Alter vs. Centerville
Beckett Park nearly finished
Marshall vs. Valley View
Home > Blogs > Butler County News and Issues > Archives > 2010 > January > 04 > Entry
Butler County roundup - The year ahead, street justice with sheriff Jones, the Big Count
Sorry. I admit, I got a little bogged down over the holidays and the blog suffered. My New Years resolution: blog early and blog often.
Here’s what’s new in Butler County these days:
Jolivette elected commission president, looks to the future (Read the full story here)
Holding together Butler County’s ailing budget will be the number one priority this year, said county commissioner Gregory Jolivette, who was elected board president today, Jan. 4 by his fellow commissioners.
To do this, Jolivette called for renewed discussions on consolidating services with other jurisdictions.
He led an effort in mid-2009 to find areas for possible collaboration. Leaders from cities and townships across the county came together with ideas — consolidated purchasing, health departments, area and county courts — but the initiative fizzled.
As for the budget, county officials say it’s balanced, but barely. It counts on the assumption that the economy — and thus county revenues — will improve this year.
Jolivette’s election to commission president is largely ceremonial. Commissioners rotate the post, taking turns presiding over meetings and serving on several boards, and it’s his turn.
But it also gives him the podium in a year when the veteran politician faces one of his toughest re-election bids to date. A half dozen people have pulled petitions for that seat. These include the county treasurer, county clerk of courts and a former West Chester Twp. Trustee — all fellow Republicans.
Jolivette said he’s ready for the challenge, and plans to take out petitions soon.
Sheriff Jones breaks up street fight (Read the full story here)
As the Butler County’s top cop, Sheriff Richard Jones spends much of his time worrying about budgets, procedures and politics these days.
Not today, Dec. 31. Jones was an honest to goodness crime fighter when he broke up a fight at about 3 p.m. in the middle of Main Street.
Jones said he was driving through the city after a workout at the YMCA when he saw a man jump over the fence from the Walgreen’s drug store and into the street approaching a pickup truck stopped in traffic.
“I thought at first he was just waving at the guy in the pickup. But the door opened and the fight was on. They were fighting like hell right there in the street,” Jones said.
Dressed in civilian clothes, Jones whipped his unmarked car around, blocking traffic and the ruckus.
“I pulled them apart and identified myself as a law enforcement officer. That’s all it took,” Jones said.
One of the men recognized him as the sheriff, and pulled a photo of Jones out of his wallet that was a promotional card from years back.
The census is coming (Read the full story here)
The raw data produced by the U.S. Census Bureau this year will paint a picture of Butler County that steers business, government and social services for years to come.
At stake is representation in federal government, and local communities’ share of $400 billion awarded annually based on census data.
And census officials say you can do your part for your community in only 10 minutes.
The questionnaires that will start hitting mailboxes across the county in mid-March will consist of only 10 questions, pared down considerably from earlier forms six times that size.
The reason: People weren’t answering the 60-question census form used in 2000. “They felt that it was too long. They felt that it was too intrusive,” said Donna Marsh, regional spokeswoman for the census.
So this year’s census will only ask how many people live in each home, whether the home is rented or bought, and each person’s age, race and name. The other info is collected in the American Community Survey, released every three years.
But the 2010 census’ scaled-down size doesn’t diminish its importance. It decides how many representatives each state gets in the U.S. Congress. Early estimates suggest Ohio may lose two seats to faster-growing states.
Numerous programs will rely on the 2010 census when awarding federal funds, which is why local governments and non-profits are urging people to cooperate.
“We all benefit from having good, complete, reliable data,” said Bruce Jewett, currently both interim Butler County administrator and president of the Butler County United Way board. “Nobody has an interest in having people under-counted or specific populations under-counted.”
Marsh urges people to fill out the mailed forms and send them back by April 1. In addition to saving taxpayer dollars — $80 million for every 1 percent of the population that mails the form back — it saves residents a hassle. Workers called “enumerators” will start going door-to-door in late April visiting homes that didn’t return the form.
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Comments
By Metz
January 4, 2010 1:31 PM | Link to this
Let me guess, the guy who pulled the King Richard card out of his wallet wasnt the one arrested.
By Hector
January 5, 2010 11:18 AM | Link to this
Where do you get one of those get out of jail free cards?
By Nanner
January 6, 2010 8:28 AM | Link to this
All I know is when I bartended, anyone that was involved in an altercation, had to leave the premisses in 95 percent of the cases! It didn’t matter who started it! Why is this any different! It seems as tho the one that didn’t get arrestdd was in the wrong in the first palce and was smelled as under the influence so what if the man that jumped the fence, was trying to stop a drunk driver and the other man would have went on to kill someone@ All things should have been checked out at the scene! The other, so called victom, that almost mulled down the family in the first palce should have been checked out for more than a pic. of Jones, like maybe alcohol???
By Nanner
January 6, 2010 8:29 AM | Link to this
All I know is when I bartended, anyone that was involved in an altercation, had to leave the premisses in 95 percent of the cases! It didn’t matter who started it! Why is this any different! It seems as tho the one that didn’t get arrestdd was in the wrong in the first palce and was smelled as under the influence so what if the man that jumped the fence, was trying to stop a drunk driver and the other man would have went on to kill someone@ All things should have been checked out at the scene! The other, so called victom, that almost mulled down the family in the first palce should have been checked out for more than a pic. of Jones, like maybe alcohol???
By kikus
June 16, 2010 12:08 PM | Link to this
интеретсно написано