Abernathy for Wooster

05/29/2025

Had the opportunity to sit with Luke Martin and talk about my time on city council, my time as CEO of Buckeye Stare Credit Union, and share a little about myself. Had a great time chatting with him!

10/21/2024

Election season is upon us. Obviously in Ohio the big ticket items are the presidential election and the senatorial election. There is also a very important issue that is on the ballot that many people are unaware of and that is issue 1. I am not in favor of issue 1. To over simplify the issue, there have been accusations of gerrymandering in Ohio when it comes to drawing congressional districts. There were ongoing issues with the maps after the last census that resulted in several court hearings. Essentially, Ohio lost a congressional seat due to a decrease in population and the new map had to determine how to remap Tim Ryan’s old district in Eastern Ohio. These disagreements led to this issue coming before us. Issue 1 would take remapping away from the Ohio Legislature (and out of the hands of the voters). The argument is this puts it into the hands of a few selected “citizens” by being selected by unaccountable retired judges, but it forces gerrymandering by ensuring that each political party wins a set amount of seats rather than the seats being relective of the electorate. Perhaps there is a problem, but this is not the solution. I urge everyone to vote no and if you believe there is a problem with redistricting, then we need to encourage a different solution, not creating more government to unaccountable retired judges and giving them the power to select people, without accountability, to determine who will represent us in Washington.

09/11/2024

I still remember where I was and how I heard about the first plane on on 9/11/2001. I was at Ashland University and I was getting ready for class. I didn’t have cable in my dorm room, so I did not have the TV on. A friend called from Columbus and asked if I saw what was going on and I had no idea. I ran down to the first floor public TV and saw the coverage. Amazingly no one seemed to know what was going on yet. That would change quickly.

That day I had the epiphany that college was not the real world (sounds ridiculous typing it now). Not that my classmates were insensitive, but they were naive and out of touch with the real world…especially about what the ramifications were going to be and how this would change our lives going forward. On September 12th, I went home to be with family until classes restarted.

For those several days, like everyone else, I watched wall to wall coverage. I learned about real heroes. Police, firefighters, and regular citizens who took matters into their own hands to save or protect others at the expense of their own lives. In those trying times, America showed that when pushed, we will rally together. We argue and we fight with each other, but like bickering siblings, when outsiders attack us, we put our differences aside and come together in the real world to protect each other.

September 11th, 2001 was the single most tragic day I can remember in my life. September 12th, 2001 and the weeks following were some of the greatest moments of unity I will ever see and remember. I will never forget and my heart will forever be broken for those who lost so much on that day. On the other side, I dream of a day that our country can once again rally and come together again like we did in the days and weeks that followed. In a world that feels so broken these days, we cannot forget what we lost 23 years ago and how we united to put it all back together.

08/22/2024

Welcome back to all of the students of Wooster City Schools! Have a fantastic school year!

07/15/2024

It has taken me a few few days and I still have not fully digested what happened over the weekend in Pennsylvania at President Trump's rally. Multiple people wounded, one dead, and the former president, by a miracle moved his head just enough...a split second soon enough to avoid his own death. For that, I am incredibly grateful President Trump was not seriously injured!

I want to first speak about Corey Comperatore. He died protecting his daughter and wife by shielding them from the shooter. A true life hero. Social media was filled with images of Corey and an impassioned post from his daughter. He was a volunteer firefighter, a family man, and fully committed to his faith in God. I was left feeling like he could have just as easily been part of our Wooster community. What an incredible tragedy and loss.

We are not fully two days removed and there are still many questions that need to be answered. The secret service must be held accountable for their complete failure in protecting President Trump and in turn those who were injured and killed at the rally. It needs to start at the top with the head of the secret service. This violent act was absolutely abhorrent and disgusting and should never have happened under the secret service's watch.

There are two other victims who, to my understanding, are now in stable condition. I pray that they fully recover and are able to move past the horrible events of July 13th, 2024, as best they can. I also pray that this event has sufficiently shocked our nation so that another attempt will not be made and that we can get to November 5th without any further incident. We are in a critically unhealthy political environment right now and hopefully the events of this past weekend sobered the nation up to that reality.

As for President Trump, I am so grateful that he was not seriously injured. I hope and pray that no one else makes another attempt. I hope that either the secret service improves its protection or that President Trump takes matters into his own hands and employs private security to shore up his protection.

04/02/2024

Good Afternoon: Today was fun. Facebook folks are good for a laugh as “watchdog” groups are reporting that city council approved funding last week(never mind that we did not meet last week) for a giant round about in the middle of Wooster’s city square. It even had a nice quote from Mayor Reynolds (which was clearly made up). I will not continue to quote the watchdog piece, but folks here is what I am going to say. It took me 30 seconds once it was finally sent to me to recognize that it was satire. Someone was trying to be funny and trying get people worked up. If you see a “Watchdog” report stating that we are doing a downtown round about and we are doing it this summer, disregard it…it is satire and false.

03/20/2024

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers highlights a crucial factor missing in inflation calculations: the cost of money itself. As interest rates rise sharply, affecting mortgages, car loans, and credit cards, the Consumer Price Index may underestimate the financial strain on Americans.

The elevated cost of money, not reflected in current inflation measures, contributes to public dissatisfaction with the economy. The Federal Reserve's move to cut interest rates later this year could potentially improve its economic standing. However, our society still needs to proceed with caution, as we have not completely avoided a recession.

The evolving landscape of inflation calculations prompts a reconsideration of the factors influencing people's well-being. As we navigate economic complexities, understanding the true cost of living involves factoring in the cost of money.

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers argues that high interest rates are contributing to people's gloomy economic mood. Sentiment may improve, though, if the Federal Reserve begins to cut rates.

03/13/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/Gj9CH9JiN6Vrb7TE/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Experience the true charm of Ohio towns this spring. Check out these 5 towns that offer a one-of-a-kind seasonal adventure in Ohio, The Heart of it All.

03/08/2024

Here is the link to this week’s city council meeting. It was a shorter meeting with the highlight being that after the third reading, council approved Welch Packaging as a tenant at Wooster Brush’s location in accordance with their CRA agreement.

I would also like to congratulate Scott Boyes on his appointment to CEO of Wooster Community Hospital and congratulate Ashley Hershberger for winning the Jack O’Donnell award for contributions to the community through volunteerism and love for Wooster. Ashley received this award at the Chamber’s annual awards dinner a few weeks back.

Wooster City Council Meeting

02/21/2024

Below is the link to last nights council meeting. The first 35 minutes are Mayor Reynolds’ State of the City Address. We brought 3 pieces of legislation this week, with 2 being repeat items on second reading. The majority of the meeting (starting at the 1:16 mark) was a presentation summary of the Wooster Comprehensive Plan as presented by OHM. Unfortunately the video does not capture the slides the speaker was referencing, but there are some valuable pieces to the presentation.

February 20, 2024 - City Council - live stream@CityofWooster

02/21/2024

Good afternoon: The city of Wooster has been dealing with some pretty “ripe” odors the past several days with another incident today. City officials are addressing the ongoing issues with a business that has been cleaning pipeline tanks. That was the cause from the weekend. Today, more reports came in about the same company hauling away dried materials that also had foul odors that affected parts of the city. At this time, I am awaiting a full recap from city officials, but it appears to have passed. Although the odors are not hazardous or dangerous, this company has protocols to prevent these odors from traveling and it should be expected that those protocols are followed. If there are any additional updates beyond this, I will be sure to share. Thanks.