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Benjamin is one heck of a Wildcat
Mayor: Harrison complying with Sunshine laws
Joe Awad Harrison Press Editor
Calls auditor’s report false
jawad@registerpublications.com
There is no taming Jim Benjamin when it comes to his fervor for Harrison Wildcat football.
Modest fellow
He is a modest man who loves the game and cherishes his high school and college football memories. He doesn’t care if some people see him as conspicuously old-fashioned. His quest has everything to do with helping prepare young men for the future. “I’ve been on the sidelines for eight years just to be encouragement for the boys,” said Benjamin, who lives with his wife Teresa in Blue Jay USA. “It’s not about me. It’s about the boys, the green and white. I always liked playing for Harrison High School. I had an outstanding coach when I was there. Coach Conaster was not only an outstanding coach, he was a good mentor.” The 1966 high school graduate played center and linebacker for a woeful varsity team that was winless. Funny thing, he went on to play college football for Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, going 11-0 and lettering as a freshman. Funny thing, the program was discontinued the next year. “In high school, I weighed 155 to 165 pounds. I felt really privileged because Coach Ken Conaster told me that out of all the players he ever coached, I was one of the hardest hitters.” Hitting hard, playing fair, hustling from drill to drill, and respecting Harrison High School football traditions are among the lessons Benjamin strives to instill in players. “I always tell them to be a Wildcat. To me, that’s respect, and integrity, and doing the right thing, and hustle,” he said. “I always get on them about hustling. You got to want it. Football is a game that makes you sore, but you got to have that pride in yourself and in your team.” As a de facto coordinator, Benjamin said he assists the sophomore players in
Harrison Mayor Joel McGuire shot back Saturday, Sept. 14, asserting that Ohio Auditor David jawad@registerpublications.com Yost’s claim that Harrison is among several Buckeye cities and counties falling short of complying with the state’s Public Records Act is patently false. Yost posted a news release on his state Web site late Thursday, Sept. 12, asserting Harrison is among eight of 20 tested cities and counties that have weaknesses in their public records policies and procedures. The release does not specify Harrison’s alleged infractions, but includes a blanket statement from Yost: “It’s disappointing in this day and age with all the attention on transparency that we don’t do enough to make sure the people’s records are accessible.” The audit, as reported by The Colum- David Yost bus Dispatch, shows the city has not officially designated a person or department to handle public requests for records, and that Harrison does not have an official process for tracking public records’ requests. Similar charges are leveled against Allen County, Beavercreek, Bowling Green, Crawford County, and Portsmouth. In a written statement Saturday, McGuire responded: “Had the state auditor bothered to ask me or anyone else in city government, I would have told him that for at least the last six years the city law director and law department have had official responsibility for handling public records’ requests, and keeps track of when the requests are received and met. We’ve met all legal requirements for record-keeping. It’s disappointing, in this day and age of multiple easy methods of communication, that a state auditor would print such flagrant, false allegations when in fact the problem was that he didn’t even ask us who had these duties. Dave’s just got to do better.” “Had the state auditor McGuire said he does not know bothered to ask me or how the state obtained its informa- anyone else in city tion, nor, to his knowledge, has government, I would have the city received notice from the told him that for at least auditor’s office. In addition, he the last six years the city stressed Harrison posts its public law director and law record policy on the city’s Web department have had site. official responsibility for The auditor’s office could not handling public records’ be reached Saturday to determine requests, and keeps track on what the state based its find- of when the requests are ings. After a records’ request is made, received and met.” the city attorney follows up with a JOEL MCGUIRE letter confirming the request has been received and the time frame Harrison Mayor in which the city will respond, said McGuire. “There is a third product which is the actual production of the documents requested and the signature - confirmation of the receipt - of the person who asked for it,” he said. “We have a process of what has been requested and what has been responded to. ... All they had to do was ask.” Yost revealed the audits Thursday to the Ohio Association of Broadcasters Board of Directors. He announced during Sunshine Week in March that the audits would be made. Ohio’s Public Records Act, often called the Sunshine Law, calls for prompt inspection of public records. Upon request, copies of public records must be provided within a reasonable time. Joe Awad Harrison Press Editor
From his patented Wildcat Call to his willingness to do whatever it takes to help the team, Benjamin has been steadfast along the sidelines for more than eight years after spending 13 years in the press box logging stats. He’s the guy providing water to the players, bringing them towels, slapping them on the back for a job well done, and patting them on the back for encouragement. With parental permission, he even drove a player to practice almost every day. Now he drives the team bus. Benjamin, 66, is an unsung hero of Wildcat football and the August Citizen of the Month.
Be a Wildcat
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
PHOTO BY SANDY MINOR/HARRISON PRESS
Win or lose, Jim Benjamin is always there for the Wildcat football players. assuring that “everything is together,” the towels are out, and equipment in place. “He’s being too modest,” interrupts Matt Hiatt, owner of Hiatt’s Florist, one of the businesses that sponsors Citizen of the Month. “When one of those boys, offense or defense, comes off the field, he goes over there and puts the towel around their neck, constantly cooling them down, encouraging them, and talking to them,” said Hiatt. “I tell them to get their head up,” responds Benjamin when asked what he does if an athlete makes a bad play. “I try not to interfere with the coaches because the coaches are the coaches. I’m just there for inspiration.” Then out of nowhere comes the Wildcat Call - sharp and shrill. “Sometimes, I do that in front of the boys to get them jacked up,” he said. The Friday football tradition has lost its allure at many high schools,
““I always tell them
to be a Wildcat. To me, that’s respect, and integrity, and doing the right thing, and hustle. Jim Benjamin
but burns hot in Harrison, where the boys fill the stands on brisk autumn nights that amplify the crash of helmets and the smell of chewed-up grass and mud. “We originally were country boys … On a Friday night, you can look up in the bleachers on the top row and still see former foot-
SEE WILDCAT, PAGE 10
Building design standards proposal heads to council Joe Awad Harrison Press Editor
jawad@registerpublications.com
A proposal to establish design standards for new commercial buildings and those that undergo significant exterior changes was passed by Harrison Planning Commission Tuesday, Sept. 10, despite some concern the plan is too stringent and expensive for businesses. 88th Year, No. 35 Copyright Register Publications, 2013
Following a public hearing, planning commission members voted to forward the proposal to Harrison City Council with a recommendation to approve it. Council was expected on Tuesday, Sept. 17, to set the date for another public hearing as required by the city’s charter. Council has the final vote. The proposed standards would have little to no effect on the city’s downtown redevelopment district. The expense of the proposed building materials could deter businesses from locating in Harrison and dissuade owners of existing buildings from expanding, said Gary Ellerhorst, govern-
ment affairs chairman for the Harrison Chamber of Commerce Executive Board. Consistency and aesthetic upgrades would have just the opposite result, said Mayor Joel McGuire, who added it is no coincidence that cities with design standards attract businesses. Quality materials and abundant landscaping, as exemplified by the new Kroger and JTM, would create an overall positive image for the city, which competes with municipalities that attract businesses through “branding.” Harrison must promote its brand to keep pace, said McGuire. Nevertheless, Ellerhorst said the proposal leaves too
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m a n y quest i o n s unanswered. “With all these quest i o n s being asked, we kind of went a r o u n d Joel McGuire a n d talked to some folks. We have a couple members on the board; one had done a recent remodeling and the other is considering one. Both felt the standards would significantly impact
their decisions. One would not have been able to do it, and one would probably not be able to do it now,” said Ellerhorst. He also said neighboring Dearborn County, Ind., is “very aggressive” with grant money and programs that attract businesses to the Hoosier side of the state line, implying the standards would be another disadvantage for Harrison. The “overall feeling” of the chamber’s executive board is the city’s business community would be better served if Harrison enforces existing covenants, said Ellerhorst. “Blue Ash and Mason were cornfields before they
started doing the exact kind of things that we are proposing here,” said McGuire. There are about seven examples of new businesses in Harrison that basically meet the standards the city is proposing regarding “quality facades, landscaping, the various things we want people to have positive opinions about us,” he said. The government’s role is the larger good of the community. That includes businesses but also the public realm as well. That’s our job - to enforce those kinds of
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