2010 a painful year in Knox County

MOUNT VERNON — As 2010 comes to an end, the final pages of a painful year have turned. When flipping back through the chapters of the year, many shocking events have transpired that have touched the lives and hearts of all of Knox County.

The biggest story of 2010 unquestionably is the murder of Tina Herrmann, 32; her son, Kody Maynard, 11; and friend, Stephanie Sprang, 41. The trio, along with Herrmann’s daughter, Sarah Maynard, 13, were discovered missing from Herrmann’s Apple Valley home on Nov. 11.

Community members, family and friends of the missing joined forces to search areas throughout the county looking for the four Howard residents.

Areas around Apple Valley and in Gambier where Herrmann’s truck was found abandoned on Nov. 11, were searched by law enforcement and private citizens.

On Sunday, Nov. 14, Sarah Maynard was found bound and gagged in the basement of a home owned by Matthew Hoffman on Columbus Road in Mount Vernon. Hoffman was arrested and charged with one count of kidnapping.

Searches continued over the next four days including underwater searches of Apple Valley Lake and the lakes at Foundation Park, just a block from Hoffman’s home.

The bodies of Herrmann, Kody and Sprang were found on Thursday, Nov. 18, in the Kokosing Lake State Wildlife Area, after Hoffman provided information to their whereabouts.

No additional charges have been filed against Hoffman but the case is expected to go to the grand jury once the investigation is complete. The final autopsy report is expected within the next two weeks.

Fire changes the faces of two historic downtowns this year.

Fredericktown lost two buildings following a fire on March 28 that engulfed the building at 80-84 N. Main St. Fire departments from five counties provided mutual aid for the Fredericktown Community Volunteer Fire District.

Two families were displaced because of the fire and everything was destroyed in the office of the Knox County Citizen.

The fire started in the ceiling and was likely electrical. It was ruled accidental by the FCVFD and the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

A week after the fire, the remaining walls were demolished for safety reasons.

Brad Swihart, the owner of 88 N. Main St., decided to have his building, which was just north of the fire, demolished in August. The building sustained damage from the March 28 fire and Swihart told the News it would cost too much to bring the building up to code after the fire.

Grass seed was planted on both lots to add green space to downtown Fredericktown, however, the landscape of the heart of Fredericktown has forever been altered.

The face of downtown Mount Vernon changed on Oct. 25, when the former Kresge building, 201 S. Main St., caught fire early in the morning. Smoke began to roll out of the basement at approximately 6:30 a.m. The rupture of a gas line intensified the fire. By the day’s end it was evident the building was a total loss and the Mount Vernon Fire Department, and many other departments, were focusing its efforts on keeping the blaze from spreading into the Mount Vernon Nazarene University’s Buchwald Center.

The Bodi N Balance fitness center that was located on the first floor of the building with other offices located on upper levels. Just this week it was announced memberships to Bodi N Balance were being transferred to Pro Fitness USA.

The exterior of the building has been demolished. A retaining wall must be designed to help secure the foundation of the Buchwald Center before the basement area can be filled in. Owners John and Mary Lou Monterey have yet to announce any plans for the property.

The cause of the fire remains undetermined.

On Jan. 2, 2010, members of the newly elected board of directors went to the Knox County Humane Society Cat Shelter to inspect the premises. The new members took over on Jan. 1 after a hard fought, and sometimes contentious, election in 2009. A largely new slate of directors who had been critical of the shelter’s no-kill (or low-kill) policy had been elected.

Many of those who were part of the “old regime” were concerned about what would happen to the more than 140 cats that were in the shelter at the end of 2009. Many felt the new board would do a mass euthanization to get the cat population down to a manageable size.

What the new board members found was a cat shelter with no cats in it. Those who had been in charge made a concerted effort to empty the shelter of cats through adoptions, sending cats to feline rescue operations around the state and country and by arranging foster care for the remaining cats.

One of those board members, David Abrams, filed an incident report with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office claiming the cats had been stolen by persons unknown. A second report was filed a week later claiming medicines and files were also missing from the shelter.

Eventually, the remaining 30 or so cats were returned to the shelter from the foster care.

The incident resulted in two things.

The new board completely renovated the interior of the shelter, something both sides agreed should be done. It was thoroughly cleaned, fumigated and renovated on the inside. Policies are in place to try to keep the cat population in the shelter to a manageable number.

Another result was the formation of another group, Whisker Connection, by former workers and volunteers of the cat shelter.

Whisker Connection was described by its founders as being an alternate and additional organization for cat lovers. It was not designed to be in competition with the existing cat shelter.

On a lighter note: The Mount Vernon Christmas Parade and Christmas Walk merged together with great success. Warm temperatures brought thousands of people to downtown Mount Vernon to enjoy the parade, shopping, carousel and train rides and of course, Santa Claus. The lighting of the Christmas tree was quite an occasion as the large pine tree on Public Square was decorated with lights for the first time in many years.

News Staff Reporter George Breithaupt contributed to this story.

samantha.scoles@mountvernonnews.com