Photo by Gage Vota JB Green Team board members Gil Peters, on bottom row, from left, Jeff Dye, Shawn Albaugh, and Belmont County litter enforcement officer Logan Havas. JB Green Team board members Carl Jahncke, second row, from left, Tom Pramik, Lois Holliday, and Doreen Unterzuber. Belmont County commissioners Vince Gianangeli, Jerry Echemann, and board member James Stamps, JB Green Team Belmont County coordinator Mark McVey from left, and Commissioner J.P. Dutton celebrates the J.B. Green Team donating a bench made of recycled milk jugs to the Belmont County Courthouse.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — JB Green Team donated a bench made completely from recycled materials to the Belmont County Courthouse on Wednesday morning.

JB Green Team Belmont County Coordinator Mark McVey said the bench was donated to recognize the Belmont County Board of Commissioners for its support of the JB Green Team and its recycling efforts in Belmont County.

“We are presenting them a bench this morning commemorating the 250th anniversary of our nation, and we’re very, very thankful for what the Belmont County commissioners do for the JB Green Team,” McVey said. “We’re trying to tie in the JB Green Team with the 250th anniversary of our nation. We believed it was a wonderful way to give tribute to our nation, as well as to our local government officials.”

He added the bench was made from recycled milk jugs.

Commissioner and JB Green Team board member Jerry Echemann said the donation comes just ahead of the upcoming Courthouse Plaza project.

The project will make the plaza ADA-compliant. In addition to updating the plaza, the project also will rename it Veterans Plaza.

“It means so much, because we’re going to do this whole courthouse plaza fairly soon. It’s a partnership with ODOT (Ohio Department of Transportation), and it’s going to be a $4 million to $5 million project,” Echemann said. “We’re going to name it Veterans Plaza, and we’ll find a place for this bench. It’ll be here now, and then we’ll have to move it around, of course, when construction starts, but we’ll find a place for it here in Veterans Plaza once we get that all done.”

“I don’t know that it has a definite start date, but I’m going to estimate about July or August or something like that,” he added. “It won’t be too long from now.”

Echemann said although there is no definite start or completion date for the project, it is estimated to be completed around Thanksgiving.

Echemann, who will complete his term at the end of the year, said he is happy he will be able to see the completion of the project.

“There are a lot of things I’ve been working on that won’t be done by the time I leave office, which is kind of sad,” Echemann said. “You work, work and work, and then it kind of finishes up while you’re not here, but this one I think will be finished up.”

“When I got elected years ago, I was really surprised at how many boards I had to sit on, and a lot of that’s by state statute,” he added. “They make a commissioner sit on this board, and I think I’ve enjoyed the JB Green Team board the most because it’s very interesting.”

He added that he has learned a lot about solid waste, which he said may not sound exciting, but it really is. He said he believes the work JB Green Team does is meaningful.

Echemann said the JB Green Team and the county work together not only to beautify the community but also to crack down on littering.

“To have Jefferson and Belmont counties working together, we achieve a lot of work together,” Echemann said. “We do all of these cleanups, where they clean up tires, electronics and things like that. We sponsor those events, and it’s a great benefit.”

“People don’t often realize all of the good that JB Green Team really does for both of our counties,” he added. “They would be a lot worse off if they didn’t. They pay for a litter control officer in both counties and pay the wages and benefits of a sheriff’s deputy for both Belmont and Jefferson counties, and they prosecute folks, so it’s a really good thing.”