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Piqua Daily Call Commitment To Community
Inside:
Covington Council Page 2 Volume 130, Number 231
Sports:
Inside:
Bengals win truly ‘special’ Page 6
The Amish Cook Page 5
Wednesday, november 20, 2013
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‘Communities in denial’ Attorney General Mike DeWine says heroin use is a state-wide epidemic Melanie Yingst
Staff Writer myingst@civitasmedia.com
TROY— Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine met with local law enforcement Tuesday in an effort to raise awareness of the epidemic that is killing two Ohio people a day — heroin. “Every (county) has a heroin problem,” DeWine said to law enforcement officials in a round table discussion held at K’s Hamburgers Tuesday
morning. “If you don’t, I’d be shocked.” DeWine met with law enforcement officials, including the Piqua Police Department, Troy Police Department, Miami County Sheriff Charles Cox and Chief Deputy Dave Duchak in a round table discussion with county officials from Montgomery, Clark and surrounding areas. DeWine said the Ohio Attorney General’s office surveyed county coroners around the state about
drug abuse and approximately 75 percent of the state responded. Those findings said in Ohio, two people a day in the state die due to heroin use. “We are losing two people a day from just heroin,” DeWine said. “And the trend is going up.” DeWine said communities are in denial about the rise in heroin use, which used to be an Dave Fornell | Civitas Media “urban drug,” but recent- Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine talks to law enforcement officials at K’s restaurant in Troy on ly has been found in rural Tuesday morning. In the background, from left is Miami County Sheriff Charles Cox and Piqua police chief Bruce Jamison. In the foreground, from left, is Troy police chief Charles Phelps and West Milton
See DEWINE | Page 10 police chief Garry Kimpel. To the left of DeWine is Wayne T. Glass Jr. of Botkins in Shelby County.
School bus rear-ended by car
Age of dams factor on premiums
Bethany J. Royer Staff Writer broyer@civitasmedia.com
Mike Ullery | Daily Call
A car rear-ended a Covington school bus around 3:15 p.m. Monday, injuring the driver of the car. The driver may have suffered a medical condition before slamming into the rear of the bus, in the 6800 block of North State Route 48, at an estimated 35 to 40 miles per hour. The car’s airbags deployed and the driver was unconscious upon the arrival of Covington medics. The driver, who was not identified, did regain consciousness and was transported to Upper Valley Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. The bus was carrying more than 20 Covington Elementary students. None sustained injury. They were transfered to another bus and transported home. Covington superintendent David Larson was at the scene, checking on students, soon after the crash. He confirmed that all students were fine. “Everyone is okay. That is the important thing,” Larson said. The crash is under investigation by Miami County sheriff’s deputies.
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PIQUA — A short agenda made for a short commission meeting Tuesday as city leaders gave a final reading and adopted an ordinance to vacate a public right-of-way at the future location of the water treatment plant on State Route 66. Followed by a first-reading ordinance related to a minimum wage increase for some municipal employees to reflect the state of Ohio’s increase from $7.85 per hour to $7.95 per hour. While a first-reading to a second ordinance will cover the work-in-progress 2014 annual budget. Commission also adopted three resolutions: •Authorize an agreement with O.R. Colan Associates for services related to a public rightof-way for phase III of the County Road 25-A reconstruction project •Purchase orders for treatment chemicals utilized at the water treatment plant •Purchase excess liability insurance The latter presented by Stacy Wall, law director, on the annual renewal of insurance coverage to Associated Electric & Gas Insurance Services Limited or AEGIS, a See MEETING | Page 10
Horse escape deemed accidental, investigation closed Will E Sanders
Staff Writer wsanders@civitasmedia.com
COVINGTON — The sheriff ’s investigation into the escape of 39 horses from a Sugar Grove Road pasture early Friday morning has been closed with no criminal charges being filed after deputies ruled the incident was of an accidental nature. Miami County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Dave Duchak said there was no evidence at the scene that the fence the horses escaped from was vandalized. “It looks like it was accidental with respect to how the horses got out of their penned in
area,” Duchak said, refuting claims the fence was vandalized. “As of right now there is no evidence that anything suspicious was involved.” The horses escaped from the farm, located at 7530 W. Sugar Grove Road and owned by Judson Thompson, from a section of the fence located on the far southwestern corner of the pasture near the river, according to one of two deputies that checked the area for any acts of alleged vandalism to the fence. That portion of the fence, according to sheriff’s reports, consisted of “a single strand of wire and a yellow nylon rope to block off the corner.”
Further investigation found the rope was discolored, old, frayed and wasn’t cut while the small single strand of wire was broke and appeared to be a fresh break. Additionally, no human foot prints were discovered near the portion of the compromised fencing, reports state. A sheriff’s supplemental report states investigators were not able to determine if the wire fence was cut or broken from a horse running through it. “It is possible the horses were spooked and ran through the fence,” another report states. “The rope was not cut, it was broken from pressure, consistent with a
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horse running through it.” Duchak said emergency first responders, including the Covington police and fire departments, and dozens of volunteers helped with rounding up the horses. He called the assistance “invaluable.” “As soon as the first calls came in we had a lot of deputies at the scene pretty quickly,” Duchak said. “Everybody worked together and helped prevent it from being a lot worse than it could have been.” Of the more than three dozen horses that escaped, six died in traffic crashes and a seventh had to be put down after it was deemed “too injured to survive.”
A total of four crashes were reported from the incident, two on W. State Route 41 and two others on W. U.S. Route 36 just west of Covington. One traffic collision that occurred on State Route 41 between Myers and Rench roads resulted with one hospitalization. Teresa Zeigler, 39, of Covington, was transported to the Upper Valley Medical Center but she was later treated and released. Victims involved in the other crashes were treated at the scene. The Ohio Department of Transportation and local refuse companies removed the carcasses from the roadway after the crashes occurred.