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Saturday, April 21, 2012
LOCAL & STATE
TROY DAILY NEWS • WWW.TDN-NET.COM
OBITUARIES
JANET L. PAINTER COVINGTON — Janet L. Painter, 63, of 75 Mote Drive, Covington, formerly of Troy, died at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 18, 2012, at the Covington Care Center. She was born Feb. 12, 1949, to the late Ralph and Mary Williams Painter. Survivors include one brother, Daryle (Jacquie) Painter of Troy; three sisters, Deena (Richard) Balser of Laura, Patti Cremeans of Troy and Beverly (Jerrold) Stapleton of West Milton,
nine nieces and nephews; and 14 great-nieces and nephews. Janet was a graduate of Troy High School, and cosmetology school, and last worked at Ruby’s Hair Salon in Troy. Private services will be at the convenience of the family. Arrangements are being handled through the Jamieson & Yannucci Funeral Home. Condolences to the family also may be expressed through jamiesonand yannucci.com.
JOHN W. FIKE BRADFORD — John W. Fike, 73, of Bradford, passed away Thursday, April 19, 2012, at his home. John was born in Lee County, Ky., on Nov. 29, 1938, to the late Joe and Jessie (Goe) Fike. He retired from Homan Plating, Dayton, with 22 years of service; was owner of Fike Auction Service; owner/operator of Fike Saddlery, where he enjoyed making saddles; a farmer; an avid horseback rider, hunter, outdoorsman and raccoon hunter where his dog, Mike, won Night Grand Champion. He was preceded in death by his parents; and son, John W. Fike II in 2004. John is survived by his wife of 49 years, Anna L. (Reagan) Fike; son and daughter-in-law, David and Sharon Fike of Bradford; three daughters and sons-in-law, Debra and Bruce Shoup
of Piqua, Tammy and Ronnie Mahan of Covington, Brenda and Raymond Tompkins of Moraine; 10 grandchildren; 12 and one on the way great-grandchildren; two brothers and sistersin-law, Charles and Sandra Fike and Joe and Debra Fike, all of Tipp City; sister and brotherin-law, Jane and Code Lovely of Brookville; and numerous other relatives and friends. Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Stocker-Fraley Funeral Home, Bradford, with Chaplain Ed Ellis officiating. Interment will be in Harris Creek Cemetery, Bradford. The family will receive friends from 2-6 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Hospice of Miami County. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.stockerfraley.com.
FUNERAL DIRECTORY • Dexter B. Phillips BRADFORD — Dexter B. Phillips, age 67, of Greenville, formerly of Bradford, passed away Wednesday, April 18, 2012, at his son’s home in Olive Hill, Ky. Funeral service will be today at the Stocker-Fraley Funeral Home, Bradford.
OBITUARY POLICY In respect for friends and family, the Troy Daily News prints a funeral directory free of charge. Families who would like photographs and
more detailed obituary information published in the Troy Daily News, should contact their local funeral home for pricing details.
SHERIFF’S REPORTS responded to the Big Mike’s BP on State Route 201 to assist the Bethel Township squad. Officials found David Moore, 50, of Troy, intoxicated in his vehicle and had appeared to have pulled in to the gas station and passed out. Moore failed all three field tests and refused to submit to a Breathalyzer test. Moore was charged with physical control of vehicle while under the influence. April 18 • Beer in glass: Michael Baker, 48, of Piqua, was cited for marked lanes, failure to use the right of way, OVI and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle, when officials stopped his vehicle at North County Road 25-A and North Dixie Drive, Piqua. Officials also found beer in a glass in the vehicle’s cup holder. • Handing over ID: Miami County Sheriff’s deputies stopped Summer Holmes, 30, of Tipp City at 1000 W. Main Street, Tipp City, for marked lanes violation. Holmes handed the officer her entire wallet and said, “It’s all in there.” Officers detected alcohol use and Holmes failed all three field sobriety tests. Holmes submitted to a Breathalyzer test of 0.114 percent. Holmes was charged with OVI and marked lanes. 2270132
Information provided by the Miami County Sheriff’s Office: April 14 • DUI charge: Officials stopped George Douglas Jr., 41, of Sidney, at 2:26 a.m. at the intersection of North Hetzler and Augusta Lane in Piqua for marked lane violations. Officials detected alcohol and Douglas submitted to two field tests and claimed to not be able to perform the third due to back surgery. Douglas was charged with DUI and marked lanes. April 16 • Fraud Alert: Miami County Sheriff’s officials were contacted by a resident in Covington who received a fraudulent call. The resident said he was contacted by a subject claiming he was a “Marshal” from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and had the resident’s last four social security number and bank account numbers. The caller said the man had outstanding debt from Cashland and would need to submit money or he’d be arrested. Authorities tried to contact the number and received the message that the “Magic Jack number was not assigned.” The resident was to put a fraud alert on his credit report. • Intoxicated driver at gas station: Officials
AP PHOTO/THE PLAIN DEALER, THOMAS ONDREY
This April 4, 2012, photo shows General Electric lighting engineer Louis Nerone at Nela Park in East Cleveland. During his quarter century at GE, Nerone has averaged about four patents a year, although last year he tallied eight. His colleagues brought in a cake and even the maintenance staff celebrated when, in December, he was awarded his 100th patent.
GE inventor awarded more than 100 patents CLEVELAND (AP) — Fountains soar and lawns stretch bright and green at Nela Park, the historic research campus in East Cleveland, where General Electric engineers design the lighting systems of tomorrow. Walkways lead to stately Georgian-style structures but also to utilitarian buildings, like the redbrick Technology Building. On its second floor, in a cluttered nook not much bigger than an office cubicle, Louis Nerone endeavors to build a better light bulb. At 62, he throws himself into that task with curiosity, passion and an astonishing knack for invention. During his quarter century at GE, Nerone has averaged about four patents a year, although last year he tallied eight. His colleagues brought in a cake and even the maintenance staff celebrated when, in December, he was awarded his 100th patent. GE’s most prolific inventor recently reacted to patent number 106 with trademark modesty. “I see myself as part of a team,” he said. “I don’t invent anything here by myself.” Maybe not. But on a campus where the specter of Thomas Edison looms, people intone the name Nerone with similar awe and respect. “Lou’s one in a million,” said Dennis Bradley, GE’s technology manager for LED innovation and Nerone’s direct supervisor. “There’s probably a handful of guys in the company with his technical depth,” he said, and few in history with his record of achievement. Most of Nerone’s work is hidden from view. He tinkers with the electronic guts of lighting systems, divining innovations that
make lights burn brighter, softer, longer, or more efficiently. Patent number 100, for example, came for a “dimming ballast” for a fluorescent lamp. To demonstrate what he did, Nerone points to the fluorescent light box above his head. His engineering softens the electric light when natural light is abundant. A second quality, which he calls parallel operation, allows three fluorescent tubes to burn on when the fourth tube has burned out. Previously, one bad lamp broke the circuit and darkened the set. “If you go into Walmart and look up and see a lamp out, and all the other lamps are lit, that’s ours,” he said. He’s a slight, brisk, talkative man who views the world through large wirerimmed glasses. He ranks a private office, where a framed copy of Thomas Edison’s 1879 patent application for an incandescent light bulb adorns a wall. But most often he can be found in the electronics laboratory, at a workbench strewn with tweezers, wire cutters and soldering guns. From such venerable hardware comes the state of the art. Nerone picks up an experimental bulb illuminated by light-emitting diode, or LED, and predicts the finished product will burn for about 15 years. “You can put this in your house and forget about it,” he said. Typically, an invention springs from a problem needing a solution. A product manager might stop by and report that a customer is unhappy with the way a lighting system is working, or not working. Or a colleague may point out a challenge that has arisen in a new design. “I try to think of a way to solve the problem,” he said. “Then you test it out. You find out what works best.”
A patent review board, on site, decides whether to send the next Nerone idea on to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The company will own the patent. Nerone gets only accolades and a stipend, or bonus, for each invention. It’s reward enough, he said. Sometimes, the “Aha!” moment comes on his long drive home to Brecksville. He can’t wait to get to the lab the next day to test his idea. “If it works, that’s the part that’s cool. That’s a big moment,” he said. “It’s like playing golf. You get that one good shot, it brings you back to the next game.” The penchant for engineering began in boyhood. He still recalls the thrill he felt when he built his first crystal radio set for a Cub Scout project. Grounded to a drain pipe in his family’s garage on West 114th Street, the simple machine pulled in three Cleveland radio stations. His grandfather was a tinkerer and he loved to invade his workbench. “I was always taking things apart. And getting in trouble for taking apart the wrong things,” he said with a smile. “That’s where it starts.” He earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering from Cleveland State University, where he teaches part time. Nerone was 36 when he learned of an opening at “the park” and lept at the chance to join GE as a design engineer. He became part of a continuum of innovation rare in the annals of American manufacturing. General Electric emerged in 1892 from the Edison Electric Company. At the turn of the century, GE began to invest in the National Electric Lamp Co.
(NELA) in Cleveland. The growing company envisioned a new kind of research center on a former vineyard in the countryside. Nela Park, America’s first smart park, opened in 1912. More than 700 people work on the picturesque, 92-acre campus, the innovation center of GE Lighting, which employs about 17,000 people worldwide. To join the park in 1986 was akin to going to work at the Googleplex. Nerone still sees it that way. “This is where all the best electronics are done for lighting,” he said. He enjoys the interaction with his colleagues, who often begin a conversation with the phrase, “Lou, I’ve got a problem…” Many of the younger engineers came here for the chance to work with Nerone, Bradley said, some after taking his classes at CSU. The white board in his office is busy with problematic diagrams left by colleagues who hope Nerone will take a look and help. “He really teaches you how to think,” said Nina Scheidegger, 23, who joined the lab full time two years ago, after earning her electrical engineering degree from CSU. Nerone was her thesis adviser. Now, he’s her co-worker. “Always, when we’re sitting down at the bench, it’s not just him showing me things, it’s him making me think,” she said. Her craft is rich in legends: Edison, Brush, Westinghouse. It gives her chills to think she is being mentored by another one. “Whenever anybody finds out that I’m working with Lou Nerone, they tell me how lucky I am,” Scheidegger said. “Believe me, I know that.”
OHIO BRIEFS
Cleanup needed at fire site
Fire officials tell the Springfield News-Sun they used vacuum equipSPRINGFIELD (AP) — ment and other methods to Authorities say more envi- help remove the contamironmental cleanup will be nants and contain them within a quarter-mile needed after a fire at a western Ohio fuel company downstream. Officials say they created thick black smoke believe a spark of static and left officials monitoring oil that spilled into a near- electricity started the blaze at R.D. Holder Oil Co., by tributary of a creek. An Ohio Environmental which supplies fuel, heatProtection Agency spokes- ing oil, and heavy lubriwoman says the water was cants. They say the fire ignited while a truck was “running orange-red.”
being loaded Thursday in the region’s business morning, and it spread to a community. The chief executive of warehouse. the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport polling Airport told a group in suburban Cincinnati on businesses Friday that the airport will CINCINNATI — An air- never be the hub it was port considered vital to when 600 flights passed economic development in through daily. But Candace the Cincinnati and northMcGraw says officials are ern Kentucky region is reaching out to businesses striving to expand service and others to identify their and offset airline cutbacks needs and provide services they want. that have caused concern
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COLUMBUS — Three people with Piqua-area connections, including World War II ace pilot Dominic “Don” Gentile, were among six “Great Ohioans” being added to an exhibit at the Ohio Statehouse Museum. In addition to Gentile, A.B. Graham of Lena, founder of the 4-H
program, and Gordon Battelle of Columbus, researcher and philantropist, the son of Piqua manufacturer John Gordon Battelle, will be added. Civil War general and Lancaster native William Tecumseh Sherman is also among the six “Great Ohioans,” as well as clergyman Washington
Gladden of Columbus and Albert Sabin of Cincinnati, a medical researcher known for the oral polio vaccine. They were approved by the board that maintains the Ohio Statehouse and presented by a foundation that works to preserve its history.