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

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

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


‘We’ve shed many tears’: Hamilton nurse describes working conditions in COVID-19 unit

Anna Kuykendoll (right) is a registered nurse who cares for COVID-19 patients at Fort Hamilton Hospital. CONTRIBUTED

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Anna Kuykendoll, a registered nurse who cares for COVID-19 patients at Fort Hamilton Hospital, said the novel coronavirus pandemic has lasted longer than she and her colleagues initially believed.

“We were thinking we were pretty much going to have this under control maybe a month or two and then we would see it kind of taper down,” she said. “But it’s lasted much longer than we ever anticipated.”

Nurses caring for COVID-19 patients in hospitals and nursing homes and more are 10 months into the pandemic hitting Ohio and are now on the front lines of the biggest surge of infections yet.

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Fairfield police investigating weekend bar shooting incident

Fairfield police are investigating a Sunday evening, Dec. 27, 2020, shooting at Bargo's Grill & Tap at 7105 Dixie Highway (Ohio 4), Fairfield. No one was injured and police say suspects have been identified. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Credit: Nick Graham

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Credit: Nick Graham

A shooting at a Fairfield bar over the weekend resulted in no one injured and suspects identified, according to police.

At about 7:19 p.m. Sunday, there was a report of shots fired between two vehicles at Bargo’s Grill & Tap at 7105 Dixie Highway, said Fairfield police Sgt. Becky Ervin.

“Nobody was hit, nobody was injured,” she said. “And from what we can tell, it appears they know each other, so it’s not a case where someone is randomly targeting people. They know each other.”

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New stores including eatery open at Cincinnati Premium Outlets

Owners of the Cincinnati Premium Outlets mall in Monroe recently announced an expansion with two new stores opening and the addition of a pizza eatery. The mall, which is visible from Interstate 75, is located near the Butler and Warren county border. (File Photo\Journal-News)

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During a time of many businesses being forced to shrink due the coronavirus’ impact on the economy, officials with the Cincinnati Premium Outlets in Monroe are announcing an expansion.

The outdoor retail mall and its eateries, visible from Interstate 75 and near the border of Warren and Butler counties, recently welcomed two new stores and a pizza outlet.

Officials from the Simon Premium Outlets, the outlet mall’s parent company, released a statement announcing Marc Jacobs Outlet and Tory Burch Outlet have opened their only locations in the Greater Cincinnati and Dayton areas. Also new at the mall is a Sbarro pizza location.

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Monroe council questions proposed cost of living increase for some employees

Monroe City Council approved the annual street paving and concrete rehab contract for 2017. ED RICHTER/STAFF

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Monroe City Council is considering an ordinance that would grant a 3% cost of living increase for its non-union employees.

City Manager Bill Brock said the ordinance also includes a change to a policy that affects employees whose pay is above a newly adopted pay range for their positions. Two employees would be affected by that change..

Councilman Todd Hickman said the policy change and 3% cost of living increase were “way overboard and needs to be looked at.”

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5 months later, Ohio lawmakers leave bill at the center of scandal unfinished

State lawmakers met Tuesday to finish work on bills before the two-year legislative session ends by Dec. 31.

Credit: Laura Bischoff

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Credit: Laura Bischoff

Five months after the arrest of Republican Larry Householder in an alleged $60 million public bribery scheme, state lawmakers left Columbus last week without touching the energy law at the center of the case.

Legislators considered several bills — repeal House Bill 6, partially repeal it, delay parts of it — but none gained enough support to clear the Ohio General Assembly. Lawmakers were too divided over what path to take.

“Simply put, they failed Ohioans,” said Heather Taylor-Miesle, president of Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund. “Our people will pay more, Ohio will be less competitive, and our air will be dirtier because of their ideological failures and the alleged criminal activity that led to the passage of House Bill 6.”

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

PHOTOS: The must-see Journal-News photos from 2020

The second grade classes at Fairfield South Elementary School decorated balloons for a parade outside for other students Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020 on Bibury Road in Fairfield. NICK GRAHAM / STAFF

Credit: Nick Graham

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Credit: Nick Graham

The Journal-News covered the biggest stories in Butler County each day in 2020, and we’ve put them together in one photo gallery.

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