Lakota West Tyler Jones catches a pass from Malik Grove during summer practice July 30, 2012. Jones switched from quarterback to wide receiver last season. Photo taken by Adam Kiefaber.
Mike Dyer reports:
Akron offered Lakota West 2014 WR Tyler Jones this week, according to Lakota West coach Larry Cox.
Jones switched from quarterback to wide receiver last season and led the Firebirds in receiving with 18 catches for 256 yards and two touchdowns. In 2011, Jones completed 51-of-122 passes for 772 yards and nine touchdowns.
Akron is the first offer for Jones, who is 6 feet 1 and 180 pounds. The Zips held their camp at Lakota West on Wednesday night. Bowling Green held its camp at Lakota West today.
Jones is also receiving interest from Toledo, Ohio University and Bowling Green.
Lakota West linebacker Cole Stalker officially signed with University of Findlay Feb. 1, 2012 on National Signing Day. Behind him, his brother C.J. (class of 2015), was offered his first offer when Kentucky offered him a scholarship in May of 2013. Photo taken by Adam Kiefaber.
The University of Kentucky is continuing its pursuit of Lakota West football players, as the school became the first to extend a scholarship offer to sophomore outside linebacker C.J. Stalker.
Stalker, who is 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, received the offer this week, according to Lakota West head coach Larry Cox. Stalker also plays basketball and runs track for Lakota West.
In February 2012, on National Signing Day, Stalker’s older brother Cole, who also was a linebacker, signed on to play football at Findlay University.
Since UK hired Mark Stoops as its head coach in late November, the SEC school has been targeting players from Lakota West High School. In February, senior offensive tackle Kyle Meadows signed with UK. Then, in April, junior running back Mikel Horton verbally committed to UK. Both Meadows and Horton had numerous offers from other major Division I programs.
To let West Chester and Liberty Township residents catch up with the news that they need to know, WestChesterBuzz.com will list and link to all of last week’s top local stories every Monday.
Will Lakota East High School be featured on the Ellen DeGeneres Show? Producers of the show contacted the school last Friday and told them that they support their cause and “are anxiously waiting the release” of its lip dub video that the school is making to raise awareness and funds for the Center for Spina Bifida Care at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Photo provided.
WestChesterBuzz.com also recently added a new video page last week. To view West Chester and Liberty Township related videos, visit westchesterbuzz.com/videos.
Lakota East makes lip dub – Lakota East High School is one step closer to having the attention of Ellen DeGeneres. On Thursday, the school and all of its 2,700 students made a “lip dub” video to raise awareness and funds for the Center for Spina Bifida Care at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. In the video, students performed as lip singers to five popular songs from artists, including Black Eyed Peas, One Direction and Smash Mouth. Once edited they hope to get the attention of Ellen DeGeneres, who they hope can bring their efforts to raise awareness for Spina Bifida to the national stage.
West Chester woman steals $23K from employer – Marcie “Allison” Denney, 37, pleaded guilty to one count of theft, a fourth-degree felony, and four fifth-degree felony counts of forgery, Rachel Richardson of MasonBuzz.com reported last week. She originally faced one count of theft and nine counts of forgery. Between August and November last year, Denney forged 25 company checks from her employer, JKrete, a Mason company specializing in traditional and decorative concrete installation, totaling more than $23,000.
Lakota West RB Mikel Horton commits to Kentucky – Lakota West junior running back Mikel Horton verbally committed to the University of Kentucky Saturday during the Rivals.com Under Armour Elite Camp at Lakota West High School. He picked UK over his other top choices Florida State, Vanderbilt, Cincinnati and Louisville. According to Rivals.com, Horton is a four-star recruit and is ranked No. 22 among running back prospects in the class of 2014. He is also ranked No. 209 nationally among all recruits in that class.
Medical workers aid injured people at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon following an explosion in Boston, Monday, April 15. Photo taken by Charles Krupa for the AP.
West Chester runners safe from Boston Marathon blasts – On Monday afternoon, Tony Delnoce of West Chester said that his wife, Robin and three West Chester residents – Paul and Maureen Heintz and J. Jill Cummins – were all safe. Paul Heintz is the owner of Mojo Running in Olde West Chester. The first bomb went off within 20 minutes of Robin Delnoce crossing the finish line. She was walking back to her hotel room at the Marriott Copley when she heard the explosion.
Local runner shares what happened at Boston Marathon – Just before the first explosion went off, Maureen Heintz of West Chester was only a few hundreds away from the finish line, having her picture taken and enjoying her first Boston Marathon. “She was probably just 200 yards from the blast when the first one went off. She said could feel the concussion of it and the buses were shaking where she was standing,” her husband, Paul Heintz said. After returning to their West Chester home at 2 a.m. Tuesday, Paul Heintz spoke about what it was like to be in Boston on Monday. See below for first part of audio interview. For the second and third parts of the interview, click on the link above.
Lakota West junior running back Mikel Horton verbally committed to play football at the University of Kentucky Saturday April 20. Photo by Adam Kiefaber of WestChesterBuzz.com.
Lakota West junior running back Mikel Horton verbally committed to the University of Kentucky Saturday during the Rivals.com Under Armour Elite Camp at Lakota West High School.
Lakota West junior running back Mikel Horton surprised his coach by making his college choice so soon. He picked UK over his other top choices Florida State, Vanderbilt, Cincinnati and Louisville. Photo taken by Joseph Fuqua II.
The camp included top recruits from Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Indiana and West Virginia. When being named the camp’s offensive MVP, Horton pulled out a UK hat and announced his commitment.
The 6-foot-1, 228-pound Horton has received interest from Penn State, Michigan State, Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi State, as well as offers from Florida State, Boston College, Louisville, Cincinnati, Vanderbilt, Purdue, Miami (Ohio), Indiana, Minnesota, Kent State, Toledo, Bowling Green and Western Michigan.
Lakota West head coach Larry Cox admitted he was surprised that Horton made his commitment so soon.
“I will be honest, I advised him to wait,” Cox said. “He talked about Florida State, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, UC and Louisville. Those were sort of his top five, but he has done his homework. I can’t tell you how many visits he has done. It is not like he made this decision blind.”
Cox said Horton visited Louisville twice, Kentucky three times, Cincinnati, Miami, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Alabama and Florida State.
According to Rivals.com, Horton is a four-star recruit and is ranked No. 22 among running back prospects in the class of 2014. He is also ranked No. 209 nationally among all recruits in that class.
In 2012, Horton rushed for 1,003 yards and 13 touchdowns.
On Feb. 6, his teammate offensive tackle Kyle Meadows (class of 2013) signed on to play football at UK. Meadows picked UK over offers from the likes of Louisville, Ohio, Toledo, Pittsburgh, Akron, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Indiana, Florida State, Purdue, Kansas and North Carolina State.
Lakota West junior running back Mikel Horton is starting to receive attention from collegiate football programs. Photo by Adam Kiefaber of WestChesterBuzz.com.
Vanderbilt offered Lakota West junior running back Mikel Horton on this weekend, according to Lakota West head football coach Larry Cox.
“Mikel Horton went down to Vanderbilt this past weekend and was really impressed with the visit,” Cox wrote in an email to WestChesterBuzz.com. “And they were impressed by him as well, as they have offered.”
The 6-foot-1, 228-pound Horton has received interest from Penn State, Michigan State and Arkansas, as well as offers from Florida State, Boston College, Louisville, Cincinnati, Purdue, Miami (Ohio), Indiana, Minnesota, Kent State, Toledo, Bowling Green, Western Michigan and Kentucky.
In 2012, Horton rushed for 1,003 yards and 13 touchdowns.
According to Rivals.com, Horton is a four-star recruit and is ranked No. 209 overall in the country.
Lakota West junior running back Mikel Horton is starting to receive attention from collegiate football programs. Photo by Adam Kiefaber of WestChesterBuzz.com.
Boston College offered Lakota West junior running back Mikel Horton on Thursday night, according to Lakota West head football coach Larry Cox.
The 6-foot-1, 228-pound Horton has received interest from Penn State, Michigan State and Arkansas, as well as offers from Florida State, Louisville, Cincinnati, Purdue, Miami (Ohio), Indiana, Minnesota, Kent State, Toledo, Bowling Green, Western Michigan and Kentucky.
In 2012, Horton rushed for 1,003 yards and 13 touchdowns.
According to Rivals.com, Horton is a four-star recruit and is ranked No. 209 overall in the country.
To let West Chester and Liberty Township residents catch up with the news that they need to know, WestChesterBuzz.com will list and link to all of last week’s top local stories every Monday.
More than 5,000 runners and walkers participated in the Shamrock Shuffle in West Chester Township on Saturday. The event was expected to raise $100,000 for local causes and charities. Photo taken by Adam Kiefaber.
WestChesterBuzz.com also recently added a new video page last week. To view West Chester and Liberty Township related videos, visit westchesterbuzz.com/videos.
Lakota Local Schools closed – A winter storm last Tuesday night forced Lakota Local Schools to close for the first time in the 2012-2013 school year. West Chester’s Nature Basket program was also canceled due to the weather.
What is your gold worth? – As gold prices soar, so do the number of gold buyers and sellers. That means more work for county auditors, who are tasked with validating the accuracy of scales used to weigh gold at businesses that buy it. In Southwest Ohio, auditors from Butler, Warren, Clermont and Hamilton counties in 2012 registered 186 scales from precious metals buyers, up from just 30 in 2009.
Lakota East OL Jarrett LaRubbio receives multiple offers – Miami (Ohio), West Virginia, Cincinnati and Georgia Tech all offered Lakota East junior offensive lineman Jarrett LaRubbio last week, Lakota East coach Rick Haynes told Cincinnati Enquirer high school sports recruiting writer Mike Dyer. The 6-foot-5, 265-pound lineman has received offers Arizona State, Western Michigan, Duke, Kentucky Nebraska, N.C. State, Akron, Pittsburgh, Bowling Green, Toledo, Kent State and Ohio.
Pat Hiltman is resigned effective immediately, on Feb. 20, from his township trustee post because a recent job change. Photo provided.
13 seek Liberty Township trustee seat – A total of 13 individuals have applied to join the Liberty Township Board of Trustees, Sue Kiesewetter reported late last week for The Cincinnati Enquirer. Whoever is selected would fill Patrick Hiltman’s term, which ends Dec. 31. To keep the seat, the trustee would have to run in the November election. Among the candidates are a former Trenton mayor, the developer of the Carriage Hill development, three members of the township’s Vision Committee and volunteers on three other township groups.
Butler Tech names new superintendent – Bill Miller on last Thursday was named superintendent of Butler Tech, Sue Kiesewetter reported for The Cincinnati Enquirer. For the past two months, Miller has served as interim superintendent following the December resignation of Brett Smith. He was one of three finalists for the job. Miller was given a two-year contract, which runs through July 31, 2015. His salary was set at $126,250 annually.
Census: Cincinnati commuter rate among highest in nation – Hamilton County has among the highest number of commuters coming from another county in the nation, the U.S. Census Bureau reported recently, according to Mark Wert of The Cincinnati Enquirer. Among workers in Hamilton County, 188,113 live outside the county, according to 2006-2010 Census estimates. For example, 45,965 workers commute in from Butler County. Meanwhile, 66,994 residents of Hamilton County leave the county for work, or only 18.6 percent of the county’s total. The biggest group, 20,856, goes to Butler County.
Florida State offers RB Mikel Horton – Florida State offered Lakota West junior running back Mikel Horton on Monday, according to Lakota West head football coach Larry Cox. The previous week, four Division I programs offered Horton. Louisville, Cincinnati, Purdue and Miami (Ohio) offered on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, respectively. In addition, Horton has received interest from Penn State, Michigan State and Arkansas, as well as offers from Indiana, Minnesota, Kent State, Toledo, Bowling Green, Western Michigan and Kentucky.
Lillian’s Leprechauns, others benefit from Shamrock Shuffle – More than 5,000 runners and walkers took part in the 2013 Shamrock Shuffle in West Chester Township Saturday. Each one of them came out for a reason, as many did so for one of the 50 charities that were participating in the annual event. The charity that brought in the most runners/walkers was a new group, Lillian’s Leprechauns, which was created after Adam Woodward and Niki Larson, both of Maineville, lost their baby, Lillian, one day after she was born.
Did you see this? Alpacas invade West Chester last week
To let West Chester and Liberty Township residents catch up with the news that they need to know, WestChesterBuzz.com will list and link to all of last week’s top local stories every Monday.
WestChesterBuzz.com also recently added a new video page. To view West Chester and Liberty Township related videos, visit westchesterbuzz.com/videos.
Lakota East head coach Nikki Drew gives instructions to her team during their girls basketball game against Lakota West Jan. 9, 2013. Photo taken by Tony Tribble.
Nikki Drew steps down from coaching job at Lakota East – The only coach to ever lead a Lakota East girls’ basketball team to a winning season is stepping down, so she can spend more time with her 8-year-old daughter. Drew posted a 55-40 overall record at Lakota East. In other words, Drew led East to more wins in 4 seasons than East had been able to win its previous 12.
Cincinnati Tea Party elects Ann Becker as president – The Board of Directors of the Cincinnati Tea Party announced last Thursday that it has elected Ann Becker, who is currently the president of the West Chester Tea Party, as its new president. Becker, 36, of West Chester, succeeds George Brunemann, who has served as the Cincinnati Tea Party’s since 2011. Becker said that she will also remain president of the West Chester branch.
Suspect has recently spent 12K from stolen credit cards – Police are looking for a man, who is accused of stealing credit cards from two different Greater Cincinnati LA Fitness locations this month and then using them to buy gifts worth thousands of dollars. In both incidents, the victims had used combination padlocks on their gym lockers. Each time, the suspect was able to open the lock, go through the locker and re-lock it before being seen.
Lakota West junior running back Mikel Horton has received four Division I offers to play college football last week. The latest coming from Miami (Ohio) on March 1. Photo taken by Joseph Fuqua II.
Lakota West RB Mikel Horton has big week – Miami (Ohio) was the fourth Division I football program to offer Lakota West junior running back Mikel Horton last week. Louisville, Cincinnati and Purdue offered on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. In addition, Horton has received interest from Penn State, Michigan State and Arkansas, as well as offers from Indiana, Minnesota, Kent State, Toledo, Bowling Green, Western Michigan and Kentucky.
O’Gara pays $10M for BAE armored vehicle division – The O’Gara Group Inc., a maker of armored vehicles and other security products, completed its purchase of BAE Systems’ Fairfield-based commercial armored vehicles division last Monday, the company announced. Fewer than 20 BAE employees were laid off prior to the $10 million sale, O’Gara Group CEO Bill O’Gara said; the remaining 110 employees will remain.
Liberty Township development takes on new look – A new plan for the Carriage Hill development will provide residents of all ages everything from an ice cream shop to hiking trails. The 400-acre project is located on the east side of Ohio 747, between Millikin and Princeton roads. It is also the site for this year’s Homearama custom home show, put on by the Homebuilder’s Association of Greater Cincinnati.
Lakota East and Lakota West fall in sectional finals – Lakota East came up just short, 57-56, against Withrow, while Walnut Hills defeated Lakota West, 60-46, in the sectional finals Friday night at the University of Cincinnati. Both losses ended the boys’ basketball seasons for each program.
Boehner tells Senate to get off their … – After making a famous comment about the Senate’s inactivity (watch video below) before the sequester took affect last week, House Speaker John Boehner didn’t resort to any foul language last Thursday when talking about his political opponents in the U.S. Senate. The West Chester Republican mostly avoided responding directly to reporters’ questions about the imminent across-the-board spending cuts.
Lakota West junior running back Mikel Horton is starting to receive attention from collegiate football programs. Photo by Adam Kiefaber of WestChesterBuzz.com.
Florida State offered Lakota West junior running back Mikel Horton on Monday, according to Lakota West head football coach Larry Cox.
“Mikel was very excited about the Florida State offer, but he is also very grateful and humbled by the whole recruiting experience and realizes that he has a great opportunities in his future,” Cox said.
“He has been working really hard both academically and athletically to have an outstanding senior season. He told (Florida State) coach (Jimbo) Fisher he wouldn’t be where he is without great parents, teammates and coaches and he wants the 2013 season to be the best ever.”
Last week, four Division I programs offered Horton. Louisville, Cincinnati, Purdue and Miami (Ohio) offered on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, respectively.
In addition, Horton has received interest from Penn State, Michigan State and Arkansas, as well as offers from Indiana, Minnesota, Kent State, Toledo, Bowling Green, Western Michigan and Kentucky.
According to The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Mike Dyer, Horton visited Miami on Friday and Cincinnati on Saturday. He also is planning to visit Louisville and Arkansas in the near future.
Horton has already visited Alabama and Mississippi State.
In 2012, the 6-foot-1, 228-pound Horton rushed for 1,003 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Lakota West junior running back Mikel Horton is starting to receive attention from collegiate football programs. Photo by Adam Kiefaber of WestChesterBuzz.com.
Miami (Ohio) offered Lakota West junior running back Mikel Horton on Friday, Lakota West head football coach Larry Cox told The Enquirer’s Mike Dyer.
Miami (Ohio) is the fourth Division I football program to offer Horton this week. Louisville, Cincinnati and Purdue offered on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
Lakota West junior running back Mikel Horton has received four Division I offers to play college football this week. The latest coming from Miami (Ohio) on March 1. Photo taken by Joseph Fuqua II.
According to Dyer, Horton is visiting Miami today and Cincinnati on Saturday. He also is planning to visit Louisville and Arkansas in the near future.
In addition, Horton has received interest from Penn State and Michigan State, as well as offers from Indiana, Minnesota, Kent State, Toledo, Bowling Green, Western Michigan and Kentucky.
This past Saturday, Horton visited Alabama. He also visited Mississippi State on Sunday. Another SEC school, Arkansas, has shown “strong interest” and also wants to visit Horton, according to Cox.
In 2012, the 6-foot-1, 228-pound Horton rushed for 1,003 yards and 13 touchdowns.
“Horton is probably the best power running back in the Class of 2014,” said Mark Porter, director of ScoutingOhio.com. “His ability to run between the tackles and churn out the tough yards is second to none and just when you think you have him bottled up that’s when Horton shows off his speed. This rare combo of size, power, and speed has college coaches taking notice and the offers are just starting to roll in.”
