Monroe officials concerned as cost of Americana Amusement Park transformation continues rising
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
The cost of renovating the former Americana Amusement Park continues to rise, and that concerns at least two council members.
City council has approved spending $141,000 more for expenses related to the first two phases of Monroe Bicentennial Commons Park, one of the area’s most notable projects because of the storied history of the Monroe amusement park that opened in 1922 and closed 80 years later and is being transformed.
The estimated $15 million project that may take 10 to 15 years to complete will change the former Americana Amusement Park on Ohio 4 into a multi-purpose community park, Monroe city leaders said.
Hamilton preservation group urges city to move historic CSX station
A Hamilton preservation group is urging City Council to save the historic CSX train station along Martin Luther King Boulevard for its cultural value and also as a way to help business-development successes from the downtown into the city’s Riverview and Jefferson neighborhoods.
Citizens for Historic And Preservation Services (CHAPS) wrote a letter that was read Wednesday at the council meeting. In about two weeks, the organization as of Friday afternoon had collected 1,015 signatures of people advocating the historic station and urging the city to spend an estimated $600,000 to move it onto new foundations about two blocks north along MLK Boulevard onto city-owned property.
The CHAPS board of directors asked that council at its May 26 meeting vote to “take ownership, relocate and stabilize” what was known as the CH&D (Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton) Railway station, which was at or near the locations where Abraham Lincoln, Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower addressed large crowds in “Whistle Stop” campaigns. Soldiers and sailors left and returned from wars at the station, which was the site of many reunions before Amtrak removed it as a stop for the passenger rail line early this century.
Grand jury to consider child porn case against Ross Twp. man shot by deputy
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
A Butler County grand jury will soon consider child pornography charges against a Ross Twp. man.
Alex Hoskins, 26, of 4219 Jennifer Drive, was arrested last week on three counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance and felonious assault after law enforcement executed a search warrant for his residence.
Hoskins was arraigned in Hamilton Municipal Court on Tuesday morning on the charges, which stem from a tip Butler County Sheriff’s Detective Janee Lambert received from Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC). That tip came originated from Dropbox when officials reported it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), according to her court testimony Tuesday.
Longtime Liberty Twp. trustee won’t seek re-election after helping explosive growth
For nearly two decades one of the hands guiding the soaring Liberty Twp.’s journey from rural community to rising star among area townships has been that of Trustee Christine Matacic.
Matacic surprised many recently when she posted a farewell message on social media announcing she is leaving the public office she has held since 2002 once her term is finished at the end of the year.
“When my husband and I moved here in 1981, fewer than 7,000 people lived in the township,” wrote Matacic. “By the time I was elected, our population had more than tripled, to 23,000. We are now set to nearly double that number, with 45,000 residents and over 500 businesses.”
Resident claims he felt ‘threatened’ by Middletown council member’s Facebook exchange that mentioned bat
A Middletown resident said he felt “threatened” after reading a Facebook post between a city council member and a friend.
During citizen comments Tuesday night at the Middletown City Council meeting, Levi Hensley, 22, said about four months ago he had a conversation on Facebook with council member Ami Vitori that “turned south.”
Hensley said he read a Facebook exchange between Vitori and Ashley Baumgarten that he believes was about him.
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New Hamilton school board member not new to city school leadership
The new appointee to the governing board of Hamilton Schools is not a new face to the city schools.
Former Hamilton Board of Education member David Davidson, who sat on the board from 2007 to 2012, was recently elected by unanimous board vote to fill a vacant seat.
The former City Council member, attorney and Hamilton native, said he enjoyed his first stint on the board and is eager to get back to helping guide the 10,000-student district.