Four Shot Dead in West Chester
Hilliard could elect first Democrat in 30 years, how to lose a school levy, and more.
The Blue Jackets face the vile Boston Bruins in Columbus tonight for Game 3 at 7 p.m. on NBC Sports Network. I wonder if this suspicious couple will attend?
Midwest Bonnie and Clyde look like a couple of Craigslist ticket scammers.
I thought about attending, but I’m saving my precious metals for the Stanley Cup Finals. It’s a risky gambit considering the Western Conference champion may forfeit instead of facing the firing squad in the No. 1 hockey city in America.
QUADRUPLE MURDER WITH NO SUSPECT
Scary, scary news out of Butler County yesterday when a husband came home to find four family members fatally shot in an apartment.
From wlwt.com:
WEST CHESTER TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A homicide investigation is underway after four family members were shot and killed at the Lakefront at West Chester apartment complex Sunday.
Police responded to the scene around 9:40 p.m. for a call of four people down inside an apartment on Wyndtree Drive, police said.
Police found four adults, three women and one man, dead inside the apartment from multiple gunshot wounds. The victims were all related and lived in the home together, West Chester Police Chief Joel Herzog said.
In a 911 call released by police, an emotional family member tells a dispatcher he came home to find his wife and three other family members bleeding.
This is undoubtedly the most heinous crime committed in Ohio since the Pike County murders in April 2016.
The police have no suspect and no evidence as to who may have committed the crime. As the Pike County calamity showed, it may be awhile before the long arm of justice finds the perpetrator.
I’m sick of offering “thoughts and prayers” to the victims of gun violence. Governor Mike DeWine announced yesterday he will seek a “red flag law,” allowing courts to confiscate guns of those deemed dangerous to themselves or others. DeWine said during the campaign he would support such a law as long as it included due process for the gun owner.
John Kasich failed to bring such a law to fruition, because the State Legislature loathed him and gleefully told him to go fuck himself. DeWine doesn’t have such a fractious relationship with legislative leaders; so hopefully Ohio can join liberal states like Indiana in getting this law passed.
It may have prevented the tragedy in West Chester, because it’s unlikely a stranger burst into a random apartment, murdered four random people, and eluded apprehension.
DEMS LOOK TO ESTABLISH BEACHEAD IN HILLIARD
One of the silver linings to President Deals winning the presidency despite losing by three million votes is it awakened left-leaning people on all levels of government.
Such is the case in Hilliard, where a trio of Democrats look to become the first city council members with a (D) next to their name in thirty years.
From Kevin Stankiewicz of dispatch.com:
Cynthia Vermillion didn’t think she’d ever run for office. Nor did Tina Cottone. Deryck Richardson thought he would at some point, just not this soon in life.
They comprise the first full slate of Democrats running for Hilliard City Council in 22 years.
They are running to bring change to a city council that they say has become out of touch and emphasizing accountability and community involvement. If any of them win a seat in November, it would be a milestone — the last time a Democrat was elected to the Hilliard City Council was 1989.
I love nothing more than carrying a grudge to my sewer grave, and I’ve hated Hilliard since playing their dick-headed youth traveling soccer team back in the 1990s. (Same with Dublin, who once spit on their hands before the handshake line after we whipped them 2-1. I’ll see them in Hell, too.)
But perhaps the fastest growing suburb in Hilliard isn’t all that bad if it leads to the expulsion of more Republicans from elected office. So, if you know anyone in Hilliard, please let them know this is their chance to get back into the good graces of someone they’ve never heard of. They should vote accordingly.
COWARDICE WILL COST YOU A LEVY EVERY TIME
Because Ohio refuses to fix its illegal method of funding schools on the backs of property owners, every year school districts across the state must go to voters and beg for an increase in funds.
Some communities understand that, despite the shitty system, investing in the education of the community’s children is always a worthy investment. Other communities are run by voters who wouldn’t mind if the local school district was reduced two three one-room shacks and lit by candles if it meant lower taxes.
Bellbrook-Sugarcreek appears to be one such district, though its elected officials did students no favors by refusing to appear at a community townhall last night.
From Jeremy P. Kelley of daytondailynews.com:
The Dayton Mediation Center will facilitate the event, according to a post on their Facebook page. The post says Greene County Auditor David Graham will give a presentation on school levies and property taxes, and there will be an opportunity for respectful statements, plus questions and answers.
…
School Superintendent Doug Cozad questioned whether the event will be impartial.
“This is a meeting put together by the ‘No levy’ group, with what I believe is a ‘no levy’ rally under the guise of a town hall meeting,” Cozad said in a video posted online. “Yes, David Graham will be there to answer questions, however, beyond that, this is not a school-sponsored event, and obviously we will not be present at a ‘no levy’ rally.”
Few things irritate me more in politics than elected officials who are scared about getting yelled at in a public place. Who cares? It’s literally your job to deal with cantankerous voters. You might not convince Ol’ Jebediah who thinks if his education was good enough for him in 1968, it should be fine for kids in 2019, but you might convince other people in attendance who care enough to attend such an event but are still undecided about their vote.
Instead school officials chose to abandon the forum to the anti-levy people who got to spew propaganda unopposed.
Sadly, these scenes won’t leave the state anytime soon. A flawed, bipartisan proposal to fix Ohio’s illegal funding of school districts won’t make it into the state budget.
Meanwhile, our education ranking continues to plummet.
QUICK-ACTING BOY SAVES SISTER, FOILS KIDNAPPING ATTEMPT
Some good news out of Butler County: An eight-year-old strong-armed a wannabe kidnapper and saved his sister from an uncertain fate.
From Doug Criss of cnn.com:
An 8-year-old Ohio boy is being called a hero after he saved himself and his older sister from a kidnapping attempt.
The terrifying incident happened Thursday in Middletown, about 30 miles northeast of Cincinnati. The boy, only identified by the police as Chance, and his sister, identified as Skylar, were sitting in the backseat of their grandmother's car as she took a woman to a hospital emergency room. The grandmother, Nita Coburn, stepped out of the car to help the woman into the emergency room. About 10 seconds later a man jumped into the driver's seat and drove off.
"The little boy opened the door to escape and the little girl started to jump out also but the man grabbed the hoodie of the little girl, not allowing her to leave," the Middletown Division of Police wrote on its Facebook page. "As she tried to get away her little brother grabbed hold of her and pulled her away from the kidnapper and they both tumbled out of the vehicle as it was moving."
Big props to Chance.
That kidnapper has to be feeling like a total loser. Not only has his life devolved into trying to steal children, an eight-year-old outmuscled him. Street justice is a helluva drug.
A TALE OF POTHOLE CITY
Navigating downtown Columbus in an automobile is a nightmare during the Capital City Half Marathon. But apparently it’s not as treacherous as running it.
From Kevin Landers of 10tv.com:
Almost from the start of the OhioHealth Capital City Half Marathon, runners were dodging potholes on the roads.
Some of them fell into the holes that dotted the course. At the fifth mile, Karen Murphy said she hit one and took a fall.
"I was attempting to pass somebody, and I took my eyes off the road for five seconds and it caused me to fall," she said.
She says she did a face plant into the street and used her hand to brace herself and she ended up breaking her wrist. Her knees were scuffed up and she got a black eye.
Ms. Murphy must’ve had quality insurance, because if she hadn’t there is no way she would’ve looked that cheerful flexing her cast on the ‘Gram.
TEEN SENTENCED TO TIME SERVED FOR MURDERING GOOSE, STEALING EGGS
Last week I mentioned the powerful albeit stupid Whitehall teen that killed a goose with one punch and stole her eggs to see if they would hatch back at his house. His case has been adjudicated.
From Bethany Bruner of dispatch.com:
Andre L. Teague Jr., 18, of Whitehall, pleaded guilty in Franklin County Municipal Court to a misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals […] one week after his arrest. Environmental Court Judge Stephanie Mingo sentenced him to the week he had spent in jail since the April 17 incident.
As part of a plea agreement, the Columbus city attorney’s office dropped other misdemeanor charges, including underage drinking and violating protections afforded to nongame birds and their eggs.
Teague was arrested after witnesses reported seeing him strike a goose and disturb its nest in the 3600 block of East Main Street.
They say never to read the comments — and I don’t, unless I wrote the article — but unfortunately I scrolled a half inch too far and my day was worse for it.
Direct correlation between the state’s decline of public education and the proliferation of voters who call unviable fetuses unscientific terms like “unborn babies.” Oh yeah, and goose-punchers, too. We can’t forget them either.
THOSE WMDs. The Bullshitter-in-Chief… The Battle of Winterfell: A tactical analysis… Wall Street doesn’t want this woman talking about her mug in court… How this one font took over the world… The Zoomers might save the American mall.
I know you never read the comments but I hope you make an exception: I am always here for a good font story, but the WMD you listed linked to the wrong article. Maybe tomorrow?