DaytonDailyNews: Dayton, Ohio, news and information

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

Home > Blogs > Butler County News and Issues > Archives > 2010 > May

May 2010

On immigration - A recap from the ‘war zone’

By Josh Sweigart | Monday, May 31, 2010, 03:11 PM

This should be our final installment in a series on immigration reform and Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones’ and state Rep. Courtney Combs’, R-Hamilton, trip out west to see the problem first-hand:

BISBEE, Ariz. — The frustration is palpable. It’s on the faces of ranchers who work within arm’s reach of loaded rifles for their own safety, and who shake their heads when they talk about the effectiveness of the U.S. Border Patrol.

Some of them work in fear after a rancher was shot to death on his property in March by a suspected illegal immigrant.

The problem is visible: hidden cameras show hundreds of people streaming through the desert on a regular basis. Some carry what police say are 80-pound bundles of marijuana; others are young males and females looking for a better life.

The next day, piles of water bottles and backpacks litter the ranches in spots where they stopped to rest. On Monday, May 25, the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office picked up yet another dead body just two miles from the border.

The fear is audible: in the words of Hispanic residents afraid an over-reaction will lead to a police state, where they can be harassed simply for being Hispanic.

And the motivation for the immigrants is understandable. Those from Mexico said wages there are as low as $5 a day. If they can find a job.

All this makes the solution elusive. A recently passed Arizona law that gives local police and deputies new powers in enforcing immigration laws, and makes being in the country illegally a state crime, has met opposition.

Some fear it will open the door to racial profiling, though the measure was amended to say law enforcement “may not solely consider race, color or national origin in implementing” it.

Others worry about the cost to local police budgets, and undermining the trust the Hispanic community has in law enforcement.

These fears and frustrations from Cochise County, Ariz. are emerging in Butler County, Ohio, more than 1,000 miles from the steel fence that lines the desert border.

Jackrabbits, rattlesnakes and drug smugglers

The two counties are vastly different, but the sheriffs of both agree that something must be done to stem illegal immigration.

Of the 556,041 people arrested last year trying to enter the country illegally, 17 percent had a prior criminal history, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

“The question has always been, how many get away? There’s no way of knowing,” said Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever, who estimates it could be five times the number that are caught.

Roughly half of them enter the country in the Tucson sector, which includes Cochise.

Dever is an archetypical western sheriff with his white hat, boots and a calm, unwavering voice. His county covers more than 6,000 square miles and shares an 82-mile border with Mexico, much of it populated only by “jackrabbits, antelope or a rattlesnake or two, drug smugglers and people smugglers,” he said.

In his 14 years as sheriff, Dever has seen the drug smugglers and “coyotes” — human traffickers who often exploit those they’re transporting — get more sophisticated. “Virtually everybody that comes through here now has a guide,” he said.

And he’s glad that Arizona’s new law has launched a national debate about an issue he faces every day.

“I’m glad to see the conversation and the dialogue elevated to the level it needs to be,” he said.

The problem

Ten miles of various types of fence. Floodlights. Five camera towers. More than 100 ground sensors that can detect foot traffic. A road along the fence allowing Border Patrol to cruise in at up to 70 mph.

And still, untold numbers of people get through the 10-mile border John Ladd’s cattle ranch shares with Mexico just outside of Bisbee.

Since he had a dozen cameras hidden on his property, Ladd said the Border Patrol is finally stepping up its work in the two-mile stretch around his home. Plus, the patrol is less likely to smash his fences and accidentally kill his cattle.

“You don’t need immigration reform. Reform Border Patrol,” Ladd said.

The 14,000-acre San Jose Ranch, just outside of Bisbee, shares a 10-mile border with Mexico. Ladd estimates roughly half a million people have been arrested trying to cross the border on his property in the last 15 years. It didn’t used to be this bad, said Ladd, whose family has run the cattle ranch for four generations.

“We didn’t lock our doors until we had a little (Mexican) girl camped out in our living room,” he said.

She was 19, Ladd said. He called the Border Patrol, but they told him to call the sheriff’s office. He didn’t feel like dealing with criminal charges. So he gave her some water and sent her on her way.

Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones was upset when he saw the footage from Ladd’s cameras and heard the frustration with the Border Patrol.

“They’re having to do it themselves, and it makes me angry,” Jones said. “It doesn’t seem like the government is willing to fix it.”

Sheriff Dever agreed. Cameras and fences don’t stop people, he said — the fence “slows grandma and grandpa down, it slows the little children down. But it doesn’t stop them” — what’s needed are people.

“We want to see Border Patrol (on the border),” Dever said.

They don’t generally blame the agents for the inaction. They blame Washington, D.C.

The politics

President Barack Obama and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are saying they may not take those arrested under a law such as Arizona’s.

But under increasing pressure to do something since the state law was passed, Obama announced this week he’ll send up to 1,200 National Guard troops to the border, and will request $500 million for border protection and law enforcement.

Meanwhile, many are attempting to pressure Arizona financially with a boycott of vacations or products made in the state. This includes the mayor of Columbus, who barred city employees from attending any training in Arizona.

Dan Finck, co-owner of the Copper Queen Hotel in Bisbee, said his business is on par with previous seasons, despite the boycott. In fact, two women there cancelled a trip to San Diego to come to Bisbee because of the law. “We were going to the ocean, the beach,” said Oregon resident Angie Pedro.

The implications of Arizona’s new law are unclear, and elements are being tested in court. But in the meantime, the state has become a flashpoint in this heated issue.

“Our national network of activists have been working overtime trying to help the state of Arizona and the brave Arizonans who have passed this bill,” said William Gheen, president of the national Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee. “We will not stop until all states are protected from invasion as required by the US Constitution.”

On the local level, Cochise County politics are very different from Butler. Unlike highly conservative Butler County, Cochise is about evenly split between registered Democrats and Republicans.

And the two are generally united on the issue of increasing enforcement of the border.

“Almost everybody, I think, to even the most liberal thinkers, agree the border needs to be secure,” Dever said. “The problem doesn’t know party lines.”

Police chiefs concerned

The main disagreement arises over what to do with the millions of people already in the country illegally, and how immigration laws should be enforced miles from the border.

The city council of Bisbee, a liberal enclave in Cochise County, recently voiced its opposition to Arizona’s new law. It joined other cities across the state.

And police chiefs in major cities across the country have blasted the law as an unfunded mandate that could make legal and illegal Hispanics less likely to cooperate with police and report crimes for fear of being investigated themselves.

Hamilton Police Chief Neil Ferdelman said it’s too early to tell what kind of impact such a law would have on his department, and its relationship with the community. “We’are as tight as I have ever seen us in terms of the number of employees our agency has,” Ferdelman said. “My concern is that if someone is going to give me increased responsibility, I need increased resources to meet them.”

Despite Hamilton police’s efforts to gain the trust of the Hispanic community, “They don’t call the police, because the first thing they say is they need to see ID,” said a Hamilton man who said he was a naturalized U.S. citizen from Mexico.

Jones, whose office is already facing a $2 million revenue shortfall this year, said the cost of enforcing such a law would be no more than the current cost of dealing with illegal immigrants.

There are an estimated 14 million illegal immigrants already in the United States. National polls say most people favor the Arizona law, and an overwhelming majority agree some kind of reform is needed.

National leaders such as U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., have said it’s unlikely the Democrat-controlled Congress will take the issue up before midterm elections this year.

In the meantime, Combs and Jones are forging ahead with plans to put a statewide initiative for an Ohio law like Arizona’s on the ballot. The soonest it could go before voters is next year.

“The citizens of this great state are very capable and can decide for themselves on what is happening in Ohio; and how they want to prevent or stop the drugs, the human smuggling, the violence, and the jobs being taken and many other issues created by the illegal’s presence in Ohio,” Jones said in a statement after returning from a tour of Cochise.

‘It’s a war zone’

“It scared the hell out of me,” Rancher Roger Barnett said of the March 27 killing of neighbor and fellow rancher Robert Krentz. “I was expecting them to shoot me first like that.”

Barnett made national news when he detained 16 Mexican nationals on his property while waiting for the Border Patrol to pick them up, and now faces a $32-million lawsuit for allegedly violating their civil rights.

Krentz, on the other hand, stayed clear of those crossing his property. But he always carried a loaded gun, Barnett said. He and his dog were both found shot to death near his truck on his 34,000-acre ranch.

“He said keep your hand on your gun and be ready to use it, because you might need to,” Barnet said. “It’s a war zone.”

No arrests have been made in the Krentz killing, but Dever said they may be close. “There was no visible or apparent reason for the killing,” Dever said. “There was no drugs involved, no confrontation.”

“We tracked the guy southbound to the border and that’s all we know,” Dever said. “The highest probability…is that it was either a people or a drug smuggler.”

In the Cochise County community of Portal, Ariz. one in four homeowners were burglarized last year, on average. All of the 53 burglaries reported last year in this collection of 200 homes are attributed to illegal immigrants by the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies say they can tell because of the items stolen: food, water, clothing. Big-screen televisions are left behind.

Through March this year, Cochise County sheriff’s office officials said, there have been two homicides, five robberies and 22 burglaries reported in Cochise that are attributed to immigrant traffic.

The Butler County Sheriff’s Office doesn’t track crimes by immigration status. But records do show it arrested 68 people last year who were foreign-born, had no Social Security numbers and were thus turned over to immigration authorities.

Some of those people came to Butler County from Cochise, according to Jones. And they bring drugs and crime with them, he said.

Combs said this is why a problem more than 1,000 miles away is important to Butler County.

“It’s not the workers, and the people that are struggling for survival, it’s the drug lords and the drugs. They are poisoning our children,” Combs said. “They are destroying our youth, and basically that pipeline is right here.”

Permalink | Comments (9) | Post your comment | Categories: Immigration

On immigration - “United States citizen?”

By Josh Sweigart | Monday, May 31, 2010, 03:10 PM

COCHISE COUNTY, Ariz. — “United States citizen?” the Border Patrol agent asked, his eyes darting into the back of the car and passenger seat. He didn’t ask for identification, but accepted the answer, “Yes, sir.”

“Have a good day,” he responded.

The checkpoint was more than 50 miles north of the Mexican border on Highway 80, just south of the town of Benson in Chochise County, Ariz.

More than 1,000 miles away, Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones wants his deputies to have the power to ask the same question.

Jones and state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton, spent several days this week touring that part of the U.S. border with Mexico where roughly half of the arrests of those trying to cross take place.

Their goal is a bill in Ohio that “mirrors” a controversial Arizona measure requiring local officers to question anyone detained in the enforcement of another law about his or her immigration status if there’s reasonable suspicion that person is in the country illegally.

If Combs and Jones are successful, the conflicts and concerns of Cochise County may mirror what’s soon to come to Butler County.

Those include the feelings voiced by Julie Gamez while having lunch in the Country Kitchen Cafe in Benson, who said there’s “definitely parts of that bill that will profile people.”

And a Hamilton man who said he’s a naturalized U.S. citizen from Mexico and fears that if such a law passed in Ohio: “A lot of people will be hurt…because of our skin and our hair.”

Proponents of the law point out it expressly forbids racial profiling, and was amended to allow police to only stop people in the process of enforcing other laws.

And if nothing is done, Combs and Jones say the crime and violence routinely attributed to illegal immigrants in Arizona will also soon mirror Butler County.

“We’ve actually traced our drugs back to this county,” Jones said while in Cochise. “We’ve traced people that were from here.”

Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Immigration

On immigration - Sheriff finds only supporters, doesn’t look very hard

By Josh Sweigart | Tuesday, May 25, 2010, 07:59 PM

BISBEE, Ariz. — Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones and state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton, almost went three days in Arizona without speaking to anyone opposed to the state’s new immigration laws.

This has emboldened them as they seek a law in Ohio that mirrors that measure.

But while polls show widespread support for the law across the country, it’s not hard to find opponents in Arizona. It just depends on whom you ask.

Combs and Jones did not talk to the city council of Bisbee, the Cochise County seat and the city where they stayed, and one group that has voiced opposition to the law. They also didn’t meet with any leaders of the Hispanic community, or any outspoken opponents.

Opponents of the Arizona bill — which requires local police and deputies to question people suspected of being in the country illegally — fear it will open the door to racial profiling.

“I already know the other side,” Jones said. “We came to meet with people that are proponents (of the bill), we already know the other side’s version.”

“I wanted to talk to the people that live it,” he said.

They did meet with Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever, whose deputies routinely find the bodies of would-be immigrants in the desert and whose office is investigating the murder of a rancher in March by a suspected illegal immigrant.

They met with ranchers whose property run along the border and who find piles of trash illegal immigrants leave behind. Some of them fear for their lives.

Much of the frustration voiced by Dever and the ranchers is directed at the U.S. Border Patrol, which they say is not doing its job. Combs and Jones did not meet with that agency, either, because Border Patrol would not approve their visit to a border station in Douglas even though tours are common.

“What do they got to hide?” Combs asked.

Permalink | Comments (23) | Post your comment | Categories: Immigration

On immigration - ‘It’s worse’

By Josh Sweigart | Tuesday, May 25, 2010, 07:57 PM

BISBEE, Ariz — “It’s worse than the last time I was here,” said Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones.

He was summing up a three-day tour ending Tuesday, May 25, of Arizona, including part of the U.S. border that sees roughly half of the arrests of those trying to enter the country illegally.

It’s unknown how small of a fraction that is of those who actually make it.

The trip strengthened his and state Rep. Courtney Combs’ resolve in calling for Ohio’s local law enforcement to get increased powers in enforcing immigration laws, as they may soon in Arizona under a new law.

It was their second visit to the area since 2007.

“It appears that the violence, the breaking and entering has gotten worse,” Jones said. “And I feel that it’s between despair from a lot of the people that live here on the border, and maybe just a little bit of anarchy where they’re going to start taking care of themselves.”

Combs and Jones met with Cochise County’s sheriff, local ranchers and immigration reform advocates.

They also polled 11 people, purportedly at random. These included business owners, tourists and residents in Bisbee, the Cochise County seat. Nine sided with the Arizona bill, one was unsure.

Only one, who they talked to at breakfast Tuesday only hours before they left, said he opposed it. He said it would be ineffective, and said what’s really needed is increased border protection.

“We haven’t talked to one person that is pro-open border, thinks (the current situation) is a good thing, is happy with the way the federal government is doing their job,” said Combs, a Republican from Hamilton.

Combs and Jones paid for the trip with their own money, and may reimburse the expenses from their campaign accounts. They said they turned down offers from private citizens and advocate groups to fund the trip.

“There’s no taxpayer dollars,” Combs said.

Combs and Jones said they hope to have a statewide issue on Ohio’s ballot next year that “mirrors” Arizona’s law, unless the federal government does something about the issue first.

Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Immigration

On immigration - A glimpse of Butler County’s future?

By Josh Sweigart | Monday, May 24, 2010, 10:33 PM

COCHISE COUNTY, Ariz. — Sheriff Larry Dever didn’t want to enforce immigration laws. That’s the federal government’s responsibility he said.

But the piles of trash, the theft of water from homes near the border, the drug hauls. The murder in March of a well-known local rancher by a suspected illegal immigrant. Those he couldn’t ignore.

“I don’t have the time, the money and the resources, but it’s my problem,” he said. “If I don’t do my job, somebody’s going to do it for me and I may not like the way they’re doing it, so I need to be very, very busy.”

So he is left doing the U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement agency’s job for it. He is preparing to enforce a controversial new Arizona law — it will take effect July 29, unless legal challenges are successful — that gives his deputies the authority to question people about their immigration status if they’re detained as part of an investigation and suspected of being in the country illegally.

As chairman of the National Sheriff’s Association’s immigration committee and a border sheriff, Dever has become a national leader on the issue. He testified in Congress 5 times last year.

Dever is being joined on that stage by Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones. Jones, along with state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton, are proposing to put a statewide initiative on Ohio’s ballot next year that would “mirror” Arizona’s law. They toured the border with Dever Monday, May 24, as part of a self-funded trip to learn more about the issue.

The critics of the measure in Arizona offer a glimpse of the argument likely to come to Ohio if Combs and Jones are successful.

“We’re against it because most of the restaurants and hotels and everything, the ones who do the work are Mexicans,” said a woman at Beto’s Mexican Food. The restaurant is across the street from the city hall of Bisbee, Cochise’s county seat.

“The job the Americans don’t want to do, that’s the work they (Mexicans) do,” she said, declining to give her name. “They just want a better life for their families.”

The Hispanic woman said she is a legal citizen, but she is afraid of police harassment. “They see us driving and they stop us, they’re going to ask us for our ID or green card or papers.”

Dever said there will absolutely be no racial profiling. “Law enforcement officers in Arizona are going to go way over the top the other way,” he said.

He said the criteria his deputies will use for enforcing the law will be the same as any other. If he sees a suspicious car, for example, and runs the plates and finds it’s registered to a while male but being driven by a Hispanic male, that is a red flag, he said.

“If you go to basic law enforcement training you get the same language you see in this bill. Reasonable suspicion. Probable cause,” he said. “Is race an element of that, not in and of itself. Does race come into play, of course it does.”

The new law could be a drain on Dever’s $22 million budget, he admits. But studies have found illegal immigration already saps 37 percent of the criminal justice budget in the state, he said. And that’s only the cost that’s known.

“What’s the cost to the quality of life? What’s the cost to the general publid?” he asked.

Dever doesn’t believe the new law has or will create a rift or distrust between law enforcement and the Hispanic community — which comprises nearly a third of the county’s population.

“They know us better than that. We know them better than that.” He said.

The woman at Beto’s agrees that the Hispanic community trusts local law enforcement. But she fears the reasoning that they’ll only be pulled over in the process of enforcing other laws “is just an excuse to stop you.”

Ultimately, Dever said he still doesn’t want to enforce immigration laws. He hopes the new law — and ones like it being considered by 17 other states, including Combs’ and Jones’ measure — will force the federal government to increase border security.

“We’re fully engaged, and we’ll remain so until the feds step up to the plate,” he said.

Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Immigration

On immigration — Combs, Jones visit the border, talk to Arizona rancher

By Josh Sweigart | Monday, May 24, 2010, 10:18 PM

COCHISE COUNTY, Ariz — The vertical steel poles are about four feet high and spaced just wide enough apart for a jackrabbit to slip through. Cross-slats provide easy footing, and it’s topped with a corrugated steel plate another few feet high.

“I think I could climb that,” Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones said of the fence separating Arizona from Mexico.

If he had, there wasn’t a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent in sight to stop him. And if he had crossed over from Mexico, it would only be a three-mile hike through dry buffelgrass and mesquite scrub before possibly meeting a waiting van at the highway.

Jones wouldn’t be the first. Roughly 500,000 people have been arrested trying to make that trek through this exact same stretch of fence in the last 15 years, according to rancher John Ladd, who owns the property.

There were 14,000 illegal immigrants arrested over just six months in 2003 in one little clump of trees that’s popular with those that lead the human smugglers across.

“It’s a landmark for them to go down to the trees and you got two miles to the highway, Ladd said. “If they make it, they make it. If they get caught, they volunteer for deportation…and try it again the same day.”

He has hidden camera video of them doing it. Young men run at a trot with vacuum-packed, 80-pound blocks of marijuana slung over their shoulders. The videos show teenage-looking males and females carrying water and clothes. Many of those bottles, backpacks and sweatshirts are left littering his property.

The 14,000-acre San Jose Ranch, just outside of Bisbee, shares a 10-mile border with Mexico. It didn’t used to be this bad, said Ladd, whose family has run the cattle ranch for four generations.

“We didn’t lock our doors until we had a little (Mexican) girl camped out in our living room,” he said.

The girl was 19, Ladd said. He called Border Patrol, but they told him to call the sheriff’s office. He didn’t feel like dealing with criminal charges. So he gave her some water and sent her on her way, maybe all the way to Ohio.

Ladd supports a new Arizona law giving local law enforcement new powers in enforcing federal immigration laws. Because he said the Border Patrol is not doing the job.

“The good thing is the illegal people are going to think twice about coming to Arizona,” he said. “I put up with all these people that end up in the cities, and if they’re tired of it, they need to put up the same law.”

This is what Jones and state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton, have proposed to do in Ohio, and why they toured the ranch Monday, May 24, as part of a self-funded trip.

Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Immigration

On immigration - Issue is personal to some, about personal safety to others

By Josh Sweigart | Sunday, May 23, 2010, 10:50 PM

COCHISE COUNTY, ARIZ. — Sure, immigration is a political issue. And a national issue. And a law enforcement issue.

But it’s also a “personal issue” for Julie Gamez, whose mother immigrated legally from Mexico when she was 3-years-old. She worked hard to do it, Gamez said.

“(My mother) would be very disappointed if people didn’t go through the correct route,” said Gamez, as she ate a homestyle meal at the Country Kitchen Café in the town of Benson Sunday afternoon, May 23.

The restaurant sits on a desolate stretch of road in Cochise County, surrounded by scrub and dry earth extending to the horizon. It’s just a few minutes down the highway from one of many border checkpoints along the highways miles from the border.

Gamez’s feelings are mixed about Arizona’s new law giving local law enforcement new powers in arresting and detaining illegal immigrants. She said there are “definitely parts of that bill that will profile people.”

The Arizona law requires police to question people about their immigration status if there’s reason to suspect they’re in the country illegally, and it makes it a state crime to be in the U.S. illegally.

Opponents say this will open the door to racial profiling. Proponents say it’s meant to catch criminals, and does nothing to undo strong laws against profiling.

The law has resonated across the country, and advocates in 17 states are calling for similar measures. In Ohio, Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones and state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton, are leading the charge.

The two visited Cochise County Sunday, and met with local immigration reform advocate Francis McWilliams who talked about the unknown, but presumably massive, number of illegal immigrants with criminal backgrounds who enter the country every year through this area.

Columbus resident Donna Ventura sported an Ohio State T-shirt as she walked off her plane in Tucson Sunday. She came to see her niece’s graduation, and didn’t think anything of a protest boycott of Arizona called for by, among many others, the mayor of Columbus.

But she doesn’t want any such law coming to Ohio. Ventura said she doesn’t support a law that treats people differently based on their appearance.

“The existing laws need to be enforced,” Venture said. She said she was of Italian descent, and “I could be a little tanner, and someone would ask me (for my papers).”

Ventura said she had heard that Butler County’s sheriff and a local lawmaker were trying to pass a law in Ohio similar to Arizona’s.

“They need to do something, but that’s kind of crazy,” she said.

Back in Benson, a few tables down from Gamez, Jodeen and Wayne Boncquet finished their lunches. They support the new law.

They said the immigration issue, for them, isn’t about jobs. It isn’t about “the little citizen who’s trying to get over here to feed their families,” in Jodeen’s words.

“(People here) are worried about the drug dealers and terrorists,” she said.

“It’s not about racist things, it’s about protecting our borders and keeping people safe,” she said. “As long as we have the law enforcement to do it, we should do it.”

Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Immigration

On immigration - Sheriff, Ohio lawmaker meet with Arizona immigration reform advocate

By Josh Sweigart | Sunday, May 23, 2010, 10:42 PM

COCHISE COUNTY, ARIZ. — There were 556,041 people arrested last year attempting to enter the country illegally, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Of that number, 17 percent had a prior criminal history.

More of them enter the country here than any other part of the border, according to the Border Patrol.

“This is where they catch more per square inch than any other sector,” said Francis McWilliams, a retired accountant and immigration reform advocate who met with Butler County’s sheriff and a Hamilton lawmaker Sunday, May 23, to explain to them the enormity of the issue.

“This is the Big Apple of illegal immigration,” said McWilliams, who has lived in Mexico and adopted two children from Guatemala.

But what frustrates McWilliams more than these numbers are the multitude that aren’t caught. No one knows how many there are, but some estimate it’s four to five times the number that’s caught.

To explain this, McWilliams has a wooden puzzle. A small arrow represents the number caught, with a small sector of it representing those with criminal histories. It’s inset into a much larger arrow, with a much larger number of criminals — an unknown quantity.

Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones and state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton, absorbed McWilliams words. And his call for a reserve Border Patrol that could militarize the border and stem the tide.

McWilliams admits it has been a quixotic call, so far.

“There’s not really resolve to resolve this thing (in Washington),” he said.

Combs and Jones are trying to force that resolve by calling for Ohio to pass a statewide ballot initiative that would mirror a controversial Arizona law allowing local deputies and police to enforce immigration laws.

They are among advocates in 17 states now calling for such a measure, and are visiting the borderland this week to learn more about the issue.

Though his deputies only arrested 68 people last year suspected of being in the country illegally, Jones said the issue impacts Butler County.

“We’re seeing more drugs and more marijuana coming in from Mexico than we’ve seen before,” Jones said.

Combs said his main goal in pushing for the measure is to force the federal government’s hand.

McWilliams said he supports new law, if for no other reason than it has forced the federal government to focus on an issue he said federal lawmakers have stayed intentionally ignorant of.

“I think this subject has brought this whole issue of border insecurity into focus,” he said. “The problem is no one understands what happens here on the border, no one understands,” he said.

Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Immigration

On immigration - A conversation at the Tucson airport

By Josh Sweigart | Sunday, May 23, 2010, 01:44 PM

I have arrived at the Tucson airport, preparing to tour the U.S. borderland with Mexico this week to talk to people about immigration reform.

I have already found one Ohioan who didn’t even consider a boycott of Arizona proposed by the opponents of Arizona’s controversial new immigration law. But she doesn’t want any such law coming to Ohio.

Columbus resident Donna Ventura sported an Ohio State T-shirt as she walked off her plane in Tucson. She came to see her niece’s graduation.

She said she doesn’t support a law that treats people differently based on their appearance. The new law requires local law enforcement to question people about their immigration status if there’s suspicion they’re in the country illegally, and makes being in the country illegally a state crime. Some say that opens the door to racial profiling.

“The existing laws need to be enforced,” Venture said. She said she was of Italian descent, and “I could be a little tanner, and someone would ask me (for my papers).”

Ventura, 62, said she had heard that Butler County’s sheriff and a local lawmaker were trying to pass a law in Ohio similar to Arizona’s.

“They need to do something, but that’s kind of crazy,” she said.

But a boycott — as has been instituted by Columbus mayor Michael Coleman, who barred city employees from attending training in Arizona — isn’t a good idea either, she said.

Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Immigration

On immigration - I’m headed for the border

By Josh Sweigart | Sunday, May 23, 2010, 09:23 AM

I’m in the Dallas, Texas airport as I write this. Woke up early and boarded a plane for Arizona.

I’ll be tagging along this week as Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones and state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton, tour the Arizona border with Mexico. It will be a fact-finding trip on the topic of immigration.

I’ll be assessing the issue of illegal border crossings first-hand, and talking to people about the newly signed law giving local law enforcement the ability to enforce federal immigration laws. Combs and Jones want Ohio to adopt a similar law.

I hope to find people on all sides of the issue. Everyone from the border area I’ve talked to in preparing for the trip says it should be eye-opening.

I should note, since several people have asked: I asked Combs, and he told me they are financing the trip with their own money.

I hope to blog as the trip unfolds, but I don’t know what my Internet access will be.

What questions do you have for the people of Arizona?

Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Immigration

Sheriff Tweeting on Mexico president’s visit

By Josh Sweigart | Friday, May 21, 2010, 01:00 PM

A couple of Tweets from Sheriff Richard K. Jones today:

It’s disgusts me that the Mex Prez comes to USA and lectures 2 our people while our border is overrun with drugs, murderers, and kidnappings

and

mexico president should apologize at once.

Permalink | Comments (16) | Post your comment | Categories: Butler County Sheriff's Department

Arkansas shooting may have ties to Middletown, white-supremacy

By Josh Sweigart | Friday, May 21, 2010, 11:47 AM

Fox 19 is reporting a shooting in Arkansas may have ties to a church in Middletown.

A public records investigation by the station found that a shooting in Arkansas could be linked to a White supremacist group here in Ohio, the station is reporting.

The records link the van used in the shooting to the House of God’s Prayer, which has an address in New Vienna, Ohio. Clinton County records show that property is owned by the Universal Life of the Good Shepherd Church, which has an address in Middletown, the station is reporting.

The station says New Vienna was the home of the Jesus Christ Christian Church led by a self proclaimed white supremacist.

Butler County records show the Middletown property owned by Hoge and Mary Tabor, the station reports. Tabor told Fox 19 reporters that he owns the New Vienna property, but then hung up the phone.

Here is a story about the shooting from the Associated Press:

WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. — Two West Memphis police officers were shot and killed Thursday during a traffic stop along a busy cross-country interstate highway. The local sheriff and his chief deputy were wounded in a later shootout that left a pair of suspects dead.

The officers killed were Brandon Paudert and Bill Evans. Paudert is the son of West Memphis police chief Bob Paudert. The younger Paudert was assigned to the police department’s drug unit but it wasn’t immediately known why the officers pulled over a white van with Ohio plates.

At a news conference outside a Memphis, Tenn., hospital, Memphis Safety Director Larry Godwin said Crittenden County Sheriff Richard Busby and his chief deputy were wounded during a shootout with the suspects. A spokesman at the Regional Medical Center said Busby’s condition was undetermined while Deputy W.A. Wren was in critical condition.

Busby and Wren shot at the suspects in a Wal-Mart parking lot near the intersection of Interstates 40 and 55 in West Memphis. Both highways are major cross-country interstates.

Here is a video report from the AP:

Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: National issues

County facing another $4 million shortfall

By Josh Sweigart | Friday, May 21, 2010, 11:23 AM

The optimism didn’t pan out. And now Butler County commissioners have to sharpen up their budget axes yet again.

The county is facing a roughly $4 million budget deficit this year, according to county Management and Budget Director Pete Landrum. Commissioners are meeting Monday, May 24, to discuss cuts.

The shortfalls include a $2 million shortfall in paid prisoners at the county jail, and a $377,409 drop in property tax revenues because of declining property values amid recession.

Plus the county is facing roughly $700,000 in unbudgeted expenditures, including payments to the Miami Conservancy District that had to come out of the county’s general fund after county officials determined they were improperly collecting the money from homeowners.

Here is an overview of the budget deficit:

Budget Info 5-21-10

Analysis:

Landrum said the county needs a new budget in place quickly. “A delay in action will result in lower fund levels, which then would maybe cause an even deeper cut,” he said.

He added that county officials will go to Chicago in mid-July to have their bond rating adjusted.

“If nothing is in place by that time, I would say there would be a good probability of a reduction in our bond rating,” he said.

It would be difficult to make cuts without cutting personnel. Only $46.2 million of the county’s budget can be cut while providing state-mandated services and keeping the buildings standing, Lanrum said. “We’re at the rock bottom of those types of things,” he said.

Of the money they can cut, 93.3 percent is employee salaries and benefits.

And if the county dips into its $9.7 million cash reserves to make up the difference, as it has in previous budget shortfalls, it could deplete that fund to “critical” levels, Landrum said.

The $85.3 million 2010 budget commissioners adopted last year — after dozens of layoffs and millions of dollars in cuts — was the “most optimistic” of budget scenarios before them.

In order to make it balance, they pulled $900,000 from the county’s cash reserves and banked on increased prisoner boarding revenues promised by Sheriff Richard K. Jones. Instead, the sheriff has had to lay off deputies and corrections officers.

The average of 400 prisoners the sheriff hoped to have at the county jail, paid for by other jurisdictions, is averaging only 230 — many local, meaning the county makes no money from them. This is because other counties and agencies are also cutting back, Jones has said.

Landrum said when the optimistic option was proposed, “That was stated loud and clear that if things didn’t come to pass, there was going to be further action taken.”

Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: County budget

Local business owner joins Boehner in stand against ‘Obamacare’

By Josh Sweigart | Thursday, May 20, 2010, 04:59 PM

Press release from office of U.S. Rep. John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp.:

Eighth Congressional District small business operators joined Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) and other House Republicans today for a press conference to discuss the destructive effect President Obama’s new health care law is having on their ability to create new jobs for Americans who are out of work.

“Washington Democrats claim the new health care law is lowering costs and creating jobs, but the reality outside the Beltway is that it is doing neither. No one has better first-hand knowledge of the destructive effects of the new health care law than our small business owners,” Boehner said. “Neither the President nor Speaker Pelosi has ever run a small business. I have. If the President is serious about creating jobs, we need to repeal this job-killing health care law and replace it with common-sense reforms that will help small businesses thrive.”

Tyeis Baker-Baumann, President of Rebsco, Inc., in Greenville called the law a “logistical nightmare” for small businesses like hers and voiced support for the efforts of the National Federation of Independent Business and 20 states to overturn it. “Small businesses today don’t need more uncertainty. And we certainly don’t need higher costs, more taxes, and more paperwork. These things destroy jobs,” Baker-Baumann said. “What I and other small businesses need from Washington is the freedom to do what we do best: run and try to grow our business and create jobs.”

Todd Wilber, Vice President of CTI Restaurants, which employs hundreds of Ohioans in the northern Cincinnati area at its Taco Bell and UNOs restaurants, said one provision alone in the new law could cost his small business an estimated $250,000 in new taxes.

“I don’t know how we are going to stay in business - let alone think about retaining employees or hiring new ones,” Wilber said. “At a time when Ohio’s unemployment rate is 11 percent, the President’s health care law is only going to make it harder on people who might not have a lot going for them, but are just looking for someone to give them a chance.”

Permalink | Comments (11) | Post your comment | Categories: National issues

Jolivette gets support for dispatch merger study

By Josh Sweigart | Thursday, May 20, 2010, 10:58 AM

After pushing for years for Butler County to consider consolidating some of its emergency dispatch centers, county Commission President Gregory Jolivette was able to convince his fellow commissioners to take a tiny step in that direction.

Commissioners voted unanimously today, May 20, to put out a request for proposals to determine the price of a study of the costs and benefits of merging some of the nine 911 dispatch centers across the county.

This comes as a $1.3 million bill comes due to Motorola for a one-year maintenance warranty for the county’s new 800 megahertz radio system. That cost will go up to $2.4 million next year.

The $36 million system was built with funds from a temporary. .5 percent sales tax, but the cost of maintaining it will come from the county’s recession-battered general fund.

“The dollars that came in for that are gone, and it has to come out of the general fund,” said Commissioner Donald Dixon on why he agreed to the proposal. “That’s only going to go up every year and the revenues are not there.”

“I think we missed an opportunity to save millions of dollars back when we put in the 800 mhz system,” said Jolivette, who last called for a study in 2008.

Dixon opposed the study in 2008, saying he was new to the board and not ready to decide on the issue. Commissioner Charles Furmon opposed it after a flood of criticism came from local police and fire chiefs, and the county sheriff.

Furmon said he is still opposed to “forcing any of the political entities into it.” But “I’m not opposed to going out for the information commissioner Jolivette has requested,” he said.

Once all the info is in, though, “it should be their (local governments’) call, basically,” Furmon said.

Local law enforcement leaders worried when the issue was raised before that any savings would come at a cost. They expressed concerns about the loss of dispatch staff that do other things such as answer other phone calls, enter warrants and interact with the public.

Currently, the areas with their own dispatch centers are the sheriff’s office, Hamilton, Middletown, Oxford, Monroe, Fairfield, West Chester Twp., Miami University and Trenton.

Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: County Commission

Coin toss only surprise as primary vote count certified

By Josh Sweigart | Wednesday, May 19, 2010, 01:13 PM

The quarter was decisive. It didn’t arch very high or hang in the air very long before falling back into the right palm of Board of Elections member Frank Cloud, who flipped it over onto his left wrist.

The coin toss — breaking a tie vote for Butler County Democratic Party Central Committee member — was the only moment of suspense or surprise at the election board’s meeting today, May 19, to make official the results from the May 4 primary.

The 664 absentee and provisional ballots from the primary added in since the election night tally didn’t change any winners or losers in large races. The closest contest, a school levy for the Edgewood City School District, was defeated by 18 votes, two votes too many to trigger an automatic recount.

“Whether or not they (levy supporters) are going to order a recount we are not sure yet,” said Board of Elections Director Betty McGary. A requested recount would cost $50 per precinct.

The school board is meeting tonight to discuss whether to try again later this year.

The added ballots did settle a tie between two women running for GOP Central Committee in a precinct in Hamilton’s Lindenwald neighborhood. Kathleen Herald ended up winning that race by one vote. Another GOP tie in a Middletown precinct was settled when one of the candidates dropped out, citing health reasons.

And it created a 12-12 tie in one Hamilton precinct between Democrats Joel Fink and Ken Truman.

Fink, who is also president of the Butler County Regional Transit Authority board, attended the meeting, so he got to call heads or tails.

“I’ve decided that my tail hurts, so I’m going to call heads,” he joked before the meeting.

Both candidates are new to the party. Fink said he wants to help the party resurge locally.

“As the party that has been out of power for so long, we need to work hard and be as active and as organized as we can be,” he said.

McGary provided the coin, a 1995 quarter, and set it on the table in case anyone wanted to make sure it had George Washington on one side and a bald eagle on the other. It did.

Cloud, chairman of the local Democratic party, was given the honor of flipping it.

“Tails,” he called out. “Mr. Truman is it.”

Fink wasn’t dismayed.

“It doesn’t prevent me from still being active in the party and doing what I can to help out in the precinct,” he said.

Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Board of Elections

Butler County update - Border patrols, Board of Elections and blighted mobile homes

By Josh Sweigart | Tuesday, May 18, 2010, 09:12 AM

Three stories worth noting in our paper today:

In this story, we preview state Rep. Courtney Combs’, R-Hamilton, and Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones’ upcoming tour of Arizona’s border with Mexico. They are some of the biggest immigration reform advocates in the state.
Butler County voted yesterday to buy the dilapidated and abandoned Fairgrove Mobile Home Park. Here is that story.
As we explain in this story, the Edgewood City School District levy’s fate rests on the vote count in Preble County.

Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Butler County

Coin toss will decide local races

By Josh Sweigart | Monday, May 17, 2010, 10:08 AM

When Democracy fails to deliver a clear winner, some political contests are decided by the flip of a coin.

Gravity will deliver the tie-breaking vote this year in possibly two local races for the Butler County Republican Party’s central committee.

In one precinct in Hamilton’s Lindenwald neighborhood, two women each received 18 votes, according to final, unofficial results from the Board of Elections. A Middletown precinct ended in a 2-2 tie.

Both finalists in the Hamilton precinct are newcomers to politics.

Mary Keltner didn’t even know there was a central committee before she got involved in the Tea Party movement.

“In the shape our country is in right now, somebody’s got to step up and get involved,” she said.

She didn’t really campaign for the seat. In fact, she considered dropping out to focus more on a Tea Party push for a statewide ballot initiative to block federal health care reforms.

Not expecting her to win, her husband Lloyd didn’t vote for her. “If I’d have known (it would be a tie) I’d have voted for her,” he said.

Kathleen Herald, her opponent, did send out some postcards to her neighbors. She said she was interested in “promoting change.”

Neither woman has decided yet whether they’ll call heads or tails.

Finalist James Cottrell said he will forfeit the Middletown race because his health won’t allow him to be very involved in the party.

Board of Elections Director Betty McGary said the coin toss will take place at the board’s certification meeting after the official vote count this week. Once uncounted provisional ballots are added in, she said there could end up with more or fewer ties.

McGary said she normally supplies the coin — state law doesn’t specify which denomination — and “I place it in the center of the boardroom table to inspect it if they care to see if it is a two-sided coin.”

“It’s flipped by a board member and they let it land on its own wherever it lands,” she said.

Tie votes are not unheard of in central committee races, though McGary doesn’t recall it ever happening in a larger race. If it did, though, she’d break out the coin.

McGary commended the “infinite wisdom” of the lawmakers that drafted the rule, saying it’s much less “disruptive” than possible alternatives such as arm wrestling or dueling.

Central committee races usually get little attention. But this year, these candidates were among 386 people to run for the party’s 298 open seats in a super-heated election year.

The winner will vote to appoint a replacement to any elected officheholder who leaves office. That will likely include the county prosecutor, who is running unopposed for appeals court judge; and may include the clerk of courts, who is running for county commission.

Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment |

New website shows state worker, teacher pay; voting records and campaign contributions

By Josh Sweigart | Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 05:28 PM

From this story:

Want to know how much your kid’s teacher makes? Are you curious about how much your neighbor earns working for the state? Or maybe you want to know more about how your local lawmaker votes on key bills and who gives campaign contributions?

The Columbus-based Buckeye Institute just launched a website that makes it easy to search such data and more at http://buckeyeinstitute.org.

It’s a hit. In the first week, people spent close to 600 hours conducting 27,500 searches — mostly on teacher pay, according to Buckeye Institute Director Matt Mayer.

Mayer and the institute say they want to bring transparency to government so voters are better informed.

“How do I vote? Well, go to teacher salaries and see if they’re paid fairly or too much and then to the school data piece and see how they’re performing holistically. Are we getting a good bank for the buck?” Mayer said. “The key for us is let’s put the info in the hands of the voter in an easy, clickable way.”

The website pulls data from school report cards, payroll databases from the state and school districts, campaign finance reports, lobbyist filing statements, federal labor statistics, and other government sources. It’s presented in a clear, intuitive fashion.

The site includes pension calculators for teachers and state employees — giving Ohioans an estimate of how much the public employee would make in retirement and at what cost, assuming certain conditions are met.

The data isn’t perfect: It does not include data on charter school employees and some districts’ data does not include central office administrator pay.

The institute, a nonprofit funded by individual and foundation donations, hopes to add higher education salaries as well as pay for local government workers in the future.

Permalink | Comments (22) | Post your comment | Categories: Statewide issues

Combs’ animal cruelty bill passes committee

By Josh Sweigart | Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 01:18 PM

Press release from the office of state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton:

State Representative Courtney Combs (R-Hamilton) announced today the Ohio House Criminal Justice Committee voted to pass his legislation, House Bill 55, which is aimed at addressing animal cruelty.

“The current penalties for animal abuse in Ohio are no more than a slap on the wrist and do nothing to punish the abuser or prevent future acts,” Combs said. “In addition, current law does not connect the dots between children abusing animals and the potential for future violence.”

House Bill 55 would increase the penalties of cruelty to animals, require mandatory evaluation and possible therapy for minors who torture or abuse animals, and allow judges to include pets in court protection orders issued in domestic violence cases.

Last February, a three-month-old baby alpaca named Masterpiece was stolen from a farm in Butler County by two teens and one adult. According to police reports, Masterpiece was suspended in the air and severely beaten and tortured until it died. The story received national attention and was a driving force for this reform.

“Public outcry and calls for increased penalties from officials across the state have led to this demand for change. This bill will go a long way towards reducing and preventing cases of animal abuse here in Ohio,” said Combs.

Combs’ bill now moves onto the House floor for a full vote.

Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Statewide issues

Upcoming Dem, GOP party events

By Josh Sweigart | Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 09:11 AM

Two events coming up, both in Fairfield.

First, an event sponsored by the Hamilton-Fairfield Democratic Alliance:

Fundraiser for Serve City to Support Its Efforts in the Community -Serve City Believes in the Power of Second Chances

A fundraiser to support Serve City, will be held on Sunday, May 23, after the Fairfield Footlighter’s matinee production of “Grapes of Wrath”, at the Fairfield Community Center. The evening’s festivities will be held at Symmes’ Tavern on the Green. Five percent of all proceeds from the abbreviated menu that evening will be given to Serve City from Symmes Tavern on the Green, for all who bring a donated personal hygiene item or paper product to support the needs of Serve City patrons and residents. Suggested minimum donation at the door is $5.

Democratic candidates Butch Hubble and Bruce Carter were enthused about helping out with the event. “Serve City does so much for our community, in so many ways we don’t get to see. We hope that this small effort will be a big help to an organization that supports the underserved in Hamilton,” said Butch Hubble. “If our community can come together to support Serve City, with events like these, we can help people not only survive but thrive - through supporting their needed education and entrepreneurial programs that enrich their lives and in turn, the economy of the entire community,” said Bruce Carter. To purchase tickets online for the Sunday, May 23rd, 2:00pm production of “Grapes of Wrath”, go to the Fairfield Footlighters website at: http://www.fairfield-footlighters.org and dinner will be by RSVP only through Donna Mollaun at: (513) 313-9194 or via email at: tmollaun@aol.com.

Now the Republican Party:

A fundraiser for the Kasich/Taylor gubernatorial ticket

In addition to gubernatorial candidate John Kasich, we are pleased to announce our host will be Cincinnati’s own Bill Cunningham. As previously released, the event will be held at Fairfield Banquet and Convention Center, 74 Donald Dr. Fairfield, Ohio. Doors open at 5:30 pm May 19, 2010. Dinner will be served at 6:30 pm.

Admission is $125.00/person.

We ask for your support in electing John as our next governor and take back Ohio. R.S.V.P: Contact Fairfield Banquet & Convention Center for tickets. Call: (513) 829-8400

Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |

State update: The governor’s priorities

By Josh Sweigart | Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 06:30 PM

Press release from the office of Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (note that immigration is not on the list):

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today outlined priority legislation for the Ohio General Assembly to carefully consider while in session for the next several weeks.

“There is no greater need confronting Ohio’s leadership than to create jobs and grow our economy while continuing to strengthen our education system. I’m hopeful that these issues will be given top priority of the legislation introduced, considered and sent to my desk for signature in the next several weeks,” Strickland said. “These initiatives will advance job creation and continue Ohio’s commitment to education.”

The governor called for legislative action on the following initiatives from his State of the State address in January:

Elimination of the tangible personal property tax on generation for wind and solar facilities that break ground this year, create Ohio jobs, and begin producing energy by 2012.
A bipartisan foreclosure bill that will keep hard-working Ohio families in their homes, protect homeowners from housing schemes designed by Wall Street, and stabilize Ohio’s housing market to stabilize our economy.
Pass casino implementation legislation that will invest $200 million in urban workforce initiatives, including the Build Your Own Business initiative, the co-op internship program and the Ohio Workforce Guarantee program.

He is also asking the legislature to prioritize:

A bipartisan bill that will close payday lending loopholes, upholding the goal and the spirit of the initiative overwhelming supported by Ohio voters two years ago. Providing funding for Ohio’s coal permitting program to create jobs.
Renewing Enterprise Zones to spur economic growth and create jobs in Ohio’s cities and urban centers.
A veteran’s education bill to increase the number of Ohio National Guard Scholarships available to our veterans.

Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Statewide issues

Superstreet construction to begin Wednesday on Bypass Ohio 4

By Josh Sweigart | Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 05:32 PM

Press release from the Ohio Department of Transportation:

Work to construct a “superstreet” intersection at the State Route 4 Bypass and Tylersville Road will begin Wednesday, May 12.

The $11,000,812 contract was awarded to the J.R. Jurgensen Co.

Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, this project is one of several superstreet intersections planned for construction along the SR 4 Bypass corridor. A $5,093,049 contract has also been awarded to J.R. Jurgensen to construct a similar intersection at Hamilton Mason Road. A third project at Symmes Road is scheduled for construction later this summer. In addition to the work at each intersection, these projects will widen the Bypass from just south of Symmes Road to State Route 129.

During the first phase of construction at the Tylersville intersection, work will begin on the west side of the Bypass, with traffic maintained on existing lanes.

The first of this type of intersection to be constructed in Ohio, the superstreet is designed to improve safety and travel time through the SR 4 Bypass corridor, reducing delays by up to 90 percent compared to a conventional intersection. It also features fewer conflict points than a conventional intersection, reducing the number of crashes that could occur.

Upon completion of work at the three intersections, the operation of traffic on SR 4 Bypass will proceed unchanged. Traffic on Tylersville, Hamilton Mason and Symmes desiring to proceed through or left will need to turn right at the intersection to access a U-turn lane. A simulation of how a superstreet intersection works can be viewed at: http://www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/d08/Pages/default.aspx

Here is an animation of how a superstreet should work. (It takes a few seconds to get started):

Permalink | Comments (20) | Post your comment | Categories: Transportation

Sheriff settles lawsuit with man who died in custody for $700,000

By Josh Sweigart | Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 04:08 PM

Update: Here is the story on this in our paper today:

The family of a mentally challenged man who died in custody has been awarded a $700,000 settlement from Butler County.

The agreement, approved Tuesday, May 11, by probate court Magistrate Patricia Hiner, gives six of Bobbie Ray Steele’s relatives $371,923.67 of the settlement, with remainder going to lawyer’s fee, funeral reimbursements and medical bills.

Steele, 40, died Oct. 26, 2007, after deputies responded to a 911 hang-up call at his New Miami home.

The Steele family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati against Sheriff Richard Jones and the county commissioners claiming that deputies used excessive force, were not properly trained and did not provide good medical care when Steele stopped breathing during his arrest.

Deputies responded to the home after Steele allegedly struck his father, Raymond, during an argument. Officers report Steele became combative while being arrested. Once deputies succeeded in cuffing Steele, they realized he had stopped breathing. Deputies removed the cuffs and began CPR. Deputies said Steele regained a pulse, but later he was pronounced dead at Fort Hamilton Hospital.

The family said Steele’s father called 911 after a disagreement with his son, but quickly hung up, not realizing deputies would respond even if he did not speak to them. The dispute had cooled by the time law enforcement arrived, but deputies insisted on arresting Steele anyway, according to the family.

The Butler County Coroner’s Office determined that Steele’s death was complicated by an enlarged heart and liver. Sheriff’s administrators said deputies involved were put on leave during a full investigation, which concluded that the deputies acted according to policy.

“We can never replace him,” Steele’s brother Johnny Steele said after the hearing, “But he got justice today.”

Had deputies “just taken their time to understand the situation my brother wouldn’t have died that day,” he said.

Attorney Marc G. Pera said the settlement give the family closure and as a result, the sheriff’s office is receiving more training on how to deal with mentally ill and mentally challenged people.

“If there had not been a struggle, there would not have been a death here,” Pera said. “There never should have been a struggle with this man.”

The sheriff’s office admitted no fault in the case, but Jones said some department policies have changed. “Deputies are now receiving more training in dealing with people with disabilities.”

Of the settlement, $25,000 will come from county funds with the remainder paid by the insurance company.

“This is a tragedy for the family and the deputies who responded,” Jones said.

Original post:

From our media partners at Local 12 WKRC:

Today, the family of a mentally disabled man who died while in the custody is expected to receive a settlement.

Bobbie Ray Steele died after Butler County deputies sprayed him with pepper spray and left him face-down and handcuffed in 2007. His family sued the sheriff and four deputies, claiming they used excessive force and failed to provide adequate medical care.

The family says it’s receiving $700,000 in a court proceeding this afternoon. The sheriff’s office cleared the officers of any wrongdoing.

Permalink | Comments (17) | Post your comment | Categories: Butler County Sheriff's Department

Immigration update: LULAC’s response, support for reform, ballot timelines

By Josh Sweigart | Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 10:05 AM

Three immigration stories of interest, touching on Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones’ and state Rep. Courtney Combs’, R-Hamilton, efforts to push through immigration measures in Ohio.

First, the numbers and national perspective. This story outlines a study on public support for immigration reform on the national stage, and what it would mean for Democrats to take up the issue. An excerpt:

The majority of Ohioans back immigration reform and would look favorably on the Democratic party if it took up the cause — even if the debate got ugly.

That’s the result of a survey released Monday, May 10, conducted on behalf of America’s Voice, an immigration advocacy group.

The survey queried 400 voters each in Ohio, Arkansas, Missouri and Colorado, asking them about a hypothetical proposal based largely on reforms put forward by Senate Democrats.

It then subjected the plan to the harshest expected Republican attacks, as well as a Democratic defense.

“We find that at the end of the debate, there is still a solid majority of voters across these states that favor reform,” said Guy Molyneux, a partner with Hart Research, which conducted the study.

At the end, 41 percent of Ohioans and 38 percent of all respondents trusted Democrats more than Republicans on the issue of immigration, compared to 28 percent in Ohio and 24 percent at large in the beginning.

Next we move to a harsh crititism of Jones’ call for a state immigration measure that “mirrors” Arizona’s from the League of United Latin American Citizens of Ohio. Here is that story. An excerpt:

A week after Jones gathered national media attention stating he and state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton, called for legislation that “mirrors” the controversial Arizona law that makes being in the country illegally a state violation, Jason Riveiro, state director of the LULAC, sent a letter to the sheriff stating his support of the Arizona law “can only be described as a cynical and self-serving political ploy. Such actions are inappropriate. You take advantage of not merely immigrant populations, but also of the trust granted you by the very people who elected you into office.

“These actions disgrace the integrity of the office and of the position you hold as a leader in your community. You show blatant disregard for the health, well-being and long term economic stability of not only your community, but of the entire state of Ohio.”

Riveiro’s strongly rebuke of Jones’ support of a copycat anti-immigration legislation focused on the effect the bill would have on Ohio economics.

A bill of this type would be detrimental to already struggling local economies throughout Ohio. As a supporter of small business, you know that enterprise does not thrive while markets are shackled by conflict and controversy, Riveiro said in the letter.

Finally, we have another analysis that finds a ballot initiative on the issue couldn’t go to voters until next year. Here is that story. An excerpt:

Most Ohio laws are enacted by the legislature but a procedure exists to put a proposal directly before voters. The procedure requires backers to submit a petition to the secretary of state no fewer than 10 days before the start of any session of the General Assembly.

The current General Assembly started its work in January 2009, which means the deadline for getting anything on this year’s ballot is long past.

Backers could submit a petition to the secretary of state before the next session of the legislature begins in January 2011. The petition would have to include signatures from registered voters equal to 3 percent of the votes cast in the most recent governor’s race. Based on the 2006 governor’s election, that’s 120,688 signatures.

The legislature then would have four months to act. If no action results, supporters would be required to again gather voter signatures equal to 3 percent of the votes in the last governor’s race. If they succeeded, then the issue would go on the November 2011 ballot.

Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment | Categories: National issues, Statewide issues

Commissioners, engineer think water quality rules are a ‘budget buster’

By Josh Sweigart | Monday, May 10, 2010, 01:54 PM

Butler County officials are concerned that increased state and federal requirements aimed at keeping area streams clean may be a “budget buster.”

County Engineer Gregory Wilkens brought up the issue in a meeting with commissioners today, May 10.

Wilkens worried about an “unfunded mandate” from the state and federal environmental protection agencies that he have someone inspect all of the stormwater outfalls in the county.

This summer, the county will conduct a study to locate all of the places where stormwater runs into local streams. The roughly $400,000 study will be funded by stormwater assessments collected on property tax bills.

Initial estimates are that there are 20,000 outfalls in West Chester Twp. alone, and possibly another 20,000 in Ross, Hanover, Wayne Madison and St. Clair townships. There may be more, Wilkens said, if they require monitoring of pipes smaller than 12 inches.

Once the study is done, it will be someone’s job to physically inspect each of these outfalls and measure levels of pollutants at least once every five years. Wilkens said it’s unclear how much this will cost.

“You’re talking a budget-buster,” said Commissioner Donald Dixon, “We can’t afford any more, our businesses can’t be competitive now.”

“We’re all for clean water,” Dixon said, “but you have to be realistic.”

Wilkens and commissioners agreed to send letters and lobby local and federal lawmakers to ease the requirement.

“We need to get a full-front campaign on this,” Wilkens said.

The requirement comes from the U.S. EPA and is being passed along by the Ohio EPA. It follows a decades-long effort to decrease pollution from utilities and industry, and focuses more attention on residential runoff. If the county doesn’t comply, the state can levy fines.

Ohio EPA Spokeswoman Heather Lauer said stormwater pollution is one of the biggest causes of impairment of surface water bodies.

“Many people will use lawn chemicals, our cars may leak oil or grease, and when we have rainwater or snow melt, this gets washed into streams,” she said, adding that this can wreak havoc on local ecosystems.

The purpose of Wilkens’ meeting with commissioners today was to discuss merging two positions, including this one, with the Butler Soil and Water Conservation District. Wilkens said this would save the county at least $47,000 a year.

Permalink | Comments (7) | Post your comment | Categories: County Commission, Environmental Services, Statewide issues, Transportation

Carpenter v. Jolivette - A breakdown

By Josh Sweigart | Monday, May 10, 2010, 10:48 AM

We had two stories in the paper this weekend about the race for the GOP’s nomination for Butler County commission going into the November election.

In this story, we looked at whether the Republican party will now rally behind Clerk of Courts Cindy Carpenter, who won with 34 percent of the vote. An excerpt:

Cindy Carpenter may have won the GOP’s nomination in the race for Butler County commission Tuesday, May 4, but the majority of Republicans voted against her.

Now the question is whether the 66 percent of local Republicans who voted for one of the other five candidates will now turn around and back her in November.

Ousted incumbent Commission President Gregory Jolivette, who received the second-most votes, said he will.

“Of course, I’m a Republican,” he said Thursday, May 6.

Shawn McCabe, a veteran of several recent campaigns, said the race was divisive, pushing local Republicans apart on the grounds of geography, policy and personal allegiance.

“The factions are going to remain,” he said. “But I think the candidates involved, they are going to show a public front of unity.”

This is important, he said. “The party realizes how fragmented we are to the public. This is a capstone to that.”

And this story looks at the cities and townships across the county and where Carpenter got the votes she needed to unseat incumbent Commission President Gregory Jolivette. An excerpt:

Clerk of Courts Cindy Carpenter may partly have the Lakota school levy to thank for delivering her the Republican party’s nomination for Butler County Commission.

A JournalNews analysis of voting patterns in the May 4 primary race for Butler County Commission found Carpenter fared well in most areas of the county.

But it was Liberty and West Chester townships that delivered more than 4,000 of the 10,902 votes that catapulted her to victory over the five other Republican candidates, according to final, unofficial precinct specific results from the Board of Elections.

Those areas had higher voter turnout than most of the county. Elections officials estimate that was due to a levy for Lakota Local Schools, which voters soundly rejected.

Carpenter did better in West Chester Twp., in fact, than its former township trustee Jose Alvarez, who received 2,469 votes to her 2,822.

Incumbent Commission President Gregory Jolivette, who came in second in the total vote count, trailed by more than 1,500 votes in the southeast townships.

But Jolivette, a former Hamilton mayor, garnered more support on his home turf — and hers.

The second story contains a graphic that breaks down the votes won by Carpenter in Jolivette in the larger parts of the county.

Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment | Categories: County Commission

Jolivette not running as an independent

By Josh Sweigart | Thursday, May 6, 2010, 09:51 PM

Butler County Commission President Gregory Jolivette, who lost the support of the Republican party in the May 4 primary, will not run as an independent.

He can’t. The deadline to file a run as an independent candidate was May 3. That should put that rumor to rest.

What do you think is the future for the longtime local politician?

Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment | Categories: County Commission

Sheriff’s office to investigate Board of Elections website ‘attack’

By Josh Sweigart | Thursday, May 6, 2010, 03:15 PM

From this story:

A Butler County Board of Elections website mishap the night of the May 4 primary has been turned over to the sheriff’s office, who will launch an investigation to determine anything criminal took place, elections officials said today, May 6.

Repeated crashes of servers on which the county Board of Elections’ external website operates left thousands of voters wondering how important races turned out. The crashes began at around 8:15 p.m., Tuesday, shortly after absentee ballots were posted, according to Elections Director Betty McGary.

Three servers crashed before McGary and county Information Technology Director Greg Sullivan said they believed the website to be “under attack” by an outside source.

Eventually, a different digital path was created so voting results could be viewed by the public.

“Some possibilities and causes could include intrusion from an outside source or could have been potential issues with the county website,” McGary said.

The investigation by the sheriff’s office — which could take one to three months or longer — will determine whether someone or something hacked into county servers or whether it was the result of an internal computer glitch.

“This is something that we’re involved in a lot more than people would believe,” said Butler County Lt. Mike Craft. “It’s not an area that we’re not familiar with.”

Background from this story in today’s paper:

When the Butler County Board of Elections website crashed Election Night, May 4, and county officials learned it was an outside program overwhelming the system, elections officials feared the worst.

But despite initially calling it an “attack” and a deliberate hack, county officials now said it’s unclear whether it was intentional.

“It certainly looked suspicious,” county Information Technology Director Greg Sullivan said, “but we’re not convinced it’s malicious.”

Sullivan said his staff is still analyzing the issue and will present a report today to elections officials. They will then decide whether to call in the sheriff’s office for a criminal investigation.

What caused the problem, Sullivan said, was a computer somewhere locally that was trying to download the election results two to three times per second. This overwhelmed the system, causing the site to crash.

This only affected the results displayed to the public, elections officials stressed. They said the actual vote count was untouched and experienced no problems.

“The two networks (the website and vote count) are not connected physically at all,” Sullivan said. “We felt like the tabulation was going as expected, and very well.”

“No vote was ever in jeopardy, the vote tabulation and all that is not connected to the Internet, by law,” said Kevin Kidder, spokesman with the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office. “The only thing that was affected was their website,” Kidder said. “We have every confidence that the (Butler County) board will handle that and take care of it.”

Sullivan said the county knows that the hundreds of clicks that brought down their servers came from the same Internet IP address, but little else is known. They’re not sure if that computer had a glitch, or if their computer had a problem interacting with it.

“We have not experienced this in the past,” Sullivan said. “(But) we’re looking at the entire process. Certainly if there’s something that is needed to adjust in our website or our code, we will do that.”

And he said the county will work to prevent this from happening again.

“We need to determine how to proactively manage a similar situation in the next election,” Sullivan said.

Butler County has a history of election-night technical issues. In the 2008 primary, an election machine glitch almost caused more than 200 votes to go uncounted, leading to a pending lawsuit with the manufacturer. This and other anxieties about voting machines caused increased requests for paper ballots in that year’s general election, pushing the vote count into the next day.

Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Board of Elections

County may urge volume-based trash pickup

By Josh Sweigart | Thursday, May 6, 2010, 03:06 PM

County officials may soon start urging cities and townships across Butler County to change the way they collect garbage.

Butler County Solid Waste District Coordinator Anne Fiehrer Flaig suggested to commissioners Thursday, May 6, that they reward areas that change to a “pay as you throw” system.

Such a system would charge residents based on the volume of their trash, and would charge more for garbage than recycling.

She said the county’s recycling incentive program, which doles out roughly $150,000 a year to communities based on how much they recycle, is failing to increase recycled tonnage.

While the county has paid $433,00 through this program since 2006, she said “Recycling has only modestly improved, at a rate of less than 1 percent per year.”

She wants to make the incentive only available to communities that contract with a garbage and recycling service, which townships do not. She said this could save the average township resident $60 per year while giving them access to recycling.

She also wants to offer an incentive up to $75,000 for communities that establish volume-based trash pickup.

“We would really be investing in a very viable solution for diverting waste in Butler County,” she said, stressing it would be up to local leaders whether to comply.

A volume-based program would charge residents based on the size of their trash can, possibly ranging from $12.38 for a cart starting at 32 gallons to $22 for a cart up to 95 gallons.

Residents would also get a 65 gallon recycling cart instead of the usual 14 gallon bin most areas use. In addition to increasing recycling capacity — and, she estimates, saving residents money — Fiehrer-Flaig said this reduces blow-away litter and cuts down on trash.

“We have talked to several jurisdictions and we think there is interest in this,” she said.

Commissioners were open to the idea and directed Fiehrer-Flaig to meet with township trustees and come back to them with a report.

“I see some merit to it,” said Commissioner Charles Furmon.

Commissioner Donald Dixon stressed he doesn’t want the county getting in the way of the private sector.

Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Butler County

Primary ‘10 - The day after

By Josh Sweigart | Wednesday, May 5, 2010, 10:40 AM

Getting a late start today after a late night last night. The fallout from yesterday’s primary election:

Cindy Carpenter walked away with Republican party’s nomination for Butler County commission, beating the incumbent by a wide margin.
U.S. Rep. John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., isn’t going anywhere. He trounced his two GOP challengers.

The questions that remain:

What happened at the Board of Elections, where director Betty McGary said their website was “attacked” by hackers?
What’s Commission President Gregory Jolivette’s future? Will he run as an independent?

Any thoughts on any of this?

Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment |

The Butler County commission candidates

By Josh Sweigart | Saturday, May 1, 2010, 09:08 PM

Our final story ran today in a series profiling the candidates for Butler County commission in the May 4 primary. In case you missed any of them, here are the profiles:

Republicans

Democrat

Butch Hubble

Note we are not allowing comments on any stories or blog posts pertaining to the county commission race in the final days before the primary.

Permalink

Blogs

Blogs

About Butler County News and Issues

Quick news updates by e-mail

July 2011

RSS Syndication

Categories

More recent entries

Archives

May 2010