Afternoon catchup: 5 Butler County stories you need to know today

Credit: India Duke

Here’s a look at five big Butler County stories today to catch up on the news:


Which Butler County cities will get Amtrak stops? New map shows preliminary plan

Ohio’s passenger rail offerings will be looked at as part of a recently-announced $2.78 million federal study of rail planning in the Midwest, which proponents hope will change the future of travel here. FILE PHOTO

Credit: Photo courtesty of Amtrak

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Credit: Photo courtesty of Amtrak

Hamilton, Oxford and Sharonville would have stops if Amtrak routes connecting Cincinnati with Columbus and Cleveland, Indianapolis and Chicago, according to preliminary plans. Middletown would not.

All three Butler County cities recently approved legislation encouraging the addition of Amtrak routes, with hopes of landing stops.

Hamilton, meanwhile, hopes to land a stop on both routes. Those are the “3Cs+D” of Cincinnati-Dayton-Columbus-Cleveland, for which Sharonville would have the nearest stop for Butler County, and the expanded and more frequent service along the Cincinnati-Indianapolis-Chicago route, on which Hamilton and Oxford would have stops.

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Hamilton and 80 Acres Farms near deal for more expansion at the indoor growing company

80 Acres in Hamilton

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Hamilton officials and city-based 80 Acres Farms are nearing a deal for the indoor-farming company to lease 20,000 square feet of unused space in a Hanover Street property Hamilton uses for its electric transmission and distribution operations.

The fast-growing company, which grows greens, herbs, tomatoes and other crops entirely indoors, with its prototype facility located in Hamilton, needs the space for equipment as it expands into new markets and stores.

“Since 80 Acres has been in Hamilton, not only have they moved offices here, not only have they put a vertical farm in our downtown on South 2nd Street, they’ve also built a $30 million facility in our industrial park, at Hamilton Enterprise Park,” City Manager Joshua Smith told City Council last week.

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Inmate receives more jail time for sending threatening letters to Butler County judge, female Supreme Court justices

Shawn Marshall

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A man already in prison for rape and kidnapping was sentenced to an additional 46 months in prison recently for writing threatening letters, including at least one to a Butler Common Pleas Court judge.

Shawn R. Marshall, 40, formerly of Akron, was sentenced for the new crimes in U.S. District Court last month.

In 2016, Marshall was incarcerated in Lucasville, serving a 16-year sentence for rape and kidnapping. According to court documents, Marshall mailed a letter to Judge Keith Spaeth in April 2016 which contained the following threat: “In the name of Allah, I am going to hunt you down and cut your (expletive) head off,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio. The letter was signed, “ISIS.”

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Traffic alert: Lane changes coming for Liberty Way interchange project

Butler County will spend about $25 million on major modifications to the Liberty Way and Interstate 75 interchange. GREG LYNCH / STAFF

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Drivers will run into lane restrictions at the Liberty Way and Interstate 75 interchange this weekend as crews begin work widening the bridge.

The Butler County Engineer’s Office announced there will be traffic shifts and lane restrictions on the northbound and southbound I-75 ramps and the Liberty Way ramps beginning Sunday night at 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday for bridge widening.

Night-time construction will continue through the week on the ramps and Cox Road, north of the Liberty Way intersection, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. On Friday, June 11 lane restrictions may occur from 8 p.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

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Manufacturer for auto industry expanding for the 8th time in Fairfield: What they’re doing

Pacific Manufacturing in Fairfield, an automotive parts supplier, is planning to again expand its operations. It just recently finished an expansion of its facility a few years ago. GREG LYNCH/FILE

Credit: Greg Lynch

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Credit: Greg Lynch

Pacific Manufacturing Ohio’s planned $20.4 million expansion project will be the company’s eighth since moving to Seward Road in 1999.

The expansion will expand its building at 8955 Seward by nearly 65,000 square feet, and construct a new near-58,000-square-foot building off Port Union Road, according to company officials and a Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) agreement. In exchange for an eight-year, 75% property tax incentive on the assessed value of the expansion, the company agreed to create at least 30 new jobs.

But Pacific Manufacturing assistant general manager of purchasing Kim Hall said, “They always exceed that. They’re always conservative (with job projections).”

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AND, for an extra sixth story of the day ...

Butler County gets another $9 million to help residents with rent and utilities

Supports to Encourage Low-income Families may help Butler County award $11.4 million in federal renters' assistance.

Credit: Submitted

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Credit: Submitted

Butler County officials are making headway in spending $11.4 million helping people with their rent and utilities, and they now have access to $9 million more.

The commissioners received the first bucket of money earlier this year and contracted with Supports to Encourage Low-income Families (SELF) in March to manage the program.

As part of the $900 billion federal omnibus bill passed in late December, lawmakers set aside $25 billion to help renters who struggled to meet their housing obligations during the coronavirus pandemic. Butler County qualified for $11.4 million of the money. The new $9 million allocation comes from the American Rescue Plan.

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