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Smoking banned at Coontz By Kelly J. Kaczala Press News Editor kkaczala@presspublications.com
Summer theatre to present original play The Oak Harbor-Genoa Summer Theatre will present "The Play: Not a Dirty Word'" by local playwright Ron Hill. Performances will be held at the Genoa Town Hall on July 22, 23, 29 and 30 at 7:30 p.m. and July 24 and 31 at 2 p.m.. All seats are $10.00. Pictured in rehearsal, Tina (Maia Brower), Lark (Sam Niefer), Laura (Anna Babcock) and Sid (Greg Lowe) have a disagreement about how their play should be presented. For reservations call 419-855-3103. (Press photo by Ken Grosjean)
Oregon buys body cams for police Oregon City Council recently approved the purchase of body cameras for the police department by a vote of 5-1. Councilman Tim Zale, a retired Oregon police officer, was the lone vote against the purchase. The city is buying the 45 body worn cameras from Coban Technologies, Inc., of Houston, for $51,405. Coban is the city’s current vendor for in-car cameras and video/audio recording equipment used by the Oregon Police. “I’m a supporter of technology,” Police Chief Mike Navarre said. “We’ve had dash cam videos for quite some time. They’ve been used by law enforcement for close to three decades. This is just a natural extension of the dash cam video. It’s a great tool for officers. It’s used for courtroom presentations, for evidence gathering. It really promotes accountability and provides for transparency.” The cameras are expected to last up to three years, according to Oregon Police Sgt. Jason Druckenmiller. “There’s new advancements being made constantly. They’re already working to improve it,” he said.
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We will be capturing people potentially at the worst moments of their lives. We wouldn’t want to see some of these incidents end up on the Internet
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By Kelly J. Kaczala Press News Editor kkaczala@presspublications.com
Misgivings Zale said he had some misgivings about their use, including the ability of the city to redact or edit the footage because Coban does not have the software to do it. Druckenmiller said a Coban sales representative told him the company could redact information from the cameras, but only in certain instances. “If we have a specific case where there really is a concern and the law department advises us that we need to redact that, we
can contact Coban and they will make a special exemption to take care of that for us, but it’s not going to be on a large scale,” said Druckenmiller. “With that being said, it all depends on how this information is going to be released,” said Zale. “The chief said we were going to follow current Ohio law on how we would withhold or release the information. I believe it was said if we couldn’t redact it, we wouldn’t release it. Some cities have gone with that idea, but then that’s when we throw the transparency out the window. Some cities with body cameras have gotten into a lot of problems with this. They said they wanted to be transparent, but they didn’t release the information or redact it. Sometimes that causes more problems than we want.” Moreover, body cameras collect information that is potentially more sensitive than a dash cam, he said, which could affect police investigations. “We will be capturing people potentially at the worst moments of their lives. We wouldn’t want to see some of these incidents end up on the Internet. This is where I get a little concerned about redacting information that is very sensitive. We’re talking about potential witnesses, crime victims,
Oregon City Council last week amended its municipal code to prohibit smoking in the Oregon Recreational Facility, also known as The William P. Coontz Athletic Complex. “It is in the best interests of public health that smoking and tobacco products be prohibited …on property owned or under the control of the city,” states the ordinance. “There is now a uniform statewide minimum standard to protect people from the hazards associated with exposure to second hand smoke from tobacco,” states the ordinance. “Therefore, it is the intent of this ordinance to make air safer to breathe in the Oregon Recreational Facility.” The ordinance amends Part Five of the Health, Safety and Sanitation Code of the Oregon Municipal Code. “Currently, there are three smoking areas inside the facility,” said Councilman Terry Reeves, who is chairman of the Recreation & Parks Committee, where the amendment was discussed before the vote of council. “I don’t think we need to be smoking in front of our youth out here. We have kids who are complaining about smelling smoke inside the dugout where people are smoking. So it was brought to my attention. I had thought it was a non-smoking facility.” The ban extends to the complex’s playing fields, concession stands, dugouts, bench areas, restroom, bathroom, storage shed or any structure located at the complex, where recreational activities include softball, baseball, football and soccer. Smoking is defined as inhaling, exhaling, burning, or carrying any lighted cigarette, cigar, pipe or other lighted smoking device for burning tobacco or any other plant or alternative nicotine product, including electronic cigarettes, electronic cigar, electronic cigarillo, or electronic pipe. Smoking is allowed in a designated area of the parking lots of the complex. “I know we can’t make the whole area Continued on page 4
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