Chris Hicks plans patriotic sing-along outside Adams County commissioners meeting

Chris Hicks plans to take his protest over public comment to the hallway outside the Adams County commissioners’ office, where he says a patriotic sing-along will give “We the People” a way to be heard when the board meets at 9 a.m. April 27 in West Union. The regular session is on the county’s 2026 calendar, and the meeting is scheduled for 215 North Cross Street, Suite 102, in the commissioners’ office.

Barbara Moore Holt, Kelly Jones and Jason Hayslip are the current commissioners, and county records say the board’s regular meetings begin at 9 a.m. until the business is completed. Residents who want to follow the board can use the county’s commissioners page and home page, which link weekly agendas and weekly minutes, or reach the office at 937-544-3286 and marla.may@adamscountyoh.gov.

Hicks is already a familiar name in Adams County politics. In a 2025 mandamus case before the Ohio Supreme Court, he challenged the voter registration and residency of Prosecuting Attorney Aaron Evans Haslam, arguing that Haslam did not actually live in West Union, and the court denied the writ on October 2, 2025.

The latest clash lands against a year of heightened scrutiny over how county government handles major questions in public. At a February 9 commissioners meeting, an overflow crowd packed the room over a possible data-center project at the former DP&L Stuart Station property, with residents pressing for transparency, environmental protections and local control. Commissioners Barbara Moore Holt, Kelly Jones and Jason Hayslip said no formal site plan or incentive request had been received and that no decisions were pending.

Adams County’s meeting structure also stands out when compared with nearby counties. Brown County lists commissioners meetings on Mondays and Wednesdays at 9 a.m. at the Administration Building in Georgetown; Highland County says its commissioners meet Wednesdays at 9 a.m. in Hillsboro; and Pike County posts agendas and minutes online. In West Union, the practical question now is whether residents can still get in the room, watch the process and be heard while the board conducts county business.