Columbiana County Commissioner Tim Weigle prepares for retired life as he ends his public service after 35 years, first as a Unity Township trustee, then as a county commissioner. His last meeting as commissioner is Friday, with his term expiring Jan. 1. (Photo by Mary Ann Greier)

LISBON — After 35 years as a public servant, Columbiana County Commissioner and former Unity Township Trustee Tim Weigle plans to fly off into the sunset as a retiree.

“I’m going to take some time for my family and myself, do some things we haven’t been able to do,” Weigle said during a recent interview.

The licensed pilot already retired once from a career in the private sector, where he worked in the coal industry, solid waste industry, and for aviation and heavy equipment companies.

At 9 a.m. Friday, he’ll attend his last meeting as a three-term county commissioner, a post he’s held since Jan. 2, 2013 after being elected in November 2012. Prior to that, he served 23 years as a Unity Township trustee after successfully running for the job in November 1988.

He announced early on that he was not seeking re-election for a fourth term as commissioner, opening the door for fellow Republican Tim Ginter to successfully run for the Jan. 2 seat.

When asked what he’s going to do now, Weigle quipped, “Anything I want.”

“My wife (Deborah) has always wanted to travel to Maine and New York City,” he said, so there’s some traveling on the horizon.

Weigle also said he wants to see the Hoover Dam and the couple may venture back up to Alaska.

They went on an Alaskan cruise, but he ended up with COVID, so he would like to try again, this time without COVID.

He’s also rebuilding an experimental airplane known as a Pitts Special and said “I want to finish that project.” He also owns a Piper airplane.

Weigle isn’t stepping away completely from public service, saying he and Deborah will continue to care for the Columbiana County Cemetery located off of County Home Road, where indigent burials take place from time to time. He’ll still help out during emergencies with his drone, volunteering to assist the county sheriff’s office and the county Emergency Management Agency when they need an eye in the sky.

When asked what he’ll miss the most, he said “the great people,” referring to the ones he said he’s been directly involved with on projects. He spoke highly of the team at the county EMA, saying they’re “top notch.” He also spoke about the upgrades to the 911 system, the building of the drive-thru vaccination building at the fairgrounds during COVID, the drone program at the sheriff’s office and the establishment of the GIS department (Geographic Information System) as some accomplishments. He worked with the Multi-County Juvenile Attention System Board and with the board for the Carroll-Columbiana-Harrison Solid Waste District.

He’s also been spearheading the project to build a records storage building, but someone else will have to finish that job. That’s his biggest regret, that he won’t get to see the project through to the end, but he’s offered to help whoever takes it over.

His message to the voters was this: “Thank you for giving me 12 years to represent you. I hope I exceeded your expectations.”

If he’s guilty of anything, he said he probably set his own expectations too high.

Weigle said he wishes Ginter the best and wishes the best to the entire board, “that they’re able to continue moving the county forward.” He said he enjoyed working with his fellow commissioners, former Commissioner Jim Hoppel and Commissioners Mike Halleck and Roy Paparodis. He also thanked the staff of the commissioners’ office, both past and present.

The biggest lesson he said every commissioner learns is that this job has a lot of responsibility and “the job will be what you make it.” He said put time into it.

“Being a good commissioner is a full-time job,” Weigle said.

He described himself as hands-on and more engaged with the people, saying the job is to help people, to be a good representative for the constituents and be there for them when they have a problem.

“I’m pleased to say the county’s in good condition right now, even though the 1 percent sales tax failed. I think the new commissioner and the board will continue to be good stewards,” Weigle said.

A lifelong resident of Columbiana County in Unity Township, he graduated from East Palestine High School in 1971 after becoming a licensed pilot at age 17 through flight school at the Beaver County Airport for single engine land planes. He also had a part-time job working for an excavation contractor. His father was a heavy equipment mechanic and he worked with him.

“That rubbed off a good bit on me,” he said.

He worked for a large coal company as a field service tech, where he made a good living, but then the industry slowed down, so he became a field service technician for Browning-Ferris Industries. He eventually moved into management on the landfill side, responsible for landfill operations, transfer stations, recycling centers and composting facilities. His area stretched from the tip of Michican to Delaware and Maryland and up to Maine. He spent a lot of time on the road and even had to go to Canada.

In April 1999, Allied Waste purchased Browning-Ferris and by August 1999, he decide to leave and went back to aviation, managing the maintenance shop for Prospect Aviation and working as a licensed aviation mechanic with inspection authorization. He started at Ohio CAT in 2001 and then retired in 2012, which is when he ran for commissioner.

This will be Weigle’s second retirement, a retirement he’s looking forward to, counting down to Jan. 1, technically the end of his term.

Besides spending more time with Deborah, he’ll also spend time with their daughter Laura and grandson Chase, as he said, doing “anything I want.”

mgreier@mojonews.com