WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE — Once all of the ballots were counted and the Nov. 7 general election totals were certified Tuesday, Susan Wollscheid emerged as the winner of the race for Washington Court House Municipal Court Judge by a mere 90 votes over Melissa Upthegrove.

As previously reported by the Record-Herald, Wollscheid had an unofficial lead of just over 100 votes on Election Night, however, there were still 45 absentee ballots and 138 provisional ballots to be counted. The Fayette County Board of Elections officially certified the results on Tuesday afternoon.

According to the official totals, Wollscheid received 3,859 votes and Upthegrove received 3,769.

Wollscheid will take the office in January as longtime Washington C.H. Municipal Court Judge Victor Pontious’s final term expires at the end of this year.

Wollscheid took time Tuesday to thank the voters for their support.

“I am truly blessed by all the support I have received from our community and would like to thank you all,” she said. “I will strive to improve our Municipal Court and always be fair and impartial. I hope to make you all proud to call me your Municipal Court Judge.”

Wollscheid also thanked family members and friends for all of their support:

“First, I would like to thank my husband (Fred Wollscheid) and children (Sydney Wollscheid and Nicolais Wollscheid) for all the support they have shown me throughout the years and for all their help over the last several months. I wouldn’t be who I am without them. I won’t list all my siblings but a great big thank you to them, as well.

“I would also like to thank Judge Steven Beathard (former Fayette County Common Pleas Court Judge). As most of you already know he has been a source of guidance and support to me throughout my career. I am fortunate to have him and Leann in my life.

“Finally, Shane and Deleda McMahon and Dana Goolsby — they have been by my side cheering me on for so many years.”

Wollscheid said she will soon be at the Municipal Court during business hours “so I can become familiar with all the processes that we will be handling. I want to work with the staff to learn what works and what doesn’t so we can research and determine what things we need to change or improve.”

She added, “I believe that we have a wonderful opportunity to improve upon the functionality and efficiency of the court and look forward to serving our community.”

Wollscheid attended Southern State Community College and then transferred into an accelerated bachelor’s program through Wilberforce University. She obtained her juris doctor degree from the University of Dayton School of Law. She has practiced law in Fayette County since May of 2010.

Wollscheid has taken on several roles during her practice, including acting as prosecutor, public defender, administrative hearing officer for CSEA, appellate attorney, attorney for children and parents in juvenile court, Guardian and Litem in custody-related cases and child protective services cases, attorney for children and adults in criminal cases, small claims, and non-support cases.

The Fayette County EMS three-year, 1.9-mill levy issue was also too close to call on Election Night. According to the certified totals from the Board of Elections, it passed by only 46 votes — 3,596 for and 3,550 against.

EMS Director Rodney List thanked the community for their support on Tuesday.

“All of us at Fayette County EMS would like to extend our sincere thanks to all those who have supported us during this levy campaign,” he said. “We view it as a privilege and honor to provide professional EMS services to all the citizens of the Fayette County EMS District now and in the years ahead. This levy will give us the ability to maintain our current services and the potential to adapt to future changes in our communities. Thank you again for your support.”

The levy will only affect the citizens of the participating townships and municipal corporations within the Fayette County EMS District. The total amount raised annually by the 1.9 mills is approximately $1,377,725.

List explained that on Jan. 1, 2024, Fayette County EMS will be changing to the Fayette County EMS District — a separate, standalone public service entity that will be made up of all county townships/municipalities with the exclusion of Jefferson Township and the Greenfield Exempted Village School District portion of Perry Township.

Jefferson Township, which has its own EMS (Jefferson Township Fire and EMS), declined to join the district.

The participating entities in the Fayette County EMS District include: Concord Township, Green Township, Wayne Township, Perry Township, Paint Township, Marion Township, Union Township, Madison Township, Jasper Township, the City of Washington Court House, the Village of Milledgeville, the Village of Bloomingburg, the Village of Octa, and the Village of New Holland.

Each participating entity will have a representative on the Fayette County EMS District Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees will be responsible for running the Fayette County EMS District, according to List.