tdn pdc year in review 2012
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TDN PDC Year in Review 2012TRANSCRIPT
Year in Review2012
A joint publication of the Piqua Daily Call and the Troy Daily News
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BY WILL E SANDERSCivitas Media
TROY — Citing stress ofthe upcoming presidentialelection, the Miami CountyBoard of Elections DirectorSteve Quillen abruptly ten-dered his resignation Friday(Oct. 25) moring during anemergency elections meet-ing.The elections board una-
mously accepted the resig-
nation of Quillen at themeeting, which was held todiscuss personnel, followingan executive session.Addressed to Roger
Luring, board chairman,and board members KellyGillis, Robert Huffman Jr.,and Jose Lopez, Quillenwrote his one-sentence res-ignation on a sheet of legal
paper.“Due to the stress of the
upcoming presidential elec-tion I am submitting myresignation to the board,”Quillen wrote.Luring said the board’s
regional liason with theOhio Secretary of State’sOffice has been informed ofthe resignation and advised
of the circumstances giventhe fact the Nov. 6 election isjust over two weeks away.“He assured us he will
have somebody next week toassist in the election,”Luring said. “The integrityof the election process willbe unaffected by Mr.Quillen’s resignation.”Luring said the board is
“very grateful” for Quillen’syears of service.The vacancy created by
Quillen, a Republican, willmean the Miami CountyGOP will select a suitablereplacement under statelaw.Deputy Director Pamela
Calendine, a Democrat, willcontinue to serve in her role.
Election director resignsAbrupt departure listed as stress-related
QUILLEN
BY DAVID FONGCivitas Media
TROY — Sandy Wheelockstared down at the tiny figurestanding in front of her, clad fromhead-to-toe in a black ninja cos-tume.From behind the black ninja
mask, with eyes beaming, came amuffled voice: “I checked every-thing out, Mom. Everything isOK.”“He would always wear that
little ninja costume with a wood-en spoon tucked in his beltbecause I didn’t like guns,”Wheelock said. “He would playoutside and when he would comein, he would tell me, ‘I checkedeverything out, Mom. Everythingis OK.’ He was always worriedabout protecting me. His wholelife, that’s how he was — he wasalways worried about protectinghis mom and his sisters.”That was more than 15 years
ago, when Jeffrey Rice was ayoung man growing up in Troy.On July 19, Army Private FirstClass Rice, 24, lost his life whileserving in Afghanistan as a partof Operation Enduring Freedom.Early Sunday morning,Wheelockwas at Dover Air Force Base inDelaware to greet her son’s bodyas it arrived from the MiddleEast. Funeral services still arepending and the United StatesDepartment of Defense has yet toreveal any details regarding hisdeath.“All they will say is that they
still have to do the investigationand the autopsy,” Wheelock said.“I really don’t know any details— and I don’t think I want toknow any details.”While details of his death may
be unknown, those who knewRice best are willing to offer plen-ty of details about his life. Hismother remembers him as a
voracious eater who woulddevour her homemade RiceKrispie treats by the pan andconsume packages of Ramen noo-dles by the half-dozen. She saidhe “loved fishing, looking at thestars through this big telescopehe had and drinkingbeer.”Much more than any
of that, however, the peo-ple in his life — particu-larly the women in hislife, his mother, aunt, sis-ters and nieces — remem-ber him as someone whoalways put family firstand looked to protect his lovedones.“He was a big teddy bear,” said
his aunt, Cathy Pencil. “He lovedhis sisters, he loved his niecesand especially his mother.”Even while stationed in
Afghanistan, Rice would fre-quently call and write to check upon his nieces, Ali, Kristen andMakayla. He would often chidethem about their grades and askwhether they had a boyfriend.“He was a big dude, but he was
a softy,” niece Ali Rice said.Rice also grew up loving foot-
ball. He played his first two yearsin high school and, entering hisjunior season in the fall of 2005,the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Riceappeared ready to assume astarting role along the offensiveline for a powerhouse Troy teamthat had just been to the playoffsthe year before.“He was a great kid who had
all kinds of potential,” formerTroy football coach Steve Nolansaid. “He was a very hard-work-ing kid and he didn’t mind beingphysical. There was no doubtgoing into his junior year that hewas going to be someone we weregoing to count on.”Just before the season started,
however, Rice gave it all up tohelp take care of his family. Rice’sfather, Bruce, had suffered astroke in 2003. He never recov-ered from the stroke and Ricequit football to help take care ofhis ailing father. His fatherpassed away in 2007.“Jeff was always there to help
me with his dad,” Wheelock said.“He loved playing football —when he was a little kid, that’s allhe wanted to do was play football— but when his dad got sick, hequit football to help take care ofhis dad. If you’ve ever seen themovie ‘The Blind Side,’ that was
how Jeff was. He wasn’t thefastest kid, but he was nevergoing to let the other kid getaround the corner. If they toldhim not to let that kid get aroundthe corner, he wasn’t going to letthat kid get around the corner.
He was unbelievably strong. Buthe wanted to be here with hisdad.”His junior year, Rice, a Troy
High School student, began tak-ing classes in Piqua at the UpperValley Joint Vocational School,which has since been renamedthe Upper Valley Career Center.He studied welding, which hismother said seemed a natural fit.
“It was unbelievable how hecould take things apart and putthem back together,” Wheelock
said. “He was always takingthings apart. I would come homeand there would be parts leftover from what he had takenapart. I’d find pieces and partsthat didn’t go with anything.He’d always say, ‘Don’t worryabout it, Mom. I got it put backtogether. Those are just leftoverparts.’”His welding skills were
enough to earn him a scholar-ship to the Hobart School ofWelding following his highschool graduation in 2007, butby then he already had decidedto pursue his lifelong dream ofentering the military.“He always wanted to be in
the service,” his mother said.“That’s all he ever wanted to do.It was all he ever talked about.He wanted to join the army andprotect people.”Following graduation, Rice
worked briefly at Speedway, the
Troy Bowl and for his aunt’sFedEx business. On Sept. 22,2008, at the urging of close friendand fishing partner Tom Bigelow,with whom Rice worked at theTroy Bowl, Rice entered theUnited States Army.
Rice was assigned to the 20thEngineer Battalion, 36thEngineer Brigade in Fort Hood,Texas. His natural curiosity fortaking things apart and puttingthem back together, coupled withhis welding background, servedhim well when he was shipped offto Afghanistan in January 2009.Rice served as a field engineer inKandahar, Afghanistan.
“If bridges were blown up orwhatever, he would rebuildthem,” Wheelock said. “It was a
dangerous job. A lot of times hewas dealing with bombs.”Wheelock knew her son was
putting his life in danger andfeared for his safety. Rice, howev-er, always was quick to try to puthis mother at ease.“I was scared. I was frightened
when he went over,” Wheelocksaid. “But he would always tellme, ‘I’ll be OK, Mom.’ He was soproud of what he was doing. Iknew that’s what he wanted todo. On the inside, I didn’t wanthim to go, but I wasn’t going tostand in his way.”Rice would spend nearly two
years in Afghanistan beforereturning home in December of2010, just in time for the holi-days. He immediately wanted toreturn to the Middle East, but, asusual, was concerned about hismother, particularly following hisfather’s death several years earli-er. Once he got the green light
from his mother, though, hesigned up for another tour ofduty.“He wanted to go back (to
Afghanistan),” Wheelock said.“He wanted to make a career outof (the army). He was worried
that I would always bealone, but when I gotmarried (to DickWheelock in 2010), heknew I would be welltaken care of. So he wentback in February for thelast time. He volunteeredto go back. He had to signup and got chosen to go.A
group of people was furious thathe got to go back again becausehe had already gone.”In February of this year, Rice
was again deployed toAfghanistan. Every chance hegot, he would call or email hismother to let her know how hewas doing. And no matter howmuch his mother worried abouthim, Rice would always worryabout his mother that muchmore.“It’s funny, but a lot of times
he would call me when he was inthe bathroom,”Wheelock said. “Italways sounded like he was talk-ing from inside a tin can. A lot oftimes he would say, ‘I can’t tellyou where I am or what I’m doingright now.’ Sometimes I wouldhear a round of gunfire and he’dsay, ‘I’m OK; I’m OK.’ Then thephone would go dead for about 20minutes. I was scared to death. Iwaited and waited and then hewould call back. I would tell him,‘I know that was gunfire.’ Hewould say, ‘No, that was just someguys fooling around.’ But I knewit was gunfire. But that was justJeff — he didn’t want his mom toworry about him. He was alwaysmore concerned about me. Hewas very loving, very sensitiveand very protective.“I wasn’t as worried about him
the second time he went back.You let your guard down a littlebit … then the worst can hap-pen.”And it did.This past Thursday,
Wheelock was greeted at herfront door by a pair of army offi-cials who let her know her sonhad died while in Afghanistan.“I didn’t open the front door
right away, because I thought,‘Nobody ever rings the doorbellhere; they always just come inthrough the garage.’ When Ilooked at the window, I couldn’tsee anyone because they werestanding off to the left,”Wheelocksaid. “It was like a movie. Igasped and said, ‘Is he OK? Is heOK?’ I didn’t want to let them in,but I had to know if he was OK ornot. It was a chaplain and ayoung man who was just asscared as he could be. They toldme they needed to come in andthat I should sit down. It was likein the movies — I just kept back-ing away like it would somehowgo away, but it didn’t go away.”As she sat at her kitchen table
— the same one at which her sondevoured so many of his meals —Monday morning recounting herson’s life, she read over an emailhe had sent her. Tears filled hereyes as she read the email — itwould be the last one she everreceived from her son.The closing read: “one last
thing i really really miss you andi love you mom. write you soon”
Troy soldier killed in Afghanistan will be missed by many
SUBMITTED PHOTOJeffrey Rice, left, shares a moment with his mother, SandyWheelock, while still in high school. On July 19, Army Pfc. Ricewas killed while serving in Afghanistan as a part of OperationEnduring Freedom.
RICE
DAVID FONG/STAFF PHOTOAunt Kathy Pencil, niece Ali Rice and sister Wendy Rice sharememories Monday of Army Pfc. Jeffrey Rice, who was killed July19 while serving in Afghanistan as a part of Operation EnduringFreedom. Pfc. Rice was a 2007 Troy High School graduate.
Even while stationed in Afghanistan, Ricewould frequently call and write to check up on
his nieces, Ali, Kristen and Makayla.
The closing read: “one last thing ireally really miss you and i love you
mom. write you soon”
A son’s love
YEAR IN REVIEW2 TROY DAILY NEWS • PIQUA DAILY CALL
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BY WILL E SANDERSCivitas Media
PIQUA — Homecomingsaren’t meant to take place atcemeteries, but after morethan 30 years a missingPiqua woman received aproper burial Tuesday after-noon next to her deceasedmother who had never givenup hope that her daughterwas out there - somewhere.So in the shade of a
sprawling maple tree in
Section 5 at the Forest HillCemetery the family of PeggySueHouser and former class-mates met for a solemn serv-ice not only in recognition ofMiss Houser, but also inremembrance of a vow hersiblings promised to keep totheir dying mother HattieOglesbee,whopassedaway in2001, never learning thetruth about her daughter.“Apromisekept,nomatter
how long, always makes youfeel good,”saidKarenHouser-WoodofSidney,MissHouser’ssister. “When they took andmurdered my sister, it mur-dered mom, too.”It has been 31 years since
Miss Houser, then justmonths shy of 19, was lastseen traveling with a malemotorcyclist leaving the cityand traveling north en routeto Michigan.Her headstone contains
only her name, the year shewas bornanddied and simply
states: “I’m home.”“It’s a peaceful thing,”
Wood said, recollecting thepromise she and her othersiblings gave their motheryears ago to bring MissHouser home if ever found forburial beside Oglesbee. “Shewill be here just inches frommom.”Miss Houser’s previous
burial site was as a Jane Doewith little amenity in a pot-ter’s field near Tampa, justacross town from where herunidentified body had beenfound on Jan. 30, 1982.Her disappearance had
remained an active missingpersons case that had per-plexed local authorities fordecades before forensicanthropologist ErinKimmerle, also an assistantprofessor at the University ofSouthFlorida,noticedapossi-ble connection between MissHouser and an unidentifiedskeleton found in a field near
a wooded area.Then in November,
Kimmerle, who also assiststhe Tampa Cold Case Project,and a class of students posi-tively identified Miss Houserin November based on DNAsamples taken from familymembers.Wood said the news con-
firmed what her family longsuspected, but while the bit-tersweet identification of theMiss Houser provides com-fort, it does not provide fullclosure.For Wood, she says her
mind has wandered nowmore than it ever has before.“Can you really find clo-
sure until you find out why?”she said.“Until I find outwhy,I don’t think therewill ever betotal closure.… I will have tolive without knowing why.”Miss Houser’s cause of
death remains unknown bythe Hillsborough CountyMedical Examiner’s Office.To
this date, no charges havebeen filed in the case, andnone are expected to, either.Pastor Daniel Hathaway
of Piqua Apostolic Templespoke at the burial service,noting that goodbyes arenever easy, but necessary.“Why was this young
lady’s life taken?” Hathawayasked. “I do not know. I do notknow if anybody knows thatto this day.…So it is todayweare here to release what hasbeen the very human dramafor our love of this youngwoman.”Sandra Houser-Prieser,
another of Miss Houser’solder sisters,said shenowhasclosure concerningher sister’sdeath and disappearancemore than three decades ago.“We brought Peggy home
to our mother,” she said. “Webrought her home.”
I’m home After 30 years questions remain oncause of death surrounding Houser
BY NATALIE KNOTHCivitas Media
TROY — After muchanticipation, the $6 millionAdams Street Bridge hasbeen welcomed by Troymotorists, bicyclists andpedestrians alike, city offi-cials say.“Everything people tellme
is positive,” said Mayor MikeBeamish. “Everyone’s reallyexcited about the look andvariety of ways to get acrossthe bridge. I’ve heard it’s anice beautiful fit for the areaand it will last a long time,which a lot of people werehappy about, because theydon’t want to keep doing thisagain.”In 2007, officials began
planning to replace thebridge after a 2004 studyfound deterioration was toogreat to make renovationpractical. Construction com-menced in June 2011, withabout 80 percent of construc-tion costs covered by federalfunds.The first bridge in that
location was constructed in1876 and replaced in 1913,followed by reconstruction in1922.After 16 months of con-
struction, the new bridge —which for the first time fea-tures a bike path—was ded-icated in a ceremony Oct. 15,featuring remarks from
Beamish, Miami CountyEngineer Paul Huelskamp,former county engineer DougChristian and ODOT DeputyDirector Randy Chevalley.Surrounded by other city offi-cials, Beamish cut the ribbonacross the bridge and walkedacross the structure for thefirst time.Huelskamp noted that the
bridgewas completed on timeand under budget.“I personally feel the
Adams Street Bridge shouldbe a source of pride and dis-tinction for the residents ofMiami County and specifical-ly the citizens of Troy,”Huelskamp said. “I am hon-ored to play a part of such anoble undertaking that will
providemany years of serviceto those same citizens.”The structure features
two 24-foot-wide vehicularlanes, 12-foot-wide bike pathand 5-foot-wide sidewalk,with the bike path and side-walk raised about a half footaboveIn a recent interview,
Beamish commented, “I see itas a wonderful bridge with agreat future — and it has anice sense of character.”City of Troy Project
Manager Stan Kegley saidthe bridge is designed to holdbanners, flags and flowerpots.“This summer it should
really be abeautiful sculpture— so stay tuned,” he said,
adding, “I’ve heard nothingbut fantastic responses to it.”The city will soon be
installing a sign along thebike bath, where it splits intwo on North Market Street.One part weaves along thefloodplain to Duke Park,while the other is an inclineto Adams Street Bridge.Mayor Beamish said some
residents have been slightlyconfused with the absence ofthe sign, but Kegley said thatall will be cleared up with thesign. Installation was pushedback because the city hasbeen focused on decoratingfor the holidays; the high-lifttruck needed to install thesign has been used to hanglights and decorations, in
additional to regular mainte-nance such as fixing streetlights.“Wehave a plan—we just
need a truck,” Kegley saidwith a laugh.Troy City Council
President Marty Baker saidthe project is an excellentexample of the city, countyand state collaborating for afinal goal.“The architects and engi-
neers did an outstanding job.It’s something that’s going tohopefully last over 100 years,”Baker said. “A lot of peoplecross that bridge to get to thehigh school and junior highand Hobart, a lot of them vis-itors. It’s something to beproud of.”
ANTHONY WEBER/STAFF PHOTOS(Left) Workers continue to
bring down the old Adams Street bridge July 13, 2011, following theTroy Strawberry Festival. (Inset) A 1922 FordModel T and a 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid drive over the new Adams Street bridge during a dedication ceremony inOctober. Each vehicle depicts either the same year that the old bridge was built and the latest model Ford reflect-ing the completion of the new bridge.
New bridge warmly received
BY BETHANY ROYERCivitas Media
PIQUA — After a shortabsence following a lengthyand very public study of apotential joint water plantwith the city of Troy over thesummer, discussion on thecity’s own new water treat-ment facility was broughtbefore Piqua CityCommission on Tuesday. Thenext phase looms with a res-olution to contract with CDMSmith, an engineering, con-struction and operationsfirm, for the design and bid-ding, along with engineeringservices.Expected to take the
entirety of 2013 before
ground can be broken inearly 2014, commission wasasked to adopt the resolutionto contract with CDM Smithat a cost of $2.2 million.“It’s a lot of money, but I
think we’re on the rightpath,” said Commissioner JoeWilson after expressing sometrepidation when faced withthe dollar amount for thenext plant phase. However,with time of the essence andCDM Smith’s extensive his-torywith the city, commissionproceeded to adopt the reso-lution so as to keep the proj-ect moving forward. It is aproject that will see the even-tual replacement of the cur-rent water treatment plantthat is 87 years old and can-not meet new EPA
(Environmental ProtectionAgency) regulations.Bob Yoxthimer, a consult-
ant for CDM Smith, waspresent at Tuesday’s meetingto assist with discussionsregarding to the new plant’slocation on State Route 66that will be centered on 40acres,with his estimated con-struction completion date ofMay 2016 at the latest.Commission also adopted
two other resolutions on thenight’s agenda, one to vacatea right-of-way for HartzellFan Inc., on Downing Streetsouth of Meteor Road, and acontract with Burch HydroInc. for bio-solid wasteremoval and land applica-tion.Also discussed were first
readings of an eventual threeon ordinances to reflect mini-mum wage increases for cer-tain municipal employeesand health insurance for thenew year, along with appro-priations. And a second read-
ing on amending Chapter 34of the Piqua Municipal Codeto reflect an Ohio RevisedCode update affecting allstate-wide entities to raisepublicized bids in excess of$25,000 to $50,000.
Project moves ahead
Business continues after devastating fire
PROVIDED PHOTOThe square in the center of the photo represents anapproximate location of the plannednewPiquawater treat-ment plant, which is expected to be completed sometimein 2015.The location is a tract bounded by State Route 66,Hardin Road and Hardin-Alternate Road.
BY MELANIE YINGSTCivitas Media
TROY—Despite the ran-cid smell of smoke and firedamage to its storefront, itwill be business as usual forTroy Sport Center’s cus-tomers and vendors.On Tuesday, owners Fred
and Carol Middleton said thestore still is working to fillorders, and have obtainedequipment and materials foruniform and other specialorders made prior to aMonday morning fire.“We still got uniforms to
get out there this weekend,”said Carol on Tuesday as sheand her husband Fred stoodoutside the back entrance ofthe store surveying the dam-age as insurance investiga-
tors combed through theaftermath in the dark.Estimates of smoke dam-
age from the fire is estimatedat more than $350,000 forboth the building and its con-tents.Owners Fred and Carol
Middleton both said theywere thankful no one wasinjured in the fire, whichcaused heavy smoke damageto the contents of the storethey’ve owned since 1987.“They tell us its going to
take about six months toremodel so we plan to relo-cate somewhere downtownuntil everything is redone,”Fred Middleton said.They said they are still
working on a retail locationas well as restoring thestore’s phone number fororders.
The early Monday morn-ing fire was so hot it meltedplastic hangers and evenplastic baseball helmets onthe second floor loft of the
store.According to officials, it
may take more than amonthto determinewhat caused thefire at Troy Sports Center.
According to Troy FireDepartment’sAssistantChiefGary Stanley, the initialcause of the blaze is believedto be electrical, although thecause has yet to be con-firmed.The fire was contained to
the first floor of the sportinggoods store, although theTroy Area Chamber ofCommerce and Troy MainStreet organizations closedtheir offices Monday due tosmoke damage. The TroyArea Chamber of Commerce,along with the StrawberryFestival offices, will move to315 Public Square, Suite 216,above BakeHouse Breads forfour to sixweeks,according toa press release.The cause of the fire is not
believed to be suspicious,according to Stanley.
ANTHONY WEBER/STAFF PHOTOTroy Sports Center owner Fred Middleton looksthrough damaged merchandise Tuesday at the store indowntown Troy.
YEAR IN REVIEW 3TROY DAILY NEWS • PIQUA DAILY CALL
BY WILL E SANDERSCivitas Media
PIQUA—AMonday (Oct. 18) morning blaze tore throughMiamiValley Polishing, 220 Fox Drive, after the fire started inthe furnace area of the factory and aluminumandmagnesiumdust acted like a powder keg, fire officials said.The fire began at approximately 6 a.m. and about 30
employees were either on site or inside at the time andattempts to extinguish the growing fire were unsuccessful byemployees, all of whommanaged to evacuate the factory safe-ly. A total of 40 employees worked at the site,which only oper-ates one shift.No injuries were reported as a result of the blaze.The structural integrity of the facility was called into ques-
tion as firefighters doused the fire from the outside before get-ting the clear to enter the building for further inspection todetermine a damage assessment, which remains undeter-mined. However, one estimate given by one of the business’sowners estimated damages to equipment alone at half a mil-lion dollars.“The problem is that the structure has a flat truss roof and
with this much fire we are worried about structural collapse,”said Piqua Fire Chief Mike Rindler at the fire scene. “We alsoare fighting it from the exterior so nobody gets hurt.”Rindler added that firefighters dealt with the challenge of
getting to the base of the fire, but eventually they were able toget inside. Fire officials remained on the scene Monday after-noon.The manufacturing facility, which polishes metal, has been
in business since 2008.Therewas a large amount of cardboardlocated inside the structure that helped feed the blaze after thealuminum and magnesium dust caused it to spread instantly,fire officials said.Piqua Fire Capt. John Kendall said it was the city’s largest
fire since the the May 2006 blaze that destroyed the city’s oldhistoric grain elevator, formerly located at 101 S.Main St.Kendall saidmany of the beams inside the structure,which
was entirely gutted,were damaged andwarped from the 1,100degree temperatures created by the inferno.“It was like a dust explosion, the particles are really com-
bustible,” Kendall said of the aluminum and magnesium dustthat combusted and caused the fire to spread as quickly as itdid inside the 20,000-square-foot facility. “I can’t believe weeven have a building still standing.”Owner Dave Schweitzer said he was thankful for the
response and aid the business received as a result of the fire.“Thank you to all of the fire departments and the sur-
rounding businesses for their help with the employees,” hesaid. “There has been an outpouring of support.”Fire crews from Piqua, Troy and Covington battled the
blaze for five hours as crews from Fletcher and Covington res-cue squads manned the Piqua Fire Department.LawDirector StacyWall stated in a press release the city of
Piqua is “very grateful to all mutual aid departments” thatassisted with the fire, including the Troy Fire Department forusing their ladder truck since the city’s ladder truck is present-ly being serviced for a mechanical problem.The building that houses the business, one of several along
the Paul Sherry Industrial Park, was constructed in 1994,according to the Piqua Fire Department.
BY WILL E SANDERSCivitas Media
TROY —What took a jury two hours to decide regard-ing a near-fatal drug robbery at a Piqua park in Decemberhas resulted in an Indiana man spending the next 26 yearsin prison.Aaron D. Tubbs, 28, of Ft.Wayne, stared straight ahead
in common pleas court Thursday as Judge Christopher Geeannounced the sentence, which came three weeks after athree-day trial and a jury verdict that found theman guiltyof attempted murder, aggravated robbery, having a weaponwhile under disability and trafficking in drugs.On the night of Dec. 5, 2011, Tubbs shot Michael Butts,
of Piqua, four times at point blank range during a drugtransaction gone wrong after Butts agreed to purchase apound-and-a-half of marijuana from Tubbs for $1,600.After the shooting, Tubbs fled the scene in a green Taurusand a three-week manhunt ensued. Tubbs eventually wastaken into custody by authorities in Indiana.Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Tony Kendell said
Tubbs has a very long criminal history and asked the courtfor maximum consecutive sentences, which were given inthe case.“He has no respect for human life, he has no respect for
the law and he presents a dan-ger to the community,” Kendellsaid.After the sentencing
Kendell said he was “veryhappy” with the sentence,which he called “fair and just.”“We got a bad guy off the
streets,” said Kendell, whothanked the Piqua PoliceDepartment for their “excellentwork” with their investigation.Defense attorney William
Kluge told the judge he didn’thave any more to say to “add orsubtract in making a determi-nation to the court” and said he suggested to his client henot make a comment since the case will soon be underappeal.Later asked by the judge if he wanted to make a com-
ment, Tubbs responded by only saying, “Nope.”Kluge said he anticipates an appeal being filed in the
case Oct. 1 and requested the court to appoint an attorney.Notably absent from the hearing was Butts, who testi-
fied during the trial that he “played dead” when Tubbsbegan shooting him as he sat in his car in the 1300 block ofForest Avenue.“The last time he tried shooting me in the face and I
threw up my arms,” Butts testified earlier this month. “Ipretended to be dead so he would stop shooting me.”Butts sustained four, close range gunshot wounds to the
chin, the right chest, the right abdomen and the right armand spent more than a week in the hospital before makinga recovery.Butts’ girlfriend, Kara McConnell, spoke in court and
said Tubbs, who looked back at McConnell as she spoke,should be thankful he was only being sentenced in court forattempted murder instead of murder.“I want you to know that I will forever be affected by
your actions,” she said, her voice quivering at times.“However, I will not be your prisoner. I want you to know Iforgive you.”In handing down the sentence the judge said maximum
consecutive sentences in the case were needed to protectthe public.A breakdown of Tubbs’ sentences consists of, 11 years
for attempted murder, 11 years for aggravated robbery, aone year sentence for a weapon specification, and threeyears for having a weapon while under disability — all tobe served consecutively. The remaining sentence of oneyear for trafficking in drugs will run concurrent to thosesentences.Once released from prison, Tubbs will serve a mandato-
ry five-year term of parole and his driver’s license will besuspended for five years.
BY WILL E SANDERSCivitas Media
TROY — A Troy father who police allege adoptedthree children only to later rape them and compel childprostitution faced a commonpleas court judge at hisarraignments Monday after-noon where his hefty bondswere continued.Also appearing in court was
a Beavercreek man who wasallegedly a client in the childsex case.Police say Kenneth H.
Brandt, 39, of Troy, raped thechildren repeatedly and usedonline advertisements to solicitarea men, including Jason M.Zwick, 29, to perform sexualacts on the children, who werethe ages of 9, 10, and 12 whenthe alleged abuse was first dis-covered.Brandt and Zwick wore
identical orange jumpsuits totheir separate court appear-ances and were shackled as thecharges against them by aMiami County grand jury onwere acknowledged in court.Both Brandt and Zwick
entered pleas of not guilty.Brandt has been charged
with 31 rape charges. Eleven ofthose first-degree felonycharges involve a victim underthe age of 10 and each one is punishable with 15 years tolife in prison. The remaining 20 rape counts are punish-able by up to 11 years in prison.Zwick, who authorities allege responded to Brandt’s
online posts about child prostitution, has been chargedwith three counts of rape, each one punishable by up to11 years in prison.The arraignments of both men only lasted a few min-
utes and neither spoke significantly during that time.Brandt remains jailed on a $800,000 bond while
Zwick remains behind bars on a $500,000 bond. Theattorneys for both mean unsuccessfully attempted to getthe bonds lowered.Both men are due back in court on April 2 for pretri-
al hearings.Earlier this month authorities raided Brandt’s Troy
home once the allegations were made and confiscatedseveral items, including computers and media devices.Presently, all three of the victims are currently stay-
ing with relatives and are being supervised by MiamiCounty Children Services, according to the Troy PoliceDepartment.
TUBBSBRANDT
ZWICK
BY WILL E SANDERSCivitas Media
PIQUA — A 21-year-old babysittercharged with murdering a 4-year-old girlmade his initialappearance in courtMonday. The childdied Saturday fol-lowing an allegedfall down a flight of16 steps Thursdaynight in a Piquahome.Charged with
murder, Travis LeeGauldin was given a$500,000 bond byJudge ElizabethGutmann during hisvideo arraignment inMiami County Municipal Court, in addi-tion to a $50,000 bond for an unrelateddomestic violence charged filed againsthim Friday.A preliminary hearing on the murder
charge is scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursdaywhile a pretrial conference regarding thedomestic violence charge is slated for May16.Malisa DeLaSancha, 4, of Piqua, died
Saturday at the Children’s MedicalCenter in Dayton following her fall twodays earlier on April 12 at her home,located at 1012 Caldwell St., where amakeshift memorial in tribute to the girlwas erected over the weekend.The child was airlifted to the hospital
by CareFlight following her fall afterbeing transported to Upper ValleyMedical Center early Friday morning.Gauldin had been living at the resi-
dence and was in a relationship with thevictim’s mother, police say, but court docu-ments state he resides at 506 Lake St.,Troy.
At the time of thealleged murder, Gauldinwas babysitting the victimand at least one other childwhile the victim’s motherwas at work.
Since the chargeswere filed, the PiquaPolice Department hasreferred all comment tothe Miami CountyProsecutor’s Office.Miami County
Prosecutor Gary Nasalhad no comment on thecase except to say that“deaths of this natureare always a tragedy.”In a 9-1-1 call
obtained by the newspa-per, Gauldin told anemergency dispatcher
the child fell down a flightof wooden stairs.“She fell down the
stairs and I need help,”Gauldin said. “Her heart isnot beating. … She is notbreathing.”
From the Aug. 16, 2012Piqua Daily Call:Gauldin has been
indicted on a count of mur-der and entered a plea ofnot guilty to the chargeduring his court arraign-ment May 30.The charge was the
result of a murder investigation per-formed by the Piqua Police DepartmentIn a distressed 9-1-1 call on the night
of the girl’s death Gauldin claimed thechild fell down a flight of 16 wooden stepsat the Caldwell Street home where he wasbaby-sitting the children of a woman hewas living with at the residence.The child was later flown by
CareFlight to the Children’s MedicalCenter in Dayton where she died a fewdays later.Gauldin remains behind bars at the
Miami County Jail on a combined bond of$550,000.In addition to the murder charge, he
also has been charged with domestic vio-lence and two probation/parole violations.
Babysitter charged with murder of 4-year-old
GAULDIN
Tubbs sentencedto 26 years
Blaze tearsthrough localcompanyDad faces
judge onchild sexcharge
Courts, fire, a wrath-filledmother nature
YEAR IN REVIEW4 TROY DAILY NEWS • PIQUA DAILY CALL
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BY MELANIE YINGSTCivitas Media
TROY — A search warrant was served at the city of Troy mainte-nance department Wednesday in connection with an investigation ofoperations supervisor Michael “Scott” Walter.
Patrick Titterington, Troy director of pub-lic service and safety, said he became awareof the investigation on Tuesday and Walter, acity employee since 1973, has been placed onadministrative leave with pay.
Troy Police Capt. Joe Long confirmed thedetective division is “looking into the situa-tion at the maintenance facility and the caseis pending” and was referring all calls to cityhall.
The search warrant obtained by the TroyDaily News states officers seized $1,385 incash found in Walter’s desk drawer, a Dellcomputer and several files from the office at1400 Experiment Farm Road.
According to the statements included inthe search warrant, the investigation began in early October when theTroy Police Department was contacted by Billy Ray of the auto titledepartment.
Ray said he had spoken to a subject who worked at the MiamiCounty garage who had told him he had been in contact with anemployee at the city garage. The employee had commented that theamount or scope of thefts at the city’s garage “would make the problemsMiami County was having with Mr. Jarrod Harrah look insignificant.“
Harrah, former Miami County maintenance director, recently wassentenced to one year in prison for theft in office, tampering withrecords and tampering with evidence — all third-degree felonies.
An anonymous employee told detectives scrap metal from the citygarage was deposited at Urban Elsass and Son in Piqua and Walterswas pocketing the payments, which were made in cash.
Police detectives spoke with Urban Elsass managers, who were ableto produce copies of all the receipts the company had on file dating backto July 2011. The 20 receipts all were made out to the city of Troy forapproximately $4,517.30 through October 2012.
City auditor John Stickel confirmed with detectives that no paper-work to support any cash deposits by the city garage management wassubmitted during the same time frame.
According to a statements made by “Employee #1,” scrap metalwould go to the scrap yard in Piqua approximately eight or nine timesa year, including several truckloads at a time. Scrap metal included cityproperty such as manhole covers, catch basins, water meters, lightpoles, road signs and broken snow plows and salt boxes. “Employee #1”said they were always paid in cash and instructed to give it to the fore-man who would, in turn, hand it over to Walter.
“Employee #1” said the city garage employees needed extra money tobuy pizza for a party for the 2011 summer help crew. He said he wit-nessed Walter produce an envelope from his desk with a substantialamount of cash to pay for the summer help pizza party. Since that inci-dent, “Employee #1” began to marking all the $50 and $100 billsbrought back from Urban Elsass. “Employee #1” said he saw one of themarked bills pay for items for the garage on at least one occasion.
On Oct. 30, detectives spoke with “Employee #2” who reiterated what“Employee #1” had witnessed. “Employee #2” said he would take thecash and receipt from Elsass and hand it to the foreman, which usual-ly added up to $200 cash every time he hauled a load of scrap to thefacility. “Employee #2” also added he saw the secretary of the facilityreceive a “cash bonus” from Walter and it was with the marked bills.
Both employees referred the detectives to another individual in ref-erence to two Jeeps that were purchased at a city surplus auction byWalter. According to the warrant,Walter may have had work performedon the vehicles prior to the sales before Walter purchased them.“Employee #2” also referred detectives to a another individual about thescrap metal arrangements.
Titterington said since it was an active investigation and no chargeshad been filed as of Friday, the city believed it was best to place Walteron paid administrative leave and remove him from the building “ineverybody’s best interest.”
Titterington said he has met with city officials and briefed themabout the investigation and the city would immediately begin to “tight-en up cash handling policies.”
Troy departmentunder investigation
BY JOYELL NEVINSCivitas Media
WEST MILTON — Milton-Union Bulldogs will soon have a morespacious and Earth-friendly school.
The new school in the Lowry complex, built to house elementary,middle and high school students, is set to be complete by early June.The process started with the passage of the bond levy in November2008, an earned income tax that lasts for 23 years. The early site con-struction package was awarded in fall 2009, and actual constructionbegan in spring 2010. Now, it’s down to the finishing touches.
“We’re just so excited,” Superintendent Ginny Rammel said of thenew building.
Rammel and other administrators toured 35 other schools to seewhat worked and what didn’t. They are using Newton’s idea of adecade wall, compiled by Milton Memories and the Parent-TeacherOrganization, Franklin-Monroe’s design of graphics in the gym, andtook the suggestion of rubber-backed flooring from a school inKentucky. According to Rammel, they also learned not to tier the cafe-torium.
The architect is Ruetschle Architects, who designed Kettering’sTrent Arena and spearheaded the recent renovations at Oakwoodschools. The firm also has been hired as a consultant for Tipp CityExempted Village Schools.
From floor to ceiling, specific thought has been put into each build-ing aspect. There are numerous strategically placed windows and sun-shades designed so that the sunlight hits the floor of the classroom,reflects back on the angled ceiling and fills the classrooms with natu-ral light. The media center, which will serve all three buildings, has alarge skylight positioned right on top of the circulation desk.
The floor is pre-cast concrete plank as opposed to a bar joist floor,which creates a harder and sturdier floor, according to Mike Huff ofRuetschle. It is covered with terazzo, which is stronger and moredurable than regular tile.
There is a even a special grid in the entrance ways with bristlebrush inserts designed to remove debris from shoes as students enterthe building. Entrances have been placed right next to the athleticareas as well, to reduce the amount of foot traffic throughout the build-ing.
Foot traffic is the same reason why the custodial room was set upby the elementary school — because that’s where the janitor would beheading the most.
“Who gets sick the most? Little kids,” Rammel said.The new building will incorporate many environmentally-friendly
aspects. It has received a Gold Leadership in Energy & EnvironmentalDesign (LEED) rating, the highest one can get. Twelve solar thermalpanels will heat the school water, and a storm water retention systemcollects rain water to use for flushing toilets.
The roofs have a barrel roof design, which drains water more effec-tively and is made to last 40 years, according to Huff. He also explainedthe walls contain a polyurethane foam covering, which creates a vaporbarrier that eliminates gaps and increases energy efficiency.
In the middle of the main hallway, there will be computer monitorsinstalled to show how much energy is being used by each area.Administration hopes it will become a competition between each schoolto see who can conserve the most energy.
Technology is also being embraced in the new school — and the dooris left open for more innovation.
“We try to be as flexible as possible — we know education’s going tochange,” Rammel said.
Each classroom is equipped with a SMART Board and multipleelectric outlets to eliminate massive amounts of cords. The science labshave been designed to teacher specifications, with each table farenough back to have a clear view of the board and its own network andelectric outlets.
The gyms and stage are catered to the teachers as well. The college-length high school gym will hold up to 1,600 people. It has two differ-ent sets of lighting, three sides with windows and bleachers with per-manent hand rails. The stage between the gym and cafetorium holds aremovable acoustical wall and was designed with the help of middleschool music and drama teacher Kellie Mahaney and high school musi-cal director Marsha Fischbach.
“Our teachers have been very instrumental in making this buildingthe place it is,” Rammel said.
Rammel is still willing to give tours and provide information tointerested parents and community members. Contact her at [email protected] or 884-7910.
New home for Bulldogs
WALTER
Rain, wind whipsthrough county
BY NATALIE KNOTHCivitas Media
MIAMI COUNTY —After a sunny, hot and humid afternoon, Troy res-idents were encouraged to take cover late Friday afternoon as heavy down-pours and winds whipped through the area, toppling trees and knockingout power throughout Miami County.
Troy resident Jules Conner was attending a pre-Fourth of July party atthe Troy Elks at the corner of Franklin and Cherry streets when the stormswept through, blowing over a sign and nearly dismantling tents.
Sgt. Shawn McKinney of the Troy Police Department saw attendeesstruggling to keep tents upright and pulled over to help.A tree in the yardthen fell to the ground, pinning McKinney underneath.
“The car was what kept the tree from completely falling on McKinney,”Conner said, referring to McKinney’s police cruiser. He sustained minorinjuries, while no one else was hurt.
“I’m still shaking,” Conner said shortly after the incident. “It was reallyscary.”
Meteorologist Julie Reed at National Weather Service in Wilmingtonsaid “absolutely no” tornadoes were reported in Miami County. However,the storm exhibited very fast, quick moving winds — called a derecho —which can cause even more severe weather than a tornado, she said. TheNational Weather Service reported winds of 82 mph at DaytonInternational Airport. Troy Police Department Capt. Joe Long reportedthat 118 law enforcement calls were made throughout the area from 4-7p.m., not including fire and EMS calls.
“I know we had quite a bit of those,” he said.After 7 p.m., Long said calls to police were slowing down significantly.Three auto accidents were reported in Troy, none of which resulted in
injuries. The accidents occurred at Stonyridge Avenue and Market Street,West Main Street at McDonald’s and West Main Street and StanfieldRoad.
In Piqua, several fast food restaurants and retail businesses, includingthe Miami Valley Centre Mall, remained closed around 7:30 p.m. Oneinjury was reported within the Piqua city limits when a tree fell on top oftwo pickup trucks near the corner of Madison and Vine streets. A man sit-ting in one of the trucks was injured and was transported to UVMC byPiqua paramedics.
Just north of downtown Piqua, several RVs at Paul Sherry RV onNorthCounty Road 25-A were blown over by the straight line winds. A roof onSherry’s Car and Credit showroom also sustained significant damage.
— Susan Hartley of Ohio Community Media contributed to this report.
ANTHONY WEBER/STAFF PHOTOOne of several bike racks sit adjacent outside the elementaryschool area.
ANTHONY WEBER/STAFF PHOTOThe Media Center will be in the middle of all three facilities, the ele-mentary, middle and high schools. A round skylight is positionedright on top of the circulation desk.
Bright future
YEAR IN REVIEW 5TROY DAILY NEWS • PIQUA DAILY CALL
NATALIE KNOTHCivitas Media
TROY—The big questionweighing heavy on the minds of allStrawberry Festival organizers,non-profit vendors and attendeeswas how the festivities would faredowntown.With a full crowd, “sold-out”
signs on many booths, and busi-nesses boasting remarkably highsales, many participants said thefestival was even better downtown— though most admit they hadbeen skeptical.“You know what, we want to do
it here every year,” said DeniseSchlosser of Troy WrestlingParents. “I thought sales would bedown,but it’s been exactly the oppo-site. We’re running out of every-thing.We’ve had people running allover the place.”General chairwoman Corie
Schweser said 95 percent of peopleshe talked to preferred the newlocation. The activities ran withouta hitch, she said, with booths eveneasier to set up than on the levee.“One of my goals was to make
this festival seamless. Anythingthat went wrong was like a tinygrain of sand in a bucket,” she said.“It exceeded my expectations.”She hopes the city and organiz-
ers will consider hosting it down-town again, as she expected thatnon-profits fared even better thisyear than in past years.“I started crying yesterdaywhen
12 non-profits ran out of food andhad to get more. They were raisingmore money than expected, and
they had started with the sameamount of food as past years,” shesaid.Troy Wrestling Parents had
bought 1,500 hot dogs and brats,which typically last the entireweekend. But Schlosser saw thesupply run out by 4 p.m. Saturday.Volunteers then drove to Sam’sWarehouse Club to get 1,400 more,but by 2:30 Sunday, all the hot dogswere gone.Not only did Troy Wrestling
Parents raise enough for a newwrestling mat for the junior highand high school athletes — theyalso unexpectedly raised enough tostart a youth wrestling program,intended to introduce kids towrestling before they enter juniorhigh.“It’s been so absolutely worth it,”
Schlosser said. “God’s helping usout.”Troy Police Department com-
mented that no major problemsoccurred over the weekend, and itwas a major success. The heaviesttraffic was reported at Market andWater streets,but itwas still lighterthan past years.“It’s actually been runningmuch
better than expected. We expectedsome traffic issues, but it’s beenvery smooth,” said Chief ChuckPhelps. “Local businesses, vendorsand festival-goers have told us thatthey’re very happy with it.”Entertainment coordinator
Roberta Jacobs commented thatthe downtown location is handicap-accessible, unlike the levee.“I’ve had people come up to me
and say, ‘We brought our elderlyparents that are in wheelchairs
who couldn’t go before on thelevee,’” Jacobs said. “There havebeen a lot of goosebumps momentsthis weekend.”The downtown location also was
more convenient for parents withyoung children.“For us, with our strollers, it
makes it a lot easier,” said BeckyZink of West Carrollton, whobrought her sons — five-month-oldtriplets and a 2-year-old.She added,“It is crowded like usual, like weknew it would be.”Daryl Miller of Diamond Jim’s
Fun Toys said this year standsalone as the most successful out of21 festivals atwhich he’s soldwood-en toy guns.“In all the years we’ve done this
and in all the fests we’ve done, thisis the first time we’ve had to drivethree hours to get more,” Millersaid. On Saturday, Miller and JimZakeski, who also was working thebooth, said they left two or threehours earlier to assemble more popguns and crossbows.“I don’t know if the crowd’s up
because it’s because it’s downtown,or because we’ve had two reallygood days of weather,” Miller said,adding that set-up was much sim-pler. “On the levee, when the windcomes through, it can be a real bear,and you had to carry your thingsover one hill or up another hill.”Nikki Williams of Springfield
has attended the StrawberryFestival for the past five years withher husband Matt and their twodaughters, ages 8 and 5 — eachhaving her face painted, one asHello Kitty, and the other as a but-terfly. Nikki said she was pleasant-
ly surprised by how smoothly theevent ran.“I actually like it better here,”
Williams said. “It was easier to getto.At the levee it’s all scrunched in,and you have to go down the hill,”she said.Rick Rosengarten and Kyleigh
Shank drove from Sidney for onespecific reason — to try the bakedgoods sold by First LutheranChurch. But they were out of luck.“I wanted to try the strawberry
cupcakes, but there were all soldout,”he said.“I had heard theywerereally good, so we drove out here.”Sue Cantrell of Around About
Books could not have been morepleased with the StrawberryFestival.“Everyone we’ve talked to has
said this is the best thing that couldhappen to downtown Troy,”Cantrell said. “Downtown Troy isthe living room of our community.Let’s keep in downtown.”Cantrell estimated that her
sales had tripled or even quadru-pled, compared to a typical day.“It has been the greatest week-
end we’ve had in years,” Cantrellsaid. “We’ve had a lot of customerswho have never been to downtownTroy.And you don’t have to contendwith hills or mud. If you get too hotor too cold, you just stop in the busi-nesses.”Joe Reiser, owner of
WinansChocolates & Coffees, saidbusiness was four or five timesmore thanusual.Chocolate-coveredstrawberries, strawberry-flavoredcoffee drinks and strawberry sconeswere especially popular, as expect-ed.
“It’s fantastic and a great repre-sentation of Troy. We hope it staysdowntown,” he said, adding, “Wethink people stay downtown longer.When you get tired of one part, youcan go to the businesses.”In past years,Reiser said he saw
a slight increase in customersaround the time of the bed racesand parade. But during otherevents on the levee, “it was a ghosttown,” he said.His wife Laurie, co-owner of
Winans, said having the festivaldowntown lets visitors get a betterlook at what makes Troy a specialplace to live.“I think the really nice thing is
people see the downtown and say,‘Oh, around Christmastime, I wantto come back to that store or restau-rant. People don’t say, ‘I’d like to goback to the levee,’” she commented.The Reisers’ friend Barbara
Martin, who lives blocks fromdowntown, said people have muchmore room tomove aroundwith thenew location. While Martin wasnever opposed to the new location,she said her neighbors had voicedsome doubts.“They’re now converts,” Martin
said. “We didn’t have any noise ortrash or anything.”Overall, Schweser called the
2012 Troy Strawberry Festival anenormous success.“I’m pretty emotional, over-
whelmed not by how much work ittook, but by all the people whohelped us to get it here,” she said.“I’m going to write notes I want toremember, so we’ll be ready if we dohave it downtown again.”
ANTHONY WEBER/STAFF PHOTODespite moving the Troy Strawberry Festival from its traditional home on the levee to downtown Troy due to the reconstruction of the Adams Street Bridge, there stillwere plenty of crowds for the two-day festival in June.
Strawberry Festival held for first time downtown
BY WILL E SANDERSCivitas Media
PIQUA — The Piqua HighSchool gymnasium was packedto the raftersWednesday morn-ing, just days after VeteransDay, for a Call to Duty ceremo-ny in honor of 165 soldiers withthe Ohio Army NationalGuard’s 1487th TransportationCompany.The send-off of the unit,
which is stationed in Eaton butoperates a detachment fromPiqua, was accompanied by thepatriotic tunes of an ONGband, spouses waving flags andholding up signs, and tearfulchildren who will spend thenext long year waiting for thereturn of a mother or a fatherfrom Afghanistan.The troops, who left by bus
after the ceremony, are beingdeployed to Afghanistan to pro-vide tactical ground trans-portation security in support ofOperation Enduring Freedomafter attending training at FortHood in Texas.As each of the soldiers filed
in one-by-one at the start of theceremony the crowd cheeredand clapped wildly, some evenas tears rolled down their faces.“This is truly a fitting cere-
mony to send off these great
warriors, but can you imaginehow great it will be a year fromnow when we are back herewelcoming them home?” askedONG Maj. Gen. DeborahAshenhurst. “Those are thereally good ceremonies.”Ashenhurst thanked each
soldier for the sacrifices theyhave made in the last year asthey prepared for deploymentand the sacrifices they willmake in the coming year.“Thank you for stepping up
to the plate and taking up thismission,” she said. “You havebeen training and preparing forthis deployment and yourefforts have been nothing shortof spectacular, your perform-ance has been remarkable andyour service has not gone unno-ticed.”The commander of the
1487th TransportationCompany, Capt. StephenSturgill, who is charged withleading the soldiers, assured
friends and families in atten-dance that he will take care ofthe unit while overseas.“I am proud to be your com-
mander,” he said. “I am proudof your courage, competenceand commitment. … Today Icould not be more proud to be asoldier and commander of the1487th, and to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you and yourfamily during this time of greatdanger and uncertainty.Together we are, and will
always be, iron camels andArmy strong.”Charleigh Clark of
Columbus, who was holdingher little brother, Jacob, 3, dur-ing the ceremony said so manythoughts were racing throughher mind since her husband isamong the troops making thedeployment.“I am really proud of him,”
she said. “I am scared and I amhappy. I am already countingdown the days for him to comehome.”Her husband, Pfc. Kendall
Clark, embraced her in a longhug and kiss following the cer-emony.“This is my first deploy-
ment,” he said. “I am ready todo what needs to be done so Ican get back home.”Their’s was one of 165 other
family gatherings that tookplace inside the gymnasiumbefore the troops boarded busesand officially began theirdeployment.“Today is a sad day because
this is the last time these fami-lies will see their soldier for ayear,” said ONG Chief of Staff,Public Affairs, James Sims.The unit’s previous service
includes Operation IraqiFreedom in 2004 through 2005and Operation Desert Storm in1990 and 1991.
Ceremony held for local soldiersCall to Duty
MIKE ULLERY/STAFF PHOTOSoldiers of the Ohio National Guard, 1487th Transportation Company, based in Piqua, gatheredat Piqua High School on Wednesday for the unit’s Call To Duty ceremony. The unit, under com-mand of Capt. Stephen A. Sturgill and 1st Sgt. Mike A. Kula will be deploying to Afghanistan aspart of Operation Enduring Freedom.The deployment is expected to be for one year.
YEAR IN REVIEW6 TROY DAILY NEWS • PIQUA DAILY CALL
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“The Heart of Retirement Living”
BY JOSH BROWNCivitas Media
TROY —Miami East listenedto the talk from their potentialcompetition in the state for theentire offseason.Things like, “how did they even
get there? They must have gottenlucky. It was a fluke.”Even throughout this regular
season— a year in which they onlylost five sets total — and into thetournament, they had to put upwith critics, doubters and evenhaters.“We want to prove everyone
wrong, prove that we earned this,”senior Abby Cash said beforeSaturday’s Division III Statechampionship matchup againstColumbus Bishop Ready.The sound of the official’s flag
raising to signal a service error onmatch point was also the sound ofthe Vikings’ final doubter closingtheir mouth.The Vikings (29-1) turned in
one of the most dominant perform-ances in history throughout theseason, only losing fives sets theentire season — and none duringtheir postseason run — on theirway to becoming only the 16thschool in the history of Ohio to everwin back-to-back state champi-onships, sweeping the SilverKnights 28-26, 25-15, 25-17 atWright State’s Nutter Center.One person, though, could never
be counted among the Vikings’doubters.Their coach, John Cash.“(When we were freshmen and
he talked about winning a statetitle) we called him crazy,” AbbyCash said.“The superintendent did, the
athletic director did, the principaldid,” John Cash said. “You’ve got tobelieve.”“I don’t know if we believed in
ourselves so much,” fellow seniorLeahDunivan said. “But he alwaysbelieved in us. He’s always beenthere for us.”It was such amoment that even
the coach was taken aback, lookingat Dunivan and saying “thankyou.”After a brief pause, Dunivan
ended the moment in typicalViking fashion.“God, I hate it when he’s right,”
she added, drawing a round oflaughs from the entire team.The match also was played in
typical Viking fashion — impres-sive.As with Friday’s state semifinal
against Bloom-Carroll, the match
was practically decided in a tightand hard-fought first game. Andneither team wanted to be the oneto let it go.The game featured four lead
changes and a whopping 13 ties —most of which came at the end.TheVikings built a 17-14 lead, but theSilver Knights (20-9) followed withsix straight points to go up by threethemselves. After the Vikings ranoff four straight to go up 21-20, thetwo teams traded points six timesall the way to 27-26 Vikings.Sam Cash blocked a ball at the
net that a Silver Knight dove tosave, digging the ball back over thenet. Cash followed the ball in theair to the sideline and watched asit landed out of bounds, and theVikings were two games awayfrom a second state title.It took the wind out of Ready’s
sails.“We just stuck to our game-
plan,” John Cash said. “I thoughtReady did a great job of hitting.Karley Kusan can smoke a ball.Weknew we had to get touches on hershots. We weren’t worried about
blocking her, just getting touchesand slowing her down.Once we gother funneled intowherewewantedher to go so our defense could getdigs on her, we took over.”“It takes a lot out of you,” said
Kusan, who had eight of hermatch-high 15 kills in the game.“Wewere so worked up during thatgame, the adrenaline was pump-ing. We gave everything we had,but the ball didn’t bounce our way.Then in the second game,we didn’thave the mindset that we could dothis anymore.”And the Vikings jumped at the
chance.A five-point run that included
two kills by Sam Cash and one byDunivan staked Miami East out toan 8-2 lead, and then Sam Cashserved a six-point streak thatmade it 15-4. A series of uncharac-teristic errors helped the Knightsclose to within 20-13, but theVikings won four of the final fivepoints — including a service errorby Ready on game point … a signof things to come.Ready wasn’t ready to go home,
though, jumping out to a 6-1 leadin the third game and forcing theVikings to use a timeout.“I told them to take a deep
breath and relax,” John Cash said.“Once we did that, it was just amatter of execution.”So the Vikings turned to their
executioners.After a Ready service error gave
Miami East the ball back,Dunivanscored back-to-back aces, with thesecond clipping the net chord andfalling. After a kill by Kusan, SamCash blasted down a kill andadded another net chord-assistedace, and suddenly the Knights’lead was only one.Another kill by Kusan briefly
held off the inevitable, but a kill byAngie Mack gave the serve back tothe Vikings, a kill by AshleyCurrent in the middle tied thegame at 8-8 and back-to-back killsby Abby Cash gave the Vikings thelead.And they didn’t let it go.With Miami East holding a 16-
10 lead, Dunivan, Trina Currentand Dunivan again stuffed blocks
right back at Ready on threestraight points, with Dunivan’srejection on a Kusan shot makingthe score 19-10 and all but wrap-ping things up.“When we start getting blocks
like that, they resort to tipping androlling — which is what definesour defense,” Abby Cash said.“We reset so fast after (getting a
tip) that they don’t have a chanceto set up any kind of defense,”Dunivan said.At 24-14, Kusan gave one last
effort to get Ready back into thegame. She put down a kill, tookover the serve and served out threestraight points — including twoaces — but a service error on thefifth match point sent the tri-umphant Vikings into celebrationmode.Abby Cash finished with her
fifth triple-double of the seasonwith 10 kills, 18 assists, 10 digsand an ace. Dunivan had eightkills, two aces, two digs and fourblocks, Mack had seven kills and11 digs, Sam Cash had seven kills,18 assists, 10 digs and an ace,Trina Current had four kills andeight digs,Ashley Current had twokills, two blocks and an assist,Allison Morrett had 25 digs andsenior Allie Millhouse had fourdigs.“Their net play was better than
ours. They played their game andtook us out of ours,” Ready coachMike Kusan said. “It’s an honor tobe back in the final four for back-to-back years. Jack Nicklaus oncesaid, ‘Sometimes you’ve got to fin-ish second to finish first.’”The Vikings — who won their
first state title last season in theirfirst-ever trip to the state tourna-ment — would beg to differ.“There’s no such thing as sec-
ond,” Abby Cash said. “You win, oryou lose.”“There’s only one place we like,
and that’s first,” John Cash said.“And there’s only one color we like,and that’s gold … well, and we likeblue, too.”But even though any and all
doubters have been silenced, thatdoesn’t mean the Vikings are doneproving themselves.“There’s next year, too. We (the
seniors) may not be here, but they(the underclassmen) will be,”Dunivan said. “And they’ve been asmuch a part of this as we have.We’re a family, and we’re all in thistogether. Always.”As for the seniors, though?“We’re only the 16th team ever
to do this (win back-to-back statetitles)?” Dunivan said. “Yeah. Ithink that about does it.”
COLIN FOSTER/STAFF PHOTOMiami East celebrates its second-straight Division III state volleyball championship in November.
Miami East wins state championship
Another year goes into the record booksBY WILL E SANDERS
Civitas [email protected]
M I AM I C O U N T Y —Another Miami County Fair isin the books and organizerswere celebrating not only aweek of “perfect fair weather,”but what is expected to be highattendance numbers thatcame as a result.Fair Manager/Secretary
Shelly Keller said she thoughtcompulsively about how thisyear’s fair would go in themonths leading up to thisyear’s fair, even more so sincethis was her first fair.“The Miami County Fair
this year was great, it wentfabulous,” Keller said. “Thehighlight had to be the weath-er. I prayed for good weatherall year. That played thebiggest part in our attendance,the cool weather.”The cooler temperatures
were a welcome change frompast water-logged fairs orthose of past years that had tocontend with stifling Augustheat.Keller said attendance fig-
ures and gate receipts had yet tobe tabulated with the fair near-
ing to a closeThursday after-noon — and as rain cloudsstood in the distance—but itis expected that this year’sfair will wind up being one ofthe highest attended fairs inthe last decade.“If it is hot and in the
100s, the people are notgoing to come to the fair,” shesaid. “And obviously, if it israining they aren’t going to,either. But this year, it wasjust superb.”Keller said weekend
attendance, most assuredlyboosted by theHunterHayesconcert on Saturday, was upover past years.She also said Wednesday
was a great day for people ofall ages as it was not onlyKids Day, but also SeniorCitizen Day. Both eventswere heavily attended, shesaid.“We have had one of the
best year’s ever this year,”Keller said. “We have brokenseveral records. This yearhas been huge.”And if a person missed
the fair this year, don’t worry— planning for next year’sMiami County Fair will begintoday.
ANTHONY WEBER/STAFF PHOTOCindy Bach from the Miami County SolidWaste District, along with Lucky the Ladybug, hands out mate-rial to children Wednesday during Kids Day at the Miami County Fair.
The Great Miami County Fair
YEAR IN REVIEW 7TROY DAILY NEWS • PIQUA DAILY CALL
BY DAVID FONGCivitas Media
SAN DIEGO — KrisDielmanplayed every downoffootball as if it would be hislast.And now, he has.Thursday, the Troy High
School graduate announcedhis retirement from the SanDiego Chargers, bringing hisnine-year NFL career to anend. During his career,Dielman— an undrafted freeagent who worked his wayinto the Chargers’ startinglineup at left guard — madefour Pro Bowls and was wasvoted by fans as one of the 50greatest players in franchisehistory.“It’s a little sad— it’s a lit-
tle premature way to end mycareer,”Dielmansaid ina tele-phone interview.“But it’s beena good nine years. I’ve made alot of memories. I’ve made alot of good friends and met alot of great people. I can’tbelieve some of the things I’vebeen able to do and the placesI’ve been able to go because offootball.”Dielman said a concussion
suffered during a helmet-to-helmet collision with a NewYork Jets linebacker lastOctober contributed to hisdecision to retire.Dielman fin-
ished the game, then suffereda grand mal seizure on theplane ride back to San Diego.“I’ve listened tomy doctors
and I’ve done my research,”Dielman said. “I’ve read a lotabout what has happened toolder players and some of thesymptoms they’ve had. I couldcheck off half the symptoms— and really, one is too much.I want to be able to enjoy therest of my life.”Dielman began his career
on Troy’s varsity as a sopho-more tight end in 1996. Thatteam would finish atop theDivision I Associated Presspolls and, at one point, wasnationally ranked by USAToday. He would stay at tightend for three years, and alsobecameTroy’s startingmiddlelinebacker as a senior. Itwould be at linebacker whereDielman would earn All-Ohiohonors.Former Troy coach Steve
Nolan has described Dielmanas “the most physical footballplayer I’ve ever coached.”“Nobody wanted to play
against him,” Nolan said. “Hewas so physical.Hewould fin-ish every block. I rememberwatching him in college, hewas driving future first rounddraft picks into the bleachers.Heplayed football like itwasafight. He gave everything hehad on every single play —
and he got respect for it. Ifguys didn’t respect him, hemade them respect him. Itwas a privilege to be associat-ed with a player like that.”Dielman’s toughness and
mean streak made him ahuge hit with Charger fans.They also appreciated his loy-alty. After becoming a ProBowl player, he was offered amulti-million dollar contractby the Seattle Seahawks, butultimately signed with theChargers for less money.“If you are talking about a
football player, I guess thosewould be the adjectives youwould want to use to describehim,” Dielman said. “I take alot of pride in that. I guessthere are worse things youcould be called as a footballplayer.”Following his career at
Troy, Dielman accepted ascholarship to play football atIndianaUniversity.He playedtight end his first two seasons,played both tight end anddefensive tackle — a positionhe had never played before—as a junior and played exclu-sively at defensive tackle as asenior. He was named a teamcaptain and earned All-BigTen honors as a senior.After going undrafted out
of college, Dielman signed afree agent contract with theChargers as a defensive tack-
le in 2003. He was cut duringtraining camp, but broughtback to the practice squad asan offensive guard — a posi-tion he had never playedbefore in his career. He quick-ly worked his way up andbecame a starter by his sec-ond season in the NFL.That Dielman was able to
make somany adjustments toso many positions throughouthis career came as no surpriseto Nolan.“People forget how intelli-
gent he is about the game,”Nolan said. “He could do any-thing and everything withhim in terms of his schemeand his technique. He was asmart football player.”Dielman would earn mul-
tiple trips to the Pro Bowl,along with the respect of histeammates and peers.“I’ll certainly miss the
great blocks and his ability tohelp us win, but I’ll miss himmore in the locker room,in themeeting rooms and the busrides and all those things,”Chargers quarterback PhillipRivers said during Dielman’spress conference. “If you had53 Kris Dielmans, you’d win abunchof games.Heplays foot-ball theway you played it as akid, thewayweall played it inhigh school. It’s neverchanged.While it’s a businessat this level and there’s a lot of
things that change, he treatedit the same way. I know Iappreciated it. I know theguys appreciated it.”Dielman said of all the
things he’ll miss about foot-ball, the time spent with histeammates is the thing he’llmiss the most.“The gameswe play are all
that most people see,”Dielman said. “They don’t seethe practices, the meetings,the team flights — all the
friendships wemake.”Dielman said he isn’t sure
what his immediate futureholds.“I’m not sure what I’m
going to do next,” Dielmansaid. “I’ve got a beautiful wife(Sandy) and two great kids(sons Reid and Blake). I’d liketo thank the Chargers —thanks to them, I never haveto worry about money for therest of my life. I’m going torelax and go with the flow.”
Your local community bankers atUnity National Bank would like to extend our sincere
wishes for a very safe and Happy New Year!
Member FDIC2349453
Troy’s Dielman retiresLineman leaving NFL after nine years
ANTHONY WEBER/STAFF FILE PHOTOIn this 2006 file photo, Troy High School graduate KrisDielman, left, shares a laugh with former San DiegoChargers teammate Ladanian Tomlinson. Thursday,Dielman officially announced his retirement after nineseasons playing offensive line in the NFL.
BY BETHANY ROYERCivitas Media
PIQUA — It is said thatslow and steadywins the raceand for the seven-month AshStreet Corridor project, it’sbeen a long-time coming win-ner. As the much-anticipatedreopening of the main arterybetween the city’s east andwest side became officialTuesday morning with a rib-bon cutting ceremony.Numerous city officials,
business owners, school offi-cials and construction crewwere on hand to highlight thecompletion of reconstruction
on Ash Street, with its newthree lanes for traffic, side-walks, water mains,streetscaping and more. Thetime-honored tradition wasmet with many cheers fromthose who have been at thecenter of the project, includ-ing businesses along theroute and residents.Mayor Lucy Fess thanked
the city staff and the manyentities involved in the proj-ect, from the OhioDepartment ofTransportation to the city’splanning commission andDouble Jay Construction Inc.of Englewood.“We appreciate their coop-
eration,” said Fess, acknowl-edging some of the difficultysurrounding the closure of thebusy street,with the hope cit-izens are proud of the newgateway into the community.It was Feb. 27 when the
main corridor was closedbetween Spring Street andthe Piqua Board of Educationbuilding with an estimatedcompletion date of early fall.The primary gateway intoPiqua from I-75 has been onthe top five opportunities listof the ReDO (RedevelopmentOpportunities) Piqua analy-sis report since 2005. Othersites include the RiverfrontMill District, North County
Road 25-A corridor, the areaof South Main Street andClarkAvenue, and the formerPiqua Memorial Hospitalsite.The state and federal
funded 75 percent of the $2.5million of the challengingproject on a corridor that seesan average daily traffic (ADT)of approximately 18,300 vehi-cles.“Bob is actually sleeping
at night now,” said CityEngineer Amy Havenar ofproject manager Bob Graeser,explaining that though signsand barriers were takendown at noon Monday, therewas some trepidation by first-
time drivers down the recon-structed street.It was understandable
given the time of closure andthe short-lived “NotYet” cam-paign as the project neared
completion over the last fewweeks.However,Ash Street isnow officially open and traffic,both vehicle and pedestrian,have a brand new route inwhich to enjoy.
MIKE ULLERY/STAFF PHOTOTraffic is flowing again on East Ash Street betweenSpring Street and Centre Court following a seven-month construction project.
Major corridor project completed
BY BETHANY J. ROYERCivitas Media
PIQUA — About a dozen peo-ple braved an undecided MotherNature to see the first bite takenout of the former Piqua MemorialHospital on Wednesday (Sept. 25)morning at Nicklin and Parkavenues.While seemingly anti-climatic
under brooding dark skies, thefirst steps toward removal of the
hospital, including a formernurse’s building and the NicklinMedical building,were exciting forthose in attendance of what willtake an estimated four weeks toclear.Thanks to $2 million provided
by the Clean Ohio RevitalizationFund (CORF), a partnership withthe Upper Valley Medical Center,Piquacity schools,the city,andres-idents, a dreamhas becomea real-ity. The old hospital property willbecome the site become home to
one of three new intermediateschool buildingswith a completiondate for the 2015-16 school year.Among those in attendance
were Economic DevelopmentDirector Bill Murphy,Commissioner Joe Wilson,Stormwater Coordinator DevonAlexander, Director of UtilitiesDave Burtner, Piqua residentHarlen Smoot, a retired construc-tion worker who helped build theeast wing of the former hospital,and Development ProgramManager Bill Lutz.“It’s just a happy day for me,
more than anything, a lot of hardwork out there,” said Lutz aboutthe project that, after many mis-fires, tookoff after the city’s acquir-ing funding from the state. “Itlooked pretty iffy, you never knowuntil they say you are funded.”Lutz and Murphy, who trav-
eled to Columbus to speak onbehalf of the city in obtainingfunds for the demolition project,were up against more than adozenotherequallyneedycommu-nities. The programmanager saidthey were one of the lucky oneschosen in the end and now, 15months later, the results of their
work has come to fruition.In time, the primary struc-
tures, the former hospital buildingitself, a four-story concrete, brickfacade structure with a partialbasement and tunnel system, willbe nomore.As will the three-storybrick administration building, a
power house; nothing more thanmemory of what was opened in1905 as Ball Memorial Hospital.The former hospital went
through several transformationsover the years, including part of itbeing torn down and replaced in1969. It ceased operation in 1996and stood vacant until the proper-ty was sold to Hospdela LLC in2005 for what was to be senior
housing. A development thatnever transpired, thanks to a pooreconomy, with Hospdela seekingdemolition by AvalonCommonwealth Inc., in exchangefor steel and scrap metal.Unfortunately, the demolition
contractor’s methods violatedenvironmental regulations, forcingHospdela to remove thehazardouswastes outside the building andsuspect material boarded upinside.The entire property was then
restricted via fencing in 2009 untilthe CORF grant changed every-thing by bringing on board EvansLandscape, EnvironmentalDemolition Group and Burgessand Niple Inc.The first stepsmade in thehos-
pital demolition is not the only bignews for the city this week as agroundbreaking ceremony for thenew Buffalo Wings and Ringsrestaurant will be held from 10-10:30 a.m. today in front of theMiami Valley Centre Mall atRiverside Place.And, weather-permitting, the
city is that much closer to seeingthe completion of the Ash Streetproject on Oct. 1.
Piqua Memorial Hospital in the1980s. (Photo provided by theHistory Department at thePiqua Public Library)
2012 brought major projects and stunning announcements ...More inside
MIKE ULLERY/STAFF PHOTO
Bill Lutz, Development Program Manager for the City of Piqua,snaps photos as a track hoe from Evans Landscaping inCincinnati begins the job of tearing down the former PiquaMemorial Hospital on Park Avenue.
Walls come tumblingDemolition of former hospital leaves
space for new school campus
YEAR IN REVIEW8 TROY DAILY NEWS • PIQUA DAILY CALL