Eric Deters Muzzled Again

Once again, radio "entertainer" and ambulance chaser Eric Deters has been fined. This time the fine was 30k. Here is the story from the Enquirer:

Lawyer and radio personality Eric Deters has been fined nearly $30,000 for filing a lawsuit against the Kenton County jail that was not "well grounded in fact" or "warranted by existing law."

Hmmm...sounds an awful lot like the Meranda v. Gusweiler case, but I digress.

Kenton Circuit Judge Patricia Summe wrote in her order dated Nov. 22 that Deters "did not conduct a reasonable investigation or deliberately chose to ignore facts" when filing that suit that resulted in "more than two years of futile litigation."

This is the largest of at least six fines - totaling about $81,800 - levied against Deters during 25 years of practicing law in Kentucky and Ohio.

Deters is ordered to pay the latest fine by Dec. 18. It will be used to cover taxpayers' money fiscal court used to defend the jail. The suit claimed former county inmate James Chandler's appendicitis got worse because he was denied medical care in November 2006 while he was locked up at the facility.

The sanctioning of Deters was delayed as he fought for a year to have Summe disqualified from the jail case. The Kentucky Supreme Court refused to remove her in August.

Deters said he will appeal Summe's fine.

"This is outrageous," Deters said. "The appeal of this is going to take years, and I'm going to appeal it all the way to the end."

Eric Deters is an attention whore. He is a petulant brat who is so proud of his own accomplishments and intelligence he has to rattle off inane facts every segment of his radio show. He has no ethics, and he is the epitome of an unethical ambulance chasing lawyer:

Grant Circuit Judge Stephen Bates fined Deters $1,300 in October 2007 for subpoenaing Kenton County Coroner Dr. David Suetholz. Bates called the subpoena "an abuse of the legal process." Deters subpoenaed Suetholz for an autopsy report. The report was actually held by the Boone County Coroner's Office.

• Campbell Circuit Judge Fred Stine fined Deters about $22,000 in April 2006 for filing a frivolous suit in Campbell County. Stine wrote in an order that Deters' "pleadings were interposed only for the purposes of harassing the defendants and to cause unnecessary delay." It involved a legal dispute over alleged faulty home repairs.

• A Clermont County Court of Common Pleas fined Deters $13,000 in 2002. Deters brought a lawsuit against a home builder on behalf of 106 plaintiffs who had not purchased a home from the builder nor otherwise had any contract with it.

Do any of these instances sound like the legal eagle guardian of truth that the Chihuahua Deters makes himself out to be? I don't think so. Maybe he should give up the law practice and just concentrate on his entertainment venues, or harrassing football teams that play against his kids.

Bullying or Aggressive Coaching? Hearing May Decide....

In Lebanon, there are complaints being filed against a former Coach of the Year. It has to do with what complainants are calling abusive behavior and bullying. Here is the story from the Cincinnati Enquirer:

Tim Mersch, former Greater Western Ohio Conference Coach of the Year, is the target of a series of accusations.

Five girls tearfully complained last week during a meeting of the Lebanon Board of Education that Mersch is verbally and emotionally abusive and uses intimidation to pit players against one another, even allowing bullying among teammates.

They alleged incidents of name-calling, confrontational tactics, belittling some girls' physiques and fostering a team environment where some girls bully others.

So, has the school done anything about this, before the court hearings are due to take place?

Superintendent Mark North said he became aware of the complaints during the season and that the district's two investigations - one making use of the district's attorney - found the complaints lacked merit. Moreover, North says he intends to rehire Mersch - a retired teacher and veteran girls volleyball coach - for next fall's season.

Shortly after the girls complained publicly Monday night, the mother of one player was granted a Dec. 3 hearing before a magistrate in Warren County Common Pleas Court as she seeks a stalking protection order against the coach.

Maureen Painter alleged that during a September evening visit by Mersch at her home he verbally confronted both her and her daughter.

Painter also made allegations that during school Monday, Mersch - who is only contracted part time to coach - came to Lebanon High School and sought out her daughter who was working at the school office and glared at her more than a minute in response to complaints about him.

Mersch declined comment about the accusations. He has until Nov. 30 to file objections to the hearing.

Painter also filed a complaint Thursday with Lebanon police, but the officer who took the complaint was unavailable Friday to comment on whether police are investigating.

"He is verbally and emotionally abusive," Painter said. "He plays mind games and manipulates these girls. He is a nasty, vindictive man. This has been going on for years and I don't want these girls or any future girls to suffer from this."

Another parent, Chris Young, echoed Painter's claims, accusing Mersch of being psychologically and emotionally abusive to these kids.

So, the school district investigated and found so much evidence that they decided to rehire the guy. So, the school district A)is hiding something to protect a coach, B)didn't do due dilligence, or C)did an investigation and the charges are groundless. I don't know what is the truth here.

Is this aggressive coaching ala Bob Huggins or Bobby Knight, or is this abuse? Much of what is today called abusive was acceptable just a decade ago. What constitutes mind games and what constitutes honest critique? It seems now that the magistrate in Warren County will have to decide.

Northern Kentucky University's First President Passes Away

This may not seem like big news to some, but it is to Matt and me. Without Frank Steely's leadership, NKU may never have succeeded and he and I may never have ended up there. Frank Steely, though I never had him in class, was a mentor to me. I spoke with him several times during my time at NKU, and as a member of Phi Alpha Theta, the school's history honor society. Steely was an amazing man who will be missed but whose legacy will last forever. From the Cincinnati Enquirer:

Frank Steely, the founding president of Northern Kentucky University, died Monday morning at Highland Spring in Fort Thomas of natural causes. He was 85.

Mr. Steely served as NKU’s president from December 1969 to September 1975 and taught history until 2001.

“He always said he never stepped in a classroom when he wasn’t glad to be there,” said his wife, Martha Pelfrey of Cold Spring.

He started as president when NKU was founded as Northern Kentucky State College and completed his tenure when the university featured 6,000 students, 150 professors and six buildings on the Highland Heights campus. It now has nearly 16,000 students.

In a statement, NKU President Jim Votruba called Mr. Steely “the human cornerstone of this university.”

“Frank Steely was given the Herculean task of building a university from the ground up – and he succeeded,” Votruba said in a statement.

A native of a small town in western Kentucky near Murray, Mr. Steely earned degrees from the University of South Carolina, the University of Kentucky and Rochester University.

He was dean of Clinch Valley College in Virginia when he was named president of Northern Kentucky State College in 1969. The school changed its name to Northern Kentucky University in 1976.

In the first year, classes at the college were located in houses and barns and the music practice room was held in a renovated dog kennel.

“We had no staff, no students, no budget and no buildings,” recalled Ken Lucas, the former congressman and a founding member of NKU’s Board of Regents. “We literally started from scratch.”

Milestones during Mr. Steely’s tenure included the merger with Salmon P. Chase College of Law in 1972, the move to the Highland Heights campus, and the first conditional accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Mr. Steely is survived by Pelfrey; his first wife, Isoetta Steely of Fort Thomas; son, William Steely of Clarksville, Tenn.; daughter, Lisa Steely of Jacksonville, Fla.; five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday (12/2) at First Baptist Church, 4410 Alexandria Pike in Cold Spring, with services to follow.

Burial will be at 2 p.m. Friday (12/3) at Hazel Cemetery in Hazel, Ky.

Memorial gifts may be directed to the Northern Kentucky University Foundation, Suite 221, Lucas Administrative Center, Highland Heights, KY 41099.

Brown County: Money and Vengeance Edition

OK, previously on WMD....We disclosed the incident involving Judge Scott Gusweiler and Clerk of Courts Tina Meranda. Then, we discussed how Tina Meranda decided to get bomb throwing and self proclaimed "proud Ambulance chaser" (see last night's 700wlw broadcast between 11pm and midnight) Eric Deters to bring further shame and reproach on Brown County, and generally cost the county more money. Well, we now have some updates.

Mark goes on the Air with Bulldog, Bulldog obfuscates

So, I'm driving home last night and I hear Deters on the air. I had been told he was going to release info on this case on his website. Hadn't seen anything, so I figured I would call. As I am on hold, Deters is engaging in his usual schizophrenic diatribes, on the one hand claiming to be a "proud ambulance chaser" but then railing against Obamacare and the high costs of providing health care to his employees in his "businesses." Sound a bit hypocritical? Yep. Anyway, I get on the air and I ask the Bulldog what this is really all about: is it an ethics thing, money thing, what is it since it sounds like it is going to be in civil court? Well, the Bulldog lashes out and says he won't discuss the case until he releases his lawsuit on Monday on his website, and that he doesn't leak info on cases, but that the lawsuit would "speak for itself." Hmmm...doesn't leak anything about cases before filing suit, eh? Well then, what about this from the Brown County Press:

Deters Gives Advanced Copy of Lawsuit to Brown County Press to Taint Jury Pool

(headline is mine)

Allegations of "abusive, overbearing and inappropriate behavior" are included in an upcoming lawsuit against Brown County Common Pleas Judge Scott Gusweiler.

Brown County Clerk of Courts Tina Meranda is suing Gusweiler in Brown County for "a pattern and practice" of such behavior "outside the scope of his duties" as Judge.

Meranda's attorney, Eric Deters, released a preliminary copy of the pending suit to the Brown County Press. It had not been filed with the court at press time.

The complaint is alleging that Judge Gusweiler violated Ohio Revised Code 2921.03 which covers criminal intimidation.

OK, now previously, in the comments for the last update, someone recited the chapter and verse of what this violation entails per the Ohio revised code. Go check it out in the comments for the last update.

But, do I not see a strategy developing by the pathological schitzoid Deters? Not willing to debate or face questions regarding the suit, he does release a "preliminary copy" to the local press of the county in question...why? We will get back to this later.

However, regarding the ORC violation and criminal actions, I don't have a law degree. I wasn't there. So, I will defer to Brown County Prosecutor Jessica Little, cited in the article from the Press:

Brown County Prosecuting Attorney said in her opinion, Gusweiler did not violate that statute.

"I do not intend to pursue any criminal proceeding in any manner whatsoever" Little said.
Little added that only the Prosecuting Attorney can bring a criminal complaint in the county, but that Meranda can pursue a civil complaint against Gusweiler if she wishes.

So, this answers the one question. This is not about the law...This is about money and vengeance. Before ol' Chuckles comes over and begins to besmirch Prosecutor Little, let me say that while I don't know her personally I have discussed her legal acumen with Paul Hall, Danny Bubp and others and they all say she is very competent and up to the job and has the highest degree of integriy. Chuckles will come here trying to cry conspiracy, but that is all he and the 5-8 people who show up for Democrat central committee meetings ever do nowadays. Now, in the most recent update, a commenter said that the origins of the original incident involving changing of the locks in the Clerk's office had to do with:

The day in question (the day that the locks were changed), Court was in session at 8:00a.m. However, the Clerk's office was on a two-hour snow delay (on the tax payers dollar). This made it necessary for someone from the court's office to gain access to the Clerk's office to get the files needed so that court sessions could proceed that morning.

Now, did this make Meranda lose face? I don't know. But, needless to say, the question of what happened at this time leaves one to question. I have no personal knowledge of current wrongdoing, but let us not forget that Ms. Meranda's office was cited by outgoing Auditor of State Mary Taylor in an audit and found to have engaged in some wrongdoing. Ms. Meranda's response was to fire one employee, blame all her predecessors, and then act like she was the lone crier of foul in the wilderness. Throwing people under the bus for embarrassing her appears to be standard operating procedure. Wasn't aware Tina was from Chicago.

OK, so let's get back to the complaint filed by Tina and the Bullhorn, Eric Deters:

One entry in the complaint reads; "Six months after becoming Judge, Defendant (Gusweiler) instructed Plaintiff's (Meranda) staff not to accept any filings from his predecessor, because the Defendant stated 'The sons-of-b****** have had plenty of time to learn who is the Judge around here."

There are a total of 13 factual allegations in the complaint.

OK, these are "factual" complaints. Where are the dates? Where are the specifics? All I am hearing so far is hearsay and what seems like an effort to paint Gusweiler as some type of loose cursing cannon. While the language may be regrettable, a)we don't know for a fact this language was used, and b)some people use more colorful metaphors.

The complaint at the heart of the dispute regards a set of keys to the Clerk of Courts office that Gusweiler issued a court order to Meranda to provide.

The complaint alleges that Gusweiler told Meranda he "had a deputy sheriff waiting to take her to jail for contempt of court" if she didn't provide them to him.

It continues, saying that Brown County Prosecuting Attorney Jessica Little was present and told Gusweiler not to have Meranda arrested without due process.

The complaint alleges that Gusweiler responded "I don't need your f****** advice" and continued that "fearing Defendant and his demeanor, Plaintiff gave Defendant the keys he demanded."

Woah, wait a minute here! We have a shifting story now....Back in the first story covering this issue, Ms. Meranda was quoted like this:

Meranda said Gusweiler then told the two women "She will give me the keys or she'll be arrested."

Little responded "Judge I represent both of you, but I advise you not to arrest her without due process."

Meranda said the judge responded "I don't give a f*** about your advice."
At that point, Meranda turned over the keys.

Which is it? More inconsistencies appear as one looks over the retellings vs. the latest. More and more, this appears to be revenge driven and money driven. Maybe Ms. Meranda needs some help with the medical bills. Maybe the winery isn't doing well. I don't know, but I don't see this as "crusading clerk of courts standing up for the rule of law" especially given Meranda's history of less than above board meandering herself.

Back to the latest from the press:

The lawsuit says that because of those actions, Gusweiler is guilty of "attempting to influence, intimidate or hinder a public servant (Meranda) in the discharge of the person's duty".

Meranda is asking the court to order Gusweiler not to interfere with her duties and to order him to stop his "abusive, overbearing and inappropriate" behavior, saying such behavior is "outside the scope" of his duties as Judge.

The complaint concludes by asking for a jury trial and for compensatory and punitive damages against Judge Gusweiler.

Should the case go to trial, the Ohio Supreme Court will assign a visiting judge to hear the case.

Once the complaint is filed with the court, Gusweiler will be provided an attorney at county expense.

His attorney would then respond to the complaint.

So, because of some choice words, some crazy circumstances, hurt pride and who knows what else, this is going to cost the county tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, as well as lost hours of work by both of these officials and possibly the prosecutor, who may be a material witness. Look, I am disappointed in the language used by Gusweiler and by the hiring of Deters to drag this county through the mud. If there is wrongdoing, there should be punishment for it. However, the true sadness is that this could have all been handled better with some freaking maturity on both sides.

However, to paint Meranda as some crusader against overbearing judges misses some of the details. She is asking for compensatory and PUNITIVE damages. She is making the county incur thousands in legal costs. Also, her attorney is playing dirty pool by releasing this tripe to the local media to taint the jury pool (note how she requests a jury trial, but yet how can people not be biased now that they have seen the alleged language used by Gusweiler and the slanted story of Ms. Meranda?). She will also be costing the state money in terms of sending in a visiting judge.

Again, the questions remain: where did this all start? How could it have been avoided? What specifically is defined as criminal? The only one looking like having common sense in this matter is Prosecutor Little. However, Eric Deters is not the crusading attorney. He is using this to further his career and also to taint the public opinion against Gusweiler.

We will stay on these developments here at WMD. Deters will supposedly be releasing the full text of the lawsuit Monday. Maybe at that time we will get more perspective on the situation, and who knows, maybe thoughts will change. But, at this point, this appears to be a scorched earth vendetta by a public official who has done similar things in the past, and who doesn't care what it may cost the county or state in terms of reputation as well as actual dollars.

Boehner on Delta Queen

Statement from Republican Leader, my Congressman and a Great American -- John Boehner -- on the Delta Queen’s Nomination as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) today issued the following statement regarding the Delta Queen’s nomination as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places:

“The Delta Queen has played a vital role in the greater Cincinnati area’s history first as a working steamboat and then as a recreational vessel ferrying passengers along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Since 1966, the Delta Queen has been exempted from the Safety at Sea Act, which unintentionally caught the ship in a tangled web of regulations meant for ocean-going vessels and not passenger ferries. However, special-interest groups finally succeeded in forcing the Delta Queen into dry-dock last year and the ship’s fate remains unknown.

“The Cincinnati-area congressional delegation has worked hard over the years to protect the Delta Queen from special interests interested more in political payback than preserving our regional history. I look forward to working with incoming Rep. Steve Driehaus and continuing to work with Reps. Jean Schmidt and Geoff Davis to save the Delta Queen.”

NOTE: The Delta Queen was nominated as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places by Boone County (Kentucky) Historic Preservation Review Board member Don Clare. The list’s rules require the nomination be seconded. An Associated Press article notes that the list “raises awareness of preservation efforts.”

In 1970, the Delta Queen was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1989, she was named a National Historic Landmark. Boehner, Davis, Schmidt and former Rep. Steve Chabot recently petitioned the White House to issue an executive order extending the Delta Queen’s exemption from the 1966 Safety at Sea Act. Paul A. Schneider, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, responded on Dec. 30, 2008, denied the request because the exemption would be for “all of its voyages” instead of a “particular voyage.”

It is amazing that this situation hasn't been fixed yet...

Should Illegals Be Able to Get License Plates?

This story developed late last week and I didn't get to it until over the weekend... I have found two media sources that tell the story fairly well, so let's piece this together, bit by bit.

First up is the Cincinnati Enquirer story:

Butler County Sheriff Rick Jones, whose office busted three Hamilton used-car dealerships Thursday, said Combs’ idea seems to be a good one.

Meanwhile, eight suspects charged in alleged fake-documents operations at the three Hamilton used-car dealers appeared Friday in Butler County Common Pleas Court.

Dan Ferguson, an assistant prosecutor handling the case, said a ninth indicted person, Maria Martinez, 41, is recovering in Hamilton County after undergoing surgery and has said she intends to turn herself in to face the charges.

Six of the defendants charged with records-tampering were released on their promise to appear for future court dates, including the three Singh brothers who own the targeted dealerships: Rajvinder, 35, of Liberty Township, and Sukvinder, 37, and Sinderpal, 34, both of Deerfield Township.

Judge Michael J. Sage set bond at $25,000 each for two other defendants, James Dozier, 24, of Middletown, and Jesus Vasquez, 27, of Hamilton.

And now, the Times-Reporter story:

Undercover officers were sold phony identification cards that were used to process car titles and registrations, Jones said.

He said the dealerships charged customers far more than fair-market value for the vehicles. The dealerships, Paul’s Auto Sales, Payless Auto Sales and Credit Auto Sales, are owned by immigrants from India. They have been closed.

“The grand jury was almost in shock that this was going on,” Butler County Sheriff Rick Jones said. “It’s happening all over the place, not just here, but we’re the ones calling attention to it. It’s rampant.”

One employee is also accused of impersonating a sheriff’s deputy in an attempt to scare customers into making late payments, Butler said.

That last bit is particularly entertaining. I got a better explanation of this part of the story yesterday and it goes like this... Apparently the undercover officers bought these vehicles and were making payments decided to see what would happen if they stopped making payments. One of the dealerships had an employee call the undercover posing as a sheriff's deputy threatening to repossess the vehicle. If right now, you are thinking that it doesn't pay to do crime in Butler county...you'd be right.

But that's not why you're here...

All of that is really prologue for what happened the day after the arrests. State Rep. Courtney Combs has asked the Ohio Legislative Services Commission to look in to drafting a resolution that would require customers to prove US citizenship or legal immigration status in order to acquire a temporary tag or license plate for the vehicle.

The Enquirer asked the BMV for a comment:

Julie Ehrhart, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, said state laws already require certain key identification documents – such as a state ID card or driver’s license – to secure car titles, which are needed to register vehicles. But she also said that car dealers may not always require those types of identification when they hand out temporary license tags and/or sell vehicles.

It is important to note that what Combs is proposing is NOT what the headline of the Enquirer story states...in fact, in the story, Combs addresses that issue:

“I can’t stop you from buying a car. I think that would be unconstitutional; you have a right to buy anything you want, as long as you have the money.

"But what I can do is stop you from obtaining a tag or license to put on that car,” said state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Fairfield.

Illegals are running all kinds of legal risks, this would be one more...

For the record, I think this is a great idea. The only way we are ever going to get a handle on this illegal immigration problem is to encourage these folks to solve it for us. By making it more difficult for illegals to operate in the shadows of our society, we make it much more likely that the illegals will decide for themselves that it is best to not be here.

Also for the record, I believe strongly that we need an immigrant population to assist the American labor force. But I believe it is more important to make sure that our laws are respected and our borders are secured. I support a very tall wall with a very large gate...

Killing Pays for Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby--AND YOU HELP FOOT THE BILL

Well, at least she won't be putting any more children in jeopardy in the Glen Este Middle School. Of course, that doesn't help her dead daughter, Cecilia, whom Slaby left in a car to bake this past summer because she was too concerned about delivering donuts to her staff. Slaby has agreed to a separation agreement with the school. From the Cincinnati Post:

An assistant middle school principal who left her 2-year-old daughter in the back of a sweltering car, an accident that killed the child, reached a settlement to leave the school district where some parents had called for her ouster.

Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby, 40, has been on leave since Aug. 23, the day she left her sleeping daughter Cecilia strapped into a car seat for eight hours in the parking lot of Glen Este Middle School in Clermont County. Temperatures that day reached nearly 100 degrees.

Under terms of a separation agreement approved Monday by the West Clermont School Board, Nesselroad-Slaby will not return to the school, Superintendent Gary Brooks said.

The school board issued a statement saying the agreement will prevent further disruptions caused by the tragedy.

The child's death divided the school community. Some parents and residents supported Nesselroad-Slaby, while others were angered and demanded that she be fired.

Clermont County Prosecutor Don White decided not to charge the mother, saying it was an accident that didn't entail reckless conduct as defined by Ohio law.

Nesselroad-Slaby told police that she changed her usual routine that morning by picking up doughnuts for the school staff - a decision that distracted her - and she thought she had already dropped her daughter off with a baby sitter.

Even though this story says terms were not disclosed, my sources tell me Slaby gets a good hunk of her pay. She commits child endangerment, is not charged by an inept and incompetent and corrupt prosecutor (Don White), intimidated by Slaby's corrupt County Commissioner Defense counsel (GOP member Scott Croswell), and she gets a payday.

But wait, there is more. From the Community Journal:

Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby is "under the care of a physician" and will apply for disability retirement instead of returning to work as an assistant principal at Glen Este Middle School.

This is one aspect of the separation agreement signed by the West Clermont Local School District Board of Education and Nesselroad-Slaby Dec. 11.

Board members voted at their regular meeting Dec. 10 to end the contract with Nesselroad-Slaby. The agreement was signed Dec. 11.

Nesselroad-Slaby is to apply for disability retirement benefits with the State Teachers Retirement Disability System, according to a press release and the separation agreement. If her application is approved, Nesselroad-Slaby will tender an irrevocable letter of resignation as assistant principal effective the day of her disability approval.

In the event her application for disability retirement is denied or she exhausts her sick leave days prior to a disability retirement decision, she will give her resignation effective July 31, 2009. At that point, Nesselroad-Slaby would use vacation leave and personal leave days until they are exhausted, and then placed back on paid administrative leave through the expiration of her contract July 31, 2009.

Nesselroad-Slaby also will receive a letter of reference regarding her "successful years of service with the board," and the board will not place any restrictions on who Nesselroad-Slaby may contact for other personal references.

Superintendent Gary Brooks read a resolution to "amicably" conclude the board's employment relationship with Nesselroad-Slaby during the Dec. 10 board meeting.

The board voted 5-0 in favor of accepting the terms of the agreement.

YES, THAT IS RIGHT FOLKS! Some of your tax dollars is going to support Slaby! The murderer files for disability, and if she doesn't get it, she gets to leach off of the good people of the West Clermont School District. And, if she decides to get back into teaching or education, she gets a great reference from the board. So, once again, not only can you get away with killing your own daughter in Clermont County simply by saying you forgot about her, you can:
1. get disability for it.
2. leach off of taxpayers
3. get an attaboy for doing it.

Where is the justice for Cecilia? When will the Clermont County GOP tell Croswell and White to take a hike and get competent and noncorrupt folks in there?

Word to the wise to the families with children in school in Ohio. Be on the lookout for this woman. She baked her own kid, who knows what she will do to yours if she gets employment in your school district!

Worst Economy Since Hoover Update

The Great Lakes Brewing Company has a problem...they can't brew enough of their Christmas Ale to keep everybody happy!

Mark McNally at Paindealer says:

When you can't keep a beer that costs $10 bucks a six pack in store, that just might be a sign of a darn good economy....

That may be true Mark, but think about how miserable all those people are who don't have their Christmas Ale!

It must be horrible having all these people having disposable income!

That's right, Plunderbunders, I blame Bush...

Butler County GOP Endorsements - Part Two

The Hamilton Journal-News reports:

The local GOP endorsed U.S. Rep. John Boehner, as well as Sheriff Richard Jones and Coroner Richard Burkhardt.

In the courts, endorsements went to judges Daniel Nastoff, Charles Pater and Michael Sage for the Court of Common Pleas; and Juvenile Judge Ronald Craft.

Mary Swain and Carlos Todd were endorsed to represent Butler County on the GOP's statewide committee.

All went unopposed Wednesday before the county party's central and executive committees at a meeting in Fairfield.

A couple of things to note...

There are no Democrats running for any of these offices except for Dale Richter, who is a police officer in Springboro, challenging our favorite sherriff. He lost the last time and I fully expect a repeat for Jones.

Now, let's mention the only Republican to seek one of these seats...

Edward Meer, a press operator in Hamilton, is collecting signatures to run for Boehner's seat. He didn't seek endorsement, he said, because he didn't know about it.

Meer still plans to run, though, mainly focusing on the war in Iraq.

"The reason I'm running is mainly because I have friends in Iraq and stuff and there's a lot of things going on that no one knows about because they don't even talk about it," he said.

Taking on Republican Leader, my Congressman and a Great American -- John Boehner -- as a Republican is a pretty tall order. And I'm not real sure what Meer's position on Iraq is...is he running because he thinks Boehner is wrong on the war? If so, he is sadly mistaken if he thinks he will win on the issue.

As you may recall, I'm new to the Central Committee and the inner workings of the Butler County GOP; but as I have discovered, Carlos Todd is the man responsible for the decision to waste all of that money and risked the county party's fiscal future on what we at WMD like to call the Todd Mahal -- the Butler County Republican Party Headquarters and Palatial Estate. If this is as common knowledge as I have been led to believe, I find it difficult to understand why the party continues to support this kind of leadership at the state level. I was unable to attend last night, so I'm hoping that one of my new friends will enlighten me. (Fire away in the comments or feel free to email me at wmdtvmatt - at - yahoo - dot - com)

Police Interview With Brenda Slaby Released

ONN has a bit of insight in to the interview with police and the Donut Lady:

Brenda Slaby frequently put her head down and wept as she retraced the morning she forgot about two year old Cecilia. It was the day before the vice-principal's first day of school. There was an important meeting. Cecilia was in the back seat.

"Brenda Slaby told police it was too early to drop cecelia off at the sitter's so she came here to the bakery to get doughnuts for the staff. When she changed her routine, Slaby forgot Cecilia was in the back seat."

"Was she asleep? She was always alseep, always sound asleep."

Cecilia slept through the doughnut delivery to school. It took two trips. Then Brenda Slaby parked the car with Cecilia inside. 8 hours later, someone pulled into the parking and saw her. Slaby rushed to the car and carried her blistered daughter into the air conditioned school. It was too late.

"No one thinks you did this on purpose. No-one is doubting that Brenda, good mother's don't do that."

Brenda Slaby tried to calculate living with what she did.

"I don't know how you go on having done this to one of your kids, and ever forgive yourself."

In police interviews, Brenda was described as stressed out about the first day of school. A teacher at her other daughter's school said the Slaby's were always in a hurry.

"I was trying to be everything to everybody. I failed my daughter."

Read the whole thing on ONN's site here.

Related Content Update

Bill Sloat has a very fascinating contrasting story involving extreme cold weather and child endangerment that ought to be included in our discussions...

Would Have Walked If Don White Was On the Case

It turns out that some people who leave their children in the car are prosecuted, and the children don't even have to die. If this guy would have left his child in the car in Clermont County, Ohio, Prosecutor Don White would have just chalked it up to a terrible accident and let him walk. Especially if he were represented by White's boss, Scott Croswell. Here is the story from Fox News:

PATRICK, Nev. — An Oregon rugby player remains in jail Tuesday after being arrested on charges he left his 2-year-old daughter in a vehicle in the parking lot of a Nevada brothel on a 95-degree day.

Lucien Hoffman, of Bend, Ore., is being held in the Storey County Detention Center in lieu of $40,000 bail on charges of child neglect.

Police arrested Hoffman early Sunday night at the World Famous Mustang Ranch brothel in Sparks, Nev., after a security guard found the child crying inside the car, according to Storey County Sheriff's Det./Sgt. Kenneth Quirk.

"It was 95 degrees out at that time of day, and you have to figure another 30 degrees on top of that inside a vehicle even with the windows down," Quirk said.

But, of course, the Rugby player wasn't:
A) driving a Mercedes SUV
B)a resident of Symmes township
C) defended by a commissioner who is the boss of the county prosecutor;

So this guy faces charges and a woman who left her CHILD TO DIE walks free.

Fascinating, isn't it?

And, tell me, how were those donuts?

In Clermont County, there Is No Justice

It turns out the Donuts over My Baby momma is not going to be charged. Yes, folks, write this down. If you are a public employee in Clermont County and drive a Mercedes SUV, you are allowed to walk for negligence in the death of your own child. Man, I am sure Liz Carroll wishes she would have traded up from that beat up car she was driving when she was busted for killing Marcus Feisel. Here is the sad story:

Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby won’t be charged in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Cecilia Slaby, who was left in a car for eight hours amid searing heat Aug. 23, prosecutors said this morning.

Nesselroad-Slaby, 40, forgot she left the sleeping girl strapped in a child seat of a sport utility vehicle at Glen Este Middle School, where she is the assistant principal.

“The only underlying charge appropriate in cases such as this, and the charge suggested by the Union Township Police Department, is child endangering,” said a statement released by Clermont County Prosecutor Don White. “The actions of Cecilia’s mother … were the result of an accident. … It is my opinion that the law dictates that no charges be filed at this time.”

An accident? How many vehicular homicide charges have been filed even though things were an accident? The reason charges are still filed: negligence. And I really, relaly do think leaving your child in a car to bake because you are so concerned about yourself and your career qualify as negligence. But, Clermont County Prosecutor and enabler Don White sees things differently.

While he believes Nesselroad-Slaby’s actions were a substantial lapse of due care, White said, they didn’t rise to the level of recklessness.

The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that an essential element of child endangering is recklessness.

White noted that his office has received numerous comments from members of the public regarding whether Nesselroad-Slaby should be charged.

“Unlike most elected officials, judges and prosecutors should not, and by law cannot, make their decisions based on popular or public opinion,” White said. “Judges and prosecutors are bound by the law.”

The temperature averaged 98 degrees in that part of Union Township on Aug. 23. It could have reached 149 degrees in the car, which had its windows up. The girl died of heat-related causes.

A resident of Symmes Township, Nesselroad-Slaby became distracted from her normal routine of dropping Cecilia off at a baby-sitter’s house because she stopped to buy doughnuts for a faculty meeting, according to her lawyer, R. Scott Croswell III.

OK, so we have that ambiguity again. At one time, it wasn't part of her normal routine to take the baby to the sitter. At another, it was. Which is it? And then, I don't know about you, but I do think it is reckless to have care of a child and forget about them because of donuts. That sounds like reckless parenting to me. But what do I know?

But wait, her lawyer, Croswell, decides the real villains here are the public:

“All these people who are screaming for her head ought to try putting themselves in her place," Croswell said. "She merely became distracted and forgot the child was in the car."

Usually, "she dropped the child off (at 7 a.m.) before she went to school," Croswell said. "She started to go to the baby-sitter but realized at 6:30 a.m. that she would be a half-hour early."

Nesselroad-Slaby "turned around and went to pick up the doughnuts and focused on her school projects and became distracted and forgot she had not yet dropped the child off," Croswell said.

Yep, blame the public. Blame the donuts. Blame whomever else except the person who was there, who had the opportunity, to get the child out. Welcome to liberal society, folks.

I am sickened by this. I know what some people are going to say, and Rose in another thread talked about this. This woman has and is going to continue to suffer, every day, every hour. Her life is going to be over. Her marriage is probably over. Her job is probably toast. Isn't she suffering enough? That is not the point. The point is justice. Our system cannot decide this person has suffered enough. Justice cannot look at the SUV or the nice job or nice residence or nice area. It has to treat the situation the same as Shawanda who locked the baby in the Geo. By not pressing ahead with charges, you send the wrong message. If a jury of her peers chose to acquit her, or a judge, I would be fine with this, but to not bring charges of child endangerment and involuntary manslaughter is just ridiculous. There is no justice in Clermont County. Nuff said.

Tarbell Quits Cincinnati City Council

In a move that has surprised just about everybody, Vice Mayor and City Councilman Jim Tarbell has resigned his position effective September 3rd. Tarbell is a Charterite, and his departure will give the new member about three months of incumbency heading in to elections. There has been no word on who will be replacing Tarbell, but it is believed that his replacement has already been chosen by the Charter party. Melanie Bates and Joan Kaup are the two names being tossed about...

Cincinnati Enquirer has more on the story here.

Jim Petro Rejected Again

I've been seeing this story hit my email box all week and I just haven't had time to figure out what it was all about until yesterday. The University of Cincinnati's president and Marc Dann have been urging members of the Health Alliance to settle a dispute out of court. Readers Digest version: Two hospitals want out of the Alliance; the Alliance wants them to stay. Long version found here.

Right about now, you are thinking, "What the %^&& does this have to do with Jim Petro?"

Marc Dann, of nepotism fame, recommended Jim Petro to head up the negotiations, but officials from Christ Hospital rejected him. (see the "BOARD REACTS" sidebar, paragraph five)

Quagmire in Cleveland

Cleveland is well on their way to reaching 130 homicides this year. Perhaps former mayors Dennis Kucinich and George Voinovich should stop thinking globally and start acting locally. Kucinich could try a City Department of Peace, Love and Harmony and Voinovich could probably cry out a Plan E for Exit and develop a strategy to redeploy our civilians as quickly as possible.

City leaders are clearly concerned about the surge because Cleveland has a history of turning out some serious shock and awe (ONN):

The city is on pace for 130 homicides this year. Last year there were 119, and in 200 there were 75.

But in 1990, police investigated 180 homicides, 280 in 1980 and 333 in 1972.

We must get out now!

DDN's Martin Gottlieb on Riverside's Tax Problem: "Blame the Republican"

Seeing that Marty came out swinging at the Republican last week, as usual, without even quoting his side of the story makes me want to re-evaluate my own position on the amendment to the budget that eliminated the city of Riverside's ability to collect taxes from civilian employees of Wright Patterson Air Force Base.

Contrary to the belief of SOME people, I'm all for lowering taxes -- including local taxes. In fact, that was my point when I first heard about this move from State Rep. Kevin DeWine. Where is my protection from local taxes? It isn't as if Riverside was attempting to tax members of the military, these are civilians; why do they get special protections from taxation that the rest of us don't.

Unlike Mr. Gottlieb, I emailed Mr. DeWine and received this response from his Senior Legislative Aide, Maureen Beaver:

When Ohio first implemented an income tax in the 1970s, the legislature made the policy decision to make it extremely difficult for municipalities to levy income taxes on civilians who work on WPAFB. That legislation was successful in for almost 3 decades until Riverside found an imperfection in the law, a legitimate legislative oversight, which allowed it to tax within the gates. As a result, only civilians who work in the approximately 12 buildings on base that fall within the city's boundaries would be subject to the tax. The amendment does not reflect new policy - it merely corrected this oversight and sought to ensure that all civilians who work on base continue to be treated identically.

While Representative DeWine will always stand with the taxpayer, the imposition of this income tax has larger implications. WPAFB and the Miami Valley are working everyday to bring new jobs - high wage, high value jobs - to the base and the region. This new tax, applied to a handful of workers in a handful of building is sending exactly the wrong the message to decision makers in the Air Force, Department of Defense and the contracting community.

It is the Representative's hope that the uniform treatment of workers across the base and the elimination of piecemeal taxation will serve as a small incentive for investment on our base and in our region.

Clearly the city of Riverside ought to find another solution to their problems or strongly consider dissolving itself as a municipality.

Mexican Consul Thanks Sheriff Jones

From the Cincinnati Enquirer:

It looks like the Butler County sheriff, known for his anti-illegal-immigration stance, might have a new and unlikely ally.

Martin Alcala, the Mexican government's consul in Indianapolis, wrote Sheriff Rick Jones a thank-you letter for his hospitality during Alcala's staff's recent visit to Butler County. That May 18 visit included a tour of the county jail, where signs read, "Illegal Aliens Here." Jones' trademark candor apparently impressed Alcala's staff.

"I appreciated very much the frankness and openness of our discussions," Alcala wrote.

Jones said the exchange clarified the consul's role for him, as he learned the consul intends to "assist Mexican prisoners only with family and personal issues, not to interfere with criminal proceedings or court-ordered incarcerations."

All of which goes to support an idea that I have...

One of the biggest critiques of the enforcement first approach is that we can't expect to send every illegal Mexican out of the country in order to have them come back legally. I have been of the opinion that every illegal should find some Mexican soil to stand on before coming back to the United States... Question: How many Mexican consulates and embassies are there in the United States? Why not have the illegals be processed through those facilities? The illegal alien problem ought to be Mexico's problem as well as ours...

George W. Bush Parkway

This is ONN:

Tipp City, Ohio - A community near Dayton will rename part of a street in honor of President Bush.

He visited Tipp City last month to give a talk about the war on terrorism, and the new "George W. Bush Parkway" designation will cover part of the road taken by his motorcade.

The city council approved the change 6-1 Monday.

Tipp City Councilwoman Vickie Blakey voted no, pointing out that the street already was honoring someone else, former mayor and council member Donn Davis. She says she got mail and heard comments opposing the new designation for Donn Davis Way.

Current Mayor George Lovett says a member of the Davis family told him they have no objections.

Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of naming things after people currently in office...

There is An Election Going on Today in Ohio

There are some communities with elections going on today. According to ONN, these are the races to watch:

Dayton City Schools
Middletown City Schools
Lakewood City Schools
Strongsville City Schools
Sandusky City Schools
Kettering Schools
Waverly City Schools
Girard Schools
Athens Mayor
Findlay Mayor
Jefferson Co 911
Elyria School Levy
Zanesville Mayor
Mansfield Mayor
Canton Mayor
Massillon Mayor

DDN Editorial on Kevin DeWine

I stopped trolling the Dayton Daily News website for material when I started slacking on my weekly column for the MVCA, so it is due to the diligence of Matt Naugle at RightAngleBlog that I comment on this piece today.

Matt characterizes this editorial as an attack, which I am not sure that it is. The piece has several flaws, but serving as an attack is not one of them. Let's start with the premise of the editorial which is in the headline: "Our view: What would Kevin DeWine do about Mike?" We don't get their view on what they think Kevin would do about Mike; if they had, that might be construed as an attack.

The history:

From the time he got into politics, Kevin DeWine — the Republican state representative for Fairborn, Beavercreek and Xenia — has been seen as nearly destined to run statewide. The family name would be an advantage in a race for a low-visibility slot, like state treasurer. And he has some of the natural gifts of a politician.

Of course, certain recent events demonstrated that the DeWine name isn't exactly political magic on a Houdini level. Sen. Mike DeWine was defeated in 2006, and the year before, his son flopped in a congressional primary.

So what had seemed to be a dynasty in the making is ... well, read on.

Now, as Rep. DeWine (nephew to the former senator) approaches the end of his allotted years in the state House of Representatives, he has the all-but-official designation as the next chairman of the Ohio Republican Party. Current Chairman Robert Bennett will be leaving after 2008 and wants to groom a successor. So a No. 2 spot was created.

The job wasn't handed to Rep. DeWine. He had to beat two county party chairmen.

I think that is a fair and accurate portrayal of Kevin's career thus far. Republicans have been treated much worse in the paper...

This bit doesn't real feel "right" where it was placed in the editorial, but the sentiment is right on target:

It's always good to see somebody from the region playing an important statewide role. It helps guarantee that the area isn't forgotten.

I think having Kevin involved with the party at such a level is a major advantage for the region...

Here is the part that Matt objected to:

By taking the job, Rep. De-Wine certainly undermines any future charge that he is trying to skate to high office on his name. He even risks making some Republican enemies.

What, for example, happens in 2010 if Mike DeWine wants to be governor, but so does some other big-name Republican, say, Rob Portman, Jon Husted or John Kasich? It's not a far-fetched scenario.

Chairman Bennett has made perhaps his biggest mark by getting would-be candidates to step aside, so as to avoid divisive primaries (a trick he couldn't pull off in 2006). But a Chairman DeWine would not be in a great position to do that. He couldn't ask his uncle to step aside, and he couldn't ask anybody else to step aside for his kin.

Fine. Let the public have a choice. Avoiding primaries might be in a party's interest. (Chairmen always seem to think it is.) But the practice is not in the public interest.

Of course, in 2010 a lot of pragmatic Republicans will be worrying that primaries work to the advantage of Republican candidates who are too conservative to win a general election, given what happened to Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell last year. But that was one year, one set of circumstances.

The first paragraph is absolutely correct: by taking the job, Kevin puts to rest any notion of seeking higher office based solely on name recognition.

The premise of the piece is finally raised in the second paragraph, but no answer is given. What would Kevin do if Mike wanted to run against John Kasich, Rob Portman, Jon Husted or anybody else? I suspect that Kevin would actually stay out of the way of a primary race in that situation...something that Chairman Bennett should have done all along. But what difference does that make to an editorial board?

It is the last paragraph that I suspect really gets Matt going...and I can't disagree with anything that he says about it:

First of all, I love that the Dayton Daily News can claim Ken Blackwell lost because he was "too conservative", even though Betty Montgomery, Mike DeWine and many other liberal-leaning Republicans lost, while Mary Taylor was one of the most principled and conservative members of the Ohio legislature. The DDN might have avoided those points just because it doesn't fit their agenda-driven template.

That is the analysis that shatters the template that the Democrats and their accomplices in the media have been trying to sell about 2006... It wasn't conservatives or conservatism that lost in the '06 cycle, it was Republicans who faced a hostile environment due to corruption and complacency.

This last bit from the editorial is somwhat confusing:

Another subject naturally comes up as Rep. DeWine takes the party job. His election suggests that he hasn't paid any major price in his party for pushing for reform of the way legislative districts are drawn. That process — known as redistricting — is traditionally the most partisan of all activities undertaken by elected officials.

The current system — which gives all power to whichever party holds certain elective offices — has served Republicans well for two decades, but could turn on them in the future.

Reform — in a form that doesn't settle for balancing the interests of the parties, but brings non-partisans into map-drawing — would be a big step forward for the state. Hopefully, Rep. DeWine will continue to push for it.

A chairman's job is mainly to win elections. But victory always has a thousand fathers. A chairman who moves beyond that — to shape the election system itself — can play a more lasting role, and one that serves the state as a whole.

Well, redistricting doesn't actually come up naturally...and I disagree with the premise that "we" would be better off with a chariman willing to involve himself in the election system itself. Haven't we learned anything from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections nonsense?

One last thing: Kevin DeWine is entitled to no more of a "break" than any other public figure. If he can't take the heat, it is better that we learn this now rather than later...