St. Rep. Retherford Honors Women’s Basketball Team from Miami University Hamilton

Release:

COLUMBUS—State Representative Wes Retherford (R-Hamilton) presented a House resolution to the Miami University Hamilton Women’s Basketball Team for its 2013 state title during session of the Ohio House of Representatives this week.

The 2012-2013 Harriers were the first women’s team to win both the regular season title and the Ohio Regional Campus State Championship in the same year.

“It was my honor to recognize the Lady Harriers of Miami University Hamilton for their outstanding achievements this basketball season,” Rep. Retherford said. “Their championship was hard-earned, and these young women will continue to make Miami Hamilton, the City of Hamilton and the State of Ohio proud as they pursue excellence in the future. I look forward to the team bringing home many more championships in the future.”

During the presentation, Rep. Retherford and the team were joined by Reps. Margaret Conditt (R-Liberty Twp.), Tim Derickson (R-Hanover Twp.), and Peter Beck (R-Mason).

Kasich Appoints John Carey to Serve as Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents

Release:

COLUMBUS – Today Gov. John R. Kasich appointed John Carey to serve as Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents. As Chancellor, Carey will lead the University System of Ohio – the largest comprehensive system of public higher education in the nation – and will further the Administration’s efforts to better integrate higher education into the state’s job creation and workforce development efforts.

Carey’s appointment is effective April 29, and is subject to the advice and consent of the Ohio Senate. Carey replaces Jim Petro who retired effective February 1. Dr. Stephanie Davidson has been serving the Board as Interim Chancellor since Petro’s retirement.

Said Kasich, "John Carey can help to continue to transform Ohio's system of universities into a university system, and in doing so, higher education can become a stronger partner in Ohio's job creation efforts. As Chancellor, Carey will work with businesses to ensure that coursework and curricula give students the skills they need to meet the needs of employers. The reforms we've made to date have led to greater collaboration among the universities, an increased emphasis on research commercialization, and a funding plan that focuses on improving graduation rates. As a result, universities can better control their costs and help more Ohioans get their degrees so they are better prepared for the jobs that exist. John Carey is a thoughtful, devoted public servant who focused on job creation throughout his legislative career, and I am excited to see him inject this job creation mentality into the Ohio Board of Regents."

John Carey served 9 years in the Ohio House of Representatives, where he served as Chairman of the Primary and Secondary Education Subcommittee, and 8 years in the Ohio Senate, where he served as Chairman of the Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee. Most recently, Carey was Assistant to the President for Government Relations and Strategic Initiatives for Shawnee State University in Portsmouth (Scioto Co.). Prior to his work as a legislator, Carey was mayor of the City of Wellston (Jackson Co.).

Carey is a graduate of Ohio University with a degree in political science. He was born in Chillicothe (Ross Co.) and currently resides in Wellston with his wife and two sons.

Senate President Faber Announces Legislation to Ban Internet Cafés

Release:

(Columbus) – Ohio Senate President Keith Faber announced today that legislators will take immediate action to ban Internet cafés in the state of Ohio.

“In the last 24 hours, my caucus received briefings from law enforcement officials, and we’ve been given enough information at this point to make an informed decision about how to proceed,” Faber said. “I am convinced that these entities are not only illegal but that many of them also engage in criminal activity within their facilities. Ohioans did not contemplate this kind of unregulated activity when they voted to approve gaming in this state, so the time to act is now.”

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, Public Safety Director Tom Charles and Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien joined Faber for the announcement. Faber added that he will personally introduce on Thursday a moratorium bill that immediately halts the expansion of Internet cafes. The bill contains an emergency clause that, with the governor’s signature, makes it effective immediately.

“The moratorium requires all operators to file new affidavits on a form prescribed by the attorney general,” he said. “Failure to properly comply will carry penalties of up to $1,000 per day and other potential sanctions.”

The moratorium is necessary because an existing moratorium on Internet café expansion expires in June.

Faber also announced that senators would immediately begin work on House Bill 7, the legislation that would enact a ban on Internet café operations in Ohio. He added that his goal is to move the legislation in May.

MATT'S CHAT: Because Ohio is business friendly.....

Senate President Faber Announces Medicaid Reform Initiative

Release:

(Columbus) – Ohio Senate President Keith Faber (R-Celina) announced today the appointment of a Medicaid reform task force led by Senator Dave Burke (R-Marion).

“The House has indicated they don’t have the votes to get the governor’s Medicaid proposal done in the budget,” said Faber. “Therefore, I do not believe that issue is on the table as it relates to this legislation. That is not to say we are ending the discussion. My caucus wants to look at Medicaid reform in a comprehensive way outside of the complexities of the budget. This issue has a significant financial impact on the state, and we need to understand every intended and unintended consequence before we make any commitments.”

Faber added that any Medicaid proposal must include flexibility from the federal government and systemic reform, including cost and accountability controls. He said the Senate would work in concert with the Ohio House and the Kasich administration to explore reform in a stand-alone bill.

“We believe there is a path to Medicaid reform that covers the people who need it in the short term, while reducing costs in the long term. We want to achieve an outcome that addresses the concerns expressed on all sides of this debate.”

Burke added, “Over the next several weeks, the Senate will be talking with constituents and interest groups about Ohio’s Medicaid program. Our work will involve multiple stakeholders, including the Governor’s Office of Health Transformation, and our goal is to improve the Medicaid program for the lives we serve and the taxpayers who pay the bills.”

Burke announced the following seven objectives for his task force:

Establish firm annual per member, per month spending targets
Establish performance measures and targets that focus more on outcomes not outputs
Increase consumer involvement in the delivery of Medicaid services
Remove costly legislative mandates that prohibit innovation and flexibility
Streamline legislative oversight
Invest in research and evaluation for Medicaid and the entire health care system in Ohio
Eliminate statutory regulations that impede the cost-effective delivery of health care in Ohio

The task force will begin its work immediately.

MATT'S CHAT: I don't know why we need a committee to JUST SAY NO! The hospital lobbying special interest groups must be dropping serious coins on these guys...let's see who gets bought...

Legislation Providing Certificate of Birth for Stillborn Infants Passes Ohio House

Release:

COLUMBUS—State Representative Brian Hill (R-Zanesville) has announced that the Ohio House of Representatives today passed House Bill 95, which revises Ohio law to provide the issuance of a “certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth” for stillborn babies.

House Bill 95 codifies existing practices of the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), which has changed the title of the certificate from “Certification of Stillbirth” to “Certification of Birth” in response to feedback from grieving parents regarding the previous wording. The legislation requires the ODH or the state registrar to reissue any certificates “recognizing the delivery of a stillborn infant” as a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth. It also requires the local registrar, upon the issuance of a burial permit, to inform the parent or parents of a fetus of at least 20 weeks that suffers a fetal death about the option to apply for a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth, as well as the application process.

“This legislation attempts to show more respect and sensitivity to grieving parents who have suffered a loss of an infant,” said Rep. Hill, who sponsored House Bill 95. “I believe that by retitling the certificate to reflect our understanding of the heartbreak these parents are facing, we can more appropriately show respect for these parents as well as the young life that was lost.”

House Bill 95 passed with unanimous support on the House floor. It will now move to the Ohio Senate.

Ohio House Sends Health Insurance Navigators Legislation to Governor

Release:

COLUMBUS—State Representative Barbara Sears (R-Monclova Twp.) is pleased to announce the Ohio House’s concurrence on Substitute House Bill 3, legislation that gives the State of Ohio the authority to regulate health insurance navigators.

Health insurance navigators are individuals or entities charged with helping citizens obtain information relating to health insurance offerings through health exchanges. The legislation makes changes to the Ohio Revised Code, specifically regarding the licensing and education requirements for insurance agents who wish to serve as a navigator, as well as the manner in which the state will regulate navigators under the federal health care law.

“It is important to outline the role of insurance navigators specific to what they can and cannot do while providing information on health insurance options through our federal exchange,” said Rep. Sears. “This bill requires strong consumer protections, such as training and continuing education for insurance navigators, criminal record checks, conflict of interest disclosures, and certifications. Although Ohioans have overwhelmingly taken a strong position opposing health care exchanges, it is important that we ensure appropriate protections and regulations as we deal with this law.”

Substitute House Bill 3 specifies that navigators are not licensed insurance agents and therefore are prohibited from engaging in selling insurance and related functions.

The House voted to concur on Senate amendments with strong bipartisan support.

MATT'S CHAT: Ohio Republicans are stabbing us in the back yet again...I can not wait until the next time Barb Sears tries to pass herself off as a conservative again.....

Ohio Democratic Party Shenanigans Enter ORP Chairman Race

I am not going to go in to the details of this, but if you haven't heard from elsewhere: Ohio's Democrats have taken notice of the ORP Chairman race and have decided to have their smearmeister, Jerid Kurtz, do his usual slime...

Kurtz called Tom Zawistowski, who is a Tea Party leader and is running for ORP Chairman, and told him to check his email and that there would be information he could use against ORP Executive Director and front-runner for the Chairmanship, Matt Borges. The information that Jerid provided via email (information which I have not confirmed and really isn't as "hot" as Jerid would have us believe because if it were, Jerid would have used it already) regards Borges' old voter registration in another state.

Tom Z. did the right and honorable thing when he received this email. He sent it to Borges so he could be ready to defend himself to this attack when it comes from Kurtz or whichever operative ends up running that particular hit. But that didn't stop the establishment hacks in the ORP State Central Committee from running their own sleaze against Tom Z.

State Central Committeewoman Sarah Brown of district 29, sent an email out to the entire state committee claiming that Tom was working with Jerid. You couldn't devise a more ridiculous or absurd lie than that but that is how far the establishment is prepared to go to protect their anointed one: Matt Borges.

Borges has enough skeletons in his closet as it is. If the state central committee is stupid enough to elect him, then it would appear that any legitimate means to reform the party are dead. The Know-It-Alls in Columbus think they can shut down anyone who opposes their scheming, but all they are doing is losing voters who are sick of this sort of backroom deal-making that can only ultimately benefit Democrats.

Ms. Brown ought to be ashamed of herself playing in to Jerid's hands like that. What utter tomfoolery and asinine charlatans we have on the state central committee. Personally, I am disgusted with them and their nonsense.

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Varnau Vermin Update: Pathological Denial Continues

Dennis Varnau really should seek professional help.  The man appears to be a pathological sore loser and darn near psychotic when it comes to his vendetta against Brown County Sheriff Dwayne Wenninger.  He made his wife run for and get the coroner's job so she could be his extension and weapon in his never ending black helicopter conspiracy.  The guy really needs some meds.  Here is the latest from the Brown County Press:

Letters have been sent to Ohio Governor John Kasich
and Ohio Attorney General Mike Dewine claiming that
Brown County Sheriff Swayne Wenninger is
unqualified to hold his office.

On March 21, Joe Podolsky of Felicity faxed two
documents to the office of Kasich and one to the
office of Ohio Lt. Governor Mary Taylor.  The first page
of one document faxed to Kasich reads “Now you
know what is going on in your state.  Show me you
can do something with/about the information
because you now have the knowledge the same as
everyone else. Just how good are you?, Sincerely
Joe Podolsky.”

The other pages of the document were a four page
letter written to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine on March 21 by Dennis Varnau.  Varnau told DeWine “I want to personally make sure you are completely aware of an ongoing pattern of corrupt activities (enterprise) that is well into its ninth year of operation unabated. I am a victim of this enterprise who has lost four years of salary vestment in the PERS retirement system and other benefits approximately worth at least around $500,000.00.  The taxpayers of our county are also victims of this criminal enterprise who have unawares lost a much greater amount of money, public service, and safety.”

Varnau continued, “The corrupt activities enterprise was created on or about October 9th, 2003, when Republican visiting Judge Robert Ringland sealed (contrary to State law) the criminal  record of Sheriff Dwayne ‘Wenninger.  Wenninger was accused of knowingly falsifying his candidate election documentation for the year 2000 election.  The jury found Wenninger “not guilty” of knowingly falsifying the documentation”.

Varnau goes on to say the verdict did not change the fact that Wenninger was unqualified, and then goes on to allege that a juror in the Wenninger case recently got special treatment from the justice system.

“Leroy Louderback, a friend of Mr. Wenninger,  was one of the jurors who found Mr. Wenninger “not guilty.” That vote to acquit turned out to be a valuable “get out  of jail free” card for Mr. Louderback. On December 16, 2012, Leroy shot his son to death, because his son John Louderback, supposedly had verbally threatened to kill Leroy.  Contrary" to forensic evidence and other information, Leroy was "no billed” by a Grand Jury for voluntary manslaughter on February 28, 2013. One way or another Leroy would have walked away from any charges, either at grand jury or from court, because Leroy was one of many in court who heard Judge Ringland tell Mr. Wenninger that he was not the sheriff during his criminal trial.”

Varnau then recounts the history and his arguments of his civil case against Wenninger.  The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to hear the case, upholding the judgement against Varnau by the Ohio Supreme Court.
Varnau then references two letters written to his wife, Dr. Judith Varnau in her capacity as Brown County Coroner and to Brown County Prosecutor Jessica Little.

Little requested a legal opinion on behalf of Judith Varnau concerning the qualifications of the Sheriff.

So, let me get this straight....This conspiracy of Mr. Varnau's imagination now includes Judge Robert Ringland, the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals, the Ohio Supreme Court, and even citizens of Brown County.  I guess all the grand jurors in Mr. Louderback's case are in on it, too. 

Mr. Louderback and every member of the grand jury should sue Mr. Varnau for defamation of character.  Judge Ringland should sue. 

But, in Dennis's world, the case would go before a judge in on the grand conspiracy led by the Illuminati under the command of secret commander of the Universe, Dwayne Wenninger, who apparently is the head of this international cabal that wants to control a small rural county in Ohio.

Yeah, that sounds believable, doesn't it?

To top it off, he is claiming he has been denied half a million in retirement from the state retirement system that he would have gotten if he had been sheriff.  Hey, Dude!  WAKE UP!  Time and again, for sheriff and for prosecutor, the voters of Brown County have found you to be the egotistical, self serving, psychotic and delusion LOSER!  Get over it!

I hear your cry for help, Dennis, I do...unfortunately, I am not a licensed therapist....just like you are not the elected sheriff....

Ohio House Finance Committee Unveils Biennial Budget Sub Bill

Release:

COLUMBUS—The Ohio House Finance and Appropriations Committee today introduced Substitute House Bill 59, the two-year budget proposal that refines the recommendations in Governor Kasich’s executive budget proposal that was introduced in the House in February.

Building upon the Governor’s strategic vision, the bill continues to make sweeping policy reforms in all areas of government in an effort to make Ohio’s state government more efficient, effective and focused on providing tangible results for Ohioans.

“Governor Kasich laid out a powerful, forward-thinking budget, and we believe we have built upon those proposals in a way that will have a positive impact on all Ohioans,” said Speaker of the Ohio House William G. Batchelder (R-Medina). “Providing healthcare and employment services, as well as reforming state tax policies and funding schools, are continuing themes in both the House and executive versions of Sub. House Bill 59. The substitute bill that was introduced today is the product of countless hours of discussion and a thorough examination of the way our state government operates.”

Providing Permanent Income Tax Relief & Continuing Further Tax Reform

Reforming Ohio’s tax structure is one of the key issues included in Sub. H.B. 59. The bill initiates meaningful income tax reform to stimulate job growth and put more money back in Ohioans’ pockets. It permanently reduces income taxes by 7 percent in FY 2014, which will provide nearly $1.5 billion in income tax relief over the next two years.

Among other changes, the bill:

Exempts grain elevators from the commercial activity tax (CAT)

Lowers the motor fuel tax on liquefied natural gas to 28 cents per gallon

“We remain committed to continue working with the Governor on reforming Ohio’s tax code within the budget-making process,” Chairman of the House Finance and Appropriations Committee Ron Amstutz (R-Wooster) said. “We believe that the targets set by the administration for providing individuals and businesses with relief from the state income tax remain within a reasonable range. However, we decided that it is advisable to hold back a range of potential means of lowering the income tax until additional analysis is conducted.”

Helping the Unemployed Find Work

The House version of the budget includes a strong effort to help Ohioans find gainful employment, access important job resources, and improve their employability. A variety of funding initiatives, which total $250 million over two years, have been included in the state budget, including:

$75 million increase per year in additional funding for employment services and job readiness
$30 million increase per year in additional funding for local governments for mental health services
$20 million increase per year in additional funding for local governments for addiction services
$6 million funding increase for job co-ops and internships

“We heard compelling testimony from a variety of witnesses that low-budget, community-based programs often provide the most cost-effective results,” said Chairman Amstutz. “We are focusing our efforts on assisting potentially employable individuals with overcoming the personal challenges that prevent them from obtaining or keeping a job.”

Primary & Secondary Education: Ensuring Money Follows the Child

Education, a continuing priority for the Ohio House, has received particular care and consideration in Sub. H.B. 59. The budget builds upon sound principles in the executive proposal for primary and secondary education by making changes to target more state aid increases to rural and lower wealth school districts.

“We applied a number of refinements to the education items and funding mechanisms that the governor proposed, but the general construct of the administration’s recommendations remains throughout,” said Chairman Amstutz.

Among other proposals to boost Ohio’s schools and educational standards, Sub. H.B. 59:

· Ensures that none of Ohio’s 600+ school districts will receive less state aid than they did in FY’13

· Increases funding for career-technical education to prepare high school students for future career opportunities

· Increases funding for special education, disadvantaged aid, and transportation

· Provides core funding levels to allow all schools to be competitive

· Provides additional funding for school districts to implement the Third Grade Reading Guarantee through the K-3 Literacy Program

Higher Education: Making College More Affordable

Additionally, Sub. H.B. 59 takes significant strides to improve Ohio’s higher education through comprehensive policy improvements. Among these proposals are:

Moving funding for Ohio universities to an outcome-based system rather than a population-based system

Giving families peace of mind in their child’s tuition costs by capping tuition increases at 2 percent for all state schools. Additionally, the bill allows schools to participate in a newly adopted “cohort plan,” which allows universities to institute a stable, four-year cost of education, capped at a one-time increase of up to 6 percent that cannot change from year to year

Providing $1.1 million in additional funding for the Ohio College Opportunity Grant

Increasing funding for the Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) Fund by $250,000 over the biennium, to help Ohioans who are preparing for their GED examination
Increasing funding for co-op internships by $6 million in FY 2015

“We took strides to make it more affordable to obtain a higher education degree and to give Ohio’s students the necessary tools to succeed in the future,” said Rep. Amstutz.

Healthcare & Medicaid: A long-term, fiscally responsible plan that assists Ohio’s families

Healthcare is a major component of this budget, and the House worked to institute policies that will positively affect all Ohioans. Major spending reductions in Sub. H.B. 59 are a result of the removal of the Medicaid eligibility expansion under the federal Affordable Care Act, an action the House has elected to take because there remain too many uncertainties with the federal program to warrant the expansion’s adoption.

“We have struggled the most with the questions around expanding Medicaid eligibility under the so-called Affordable Care Act,” said Speaker Batchelder. “Our members spent countless hours in hearings, analysis and discussion regarding ways to approach the needs of Ohioans in poverty as well as those without health insurance. However, there is not a consensus that extending Medicaid coverage is a sustainable or effective solution to the needs of adults living below the poverty line. We will further examine the federal program as implementation details continue to come forth, especially considering the ongoing gridlock involving the federal budget and growing uncertainty over sustainability of federal borrowing and spending.”

“There were many health-related variables we considered in this budget,” said Chairman Amstutz. “There is compassion for our citizens faced with barriers of addictions and mental illness, which they must overcome to achieve stable, meaningful employment. Given this common interest, we are calling for an all-hands-on-deck focus on comprehensive solutions that are based at the community level, as well as for the creation of a bipartisan legislative committee to keep a finger on the pulse of the Medicaid issue. We recognize that Medicaid is an area that will continue to require considerable discussion in the coming months and years, as it is an issue that is important to the well-being of all Ohioans.”

In addition to maintaining current Medicaid eligibility rates and establishing a joint study committee to monitor the issues surrounding Medicaid, Sub. H.B. 59 focuses on those who need help, ideally to the point where they no longer rely on public assistance. The budget accomplishes this by increasing funding to local governments for addiction services and mental health, as well as increasing temporary workforce funding for individuals in need.

Other initiatives included in Sub. H.B. 59 include:

Increasing funding for the Local Government Innovation Program by $4 million per year

Creating the Local Government Exchange, which is an effort to encourage more local governments to publish information on the internet to help reduce costs and increase transparency

Establishing the Ohio Oil and Gas Fund, using proceeds from drilling on state lands: 50 percent of royalties from drilling will be invested in Clean Ohio programs and the remaining 50 percent invested in our state parks

Increasing funding for RECLAIM Ohio, a funding initiative that encourages juvenile courts to develop or purchase a range of community-based options to meet the needs of juvenile offenders or at-risk youth

Increasing funding for the Mid-Ohio Food Bank by $2 million over the biennium

Making additional modifications to human trafficking law

Increasing funding for the Ohio Historical Society, Ohio Arts Council and the Hayes Presidential Center

“This budget upholds our commitment to Ohioans to assure their ability to be healthy, prosperous and self-sufficient,” said Speaker Batchelder. “With the help of many interested parties who came to the Statehouse and shared their views with the committee, we have addressed many issues that will have a profound impact on the daily lives of Ohio’s citizens. We will continue to strengthen Ohio’s economy and job climate in everything we do, whether that means keeping our taxes competitive or improving the quality of life in Ohio. I am proud of the work that Chairman Amstutz, Vice Chairman McClain, and all the subcommittee chairs have done on this budget proposal, and I look forward to working with the Senate to further strengthen the bill.”

Zawistowski to Run for Ohio Republican Party Chairman

When confronted with the reality that there was no other candidate than Matt Borges, Tea Party "leader" Tom Zawistowski announced today his intention to run for Chairman of the Ohio Republican Party. In an email sent to WMD, Zawistowski reveals the thought process that leads him to believe it is time for a liberty movement leader at the top of the Ohio GOP.

After the letter went out, we started to contact State Central Committee members asking them to not vote for Mr. Borges. Many of them told us that they had to vote for Mr. Borges because he was the only candidate. Some even said that they were told that "no one else wanted the job" and "no one else wants to make the commitment." No one wants to be Chairman of the Ohio Republican Party? What does that say about the Ohio Republican Party? Nothing good. The fact is that their is only one candidate, because the party does not want any other candidate. So, even though the vote is not until April 25th, the vote is only a formality that the State Central Committee members have to go through even though they are being denied any choice for their vote. So, many Liberty Leaders, who did not want Mr. Borges, started to make calls asking other prominent Republicans to run and none would. We decided that if we did not want Mr. Borges, then we needed to offer an alternative. Otherwise we were just all talk and no action. That is the initial reason that I decided to run for Chairman.

Tom Zawistowski

Then after considering carefully what I was about to do, it became clear to me that this was actually the only logical thing to do at this point in our movement. First, I was qualified. I can do the job and do it well. Second, we are all sick and tired of fighting each other and would really like to come together and take the fight to our true enemies, the "regressive" left. The best way to do that, would be to bring the various factions of the Republican coalition together and focus their collective energies to be effective. I believe that I can do that and if I can do that I should do it. If they reject my bid, and more importantly push through Medicaid Expansion, then it will be clear to all of us that they do not intend to change the direction of the Party or more importantly embrace us as part of the party. The bottom line is that we have been dancing with the Republican party for four years and it is time to either come together or go our separate ways. I think most of us are more than ready to go our separate ways, but that something that we all know is not the quickest way to reach our goals. Therefore, I believe that we must try, one more time, to reach our hand out to the Republican Party to form a conservative alliance

WMD is of the opinion that Zawistowski would indeed be the better choice, but knowing the State Central Committee as we do it is more likely that Don Quixote will finally strike his windmill. We would, however, be pleasantly pleased and surprised if the alternative were to actually happen.

For far too long, the players in the smoke-filled backrooms of the party headquarters have been making their deals and setting the rocky course for our party. This sort of move is exactly the kind of reform that WMD considers necessary in order for real change to take place.

PREDICTION: ORPSCC will stick with the establishment and go with Borges even though it is the wrong move.

DOCUMENTS:

Tom Zawistowski letter to ORP Dated 4/2/13:

ORP Letter 4213

Tom Zawistowski Letter to ORP State Central Committee:

ORP State Central Com Members

BUTLER COUNTY: Carpenter Shenanigans Rebuffed

I take no small measure of delight in this Journal piece outlining the hiring of an office manager.

As usual, one commissioner tried to bring in a crony...but in a rare moment of clarity, Don Dixon decided not to back Cindy Carpenter's plan.

Carpenter really wants to find Jeff Wyrick a job. She has failed again.

Let's go to the tape...

Commissioners Don Dixon and T.C. Rogers voted for Cooper’s employment, while commission President Cindy Carpenter voted no.

Among the five finalists who interviewed with the commission, was Jeff Wyrick, according to county Administrator Charles Young. Wyrick served a deputy clerk for Carpenter when she was county clerk if courts.

Rogers said he knew going into the interviews that Wyrick was Carpenter’s choice for the position, but said Cooper impressed him because she is currently running a large office and has the educational background for the job.

That leaves us with Dixon and here is what he had to say...

Dixon agreed. He said Cooper has a number of skill sets to bring to the job, including consensus building and dealing with personality issues in the office.

“She is energetic and optimistic. It will be a fresh set of eyes,” Dixon said.

The fact that she is from outside the county is also a plus, he said.

“She doesn’t know anybody from Butler County, she has never worked in Butler County and to my knowledge she is not related to anybody in Butler County,” Dixon said.

Someone on Facebook translated that last statement as "Let me call my family...We can get someone real soon to take that high paying, rich benefit county job, and keep the gravy train flowing."

SIDEBAR QUESTION: Has Dixon managed to get all of his cronies jobs???

Anyway...

The best part of the whole story was this:

Carpenter could not be reached for comment.

Of course she wasn't available, she was too busy scheming her revenge.....

Somewhere, Chuck Furmon is smiling because he doesn't have to deal with any of this crap anymore...