The Brown County Press, September 9, 2012

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PRESS

The Brown County Press Sunday, September 9, 2012 • Volume 40 No. 5 Serving Brown County, Ohio since 1973

www.browncountypress.com bcpress@frontier.com Sun Group NEWSPAPERS

Phone (937) 444-3441 Fax (937) 444-2652

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THE BROWN COUNTY

Southwest, Christ end affiliation BY Wayne Gates The Brown County Press The affiliation between Southwest Regional Medical Center and The Christ Hospital that began last December ended on August 31. SWRMC CEO Joan Phillips called the split “a mutual decision based on different ideas about the future of rural health care.” Phillips said that SWRMC received a letter from The Christ Hospital in late August, stating an intent to end the affiliation within a short time. The letter was received after the sudden resignation of Christ CEO Susan Croushore. In a press release from The Christ Hospital an-

nouncing her departure, Croushore was said to have “managed a transition to an independent community hospital and the development of a strategic plan that is positioning it as a regional community health system.” Her sudden departure could represent a desire to change that strategy. The Christ Hospital did not respond to a request for comment by press time. Phillips said that after the letter was received, a “careful evaluation of the results of the affiliation was undertaken, and we chose at that time to end our relationship.” Southwest Healthcare Executive Chairman Paul Tuft said that the affiliation “was a good idea that did-

n’t pan out like we hoped it would” and that he was currently “exploring the idea of working with other local healthcare providers” to enhance healthcare access and options in Brown County. He added that while he was disappointed that the affiliation with The Christ Hospital didn’t work out, he was determined to continue to move forward with making SWRMC an even bigger success. “We’ve got a year under our belts and we’re more committed that ever’, Tuft said. “We are committed to this community and this hospital is not going anywhere”. Tuft added that Southwest was working on a CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Wayne Gates/The Brown CounTy Press

southwest healthcare executive Chairman Paul Tuft (left), southwest Attorney ed Green (center) and susan Croushore, former Ceo of The Christ hospital, are shown at the affiliation announcement in Georgetown last December.

Former A’deen council BCRWA offers terms member made net threat for A’deen water sale BY Wayne Gates The Brown County Press Former Aberdeen village council member Robert Hutchison is responsible for the internet threat that ended up cancelling the August 6 village council meeting. That information comes from Chief Deputy John Schadle of the Brown County Sheriff’s Office. Schadle said Sept. 6 that Hutchinson will be charged with Obstructing Official Business, a second degree misdemeanor. The maximum penalty for such a charge is 90 days in jail and a $750.00 fine.

Hutchinson had no comment when contacted by telephone. At press time he had not been charged with a crime. Schadle said that Hutchinson told him when confronted on Sept. 5 that “I knew it was wrong, but I just trying to stir the pot.” The threat was posted August 4 from the home of Hutchinson’s son in Boone County, Kentucky. It has since been removed from the Topix website, but it was provided to the Press by Village Council Member Billie Eitel. Spelling errors CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

BY Wayne Gates The Brown County Press The Aberdeen Village Council met Sept. 4 to open bids for the sale of the village water system and for a regular council meeting. The Brown County Rural Association responded with what was termed as a “proposal” rather than an outright bid for the village water system. “BCRWA would have no need for a treatment plant in Aberdeen, since we already Martha Jacob/ The Brown CounTy Press

robert hutchison

Two officers subdue man resisting arrest BY Martha B. Jacob The Brown County Press An Aberdeen and a Ripley Police Officer received minor injuries in a confrontation with a man on September 1. Aberdeen Chief of Police Shawn Newman said Detective. Jacob Goodwin was dispatched to 225 Glenda Drive because a man was arguing with a woman in the yard and the man appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or

drugs When Goodwin arrived, he was told by resident Nicole Danbury that a man had come into her yard and was acting very suspiciously. Danbury said that the man asked her for a lighter and proceeded to light his lips with it. She said tried to take the lighter back and he became verbally aggressive towards her then returned to a residence a couple doors CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Provided/ The Brown CounTy Press

Aaron henderson

have a state of the art water treatment plant”, the letter reads in part. The letter goes on to say “BCRWA will install two eight inch connections to your system, replace the two existing water tanks with a 250,000 gallon water tower and make necessary repairs to the distribution system....Aberdeen customers would pay the same monthly water rates as our existing customers. The monthly minimum charge is $22.00 for the first 2000 gallons.

The current average residential water bill is $34.36 per month for 4000 gallons.” Included in the proposal were a list of seven conditions that must be satisfied before the BCRWA would commit to an agreement. The list reads; “1. Consent of the Ohio Water Development Authority to the sale. 2. Approval of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. 3. Agreement by the VilCONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Hundreds enjoy Kinkead Ridge Winery vineyard tours, wine tasting BY Martha B. Jacob The Brown County Press Wine lovers from across the state visited the Kinkead Ridge Winery in Ripley this past weekend for a free taste wines and tour the vineyards. The winery is located at 904 Hamburg Street. Visitors enjoyed two days (September 1 and 3) of tasting the winery’s newly released 2010 red wines, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Petit Verdot. Guests were treated to a tour of the winery’s 126 acre vineyard located only three miles from the winery at 4288 Kinkead Road. Kinkead Ridge Winery is owned and operated by Ron CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

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Martha B. Jacob/The Brown CounTy Press

Visitors from around the country attended the recent wine tasting and introduction of its newest wine from 2010. shown from left, nancy Bentley, Managing Partner, workers emilee yaus, Anna schmidt and Gretchen yaus holding Zane.

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BY Wayne Gates The Brown County Press The sprucing up of the Brown County Courthouse is continuing. The building is getting a new coat of paint, for the first time since 2002. The work is following a new roof that was completed earlier this year, and the removal of two large trees that

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opened up the sightlines to the building. “Ten years is about the expected lifetime of an outside paint job, so it’s time to take care of it”, said Brown County Commissioner Tony Applegate. The job is being done by Rainbow Painting Service, a local Georgetown business. It’s expected to take about four weeks to complete and will cost approximately $16,000. Some of that cost will be generated by the removal of the old paint, some of which contains lead. Brown County Board of Commissioners President Ralph Jennings said the job is a necessary part of building maintenance. “We’re going to be using the courthouse for a long time and we’ve got to take care of it.”, he said.

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Courthouse to get new paint job

Wayne Gates/The Brown CounTy Press

Lead paint warnings surround the work area at the Brown County Courthouse in Georgetown. The paint job is expected to take about a month.


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