WestChesterBuzz.com

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.

Ian Mellencamp, nephew of John Cougar Mellencamp, is making a name for himself in the modeling world. The Lakota West graduate has billboards all over the world. He also appeared in commercials and been featured in numerous ad campaigns. Photo provided by New View Management Group.

WestChesterBuzz.com also recently added a new video page last week. To view West Chester and Liberty Township related videos, visit westchesterbuzz.com/videos.

Cop rounds in Butler County now include schools – There are now frequent visitors at Lakota Schools who are armed but very welcome, Michael D. Clark reported last week for The Enquirer. Butler County Sheriff Deputy Mark Gilbert pulled his cruiser into the parking lot of Liberty Early Childhood School about 1 p.m. on a recent school day as part of his daily rounds in Butler County’s Liberty Township. It’s the latest strategy to strengthen school safety, say sheriff officials, who launched the new program last week for the county’s school districts and private schools.

PHOTO GALLERY: Mellencamp making a name for himself – In 2011, John Cougar Mellencamp called his brother in West Chester to let him know he had just seen his nephew on a billboard in Los Angeles. The billboard, which was also on display in New York City, Paris and China, was part of a Calvin Klein campaign that helped launch Ian Mellencamp’s modeling career that year.

Liberty trustee: It’s ‘immoral’ to accept federal funds – Liberty Township will apply for a federal grant to pay for construction and installation of a sidewalk, Sue Kiesewetter reported last week. But if the township is awarded the grant it is uncertain whether it would be accepted. Trustee David Kern voted this week against applying for a transportation alternative grant that would help pay for construction of sidewalks from the Liberty Junior School crosswalk at the Yankee Road/Dutchland Boulevard intersection to Cincinnati-Dayton Road, a distance of 3,250 feet.

Cincinnati Reds shortstop Zack Cozart signed autographs for fans at the Sports Gallery in West Chester Township Tuesday, April 2, 2013. Afterward, he spoke about the team in 2013 and Ryan Ludwick’s injury. Photo taken by Adam Kiefaber.

VIDEOS: Zack Cozart visits West Chester – Immediately after Opening Day last season, rookie shortstop Zack Cozart admitted that he was exhausted. After the game, he went back to his apartment and crashed. This year, despite the longer day (game lasted 4 hours and 45 minutes), Cozart said he had more energy after Monday’s opener.

VIDEO: Coyotes welcome at VOA park – Six coyotes are roaming the fields of Voice of America Park. But these coyotes are there for the park’s protection. MetroParks officials are going as far to say, these coyotes are park “employees’’. These six employees are plastic and have to be moved by park staff. However, their job duties are to protecting the park’s $3 million project, which includes 22 new multipurpose natural grass athletic fields.

Posted in: Business, News |

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Michael D. Clark reports:

There are now frequent visitors at Lakota Schools who are armed but very welcome.

Butler County Sheriff Deputy Mark Gilbert pulled his cruiser into the parking lot of Liberty Early Childhood School about 1 p.m. on a recent school day as part of his daily rounds in Butler County’s Liberty Township.

His next visit will be at a different time during the school day.

It’s the latest strategy to strengthen school safety, say sheriff officials, who launched the new program last week for the county’s school districts and private schools.

Butler County Sheriff Deputy Mark Gilbert fields questions from students at Lakota Schools’ Liberty Early Childhood Center. Deputies are now stopping in at county schools as part of their daily patrols. Image captured by Michael D. Clark.

In March, South Dakota became the first state to pass a law with provisions that specifically authorize teachers to possess a firearm in a K-12 school.

No sheriff department, however, in Greater Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky has been as publicly aggressive as Butler County’s in launching new school security plans.

“It’s letting the public know we have a good police presence in our schools now and we are doing what we can to keep our schools safe,” says Gilbert.

The new twist to school safety was prompted in part by the lack of action for another idea from Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones. He wanted to place armed substitute teachers in schools. That idea, unveiled in January, requires approval from local school boards but so far none have taken it to a vote.

“Not yet,” Jones says.

Gilbert is glad to add school stops among his daily rounds, which if time allows also includes classroom visits and maybe a quick sit-down lunch with students.

His first classroom visit had him fielding questions from youngsters he doesn’t normally get from patrolling the local community.

“Can you arrest squirrels?” asks one student, upset that a class project to feed birds was hijacked by hungry rodents.

Liberty School PTA President Daniel Colpi, who has a child at the school, says he appreciates seeing a police cruiser parked in the school lot and the impression it may have on anyone thinking about committing violence on school grounds.

“I hate to think about what could happen, so if it deters people from going to school to do such things then it’s valuable,” Colpi says.

Liberty School parent Susanne Page prefers this type of school policing to arming substitute teachers.

“I like weapons in the hands of lawmen that are trained and I like the idea that these are police officers from our community,” she says.

Posted in: Crime, News, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones, Guns in Lakota schools, guns in schools, Lakota Local Schools, Lakota schools, Richard Jones, Sheriff Richard Jones

Sue Kiesewetter reports:

Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones will be the guest speaker at the March 24 meeting of the Butler County Teen Republicans.

The 3 p.m. meeting will be held at Republican headquarters, 3431 Princeton Road, Suite 100, in Fairfield Township’s Bridgewater Falls shopping complex.

All teens are invited to attend the meeting.

For more information, call 513-893-5292.

Posted in: News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones, Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones, Butler County Teen Republicans, Sheriff Richard Jones, Sheriff Richard K. Jones

Miller suggests using retired police officers as armed substitutes

Michael D. Clark reports:

There has been plenty of talk but little else since Butler County’s sheriff publicly floated the idea of retired cops working as armed substitute teachers.

After the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, Scott Miller, a former Mason Police officer forced to retire after being struck twice on duty by cars, approached Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones with a novel idea: Put armed, retired police officers in Butler County schools as substitute teachers to boost security. Photo by Tony Jones.

Still, the man behind the idea remains optimistic. Scott Miller’s positive attitude is borne from painful adversity.

The former Mason Police officer was twice hit by cars during a two-year stretch while on duty, breaking his back and leaving his lower spine mangled and held together by metal. Forced into disability retirement in 2010, Miller recently came up with the novel idea, which has garnered statewide attention, during the days after the Sandy Hook school massacre in December.

In January, Miller approached his former boss, Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones, with his idea. Soon after, Jones called a press conference to announce his department’s full backing and urged public and private schools in the county to enact the program as allowed by state law.

Districts haven’t had time to consider idea
So far, none of the 10 public school boards in Butler County, nor any private schools or the Butler Tech school board, has voted to adopt the program allowing qualified and armed ex-officers to work as substitute teachers. Some district officials say discussions may be held in coming board meetings. Most school systems’ governing boards say they need more time, since Jones announced the program only Jan. 17.

District officials also say they are reluctant to discuss any school security measures publicly for fear of jeopardizing student safety by pointing out what their schools currently lack.

“I knew schools would move slowly,” said Miller from his Fairfield Township home. “It’s a different concept and will take some time for them to digest, but some school districts will eventually sign on.”

Paul Otten, superintendent of the 9,900-student Fairfield City School District, says his board has not had an opportunity to address the issue. He says the board is expected to include discussion about the idea at its next meeting, Feb. 12.

Randy Oppenheimer, spokesman for Lakota Local School District, Southwest Ohio’s second-largest, says “the board has not taken any action on the sheriff’s plan, (and) I’m not aware of any scheduled vote.” Lakota, he says, is “fairly reluctant to go into a lot of details about the meeting topics” pertaining to security.

Hamilton City School District spokeswoman Joni Copas says “our district has a safety committee that we have reconvened after the Sandy Hook tragedy.” Copas says the committee is “looking at all aspects of school safety and security” and is expected to present recommendations before the end of the current school year.

Sheriff Jones is neither surprised nor discouraged. “It’s a great idea, but I want to take it slow and see how it goes.

“I have had calls from school boards and emails from (school officials) in other states about it, and it has been nothing but positive reaction,” Jones says.

Subbing already to get better grasp of the job
Miller has painfully learned that disappointment can precede any success.

A Mason motorcycle patrolman, Miller was struck by a car in 2008. That accident left him with a broken, surgically repaired back. He returned to duty in 2010 only to be hit again by a car, ending his career and leaving him with metal “pins, screws and hooks at the bottom of my spine” and extensive nerve damage in one leg.

He has to do rehab daily but still misses police work. Seeing a TV news image of a military veteran standing guard – without a firearm – in front of a school in the days after Sandy Hook prompted his idea.

“Being a substitute is revenue-neutral for school districts, and they can have a certified and armed police officer in their schools,” Miller says.

In recent weeks, he has filled in as a substitute – unarmed – for a few days at Fairfield and Lakota schools to familiarize himself with the job, which pays about $75 per day. He is eager to pull double duty as an armed substitute so he can also add to a school’s security.

“We have to do something,” Miller says. “Kids shouldn’t have to worry about not being safe at school, and parents shouldn’t have to worry about maybe never seeing their kid again after sending them off to school.”

Posted in: Crime, News, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones, Guns in Lakota schools, guns in schools, Lakota Local Schools, Lakota schools, Richard Jones, Sheriff Richard Jones

Sheila McLaughlin reports:

Retired Mason police officer Scott Miller and Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones at a recent press conference that proposed to put retired police officers in schools. Photo taken by Michael D. Clark.

Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones is headed soon to Washington, D.C., where he will offer his ideas on immigration reform at a meeting of the National Sheriff’s Association Immigration Committee. Here’s what he wants.

1. Our nation’s borders must be 100% secured, with the cooperation of, and agreement by, all border states. Then, continually enforce it.
2. There must be severe penalties, criminal penalties (jail time) and large civil penalties (monetary fines), for employers and companies who employ illegals. Then, enforce it.
3. The flow of illegal drugs crossing our borders must be stopped, with enforcement.
4. Welfare and other Social Services programs should not be provided for anyone who is in “Illegal” status or in the process of becoming legal. No “free cheese” until attaining legal status. Enforce it.
5. No jobs without proper work visas until attaining legal status, and cannot displace or be put ahead of U.S. Citizens. Enforce it.
6. No voting rights for non-U.S. Citizens. Enforce it.
7. No “jumping to the front of the line.” Must let those who are already in the process of becoming legal (currently doing it the “right way”) remain first in line. Then, enforce it.
8. Governors of border states, and other states being directly affected by significant “immigration issues,” must have substantial involvement in establishing any immigration reform policies.”

Jones said he’s also sending sending his wish-list to President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Speaker of the Hous, John Boehner, and Ohio Governor, John Kasich.

Posted in: Government, News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones, guns in schools, immigration reform, immigration reform Butler County, immigration reform Sheriff Richard Jones, Richard Jones, Sheriff Richard Jones

After winning the lottery, Regina Jackson wanted to buy a truckload of toilet for a local charity that provides food, clothing and other necessities for needy Butler County residents. After hearing about her story published in The Cincinnati Enquirer Jan. 10, P&G took action has agreed to donate 5,000 rolls of toilet paper in Jackson’s name. In photo, Jackson (right) and Lourdes Ward (left), CEO and executive director of Reach Out Lakota. Photo taken Jan. 17, 2013 by Adam Kiefaber.

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.

Lottery winner inspires P&G to donate toilet paper – Lottery winner Regina Jackson told The Buzz this month that she would really like to donate a truckload of toilet paper to Reach Out Lakota, a nonprofit organization that once helped her. Not knowing the best way to buy large amounts of the product, Jackson decided that she would donate cash from her $1 million prize from the Ohio Lottery New Year’s Raffle, which she will receive in February. Upon hearing Jackson’s story, Procter & Gamble was inspired to donate 5,000 rolls in her name.

Retired Mason police officer Scott Miller and Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones at last Thursday’s press conference. Photo taken by Michael D. Clark.

Sheriff Jones: Put armed retired officers in schools- Butler County school days may soon include armed substitute teachers watching over students under a proposal that is the first of its kind in Ohio, Michael D. Clark of The Cincinnati Enquirer reported last week. Under the plan announced last Thursday by Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones, retired police officers could volunteer to be trained to work in schools as substitute teachers – teaching in any of the county’s 10 school districts or private schools.

Lakota school board president won’t seek re-election – Newly appointed Lakota school board president Joan Powell announced last Monday night that she wouldn’t be running for her seat this fall. She is one of Greater Cincinnati’s longest tenured board members. The 16-year board veteran first took office in 1998 and her tenure on the board coincided with Lakota’s booming student population that has seen the Butler County district become the second largest in Southwest Ohio and the eighth largest in the state.

The Zurlinden family of Liberty Township appeared on Lifetime’s “America’s Supernanny: Family Lockdown” Jan. 15, 2013. The family had trouble blending when Jay Zurlinden, who has three young children, and Cassie Britton, who has a young boy of her own, were engaged. Photo provided.

Liberty Twp. family learns valuable lessons on ‘Supernanny’- Jay Zurlinden was losing a grip on his family. In August, Jay, 32, a professional wrestler from Liberty Township, was to marry Cassie Britton, 25, and officially welcome her 6-year-old son Brayden into his family, which consisted of three children of his own: Gabrielle, 11, Kylie, 10, and Jayden, 6. Deborah Tillman, the host of Lifetime’s “America’s Supernanny: Family Lockdown,” answered Jay’s call for help. The episode featuring the Zurlindens aired last Tuesday night.

Tri-County Heating and Cooling delivers donated coats – Tri-County Heating and Cooling recently delivered items collected during its Spread the Warmth campaign to Reach Out Lakota. The company collected winter coats and accessories this past November and December. Tri-County Heating and Cooling collected 74 jackets, 8 scarves, 15 hats, and 18 pairs of gloves for Reach Out Lakota. In addition, they are also donating $2,000 to the organization.

Trevon Broomfield. Photo provided by West Chester Police Department.

West Chester police chase ends in crash, arrest- A police chase from West Chester to Monroe with speeds exceeding 100 mph ended in a crash with injuries and an arrest overnight Tuesday. The driver and suspect, Trevon Broomfield, 21, was taken to Atrium Medical Center in Middletown, according to West Chester police. The pursuit began about 9:30 p.m. last Tuesday when police said they received a report of a 2005 Nissan Sentra stolen from a residence.

Christ Hospital opens location in Liberty Township – The Christ Hospital Health Network opened a new location last Tuesday in Liberty Township at 7335 Yankee Road, located near the Liberty Way Exchange at I-75 and just off Butler County Veterans Highway (State Route 129). This new location offers access to outpatient heart and vascular care including a cardiovascular testing center and The Christ Hospital Physicians – Ohio Heart & Vascular.

Dates changed for the Weightlifting National Championships - USA Weightlifting officials changed the dates for the 2013 USA Weightlifting National Championships, which will be held at the Cincinnati Marriott North in West Chester. The event will be held Aug. 2-4, instead of the previously scheduled dates of July 25-28. USA Weightlifting provided photo. The date change was made in late December, but was reported by the Buzz last week.

Lakota East junior OL Jarrett LaRubbio adds offer – Lakota East junior offensive lineman Jarrett LaRubbio was offered by Kent State last Wednesday, according to Lakota East coach Rick Haynes. Haynes also told Mike Dyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer that Michigan was at Lakota East High School on Wednesday and is interested in LaRubbio.

Posted in: Crime, News, Schools |

Tags: Tags: America’s Supernanny: Family Lockdown, America’s Supernanny: Family Lockdown episode 2, Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones, Cassie Britton, Deborah Tillman, Deborah Tillman Supernanny, Dragonfly Foundation, guns in schools, Jay Zurlinden, Ohio lottery, Ohio Lottery Regina Jackson, Regina Jackson, Regina Jackson Lottery, Richard Jones, Sheriff Richard Jones, Supernanny, Trevon Broomfield, West Chester Police, West Chester Police chase, West Chester Police Department

Michael D. Clark reports:

Butler County school days may soon include armed substitute teachers watching over students under a proposal that is the first of its kind in Ohio.

Under the plan announced Thursday by Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones, retired police officers could volunteer to be trained to work in schools as substitute teachers – teaching in any of the county’s 10 school districts or private schools.

Retired Mason police officer Scott Miller and Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones at Thursday’s press conference. Photo taken by Michael D. Clark.

The idea, which Jones said may be a first in the nation, would put armed, trained veteran police officers in school buildings throughout the county at no more cost than districts now pay – about $75 per day – for substitute teachers.

“I assume every school district in Ohio will be looking at this, if not the nation,” said Jones, who credited retired Mason Police Officer Scott Miller – who joined him at Thursday’s press conference – with the idea.

“It’s two for one and it’s cost effective,” Jones said.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said he expects many of Ohio’s 614 public school districts and hundreds of private schools to consider it.

“It’s a decision to be made by each local school district but I think some will approach it,” DeWine said. “If I was on a school board I’d think of having someone in that school who was a trained person … who had access to a gun in the school.”

Lakota school parent Wendy Goldfinger likes the idea.

“I’ve heard enough stories in other states where a principal or somebody in a school with a gun stopped a shooting, so I would not be opposed to this,” she said.

But another Lakota school parent, John Trygier, has reservations.

“I don’t know that this is the magic answer,” he said. “What precautions will (substitutes) be taking and what training will they have?”

If approved by Butler County school boards districts, the program could be in place later this school year. Jones said officials at two public districts and one private school have initially agreed to the plan, but he declined to name them. (more…)

Posted in: News, Schools |

Tags: Tags: Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones, guns in schools, Richard Jones, Sheriff Richard Jones

Janice Morse reports

This year, even the pot plants are puny.

That’s what Butler County Sheriff Rick Jones said Tuesday after his agency’s annual marijuana sweep found pot plants “considerably smaller than in years past.”

Jones thinks this summer’s drier-than-normal conditions affected this year’s crop of marijuana. “I guess the current drought we are experiencing is not just hurting our legitimate, hard-working farmers,” he said in a news release.

In a program the Ohio Attorney General’s Office supports, trained spotters aboard the sheriff’s helicopter looked for marijuana plants and directed officers on the ground to fields where pot was growing, the sheriff’s office said.

Officials found the contraband crop growing in seven different locations, yielding more than 80 marijuana plants. Officers cut them down and confiscated them.

Investigations were continuing to gather evidence that could lead to charges against whomever was “farming” the pot plants, police said. Often, property owners are unaware that their land was being used to support this type of cash crop, the sheriff’s office said.

This summer’s drought has been the most widespread across the U.S. since 1956, federal agencies said in mid-July. The hot, dry conditions have devastated corn crops to the point where dozens of counties in Indiana and Kentucky were declared natural disaster areas. Recent rainfall has brought only limited relief from the drought, the National Weather Service says.

The Louisville Courier-Journal and the Associated Press contributed.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County Sheriff's Office, Richard Jones, Rick Jones, Sheriff Richard Jones, Sheriff Rick Jones

Jennifer Edwards Baker reports

A woman who tried to climb a fence around the Butler County jail in an attempt to get inside got her wish over the weekend when she was arrested.

Tiffany Hurd. Photo provided by the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.

A corrections officer saw her on the ground and tried unsuccessfully to get her to leave. The officer suspected the woman was intoxicated.

She was booked into the jail about 8 a.m. on misdemeanor charges of criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.

This is the first time anyone has tried to get into the jail by trespassing, sheriff’s officials said.

Sheriff Rick Jones mentioned the incident on his Twitter account Sunday, tweeting: “Prisoner arrested trying (t0) get back (into) jail. … She got her wish. Not the norm. Got it backwards.”

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff Richard Jones, Sheriff Richard K. Jones, Sheriff Rick Jones, Tiffany Hurd, Tiffany R. Hurd

Due to a federal grant received last month, Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones has reported that extra deputies will be on patrol this Thanksgiving season. Up to 150 total additional overtime hours have been allocated starting Friday until the end of November.

According to a release from the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, the extra patrols will provide high visibility traffic enforcement throughout the un-incorporated areas of the county, primarily targeting speeders and impaired or otherwise unsafe drivers.

During federal fiscal year 2012 (which runs from Oct. 1, 2011-Sept. 30, 2012) the Sheriff’s Office was awarded a total grant of just more than $78,000 from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office. The grant monies are filtered through the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services. Those funds will be used to supplement normally scheduled patrols with overtime details during selective days/hours spread out over this federal fiscal year.

“The extra money provided through this grant is crucial to high-visibility enforcement,” Sheriff Jones said. “Our own funds are limited, and don’t allow for many extra patrol efforts. Being able to add a few extra Deputies scattered throughout the year during some selective times, and specifically targeting unsafe drivers, should make our roadways safer for everyone here in Butler County.”

To obtain more information about the Office of Criminal Justice Services and statewide efforts to improve safety on Ohio’s roadways, visit http://www.ocjs.ohio.gov.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: Butler County Sheriff's Office, Richard Jones, Sheriff Richard Jones