Correction: Trustee Matt Oddy not related to Clerk Esther Hurst
In a letter to the editor published on page 15 in the July 9 issue of the Belleville-Area Independent, the writer stated that Sumpter Township Trustee Matt Oddy is a cousin of Sumpter Clerk Esther Hurst. This has been found to be incorrect.
It is Matt Oddy’s brother Mark who is related to Hurst by marriage. Mark’s wife is cousin to Hurst. We apologize for the mix-up in this letter in our paper.
Also, there is some confusion about what tax-reverted property Oddy purchased by a bid through the township with his First Step Properties LLC. We remember we had to file a Freedom of Information Act with the township to get the names of the winners in the 2017 bids on the Sumpter properties. Oddy’s LLC bid on three and was the winning bid on the 8.33-acre parcel, which was on Sumpter Road, according to the township, with the property number of 81-129-99-0003-000. His winning bid was $2,001. The other two properties named in the letter were purchased on the open market in 2014 and 2017, Oddy said in an email to the Independent.
He also said his LCC was formed in 2012 for his “small business,” well before his bids on township property in 2017.
We regret the errors in the opposing candidate’s letter and apologize for the embarrassment to Trustee Oddy.
Rosemary Otzman, editor