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THE BROWN COUNTY
PRESS
The Brown County Press Sunday, March 15, 2015 • Volume 42 No. 32 Serving Brown County, Ohio since 1973
Sun Group NEWSPAPERS
www.browncountypress.com bcpress@frontier.com Phone (937) 444-3441 Fax (937) 444-2652
Hearing held on stopping inquest BY Wayne Gates The Brown County Press An unusual Saturday session in Brown County Common Pleas Court in Georgetown was the scene of the latest legal battle between Brown County Coroner Dr. Judith Varnau and employees of the Brown County Sheriff’s Office. The March 7 hearing was set to determine a number of legal questions, including whether the coroner could proceed with a planned inquest into the October 2013 death of Zachary Goldson while he was in the custody of the BCSO. Common Pleas Judge Scott Gusweiler ordered Varnau on January 5 to suspend her inquest, by issuing a temporary restraining order against her.
Gusweiler ordered that Varnau “and all those in active concert or participation with the office...(are) restrained, preventing (Varnau) from convening an inquest until further order of this court. Gusweiler was also asked to hold Varnau in contempt for violating the order, and to remove Varnau attorney Thomas Eagle from the case. Gusweiler has already ruled on the question of removing Eagle. In an entry filed March 10, Gusweiler wrote that Eagle can continue to represent Varnau in the hearing because “the Defendant is entitled to retain her own private counsel whether represented by official government council or not, on the condition that Defendant is solely responsible for the fees of her private counsel.”
At the end of the hearing, Gusweiler told attorneys to provide him with briefs of their final arguments by Monday, March 16. Pike County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Junk was appointed by Gusweiler to represent the official interests of Varnau, and a total of eight BCSO employees were represented by four separate lawyers on the plaintiff side. Attorney Kris Blanton of the Adams County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office represented Brown County Sheriff Dwayne Wenninger. Attorneys John Phillips Anthony Holman and David Gast represented BCSO employees that were involved with the arrest, incarceration and death investigation of Goldson. Attorney Matthew Don-
Wayne Gates/THE BROWN COUNTY PRESS
Attorney Robert Junk (left), Brown County Coroner Dr. Judith Varnau and Attorney Thomas Eagle are shown as they prepare for the March 7 hearing.
ahue of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office was also present, representing Daniel “Woody” Breyer, who appointed as special prosecutor in the Goldson case. Prior to Varnau being
called to the witness stand, Gusweiler noted from the bench that Gast has withdrawn a request to have Gusweiler rule that Goldson’s death was a suicide. Gusweiler agreed to the re-
quest. Most of the focus of the nearly six hour hearing was on the meaning of “convening an inquest”, which Gusweiler prohibited in the January 5 CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
Schadle resigns from BCSO BY Wayne Gates The Brown County Press John Schadle is no longer Chief Deputy of the Brown County Sheriff’s Department. Schadle resigned from his job on March 10th, leaving the sheriff’s office on the same day. He will be taking over as Chief Deputy of the Adams County Sheriff’s Department. When asked about the reason behind his sudden
resignation, Schadle said “Decisions are being made at the sheriff’s office that are of a political nature or for personal gain. I no longer wanted to be part of an organization that I felt was not working in the best interest of the citizens of Brown County.” Schadle declined to be specific about which decisions or individuals he was referring to. He did, however, praise the men and women he worked with. “We have a great bunch
of people representing the sheriff’s office in Brown County”, Schadle said. “I don’t think the public realizes just how hard they work to do their job of protecting the people of the county.” Regarding Schadle’s resignation, Brown County Sheriff Dwayne Wenninger said “He was a good employee when he was here and I will be interviewing for a replacement.”
Wayne Gates/THE BROWN COUNTY PRESS
Tractor Supply Company will be coming to the Martin’s Supervalu location in Sardinia later this year. From left are Amy Vogler of Peoples Bank, Danny and Linda Martin of Martin’s Supervalu, Dale Erickson of Sardinia Pharmacy, Keith Carter and Jeff Eichhorn of the Schueler Group of Companies.
Martin’s Supervalu sells to Tractor Supply Tractor Supply Company is coming to Sardinia. The company will be located in the Martin’s Supervalu building on Bachman Road. Martin’s is closing the store after nearly forty years in business. The store is expected to shut the doors for good sometime in early April, and then renovations will get underway. Tractor Supply hopes to open the store in late summer. Sardinia Pharmacy and Peoples Bank and Trust will remain open throughout the process. When the remodeling is complete, Tractor Supply, Sardinia Pharmacy and Peoples Bank will all have separate entrances. Both the bank and phar-
Index Classifieds....18, 19 Court News.........16 Death Notices.......6 Legals .................15 Opinion .................4 Sports ............12-14 219 South High St. Mt. Orab, OH 45154
macy will also have more space after the remodeling. The project will approximately $2.2 million, including the 950K purchase price of the property and over one million dollars in development and construction. TSC will have 10-15 employees when the store opens. Supervalu Owner Danny Martin said the sale process has been an emotional one. “I’ve been working here since 1977 and my wife Linda has been working here since 1981. I purchased the store in 1985 from my parents Robert and Barbara Martin and we’ve run the store since then. We appreci-
ate all of our customers, employees and everyone who has helped us along the way to get us where we are today.” Martin said he was very pleased to have a buyer in place, but he knows that the area will have some adjusting to do. “I think it’s a great thing for Sardinia to have TSC coming in, but I know the community is going to miss the grocery store. I’ve been told that over and over in the past week or so,” Martin said. He said the store opened at the current location in 1994, but that his family has CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
BY Martha B. Jacob The Brown County Press During its March 10 meeting, members of the Ripley Village Council heard an update from Pete Renshaw, village administrator, regarding approval that he needed in order to lock in the best possible electric rate for the village through 2021. Renshaw stated that Ripley has partnered with the Village of Bethel through American Electric Power, AEP, to get the best rate possible for electricity and he said he was working with Bethel to watch for the lowest rate and lock it in. “I would like for council to authorize me to execute an amendment at the time when the cost is its best, before April 1,” Renshaw said. “We get weekly updates on
the price of purchasing electricity and if I have this authorization then we can work with Bethel and lock the best possible price in, because it changes 8 or 10
times a day.” Council agreed to Renshaw’s proposal and authorized him to lock in the lowest price. CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
Wenstrup in Georgetown
Eleven are indicted by Brown County Grand Jury BY Wayne Gates The Brown County Press Eleven individuals were indicted by a Brown County Grand Jury on March 6. Derek Worstell, 24 of Mount Orab, faces a number of drug charges, including three felony counts of Trafficking in Heroin, one fifth degree felony count of
Receiving Stolen Property and one first degree felony count of Engaging in a Pattern of Corrupt Activity. Samantha Moermond, 25 of Mount Orab, faces a number of drug charges, including three felony counts of Trafficking in Heroin, one fifth degree felony count of Receiving Stolen Property, one fifth degree felony count of
Theft and one first degree felony count of Engaging in a Pattern of Corrupt Activity. Lori Speas, 34 of Mount Orab, faces one second degree felony count of Burglary and one third degree felony count of Grand Theft When the Property is a Firearm or CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
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BY Wayne Gates The Brown County Press
Ripley partners with Bethel to lock in electric rate with AEP
B R O A D S H E E T
Wayne Gates/THE BROWN COUNTY PRESS
Second District Congressman Brad Wenstrup visited DaVita Dialysis on March 11. Wenstrup greeted patients who were undergoing treatment and discussed possible ways to ensure greater availability of dialysis services with center staff.