Churches add events to feed the hungry

By Christopher Magan | Monday, November 23, 2009, 11:47 AM

XENIA — Tough economic times have local churches banding together to feed the hungry.

A free community meal Thursday nights at the First Evangelical Lutheran Church on Main Street has been a Xenia tradition for 15 years. Now the Xenia Area Association of Ministries are giving residents in need another chance to be fed.

The group recently started a meal the second and fourth Mondays of each month at the Emmanuel Baptist on South Detroit Street, said Barb Colaner, office administrator for the church and secretary for the ministry association. “They way things are going we thought there should be more than one meal,” she said.

Different churches that belong to the Xenia Area Association of Churches and Ministries will provide the food for each meal. The location will always be at Emmanuel Baptist, 1120 S. Detroit St.

The number of people living in poverty in Xenia grew 7.7 percent between 2006 and 2008 and household income has fallen 18 percent since 2000, according to the latest census figures.

The city has been hard hit by layoffs and closures at are manufacturing and shipping facilities, according to area elected leaders leaders. City tax receipts also are off, forcing cutbacks and discussions of new tax proposals.

How to go: The second community meal at Emmanuel Baptist Church is 6 p.m., 1120 S. Detroit, in Xenia. Meals are held the second and fourth Mondays of each month.

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Man in ICU after fall at The Greene

By Christopher Magan | Tuesday, November 17, 2009, 10:37 AM

BEAVERCREEK — Another man has been critically injured after falling from a staircase near a bar at The Greene.

Gary Blevins, 32, is in the intensive care unit at Miami Valley Hospital after he attempted to slide down a staircase in the foyer of Adobe Gila’s and fell and hit his head.

Beavercreek police and firefighters were called to the bar about 10:30 p.m. Nov. 10 and found Blevins not breathing with a faint pulse, according to police and fire reports. Firefighters cleaned up a pool of blood at the base of the stairs.

Staircase in the foyer of Adobe Gila’s

Friends who were drinking beer with Blevins before the fall said their friend told them to “watch this” and then tried to ride the banister down the stairs, reports said.

Blevins is not the first person injured near the staircase. In December 2006 Todd Jette, a Jamestown resident, was drunk and fell 17 feet backward over the railing. He died from his injuries and his family sued the bar and The Greene for negligence and wrongful death. Claims against the developer were later dismissed at the request of the plaintiff.

A manager at Adobe Gila’s said the staircase is property of The Greene. Spokesman Mike Duffey said Beavercreek police had ruled the incident an accident. “We have nothing to announce at this time about any changes,” he said of the staircase.

Police have responded to 37 incidents at Adobe Gila’s since May. Police Sgt. Jim Wuebben said that was not an unusual number for a bar of it’s size and popularity.

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Lawsuit: self-defense led to firing

By Christopher Magan | Friday, November 13, 2009, 04:44 PM

XENIA — A Waynesville man, employed by Bob Evans for 30 years, is suing the restaurateur because he claims he was fired for defending himself when a coworker came after him with a knife.

Jesse L. Long, of Rivers Edge Court in Waynesville, filed a civil suit Nov. 12 against Bob Evans Farms in Greene County Common Pleas Court alleging wrongful termination and negligence and requesting more than $75,000 in damages.

Long, a manager for the restaurant since 1978, disciplined an employee in October 2008 for being late to work at the Xenia restaurant. Long later called the same employee into his office after he overhead him saying “he was not afraid” of Long and he “wasn’t his daddy,” according to the lawsuit.

The employee drew a knife and chased Long around the restaurant until the manager was able to obtain a knife of his own to defend himself, the lawsuit said. Other employees intervened before the altercation went further and there is no record of any criminal charges being filed.

Long was terminated four days after the incident for picking up the knife in self defense, the suit said. He claims Bob Evans corporate policy forced him to chose between his job and his safety. The suit also claims Bob Evans knew the employee who attacked Long had a tendency for violence.

A Bob Evans representative said she was not aware of the suit. Long’s attorney did not return a call seeking comment.

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Major road to close for more than a month

By Jeremy Kelley | Friday, November 13, 2009, 12:03 AM

Little Sugarcreek Road will be closed from Ohio 725 (Franklin Street) to Sable Ridge Drive from Monday, Nov. 16 to Jan. 1 as crews work on the intersection at 725 and Little Sugarcreek. Access to Magee Park will be maintained.

The road closure is another obstacle for those who live in Bellbrook’s northwest corner. With Possum Run Road closed for the Clyo project in Sugarcreek Twp., they already have to detour to Little Sugarcreek to go north to Feedwire Road. Now they will have to take an alternate route rather than take Little Sugarcreek south into downtown Bellbrook.

The work on the Little Sugarcreek intersection will add a traffic signal and a turn lane. A new water main is also being added, to eventually connect to lines in the subdivisions to the north along Little Sugarcreek Road.

The project is expected to be completed by January.

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H1N1 clinic busy the third time around

By Christopher Magan | Thursday, November 12, 2009, 03:04 PM

XENIA — The third H1N1 vaccination clinic at the Greene County Fairgrounds is drawing hundreds of residents, which is similar to last week, but not nearly the thousands of the first clinic last month.

Laurie Fox, of the Greene County Combined Health District, said the fairground clinic, open 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. today 120 Fairground Road, is in no danger of running out of vaccines.

In fact, Sara Pappa, health district spokeswoman, said they hope to begin offering the vaccine in schools as soon as next week. The daytime clinics will likely occur in one district at a time between now and the Thanksgiving break, she said.

Beginning in December, the health district plans to hold more vaccination clinics. Times and dates of future clinics are expected to be announced by the end of the week, Pappa said.

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Duo indicted in check cashing scheme

By Christopher Magan | Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 11:50 AM

XENIA — Two men who used a check cashing scheme to raise money to buy heroin now face racketeering and other charges after defrauding Miami Valley banks and businesses of more than $8,000.

Richard D. Chaney, 44, of Dayton, and Jaffa M. Ali, 27, of Huber Heights, were allegedly involved in a month-and-a-half long conspiracy that impacted 11 different police jurisdictions across the Miami Valley, according to police and grand jury indictments.

The two first used checks from a closed account of Ali’s, which he had reported stolen, to open new accounts and make withdrawals at area banks, using the money to buy heroin from a drug dealer in Springfield, said Det. Keith Salyers, of Bellbrook police.

They later changed their methods and used bad checks to buy hundreds of dollars worth of cigarettes that could be traded for drugs. Finally, Ali and Chaney purchased expensive lawn care equipment, like chainsaws and leaf blowers, they could pawn for drug money, Chaney said.

Chaney and Ali used the bad checks at banks and businesses in Bellbrook, Xenia, Cedarville, Jamestown, Monroe, Centerville, Montgomery County, Butler Twp., Vandalia, Huber Heights and Beavercreek for a total of 37 separate incidents.

Both are charged with racketeering, a second degree felony and multiple counts of misdemeanor and felony theft. Chaney is being held in the Greene County Adult Detention without bond and Ali is free after posting $7,500 bond.

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Early estimate: Merger would be costly in Year 1

By Jeremy Kelley | Monday, November 9, 2009, 03:04 PM

Merging the governments of Bellbrook and Sugarcreek Twp. might add an extra $512,000 in staffing costs for the first year, according to a preliminary study from a consulting firm.

Jim Mercer of the Mercer Group, which was hired by the Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Merger Commission, told commissioners Nov. 4 that most of the increased costs are in areas where townships receive services from Greene County at no direct cost. Those include engineering, planning, legal services and road maintenance.

If Bellbrook and Sugarcreek merge, the new entity would be a city, not a township, and therefore would have to hire people in those roles or contract the work out.

The Merger Commission asked Mercer to look at the staffing estimates in more detail before their next meeting Dec. 2.

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