Jan. 27, 2009
Party to Honor Retiring Coshocton County Court Administrator
More than 30 years after his employment began with the Coshocton County Probate/Juvenile Court, Court Administrator Steve Champagne will retire this week.
A retirement party will be held in his honor from 2 to 4 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 30, 2009, at the court, 426 Main St.
The court hired Champagne in September 1978 as a probation officer, which preceded promotions to chief probation officer and his current position. While Champagne said retiring Judge C. Fenning Pierce deserves all the credit for positively impacting the lives of children in Coshocton County, one of his co-workers said Champagne was being too modest.
Chief probation officer Doug Schonauer said because of Champagne’s involvement, many local agency programs are making a difference in the lives of children including the Fatherhood Initiative, Big Brothers-Big Sisters and the Family and Children First Council. Champagne also was involved in starting a Juvenile Drug Court six years ago, which has produced 15 graduates. Grants provide funding for the court, many of which were written by Champagne.
Schonauer said Champagne has been active across the state on numerous committees and specifically mentioned the Ohio Department of Youth Services/Juvenile Judges task force.
“He has represented the smaller and mid-sized rural county interests and helped bring innovative programming to our small county,” Schonauer said.