& STATE
Record-Courier
Tuesday
January 6, 2015
Page A3
10-year-old dies in
Cleveland home
Associated press
CLEVELAND — The 10-yearold brother of a toddler whose
death was attributed to malnourishment has died while living in a Cleveland foster home.
Authorities say Xavier Brothers-Bartholomew was found in
full cardiac arrest Sunday and
died at a hospital. The cause
and circumstances are under
investigation.
His 18-month-old brother,
Isaac, was found dead in a crib
at the family’s home in Vermilion in 2012. Their parents
and grandmother later pleaded guilty to child endangering charges and are in prison.
An attorney for Isaac’s estate and his six surviving siblings sued Erie County, the parents, grandmother and medical
providers in November. Four
of the surviving children, including Xavier, have genetic
disorders that cause physical
and mental disabilities.
A Cuyahoga County official
says Xavier lived in a foster
home for children with special needs.
Libraries will close
on MLK holiday
All branches and offices of
the Portage County District Library will be closed on Jan. 19,
in observance of Martin Luther
King Jr. Day. They will resume
normal operating hours on Jan.
20​. For information about library programs and services, visit Portage County District Library online at www.
portagelibrary.org.
Ravenna Chamber
sets gathering
The Ravenna Area Chamber of Commerce will host
its first Business After Hours
of 2015 at 5 p.m. on Jan. 15.
It will take place at The Hive,
160 North Chestnut Street,
the historic mansion next to
the Ravenna Post Office that
has been restored by Rick
Hawksley.
Crime Reports
Addresses are provided to
police by the persons arrested or charged. They do not always reflect the person’s current address.
Aurora
nnA West Pioneer Trail
woman reported Dec. 18
that someone had vandalized her truck. No damage
estimate was given.
nnOfficers responded Dec.
19 to a report of a vehicle in
the middle of North Aurora
Road with its hazard lights
on. An officer found the car
unlocked, turned off, with no
driver in the area. The vehicle was towed as a road
hazard, according to Aurora police.
Ravenna
nnShana L. King, 42, with a
last known address of 140
N. Freedom St., was arrested Dec. 9 and charged with
violating a protection order,
a first-degree misdemeanor. King allegedly had contact with a protected party in the 100 block of North
Freedom Street, even after
a protection order was issued in a Portage County
court on Nov. 20, according
to Ravenna police.
nnEarl J. Garrett, 56, with a
last known address in Warrensville Heights, was arrested Dec. 11 and charged
with violating a protection
order, a first-degree misdemeanor. Garrett allegedly
had contact with a protected person in the 500 block
of Day Street, according to
Ravenna police.
nn Will help departments serve needs of residents
By Mike Sever | Staff Writer
Results of a community health
assessment to be released this
Thursday will help direct how
health departments and others can better serve the needs
of Portage County residents.
The assessment looks at the
health status and habits of residents. Once the draft report is
rolled out, a public comment
period will be open for some
period, said Josh Filla at Kent
State University’s Center of
Public Policy and Health.
The assessment an final report “tries to answer what are
the health needs in Portage
County,” Filla said. “Then the
health departments can use it
to set up their planning to address those problems,” he said.
The health assessment was
done as part of a two-year
grant from the nonprofit Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
announced in February 2013.
The grant application was paid
for by the Kent, Ravenna and
Portage County health departments and written by the Kent
State University College of Public Health.
A briefing on the assessment
is set for 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at
the Kent State University Hotel
and Conference Center.
The $125,000 grant was for an
in-depth study of how the three
health departments could save
money and improve care by
sharing resources.
Portage County Health Commissioner DuWayne Porter said
a product of that research is the
community health assessment
which should give local health
departments a head start on
national accreditation through
the Public Health Accreditation Board.
The voluntary process shows
accredited health departments
meet national standards for
providing public health servic-
es. Summit County’s health department was the first in Ohio
to be accredited.
The assessment is one of
three things the county and
Kent health departments need
for accreditation, Porter said.
“They need a community
health assessment, a community health improvement plan
and a strategic plan, and they
usually fall in that order.
“We were able to use the foundation grant to get the health
assessment completed for the
entire county,” Porter said.
Contact this reporter at 330-298-1125 or
msever@recordpub.com
Facebook: Mike Sever, Record-Courier
Twitter: @MikeSever_RC
Brunch Bunch raises $50,000
Videos show
aftermath of
deadly Ohio
prison riot
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Submitted photo
T
he 46th Annual Thanksgiving Brunch Bunch raised $50,000 at the annual auction held Thanksgiving morning at the Kent State University Hotel & Conference
Center in downtown Kent. All proceeds raised were donated to Kent Social Services and the Center of Hope Hot Meals and Pantry Programs, Coleman Adult Day Services Food Programs, and the Ben Curtis Family Foundation Birdie Bag Program. From
left are T.N. Bhargava, committee member; Morgan Goldthwaite, Coleman Professional Services; Ben Curtis, Ben Curtis Family Foundation; Anne Marie Mann-Noble, Center
of Hope; Candace Curtis, Ben Curtis Family Foundation; Marquice Seward, Kent Social
Services; and Diane Beatty, Ben Curtis Family Foundation; back row from left are committee members Tom Biltz, Portage Community Bank; Mike Tontimonia, McGuire Auctioneers; Christine Bhargava; Jeanne Kotis, Hall-Green Agency; Jeff Bentley, Kent State
Sports Network; Michelle Hartman, The Burbick Companies; Dennis Missimi; and Dick
Kotis.
COLUMBUS — A prisons inspection committee in Ohio is drawing
attention to a series of
videos it recently discovered that show the aftermath of the deadly Lucasville prison riot.
In an email to subscribers Monday, the
Correctional Institution
Inspection Committee
called the detailed footage from 1993 “a chilling
reminder of the worst
case scenario in corrections.” The three video segments totaling 90
minutes were posted to
YouTube about a year
ago.
They show the devastation at Southern Ohio
Correctional Facility
shortly after the 11-day
siege ended. The uprising was one of the deadliest in U.S. history, leaving
one guard and nine inmates dead. Damage was
estimated at $40 million.
Legislature begins new session
10 things
together to see to it that this
state continues its forward motion. ... Remember that working
in a bipartisan way can accomplish things that otherwise would
not have been accomplished.”
New House Leadership:
In the House, as expected, Rep. Cliff Rosenberger (RClarksville) was elected Speaker.
He was informally named to the
leadership position shortly after
the November general election.
During remarks Monday, Rosenberger talked about his boyhood
on the doorstep of Appalachia
in a tight-knit community that
instilled a sense of opportunity.
“I am a standing example
that dreams can come true, but
you have to be willing to work
for it and that government cannot give it to you,” he said. “If it
is your mission in this general
assembly to find ways to govern opportunities, to diminish
hard work and to be OK with the
status quo, you will be met with
opposition. If it is your mission
to open opportunity, encourage
hard work and challenge the status quo, then together we will
build a state that is so bright that
no one else can come close to
touching it.”
His nomination was seconded by Rep. James Butler (R-Oakwood), who was Rosenberger’s
main rival for the post.
“I believe it’s my duty as a member of the Republican Party and a
member of the Ohio House Republican Caucus [to support the
nomination],” he said. He added later, “Rep. Rosenberger has
a lot of great qualities... I’m very
much looking forward to seeing
what will transpire in this general assembly, and I’m optimistic.”
Rep. Ron Amstutz (R-Wooster)
will serve as speaker pro tem,
Rep. Barbara Sears (R-Toledo)
was named majority floor leader
and Rep. Jim Buchy (R-Greenville) was picked as assistant
majority floor leader.
Reps. Mike Dovilla (R-Berea)
and Dorothy Pelanda (R-Marys-
to know 3.
By Marc Kovac
R-C Capital Bureau
COLUMBUS — The legislature seated its members Monday during ceremonies at the
Statehouse, with a new House
Speaker, some new faces in that
chamber and the Ohio Senate
and hints from leaders of policy initiatives to come over the
next two years.
Here are 10 things you should
know about Monday’s inaugural session of Ohio House and
Senate and other coming Statehouse activities:
In Control: The 131st General Assembly begins in
firm control of Statehouse Republicans, with a 23-10 majority in the Ohio Senate and a 6534 majority in the Ohio House.
Both represent super majorities in the chambers, meaning
GOP members don’t need Democratic support for ballot resolutions — that’s if majority party
members can come to agreement on different policy matters.
Ceremonies: Newly elected senators took their oaths
individually Monday. Returning
lawmakers took theirs in groups,
according to district number and
political party.
In the House, new and returning lawmakers were sworn
in in groups.
Outgoing Speaker Bill Batchelder (R-Medina) capped a legislative career dating back decades by opening Monday’s
ceremonies in the Ohio House.
“It’s important that all of us
work together,” he said shortly before turning over the gavel. “We may not agree on given issues, but we must work
1.
2.
ville) were named majority whip
and assistant majority whip, respectively.
Rep. Fred Strahorn (D-Dayton) was named minority leader of the House.
Returning Senate Leaders:
Senate President Keith Faber
(R-Celina) remains in that post
for the new general assembly.
On Monday, he outlined some
of his goals for the session, including reducing the cost of
higher education for students
by at least 5 percent.
And he called on senators
to be creative, consistent and
“able to disagree but not be
disagreeable.”
“I ask that you each lead with
urgency,” he said. “The time here
will pass much faster than you
expect.”
Sen. Chris Widener (R-Springfield) will serve as president pro
tem, Sen. Tom Patton (R-Strongsville) was elected as majority
floor leader and Sen. Larry Obhof (R-Medina) was named majority whip.
On the Democratic side, Sen.
Joe Schiavoni (D-Boardman)
continues as minority leader.
Changes: A few lawmakers have moved from the
Ohio House to the Ohio Senate,
or vice versa. Former Reps. Jay
Hottinger (R-Newark) and Sandra Williams (D-Cleveland) moved
over to the Senate, while former
Sen. Tim Schaffer (R-Lancaster)
moved to the House.
Former Supreme Court Justice Robert Cupp (R-Lima) is
back in the Ohio House, as is
Republican Tom Brinkman Jr.,
who left in 2009 due to term
limits. Former state Rep. Kenny Yuko, a Democrat, is representing a Cleveland-area district in the Ohio Senate.
Other new House members
include Democrats Emilia Sykes
(daughter of former Rep. Vernon
Sykes) and Michele Lepore-Hagan
(wife of former Rep. Bob Hagan)
and Republican Sarah LaTourette
4.
5.
(daughter of former Republican
Congressman Steve LaTourette).
Schedule: Though they took
their oaths Monday, the Ohio
House and Senate won’t be back
in full session for weeks. Their
main order of business during the
next six months will be to finalize spending plans for the biennium. Committee chairmanships
and legislative schedules will be
announced in coming weeks, as
will priority legislation.
More Oaths: Kasich and Lt.
Gov. Mary Taylor will take
their second-term oaths of office Sunday at midnight in the
Ohio Senate Chambers.
They’ll follow that event with
a ceremonial swearing-in and
speech on Monday at 11:30 a.m.
at a theater a few blocks from
the Statehouse.
An inaugural gala is planned
for later that evening at about
the same time that Ohio State
University plays for the national
college football championship.
The governor has said largescreen televisions will broadcast
the game for attendees.
2016 Watch: New Jersey
Gov. Chris Christie, who is
among the potential candidates
for the 2016 presidential election, plans to attend Kasich’s
midday inaugural speech.
What’s Next for Kasich:
The governor will present
his biennial budget proposal to
lawmakers in about a month,
outlining his policy priorities for
the next two fiscal years.
6.
7.
8.
9.
The executive budget is expected to include an increase
in taxes on cigarettes and on oil
and gas produced via horizontal hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, more tax cuts, new reforms
related to charter school oversight and a continuation of the
expansion on Medicaid eligibility.
The governor likely will talk
about those and other issues
during his State of the State
address. During the past three
years, that speech has taken
place away outside of Columbus. The administration has not
yet revealed the date or place
for this year’s event.
On Monday, the governor
offered his congratulations to
Rosenberger and Faber.
“We’ve made great progress
together in the past four years,”
Kasich said, “and now it’s time
to build on that momentum and
take it to the next level by helping more Ohioans share in our
state’s growing prosperity and
opportunity.”
Other Statewide Officeholders: Four other statewide elected officials will take
their oaths of office on Sunday
and Monday at the Statehouse.
Attorney General Mike DeWine’s ceremony is set for Sunday at 2 p.m.
Secretary of State Jon Husted and Auditor Dave Yost will be
sworn into second terms Monday at 10 a.m., while Treasurer
Josh Mandel will take his oath
Monday at 3 p.m.
10.
1027303400
LOCAL
Health assessment report due out
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