.

“I grew up here,” he said. “This is my hometown.”

Littleton has worked for the county corrections board.

“Nobody in Lawrence County wanted to give a female officer a chance,” Murphy said. “Every time we’ve had a female it has worked out well. We want to have a diverse department.”

Both were approved, 5-0, by council.

“We look forward to working with all three of you,” Dunfee said to the group.

“Good luck to you and stay safe,” Burcham said.

In other business, the council:

• Voted to approve the most recent financial report, which included some good news.

“We are out of the hole on the general fund for the next few days,” fiscal officer Darrell Legg said.

• Got an update from Dunfee on houses in the village being torn down by the county’s land bank. He said more are planned through October.

• Heard from Dunfee, who has said he has been approached by a number of businesses in the village, stating they would be willing to pay some sort of business tax or fee to generate revenue.

Legg said the only one that had existed was a personal property tax, which was done away with by the state legislature.

Burcham suggested the village look into fees on the selling of medical marijuana, which has been legalized in Ohio.

“This is going to happen, whether we want it or not,” Burcham said. “Some towns have put a tax on it already. We should get our heads together on this. It’s eventually going to come this way.”

Murphy said he has been contacted by individuals who have asked whether such a tax exists already in the village.
After the discussion, the council voted to table the revenue issue for a later date.