This is the final article in a series about the townships of Fayette County.

At the Nov. 5 general election, Wayne Township will have one township trustee and one township fiscal officer to elect.

Wayne Township is one of 10 in Fayette County and contains Good Hope. It also holds a majority of the bike trail in Fayette County that runs from the Shaw Wetlands to Chillicothe. The township is situated along the southeastern border next to Ross County.

According to the 2010 US Census Bureau, out of the 29,030 population in Fayette County there were 1,387 living in Wayne Township.

The current Wayne Township trustees are Kyle Hoppes, Jarrod Posey and David Batson. The terms of Hoppes and Posey expire on Dec. 31 of 2021. Batson’s term expires Dec. 31 of this year. The fiscal officer, Cindy Seaton, has a term expiring on March 31 of next year.

The Wayne Township Trustees oversee one active cemetery and “a number of smaller inactive cemeteries,” according to Batson.

There are three employees that assist with various responsibilities. Jack Creed assists with the mowing of cemeteries, George Greenlee assists with weed eating, while Jim Hildreth helps with both roadside mowing and snow plowing of roads.

“They do a great job for us,” said Batson. “They are a great asset to have for Wayne Township. They’re those guys that know exactly what needs to be done and when it needs to be done. They don’t have to be micromanaged.”

Road maintenance is a typical responsibility of trustees. Wayne Township has approximately 19 miles of road.

“A lot of times we use private contractors to do small jobs and then we’ll rely on the county engineer’s office to do other types of work,” explained Batson.

The most recent road maintenance involved replacing a culvert on Eyman Road.

The town hall in Good Hope is available for township residents to rent out at the cost of $50 per rental, according to Batson.

Outside of the town hall is a book barn which is maintained by Altrusa International of Washington C.H. According to its website, “Altrusa is an international non-profit organization making our local communities better through leadership, partnership and service.”

The idea behind book barns is children in the community can borrow and return books to it at any time. Community members can donate books by adding to the supply.

Wayne Township has its own volunteer fire department located in Good Hope, which the trustees are in charge of. Batson explained that there are 15 volunteer firefighters and the chief of the department is Chris Wysong.

“With the limited funds we have, Chris does a good job at going out and finding money and getting grants,” said Batson.

“Wayne Township does have its own zoning apart from the rest of Fayette County,” said Batson. “About 90 percent of Wayne is zoned for farm security.

“We still have that farmland feel,” he said. “That’s what’s important to me about living in Wayne Township.”

Batson, as well as Seaton, are running uncontested for reelection in November.

For more information please visit www.ohiogenealogyexpress.com. For specific information on what the board of township trustees are responsible for, please visit codes.ohio.gov/orc/5 to look over the Ohio Revised Code section 5.

Reach Jennifer Woods at 740-313-0355.