Police chief a lightning rod in Pickaway County village

NEW HOLLAND — The mayor — only half-jokingly — says he thinks Village Hall offices might be bugged.

The county sheriff’s office has charged the village police chief with criminal trespassing.

The chief has criminally charged a local woman with making false accusations against him.

That woman cries — and points to the elaborate security system installed at her home — as she says that after 41 years of living there at the edge of town, she doesn’t feel safe around the police.

And the council president says, basically, there’s nothing to see here, folks.

Welcome to New Holland, population 801, give or take, depending on the day’s Lawless obituaries.

“No, the village is not in chaos,” said council President Greg Shaw, a 66-year-old who has lived his whole life in the village that straddles the Pickaway/ Fayette county line. He blames a few people for creating what he calls “a lot of noise” on social media. In reality, Shaw said, it is business as usual.

“I hate to see all the hate,” Shaw said. “I am not really sure where it comes from. We know that we are doing what’s best for the majority of the people in the village. That’s what we have to stay focused on.”

What he was talking about, specifically, was the creation of a village police department last year. William “Jason” Lawless is chief. He isn’t paid for that position, but makes almost $65,000 a year to also serve as village administrator. Lawless has twice run unsuccessfully for