Sports…
2010 Election...
Local student on NKU Dean’s List
G-men get by Blue Jays in close contest
GOP candidate for Governor coming Page 9 in March
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THE BROWN COUNTY PRESS www.browncountypress.com
Serving Brown County, Ohio since 1973
Vol. 37 No. 24
BCRH to host community blood drive Brown County Regional Healthcare have partnered with Hoxworth Blood Center, University of Cincinnati to host a Community Blood Drive on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010 between the hours of 1 to 6:30 p.m. The Blood Drive will be held in the Lower Level Community Education Room located at 425 Home St., Georgetown, OH. To schedule your appointment, call Teri Baumann at 937-378-7712. Hoxworth recognizes that your time is valuable. We will give priority to donors who have scheduled an appointment. Walk-in donors are welcome and will be seen as soon as possible.
U.S. Census Department is now hiring The U.S. Census Department is still looking for Census Takers and Census Crew Leaders in Brown and Adams counties. The jobs pay from $11.50 to $16.50 per hour and will last 8-12 weeks. Up to 40 hours per week will be available. An eligibility test is required that covers clerical and organizational ability, among other skills. To schedule a test or for further information, call Workforce Connections in Winchester at (800) 233-7891 or Georgetown at (800) 5537393.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Suspect arrested after trying to run over Sheriff’s deputy A traffic stop led to gunfire and a manhunt on Tuesday, January 19. The following information was provided to the Brown County Press by the Brown County Sheriff’s office. “Sheriff Dwayne Wenninger reports that at approximately 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010, deputies were notified of a suspect driving a white Jeep erratically on Foster Road near Decatur. Shortly thereafter, a deputy noticed a vehicle fitting the description of the vehicle and stopped the vehicle on AshridgeWinchester Road near McNoun
Road. As the Deputy approached the vehicle, the suspect tried to run him over. The deputy fired shots towards the vehicle and followed with a pursuit. Information revealed that the vehicle had been reported stolen over the weekend from the Mt. Orab area. A Deputy located the vehicle where it had been abandoned behind a trailer on Purdy Road near Sardinia. The Brown County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit was called to the scene to track the suspect who had fled on foot. A search perimeter was set up by the Sheriff’s Office and at approximately
12 p.m., a deputy located the suspect coming out of a wooded area on Fite Hauck Road near Sardinia. The suspect has been identified as Kenneth Shaffer, 37, 2070 Foster Road, Decatur. Shaffer was taken into custody on felony charges of Receiving Stolen Property and Aggravated Vehicular Assault. He remains in custody at the Brown County Adult Detention Center awaiting arraignment on the charges. The Deputy sustained a minor injury to his arm and was treated and released from Brown County General Hospital.”
Food pantry open this Saturday The New Vienna UMC will open their monthly food pantry on Saturday Jan. 23 from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Everyone is welcome. For more more information please call (937) 725-6617.
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Index Classifieds...Page 17 Court News....Page 7 Death Notices ...Page 5 Education ......Page 6 Opinion ..........Page 4 Social .............Page 6 Sports ...Pages 11-13
Where to find us www.browncountypress.com Phone (937) 444-3441 Fax (937) 444-2652 219 South High St. Mt. Orab, OH 45154 bcpress@frognet.net
Kenneth Shaffer
Eastern school district to cut 400K from budget BY Wayne Gates The Brown County Press The Eastern Local School District is facing a financial crunch. The district must cut approximately 421 thousand dollars from the 2010-2011 budget to balance the books. That’s about 3.5 percent
from the 2009-2010 General Fund budget of 11,580,000. The cuts must be in place by June 30 of 2010. District Treasurer Kevin Kendall said the state of Ohio requires school districts to show a balanced budget for five years into the future. He said the cuts are needed to bring the budget in line for
the 2011-2012 school year and beyond. Kendall said the school district has been under increasing financial pressure for the past couple of years. Expenses are rising and revenues are staying flat. Kendall said he expects the budgetary pressure to increase as the state continues to deal
with its own budget problems by reducing funding to local schools. “There’s no help on the horizon”, he said. Kendall said the district has been trying to cut expenses in every way possible, but it’s getting to the point “where we have to look at cuts in instruction.”
That means teachers and other employees. Expenses directly related to personnel, such as salaries, health insurance and retirement obligations can approach 75 percent of a typical school district budget. That can make it very difficult to balance the books withCONTINUED ON PAGE 14
Former Brown County Commission candidate continues recovery BY Wayne Gates The Brown County Press
Seniors luncheon this Thursday The Brown County Senior Citizens Club will meet on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 12 p.m. for a pot luck luncheon. The program will be bingo and members are asked to bring prizes. All seniors are invited to join this fun group which meets every fourth Wednesday at 12 noon at the American Legion Hall, 1001 S. Main St., Georgetown.
Submitted Photo
Submitted Photo
BCGH Gala tickets still available Plans are being finalized for one of Brown County Hospital Foundation’s largest fundraisers. The eighth annual Heart of Brown County Gala will be held Saturday Feb. 20, 2010 at the Norlyn Manor in Batavia, Ohio. Tickets are still available until Feb. 4 and can be obtained by calling Teri Baumann (937) 378-7712. Reservations are needed for the event and may be charged to a major credit card. Reservations are also accepted at www.bcrhc.org. Contact Teri Baumann at t_baumann@bcrhc.org; Dale Cahall at decahall@yahoo.com; or Shirley Moran @ smoran@fsb4me.com to support this very worthy event. Pictured are: seated – Barb Campbell and Shirley Moran, Co-Chairs of the Gala, standing – Teri Baumann, Diane Remmel, Jeannie Bulow, Judy Huffman, Anita Flaugher, and Dale Cahall.
Two-time Brown County commissioner candidate Rick Eagan has taken another step toward recovery. Eagan is now out of the intensive care unit at Hospital in University Cincinnati after a two month stay. Eagan was hit by a car after hitting a deer while driving and getting out of his vehicle. Submitted Photo The accident happened on Nov. 24 on New Hope-White Rick Eagan Oak Station Road. Eagan sustained heavy months after the accident. He also had to have his right damage and was still on a feeding tube nearly two CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
B R O A D S H E E T O D D
Newest member of Western Brown Board of Education named The newest member of the Western Brown Local Board of Education is Shane Bishop. He is filling out the remainder of the term of William H, Neal. Bishop is a 1988 Graduate
of Western Brown High School and was Valedictorian of his class. He attended the United States Naval Academy where he studied Nuclear CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
Ripley Federal Savings Bank to receive Chamber’s Lifetime Achievement Award Business first opened in 1895 in downtown Ripley, has 23 workers BY Wayne Boblitt The Brown County Press Ripley Federal Savings Bank will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Brown County Chamber of Commerce Annual Business Breakfast this Monday, Jan. 25. “I was very pleased to have the company recognized,” Bank President/Chief Executive Officer Danny Grooms said in a Jan. 20 telephone interview. The company has been in business since 1895 and will celebrate its 115th Anniversary this fall, Grooms
reported. The bank, formerly known as Ripley Federal Savings and Loan, first was located in the Main Street area of downtown Ripley, the bank president said. Sometime during the late 1950s it moved to a site at 252 S. Second St., which was south of downtown and at the intersection where U.S. 62 and U.S. 68 meet U.S. 52. The bank moved in 2005 to its current Ripley location at 1006 S. Second St., south of and next to McDonald’s restaurant. Bank Has Two Branches The bank also has a Georgetown branch at 200 E.
State St. in that village’s downtown area. Grooms said 23 employees including himself work at the bank’s combined branches. He said the bank at the end of 2009 had assets slightly less than $90 million, although it has had larger assets in some other years. He estimated the bank has “probably in the neighborhood” of about 4,000 customers who receive such services as loans, savings and checking accounts, and check cashing. Grooms said while the bank’s main market is Brown County and the neighboring Ohio counties of Adams, Clermont and Highland, there is a little amount of customers CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
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Education...
Submitted Photos
Ripley Federal Savings Bank’s branches include the one at 1006 S. Second St. in Ripley (top photo) and the other at 200 E. State St. in Georgetown (bottom photo).