Derrick Webb and Michael Throne, Editor10:17 p.m. EDT July 8, 2016

CHILLICOTHE – When the high school sports season starts next month, the “Voice of the Scioto Valley Conference” will change.

Mike Smith, a local radio mainstay for more than 37 years, was not retained by the iHeartMedia stations in Chillicothe, as of Friday. Smith was not only news director at the WKKJ-FM and WBEX-AM, but a noted play-by-play voice for SVC sports for many of his years there.

Smith confirmed that he was no longer with iHeartMedia in a post on his private Facebook page and to the Gazette.

“I would want to thank all the owners and managers that allowed me to do a job that was a dream of mine since I was 12,” he said in a statement. “I have been blessed by faithful listeners and the great broadcasters I have worked with over 37 years.”

Smith cut back his schedule of broadcasting games in recent years, choosing to let others do play-by-play on football games, but kept a regular schedule of volleyball, basketball, baseball and softball.

Local coaches and officials gave thanks to Smith for everything he's done during his time with WKKJ and WBEX.

"(Smith) is the first person I think of when I think about SVC athletics. Since I can remember, his voice and appearance are synonymous with everything that is great about athletics in our conference," Unioto basketball coach Matt Hoops said. "He was the best in every aspect. It was his voice I would have in my head when I was 10 years old shooting baskets on my driveway, hoping someday to hear him call a game I would play in. He made so many memories for so many people, special."

Bud Lytle, who worked with Smith as a softball coach from 2012 to 2015 and as a detective from 2007 to the present time, echoed those sentiments.

"When I was growing up playing sports, Mike Smith was the voice of the SVC. Period," Lytle said. "That's who you associated with when it came to sports in our area. He has covered every big game that I can remember. From the time I was in high school to the time I started to coach, he was there. He was just an absolutely tremendous advocate for all of our local athletes."

Local listeners expressed shock on iHeart’s Facebook page with one person writing, “Very disappointed in your company for not retaining Mike Smith. He is loved by many in central and southern Ohio. Your company obviously has no idea about the impact he has on our region.”

During his career, Smith has covered hundreds of championship games a well as Adena's girls' basketball state championship in 1994 and Paint Valley's baseball state title in 1995. Smith was named Associated Press Sportscaster of the Year four times as well as the AP News Anchor of the Year once.

Smith is a member of the Zane Trace Tip-Off Classic Hall of Fame, has led his station to AP Ohio Most Outstanding Sports Operation 19 times, and is a two-time winner of the OPI Award for Best Public Affairs Interview in Ohio for The Sounding Board.What’s next for Smith is exactly known, but he’s upbeat. “God has a plan for each of us, and I'm excited to find out what the next chapter is for me,” he said.

Article courtesy of the Chillicothe Gazette

Brock Netter 7:22 p.m. EDT June 8, 2016

CHILLICOTHE - The time had come to light up Joseph W. Hoffman Field.

After 46 years of hosting day game after day game, the Chillicothe Post 757 Colts can now begin to host night games after finalizing and installing six new light towers Thursday afternoon.

The 757 committee spearheaded by General Manager Art DeVore and Don Rockhold, along with 757 coach Tom Barr, Steve Neal, Ron Shoemaker, Bob Puffer, Fred Yengling, Roy Stone, Larry Gates and John Herrnstein, raised more than the $150,000 needed to put the plan into action.

“This is an exciting time to be a part of the Chillicothe Post 757 Colts,” Post 757 coach Tom Barr said. “I’m honored to be a part of this, and I get goose bumps thinking about some of the guys that are looking down with huge smiles on their faces. Guys like Jim Jadwin, Leo Woods, Dick Stewart and countless others who gave so much of their time to the youth of our community.”

DeVore, who has been with the Legion ball club since the day the field opened, couldn’t be more pleased with the lights.

“They are absolutely beautiful,” DeVore said. “Many people told me that we could never raise that type of money, but it didn’t matter. We reached out to people we thought would be willing to help or donate, and I didn’t have one person turn me down. This isn’t a field just for 757; this is a field for the community and our athletes. Back in 1970, Jim Jadwin and I put the first fence post down, and he said: ‘This would be a great place for a baseball field if we can get some lights.’ And 46 years later, we finally got them. We were all really happy and it’s such a wonderful sight to see.”

Rockhold, who has been with the club as a coach and dedicated member since 1971, understands the importance of the lights for those with baseball aspirations.

“A lot of people were amazed by the lights,” he said. “We kept the lights on for about an hour, and a lot of people came out just to see them. That couldn’t believe it. I grew up playing Legion ball in West Virginia, and I was fortunate to have lights and play 7-8 games a week back then. If you want to play college ball and in the major leagues, you have to learn how to play under the lights, and this is a great step in the right direction for us. It’s a beautiful thing to see.”

With the lights have officially been installed, Chillicothe now has three full-size baseball diamonds with light towers, along with VA Memorial Stadium and Balmer Field in the Yoctangee Park. Located in the southeast corner of Mary Lou Patton Park, within Chillicothe city limits, the committee believes the city and community can only benefit from the lights.

In a letter written by Herrnstein and Gates, they elaborated on how the lights will benefit the city and the influence DeVore and Rockhold have had on the Legion team over the years.

“Since the baseball is located on city property, the city and community will accrue the following: A $150,000 improvement to its recreation infrastructure, an additional source of pride on the east side of town, plus a projected two million dollar annual economic impact from planned baseball and softball tournaments. Even more importantly, another lighted field translates into substantially more scholarship opportunities for our surrounding area’s high school athletes; both male and female, which has always been our committee’s highest priority. Approximately 100 local athletes have earned baseball scholarships in the past and have gone on to play at the college level, with an impressive number of those players advancing in the professional ranks.”

DeVore and Rockhold have spent nearly 100 year combined volunteering with the youth of Ross County.

The Colts will play their first game under the lights next Saturday as part of a doubleheader against Portsmouth. The first game will start at 5 p.m., followed by a ceremony at 7:30 p.m., and then the night game with cap the night off.

“You can’t help but to be excited for Art,” Barr said. “He’s been the driving force behind Phase I of the Hoffman Restoration Project. We’ll now move on to Phase II, III and IV, but it will be very special for our kids and community when we finally light up Hoffman Field.”