Rollover crash injures 2
American Idol 2012 finale
News hounds (5/24/12)
Home > Blogs > Butler County News and Issues > Archives > 2009 > May > 19 > Entry
Butler County roundup - courts, buses, jobs, immigrants, etc.
Below are some minor announcements I missed while I was out of town the last couple of days.
But before I post the first one, some background: It is interesting that the clerk of courts is touting a jury selection award she received a month ago, considering a couple weeks ago county Commissioner Donald Dixon started talking about taking over jury selection for her.
Pushback, perhaps?
Press release from Butler County Clerk of Courts Cindy Carpenter:
On April 23rd, 2009, the Butler County Common Pleas Court received The Award of Excellence from the Ohio Jury Management Association in Dublin, Ohio. The award was accepted by the Honorable Judge Keith Spaeth, of the Butler County Court of Common Pleas Judge Spaeth said, “It was a tremendous honor to accept the Ohio Jury Management Association (OJMA) Award on behalf of the General Division of the Common Pleas Court and the Clerk of Court’s Office. We appreciate the efforts of OJMA and their efforts to promote jury service in Ohio.”
Vickie Robertson, Sarah Crawford, and Jackie Wright, from the Clerk of Courts office, joined Judge Spaeth in accepting the award.
What sets Butler County apart from other large communities is our system in which jurors are only required to serve for a two week period time. During that two week period, jurors are asked to access a telephone number or website, which will inform them whether or not they are required to report to court for a trial the following morning. This method avoids the necessity of people waiting in a jury room or hours or even days for the mere possibility of actually being called to a courtroom for a trial.
Jury service is a cornerstone of the justice system, preserving the right to a trial by jury and the right to exercise control over the judicial branch of our government. While jury service can be inconvenient, the Butler County Court of Common Pleas continues to improve the process for the ease of those serving. Jurors often find that the rewarding and enriching experience more than makes up for the slight inconvenience of jury service.
Referencing The Award of Excellence, Cindy Carpenter, Butler County Clerk of Courts said, “This is another good example of the cooperation between the Court and the Clerk’s office.”
Now over to the Butler County Regional Transit Authority, which has gone from being a non-entity to being pretty busy lately. Press release from them:
At the request of the Transit Alliance of Butler County, BCRTA will offer Butler County residents affordable transportation to the job fair for Cincinnati Premium Outlets on June 9 being held by the developer to fill more than 800 jobs expected when the outlet center in Monroe opens in August. The job fair is being held from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Monroe High School, 220 Yankee Road, off Ohio 63. BCRTA will provide transportation from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Butler County residents wishing transportation to the June 9 job fair are asked to call the BCRTA at 513-785-5237 as soon as possible to make a trip reservation. Callers will be asked to provide their name, contact information, pick-up address, and preferred trip time. BCRTA will make its best attempt to meet trip requests and will notify interested residents on June 8 of their scheduled pick-up and return trip times. BCRTA will charge a $2.00 fare for a one-way trip ($4.00 round-trip fare).
The Alliance and BCRTA recognize that the lives and livelihood of many Butler County residents depend on having affordable and reliable transportation to jobs and job related activities. Currently, the organizations are investigating options for providing job access to existing and anticipated developments within Butler County and surrounding communities.
The Transit Alliance is a non-profit organization whose mission includes coordinating local transportation resources to improve transportation options for Butler County residents. The Alliance serves as a vehicle to advise BCRTA on unmet needs as well as a forum to facilitate and demonstrate successful collaboration of publicly supported agencies and resources. The BCRTA is a public transportation provider offering a range of ride options to address targeted community needs. Currently, the BCRTA provides an average of 500 trips per day through its park-and-rides, shopping shuttles, medical shuttle, Middletown-Hamilton Shuttle, brokerage service and on-demand, curb-to-curb services.
And here’s the latest about the Workforce One of Butler County summer employment program. Note the low income guidelines, which county officials fear will make it hard to find people who actually qualify.
Here is the release:
Officials at Workforce One of Butler County announced that they will begin accepting applications May 26th for the county’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). Individuals selected for SYEP employment will earn $8.00 per hour and may work up to 40 hours per week at county and city parks, schools, community centers, libraries, government offices, and other public and non-profit work sites. The 9-week work experience program is set to begin June 15th and end August 14th.
Examples of the summer job assignments include general laborer, clerical assistant, maintenance helper, lawn worker/landscaper, custodial assistant, kitchen helper, concession stand worker, youth program aide, playground assistant, and many more. Some participants may be assigned to work at private businesses for the summer.
The SYEP is a federally funded program sponsored by the Butler County Commissioners and administered by Workforce One of Butler County. It is open to Butler County residents, 16-24 years old, who meet established low-income eligibility guidelines (70% of the poverty level). As an example of the income guidelines, a family of four must earn less than $23,627 annually to be eligible for the program.
To apply for the SYEP, applicants must bring a picture ID, a birth certificate/record, a Social Security card, proof of current address, and proof of household income for the past six (6) months (November, 2008 until present). Applicants 16 or 17 years old must have their parent or legal guardian with them during the application process.
Applications will be accepted at Workforce One, 4631 Dixie Highway in Fairfield on Tuesday, May 26th from 4:00 pm until 8:00 pm; Wednesday, May 27th from 4:00 pm until 8:00 pm; and Saturday, May 30th from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm. Applications will also be accepted at the Middletown Community Center, 800 LaFayette Avenue on Thursday, May 28th from 4:00 pm until 8:00 pm.
Now over to state government. Here is a release that came out today about a guaranteed-to-be-controversial measure requiring employers to screen potential employees to make sure they aren’t illegal immigrants.
The release from State Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton:
State Representative Courtney Combs (R- Hamilton) today introduced legislation that would establish a system to ensure the legal citizenship status of Ohio employees and require police to verify the citizenship status of anyone arrested.
House Bill 184 will require public and private employers to register for a program such as “E-verify,” which checks Social Security Administration and United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) records to ensure that a potential employee is legally able to work in the United States. Employers must affirm their participation with the program on state income tax returns or be guilty of either dereliction of duty or falsification. “E-verify” is used by the DHS and in 15 other states.
“Ohioans are fed up with the lack of effort by the federal government in dealing with the growing concerns of foreign lawbreakers,” Combs said. “E-verify is a fast and free program that will aid employers in hiring legal Ohioans. This legislation is intended to preserve jobs for Americans and those who are here legally.”
Additionally, the bill charges jails with making reasonable efforts toward verifying the citizenship of all persons charged and confined within its quarters. If the official is unable to verify the confined person’s citizenship or if the person is an illegal alien, the Department of Homeland Security must be notified and fingerprints of the person must be taken electronically.
“Our country is witnessing record high numbers of unlicensed, unregistered and uninsured drivers, thousands of whom are foreign lawbreakers,” Combs said. “A number of these foreign lawbreakers have been arrested multiple times for different offenses, including drunk driving. Had they been reported to the Department of Homeland Security after their first drunk driving arrest, lives could have been saved.”
Another provision included in the bill would prohibit cities from passing ordinances that limit or restrict law enforcement or public agencies from cooperating with federal immigration officials. It would also allow judges to regard a person’s immigration status when considering bail.
House Bill 184 will now be referred to a committee for further discussion.
Any thoughts on any of this?
Anything I missed while I was gone?
Permalink | Comments (12) | Post your comment |
Comments
By fedup
May 19, 2009 7:38 PM | Link to this
You idiots at the MJ keep making statements like “a guaranteed-to-be-controversial” when you are talking about e-verify what is controversial about a process that takes 5 minutes and is 99.6% acurate?The only ones that have issues with it are illegal immigrants and the ones that think we should just bow down and give them our jobs.5-600,000 Americans are loosing their jobs every month why would a system that makes sure you can legally work in the USA be controversial?
By Bobbie
May 20, 2009 8:46 AM | Link to this
I wonder if “fedup” can name one person who has lost a job because of one of those illegals.
By Matt
May 20, 2009 8:53 AM | Link to this
Has Don Dixon joined the sheriff in wanting to run everything in Butler County? Don must have another friend needing a job.
By They Do
May 20, 2009 9:14 AM | Link to this
Bobbie - If you understand supply and demand economics, then you’d realize that an over-supply of workers keeps wages down (look at housing trades…they’ve gone down for years). Given that, and that 8% of all U.S. jobs are filled by undocumented workers, it doesn’t take long to realize that they do take jobs. Plus, they send billions to their home countries vs. spending it here and they, and the employers who take advantage of them, avoid billions in taxes as well. Yet, that’s okay? Not.
By Bobbie
May 20, 2009 9:48 AM | Link to this
Again, name one person that you know that has lost their job.
By fedup
May 20, 2009 10:43 AM | Link to this
Bobbie you aren’t making a good point,figure it out for your self they estimate illegal immigrants hold 7 million jobs in America.
By Bobbie
May 20, 2009 10:51 AM | Link to this
But still name someone you know that has lost their job because of an illegal. You are quoting numbers you’ve got from people like Rick Jones who made up the numbers. Yet, you and everyone like you can not name a person they know that has actually lost a job.
By They Do
May 23, 2009 9:08 AM | Link to this
Assuming you’re right for a lack of names being provided here is juvenile – it happens, even in Butler County. Perhaps this might help to open your eyes, go to Tinyurl.com/rx52vn.
By Reseller Hosting
January 4, 2010 7:30 PM | Link to this
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
By LISA
April 29, 2010 3:45 AM | Link to this
HEY,BOBBIE FOR YOUR QUESTION IN NAMING ONE,HOW ABOUT TWO? THE MAYOR AND THE SUPERTINDENT OF SCHOOLS? IF YOU WORK, YOU ARE PAYING FOR PEOPLE WHO DON’T WANT TO WORK, SO THERE IS YOUR ANSWER,DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR MONEY WENT? BYE-BYE!
By LISA
April 29, 2010 3:46 AM | Link to this
HEY,BOBBIE FOR YOUR QUESTION IN NAMING ONE,HOW ABOUT TWO? THE MAYOR AND THE SUPERTINDENT OF SCHOOLS? IF YOU WORK, YOU ARE PAYING FOR PEOPLE WHO DON’T WANT TO WORK, SO THERE IS YOUR ANSWER,DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR MONEY WENT? BYE-BYE!
By LISA
April 29, 2010 3:46 AM | Link to this
HEY,BOBBIE FOR YOUR QUESTION IN NAMING ONE,HOW ABOUT TWO? THE MAYOR AND THE SUPERTINDENT OF SCHOOLS? IF YOU WORK, YOU ARE PAYING FOR PEOPLE WHO DON’T WANT TO WORK, SO THERE IS YOUR ANSWER,DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR MONEY WENT? BYE-BYE!