Monday, September 9, 2024
By Heather Graves
Correspondent
BELLEVUE – The Village of Bellevue is sounding the alarm on teen vaping.
Board members unanimously passed an ordinance at their Wednesday, July 10 meeting to ban minors from vaping or using all other forms of electronic cigarettes in the village.
There was no hesitation by the board to make the ordinance change.
Currently, the production and distribution of e-cigarettes is not regulated by federal or state authorities.
Trevor Bilgo, from the Brown County Sheriff’s Department, said the ordinance makes it unlawful for any minor to purchase, possess or use an e-cigarettes or e-cigarette cartridges.
Bilgo said the ordinance is intended to reduce the potential for children to associate the use of electronic smoking devices with a normal, healthy lifestyle.
DPW director finalist interviews
Amidst a steady stream of uncertainty on the public works front, the village board is on track to hire a new Department of Public Works director by fall.
The process continues as trustees scheduled finalist interviews at its July 10 meeting.
The village received a total of 10 applications.
Initial screenings narrowed it to seven.
Over the last couple of weeks, the interview panel interviewed those seven applicants.
Last week, the final three were selected.
The next step is formal interviews and presentations in front of the full board.
After some bumps in the past with the position, trustees voted at its June 26 meeting to bring the final three candidates before the board for formal interviews.
The search for a new DPW director was triggered by the sudden departure of former director David Betts in May for an unknown reason.
Village staff would not comment on the details behind Betts’s departure.
Betts held the position for less than two years.
In the interim, the village has retained the services of Cedar Corporation to help handle the engineering aspects of the job.
Village staff have been handling the position’s other responsibilities.
Interviews are scheduled for Monday, July 29 from 5:30-8:30 p.m.
Village staff will provide board members with information on all the finalists prior to the July 29 meeting.
Candidates will be encouraged to prepare presentations relevant to the Village of Bellevue.
