PUBLIC NOTICE
PROBATE COURT
OF KNOX COUNTY, OHIO
ADOPTION OF:
CARTER JAMES SHIRK
Case No. 20254011
PEYTON BETH SHIRK
Case No. 20254012
NOTICE OF HEARING ON
PETITION FOR ADOPTION
Notice must be served not
less than 20 days before the
date of the hearing
(R.C. 3107.11)
To: Mitchell R. Shirk, Last Known Address: 1519 Zimmer Street, Lancaster, Ohio 43130
You are hereby notified that on the 30th day of April, 2025, Teresa Lynn Atkins, filed in this Court a Petition for Adoption of Carter James Shirk, a minor, whose date of birth is October 15, 2013, and Peyton Beth Shirk, a minor, whose date of birth is December 30, 2014. This Court, located at 111 East High Street, Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050 will hear the petition on the 25th day of August, 2025 at 1:30 o’clock P.M.
It is alleged in the petition, pursuant to R.C. 3107.07, that the consent of Mitchell R. Shirk is not required due to the following:
X-That person is a parent who has failed without justifiable cause to provide more than de minimis contact with the minor for a period of at least one year immediately preceding the filing of the adoption petition or the placement of the minor in the home of the petitioner.
X That person is a parent who has failed without justifiable cause to provide for the maintenance and support of the minor as required by law or judicial decree for a period of at least one year immediately preceding the filing of the adoption petition or the placement of the minor in the home of the petitioner.
--State other grounds under R.C. 3107.07 (include putative father of minor born prior to January 1, 1997).
“A FINAL DECREE OF ADOPTION, IF GRANTED, WILL RELIEVE YOU OF ALL PARENTAL RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO CONTACT THE MINOR, AND, EXCEPT WITH RESPECT TO A SPOUSE OF THE ADOPTION PETITIONER AND RELATIVES OF THAT SPOUSE, TERMINATE ALL LEGAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE MINOR AND YOU AND THE MINOR’S OTHER RELATIVES, SO THAT THE MINOR THEREAFTER IS A STRANGER TO YOU AND THE MINOR’S FORMER RELATIVES FOR ALL PURPOSES. IF YOU WISH TO CONTEST THE ADOPTION, YOU MUST FILE AN OBJECTION TO THE PETITION WITHIN FOURTEEN DAYS AFTER PROOF OF SERVICE OF NOTICE OF THE FILING OF THE PETITION AND OF THE TIME AND PLACE OF HEARING IS GIVEN TO YOU. IF YOU WISH TO CONTEST THE ADOPTION, YOU MUST ALSO APPEAR AT THE HEARING. A FINAL DECREE OF ADOPTION MAY BE ENTERED IF YOU FAIL TO FILE AN OBJECTION TO THE ADOPTION PETITION OR APPEAR AT THE HEARING.”
NOTICE:
You may be entitled to a lawyer in Adoption proceedings in Probate Court.
If you cannot afford a lawyer and meet certain requirements, the Court will appoint or designate a County Public Defender or Joint Public Defender to provide legal representation.
Avery Dyer, Administrator/Investigator, Knox County Public Defender’s Office, who may be reached at telephone number 740-393-6734 Monday - Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., is the employee designated by the Court to arrange for the prompt appointment of counsel for indigent persons. If you wish to be represented by a lawyer in this proceeding but believe that you cannot afford one, you should contact this number.
Jay W. Nixon, Knox County Probate Judge, 111 East High Street, Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050
Cynthia A. Cunningham
(0089771)
Attorney for Applicant
112 North Main Street
Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050
740-397-7474
June 21 and 28, 2025
July 5, 2025
