Hamilton housing development denied after hundreds of residents object
The Hamilton Planning Commission unanimously rejected a proposal by Redwood USA to build a 95-unit development a bit west of the Hamilton Freshman School.
The 7-0 decision came after nearly two hours of discussion — mostly by nearby homeowners concerned that an apartment development would harm their property values and quality of life.
The project originally was to include 101 condo-style apartments on 18.5 acres in the area of 2200 NW Washington Boulevard, but Redwood reduced its request to 95 units.
Butler County Historic Courthouse restoration bill: $4.6 million
The long-awaited structural survey of the Butler County Historic Courthouse in Hamilton is complete, and the price tag to make critical repairs is $4.6 million over three years.
The commissioners hired THP Limited, Inc., a Cincinnati structural engineering and design firm, for $18,500 in August to survey the courthouse and recommend the best course of action for restoring the 130-year-old building.
The report indicates if the project is completed as outlined, it should be another 25 years before more significant work is needed.
Police agencies change Christmas present giveaway due to coronavirus: What they’ve done for kids
While the procedures are different this year due to the coronavirus, the results are the same: Needy families and their children are receiving Christmas presents from local police agencies.
Butler County law enforcement departments have adjusted their plans because of health restrictions due to COVID-19, they said.
For more than two decades, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 38, which has members from Hamilton, Oxford, Miami University and Fairfield Twp., along with the Butler County Coroner’s Office and Butler County Prosecutor’s Office, has had a Christmas Caravan, where officers in cruisers deliver dinner and gift cards to as many as 25 families.
Some area superintendents filled in for quarantined teachers, staffers
A historically severe shortage of substitute teachers and other school staffers due to coronavirus is finding some area school system superintendents stepping into help.
Since local schools opened in August and early September, those districts conducting in-person classes have struggled to keep enough teachers and substitute instructors to fill in.
Qarantines, which were recently adjusted down from 14 days to seven, dramatically cut into the ranks of available substitute teachers for local schools scrambling to keep classes going while teachers are out.
Former Butler County congressional candidate running to lead Ohio Democratic Party
A two-time congressional candidate from Butler County wants to lead the state’s Democratic Party in order to disrupt the status quo.
West Chester Twp. resident Vanessa Enoch said there needs to be new leadership that will not only have an analytic eye when it comes to a new strategy but to not “leave parts of the state behind.”
“The status quo has not worked, and they continue to elect the same kinds of people to lead the organization and it has not worked,” said Enoch. “If the party is looking for new leadership, then I think it’s important that this time around they identify a non-traditional candidate who can bring some fresh perspective and who can be strategic in looking at things I believe the party needs in order to change.”
AND, for an extra sixth story of the day ...
Coronavirus: 22 Butler County schools or districts reported new cases last week
The state of Ohio reported its weekly data on coronavirus cases in schools on Thursdays.
Here’s a look at which districts and schools in Butler County reported new cases in the past week: