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Short Takes Football preview
SW Schools - Get the inside scoop on tthis year’s Harrison Wildcat Football Team. Sports Writer Bob Hyle takes a hard look at the Cats’ strengths and weaknesses in our special section as the Harrison squad opens with arch rival the East Central Trojans from across the river in Indiana. Early Labor Day deadlines will prevent us from running the story in the Wednesday, Sept. 4, Harrison Press, but the story will be posted on our web site at theharrison-press.com.
Deputy released
Whitewater Twp. - A Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputy extricated from his police cruiser after it was struck by a semi-tractor trailer Wednesday, Aug. 21, on Interstate 275 in Whitewater Township has been released from the hospital. Deputy Tom Lange, 39, was flown by University Air Care to University Hospital, Cincinnati, where he was listed in serious but stable condition Wednesday evening. Lange was operating a marked cruiser with flashing emergency lights northbound along I-275 in the left lane. Michael Brunner, 42, Sunman, driving a Mack semi-tractor trailer northbound, changed from the left to the right lane to avoid a slow-moving motorcycle at about 2:12 p.m., according to the Sheriff’s Department. Whitewater Township Fire Department cut Lange free. Neither drugs, alcohol nor speed are suspected in the crash. Brunner, however, was cited for failing to maintain reasonable control of the vehicle.
Traps set for beetles
Crosby Twp. - The Ohio Department of Agriculture put out a letter warning against a new beetle that has been discovered. Called the Walnut Twig beetle, it is carrying fungus that causes thousand canker disease that can seriously harm and kill walnut trees, Crosby Township trustees recently learned. To assess the extent of the infestation, the department is putting out a hundred traps throughout Butler, Warren, and Hamilton counties. One area in Hamilton County includes part of Crosby Township. The traps are white in color and funnel looking. The traps were placed during the last week of July and first week of August. They will remain in place until the temperature drops enough for the beetles to stop flying.
Good deed helps Vets
Crosby Township Trustee President Chris Dole read a thankyou letter Monday, Aug. 12, from Brown’s Family Farm Market for sending the township fire department out to wet the volleyball court for their mud volleyball tournament to benefit homeless veterans of Ohio. The event raised more than $2,000 and a trailerload of items including clothing, toiletries, and can goods. 88th Year, No. 33 Copyright Register Publications, 2013
Harrison, West Harrison, Crosby, Harrison & Whitewater TWPs.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
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Twp. landmark cemetery restored Records brought up to date, but some mysteries remain unsolved
The oldest landmark for religious history in the Whitewater azeiser@registerpublications.com Valley has undergone a face-lift, and the grounds and records will be brought up to code with Ohio laws and regulations within the next couple of weeks, said Harrison Township Trustee Fred Dole, who coordinated the project. Andrew Zeiser Harrison Press Staff Writer
The restoration cost about $12,000 with most work being done in updating records, said Dole, adding it remains unclear how many people are buried in the Old Baptist Cemetery off New Haven Road. Burrowes Consulting headed up the restoration and documentation. All known information will be placed on the township Web site, said Dole. Restoration was the easy part. Recording took the most time and effort. One of the most important keys to completing the project, however, is the community contributing information to identify the remaining unmarked graves, he said. The next step appeared to be cleaning the stones, but after researching, Dole discovered cleaning the stones would do more harm than good making the etching in the sandstone harder to read. Burrowes repaired about 80 tablet type grave markers, and had to remove three large monument type headstones completely to make repairs. The project is important because the Township was in violation of several laws on cemetery upkeep and record-keeping, said Dole. Visiting the cemetery was dangerous because several large monument type grave markers were leaning. One, with the heft to kill a person, fell over, he said. One woman was walking through the cemetery when the ground gave out, and she sank up to her knees. PHOTO BY ANDREW ZEISER/Harrison Press Over time, an old woodHarrison Township Trustee Fred Dole spearheaded the effort to restore en coffin decayed causing See LANDMARK, the Old Baptist Cemetery off New Haven Road. the ground to sink in, said Page 10
New grading system shows SW strengths, flaws Andrew Zeiser Harrison Press Staff Writer azeiser@registerpublications.com
A new grading system used to measure academic progress of Ohio school districts revealed Southwestern Local Schools has several strengths but some weaknesses that did show in the former system. The new Report Card System is meant to measure more thoroughly the weaknesses in subgroups. The system assesses if districts are preparing students for college and careers. The district received five A’s,
one B, two C’s and an F. Southwest schools received A’s for meeting standards, overall value-added, gifted value-added, disabled valueadded, and lowest percent in valueadded. The B was for performance, the C’s are for four-year graduation rate for 2012 and five-year rate for 2011. The district received the F in “Letter Grades of Annual Measurable Objectives,” which is a combination of certain subgroups, said Superindent Chris Brown. “The new Report Card does up the ante in terms of each subgroup in a given school district being held
to a higher standard in terms of passing the state assessments,” said Assistant Superintendent John Hamstra. Southwest students did Chris Brown about the same as last year, but the proficiency standard increased, meaning a score does not carry the same value as last
Chamber puts best foot forward jawad@registerpublications.com
As the fledgling Greater Harrison Chamber of Commerce ploughs through technicalities, ideas and proposals, the importance of molding an organization devoid PHOTO BY JOE AWAD/Harrison Press of small-town politics Chamber Executive Board Chairman Don Patterand abundant in profes- son, left, and Vice Chairman Jeff Wernke share a sional clout becomes lighter moment during a recent meeting. more apparent each time the 13-member board of directors meets. With Harrison’s history of failed chambers and Main Street programs, this group of professionals, including a coffee shop owner and a international food company magnate, have been quietly building a foundation to help businesses grow and prosper, while improving the region’s quality of life, said Executive Board Chairman Don Patterson, president of Merchants Bank & Trust. “Within the next four to six months, we will have an in-depth, strategic planning conference to make sure we have our priorities straight and our goals straight,” said Patterson. “As a new organization, as you witnessed See CHAMBER, today, there is a multitude of things, both big Page 10
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2 arrested in Parks of Whitewater thefts Andrew Zeiser Harrison Press Staff Writer azeiser@registerpublications.com
Joe Awad Harrison Press Editor
year. Under the new system, districts must have 80 percent of their students proficient to meet an indicator. Before the Report Card, 75 percent needed to be proficient. “That is how we got hurt, in our subgroups, what they call value-added and how much growth they’re making in a year. And that is where we fell short,” he said. The change in grading makes it seem like Harrison schools have done worse, said Brown. The reason the state switched
A string of burglaries at the Parks of Whitewater, Harrison, has come to an end after police arrested an adult and a juvenile on Monday, Aug. 12, for break-
ing into cars. Alexander Mohring 18, Independence, Ky., and Michael Lee, 17, Hamilton, Ohio, were arrested on Tebbs Court at about 3:30 a.m. Aug. 12 after Harrison Police Officer Michael Rhoads responded to a call regarding a male in a gray shirt and basketball shorts looking into vehicles. Rhoads reported that when he arrived on scene he spotted two males walking on Tebbs Court towards Pursel Boulevard. Mohring spotted Rhoads and ran between the houses towards New Haven Road. Lee was detained. When Rhoads asked Lee what he was doing Lee said, “He was just walking around,” according to Rhoads’ investigation report. Rhoads asked who ran, and Lee identified him as Alexander Mohring. Rhoads then asked Lee his age and his community. Lee said, 17, and that he was from Hamilton. Rhoads asked why he was walking around a subdivision at 3 a.m. in Harrison? Lee said, “They were driving around, about to run out of gas so we pulled into the subdivision.” Lee was told he was being detained until Mohring was found to explained what they were doing in the area. After placing Lee in his squad car, Rhoads and Officer Jamie Bastin began looking for Mohring. After searching the See THEFTS, area, Rhoads said he rePage 10 turned to question Lee.
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