Group home for disabled kids honors parents’ wishes
In setting up a trust fund, Charles and Lois Good wanted two things: To ensure that their son Lyle was well cared for after they died, and to help build homes for other children with developmental disabilities.
The first goal was attained, thanks to Charles Hagy, a family friend and Lyle’s legal guardian.
The second goal will come to fruition on Tuesday, when Licking County Board of Developmental Disabilities officials are to cut the ribbon on a new 3,700-square foot house for up to six young residents on Tollhouse Road in Etna Township.
The home opening will be especially poignant for Hagy.
The 7-acre property is just across the street from the Goods’ old family farm, and the purchase was made possible by the Goods’ trust fund, which was gifted to the Licking County board upon Lyle’s death in 2018.
“This was Mr. Good’s dream,” said Hagy, 68, an Etna Township resident. “He wanted to build homes like this to help other children. It’s very gratifying to fulfill Mr. Good’s confidence in me.”
It was a happy ending for the county board, as well. Superintendent Jason Umstot said the board began thinking about how to build a residential facility for youths about three years ago.
There was a growing demand for specialized services that families can’t always provide at home, he said, and the county often had to send kids to homes in other counties, uprooting them from their schools and support systems.
Then, “out of the blue,” Umstot said, he learned that the board was the beneficiary of the Goods’ $2.5 million trust fund, and they began looking for land on which to build the house.
They thought they found two properties last year in Liberty Township, but fierce opposition emerged from nearby residents.
“There was a misconception of what we were trying to do,” Umstot said. “It wasn’t even correct, but it spread like wildfire and no one wanted to listen.”
After a contentious online meeting with residents, the county backed away from the land.
“As soon as that story hit (the media), people reached out to me in droves, saying, `We’re sorry this happened, this doesn’t represent our community,’” Umstot said. “It was heartwarming.”
When the board found the Etna Township property for sale later last year, township officials there were welcoming.
“What (the board) is doing is admirable and permitted,” said John Singleton, Etna Township zoning inspector. “I did have several calls from neighbors (of
the new house) and after explaining things to them, they were all good with it.”
The cost for the land and construction came to about $1.3 million. The six-bedroom house will be staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and Umstot said the acreage will allow for space for outdoor picnics and a paved walking path.
Umstot said he thinks youths ages 10 to 18 will be living there. The board most commonly serves people on the autism spectrum and those with Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, spina bifida and intellectual disabilities.
He said the county was looking for another property with hopes of building a second house for kids.
All of this makes Hagy happy. He met the Goods when he was a teenager growing up nearby. Charles Good was an engineer who once worked in the aircraft industry and later owned a machine shop on the family farm.
He said Lyle was the couple’s only adult child (another child died young), and said Lyle loved going on bicycle and motorcycle rides with his father.
“He was very happy all the time,” Hagy said. “He could be a little bit stubborn until he got his way, though.”
Charles Good died in 1991 and Lois followed in 1992. Hagy was Lyle’s guardian, and said he visited Lyle regularly at a group home in Heath until Lyle’s death at age 67 in 2018.
Talking about the Goods and the new home, Hagy grew emotional.
“He (Charles Good) left me his son,” Hagy said. “I think I completed my task and my promise to him.” kgordon@dispatch.com @kgdispatch