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THE BROWN COUNTY PRESS Serving Brown County, Ohio since 1973
Vol. 38 No. 11
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Hamilton vows to fight charges in dog case BY Wayne Gates The Brown County Press
The Brown County Press/SUBMITTED PHOTO
A CART volunteer helps socialize three of the dogs seized last week from the Hamilton home.
Hospital deal collapses again BY Wayne Gates The Brown County Press After three months of negotiation and research, Falcon Investors, LLC has chosen not to pursue the purchase of Brown County Regional HealthCARE, the parent company of the Brown County General Hospital. Brown County Commission President Margery Paeltz said that Lawrence Krule, Executive Vice President of Falcon Investors, notified the Brown County Hospital Board by telephone. "There really wasn't a specific reason given (by Krule)", Paeltz said. "He said it was a combination of factors and it really wasn't any one thing." A press release issued by Brown County Regional HealthCARE CEO Michael Patterson following the decision said "Falcon officials did not provide any specific reasons why they were withdrawing their letter of intent to purchase the hospital and did not provide a written letter of termination." Patterson said that BCRH was ready to move forward from the development and that he "feels confident that we can continue to provide
the the medical services needed by the community." Patterson added that BCRHC was "in a much stronger financial position" than the company faced back in April due to some "positive changes" within the hospital. Patterson said those changes will have a positive impact to make the hospital a more attractive property for a potential investor. Patterson said he hopes such an investor would "provide capital that we need to implement other initiatives that have been identified" as needed during the negotiabetween Falcon tions Investors and earlier talks with Essent Healthcare out of Nashville. Essent pulled out of a deal with BCRHC at the last minute in April. Tim McKeown, a spokesperson for for Eagle Legacy Partners, said the attorney for his group has been contacted by representatives from the hospital board who are seeking information. Eagle submitted a proposal to the board along with Falcon Investors last July. McKeown called Eagle Legacy Partners "a group of local investors" and said that the group is "conferencing CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
Terry Lea Hamilton says she will fight the charges against her in court. She is facing four misdemeanor charges of Cruelty to Companion Animals for failing to provide food and veterinary care, failure to tag the dogs and failure to register as a kennel. At least 39 dogs were seized from Hamilton’s TriCounty Highway home on Oct. 11 after investigators found the dogs inside the home. Those who entered the home reported that the dogs were covered in fleas and there there was dog feces as
much as four inches deep in the home. A number of dead dogs were also found in a freezer. Electricity to the home had been shut off for weeks before investigators arrived. The Tri-CountyAnimal Response Team responded to the scene, along with the Brown County Humane Society and Adams County Dog Warden Paul Hughes. Deputies from the Brown County Sheriffs Office also responded. Hamilton had a hearing scheduled on Oct. 20, but arrived without an attorney. Another hearing has been set for early next month. the hearing, During Hamilton said she was pres-
sured to sign over the dogs, but refused. When asked directly if she intends to surrender the dogs, Hamilton said “If it’s the best thing for the dogs, then I’ll do it”, but then said that she would not do so until she knows the outcome of the upcoming hearing. Hamilton said she was prepared to sign over the dogs to the CART group, but balked when she discovered the Brown County Humane Society would be in charge of finding homes for the dogs. Hamilton claims that a personal dispute with Brown County Humane Society members is the reason behind the seizure of her dogs in the first place.
She also denies earlier reports that she had sixty dogs seized from her several years ago. Hamilton also disputes a claim made by CART in a press release that she wanted some of the dogs back because she had already sold them. Hamilton said she had promised to give two of the dogs to “an old lady in Hillsboro.” Regarding the dog seizure and its aftermath, Hamilton said “I understand that things got out of hand.” Regarding the dogs in the freezer, Hamilton said there were 10 of them, a litter of nine puppies and an older CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
Mt. Orab
Bridge work completed
B R O A D S H E E T O D D
The Brown County Press/WAYNE GATES
Work was completed on the West Main Street bridge in Mt. Orab on Oct. 19. The bridge was closed to eastbound traffic since March. The bridge replacement project cost just under 800 thousand dollars.
Western Brown sprays for Police search East Fork bedbugs, parents upset Park for missing teen The Western Brown School District is dealing with a bedbug issue...and the resulting furor because of it. Superintendent Jeffery Royalty said that rumors of a district-wide infestation are untrue.
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Index Classifieds ..Pages 19, 20 Court News......Page 16 Death Notices ...Pages 6, 7 Education ..........Page 8 Opinion ..............Page 4 Social..................Page 8 Sports ........Pages 13-15
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He added that accusations made by some parents that school district employees were told to withhold information from parents are completely false. Royalty said the infestation was limited to a very small group of students and that the situation is under control. The following is the text of a letter signed by Royalty that was sent home to parents: “Dear Parents/Guardians: I am very much aware that many of you are concerned with the issue of bed bugs in the school district and you have every right to be concerned. I feel that possibly the lack of information from the district has contributed to a great degree regarding the widespread misinformation on this matter. Consequently, this letter is an attempt to give you the facts as we know them. There is an isolated situation impacting only the MOES and MOMS buildings. We are not dealing with a school-wide infestation. We are dealing with a very small number of students. CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
BY Brett Roller The Brown County Press The Covington Kentucky Police Department descended on East Fork State Park just before 9 a.m. Wednesday in their most recent effort to find 17-year-old Paige Johnson. As of late Thursday morning no discoveries had been made. The Florence, Ky. mother of a two-year-old was last seen in Covington, Ky. on Sept. 23 where her friend Jacob Bumpass, 22, told police he dropped off Johnson. Bumpass was taken into custody on an unrelated parole violation on Oct. 4. The case is still classified as a missing person under suspicious circumstances, but Covington Police Department Captain Teal Nally said his department has not ruled out any possibilities. Nally said the department has taken an interest in the park based the fact that they were able to track Bumpass’s cell phone use to the park on the night of her disappearance. A total of 110 people and 17 tracking and cadaver dogs from 30 agencies were expect-
ed to scour the park for five to six hours Wednesday. The Clermont County Sheriff’s Office coordinated with Covington to organize the search. “We’re playing a secondary role in the search but we’re doing everything we can to help them,” Sheriff A.J. Tim Rodenberg said. Nally said agencies ranging from fire departments, police departments, search and rescue, the Red Cross, and Rumpke came from all parts of Kentucky and Ohio to join in the search. “We’re hopeful we will find her alive and well, but under the circumstances that may be difficult,” Nally said. “We’re looking for Paige or some type of evidence that will lead us in the right direction.” Nally said the searchers were concentrating their efforts on areas where they believe it is highly likely Bumpass may have been at the time of day when the phone was used, but they intend to search the entire park. He said it was unlikely the dogs would be able to cover CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
Submitted Photo
Margery Paeltz
Submitted Photo
Rick Eagan
Eagan and Paeltz share priorities as election nears BY Wayne Gates The Brown County Press Brown County Commission President Margery Paeltz is running for reelection as a Democrat this Nov. 2. Her challenger is Republican Rick Eagan. Both candidates were given a list of five questions to answer as election day approaches. Their responses appear unedited below. The first question was “What experiences/accomplishments do you have that would make you an effective member of the County
Commission?” PAELTZ: “My lifetime of experiences prior to, and including the present term I am now serving as your proud county commissioner, enables me to be proactive in the decision making process required each day. I am a full-time public servant, who does interact with elected officials and citizens daily to learn about the needs and concerns so as to improve upon the services our taxpayers deserve and desire. The experiences and accomplishments of which I have worked with others to achieve, CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
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BY Wayne Gates The Brown County Press