ARCHBOLD WEATHER

Archbold Elevator Case Unfortunate




There is nothing to celebrate about the 34-month prison sentence handed down against William “Bill” Fricke, former owner of Archbold Elevator, Inc., by James Barber, Fulton County Common Pleas Court judge,

The case is the opposite of a winwin situation; it’s more like a lose, lose, lose situation.

Many farmers throughout the region lost money when the elevator collapsed. Some losses were relatively small; others, huge. Many farmers who qualified got some, but not all, of their money returned through the Ohio Grain Indemnity Fund, which was created for such instances.

All Ohio farmers will be paying a small assessment whenever they sell grain to rebuild the fund. The amount is small, but it’s another loss of profit.

When farmers lose money, everyone suffers: restaurants, implement and car dealerships, furniture stores, clothing stores… the list goes on and on. The local economy experiences great damage and the losses reach far and wide.

Archbold Elevator creditors may have received a pittance of what’s owed them. Others received nothing.

There’s a family that involuntarily loses the love and companionship of a husband and father for several months.

The entire situation is unfortunate, and we grieve everyone’s losses.



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