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

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


Police, chiropractic board probe allegations against Hamilton doctor

A Hamilton chiropractor is under investigation by police and a state medical licensing board for allegations of misconduct and inappropriate touching of patients over a 23-year period.

The Ohio State Chiropractic Board sent Dr. Stephen Boyd a letter on Feb. 20 notifying him of sexual misconduct allegations by two patients dating back to 1989 and the early 1990s. Two more patients with allegations as late as 2012 were added to the complaint in June.

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Long-awaited Kroger Marketplace opening tomorrow morning in Liberty Twp.

The long-awaited new Kroger Marketplace in Liberty Twp. will be opening on Thursday morning.

The 124,000-square-foot location at Ohio 4 and Kyles Station Road will open at 7 a.m., Kroger officials said this morning. A new traffic signal went into operation this morning, the Butler County Engineer’s Office said.

Liberty Twp. Economic Development Director Caroline McKinney said earlier this fall that the opening is good news for the community.

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Hamilton bakery recovers from damaging summer break-in with community support

After a plate-glass windows was shattered during the July 25 break-in of a downtown Hamilton bakery, the community came to the aid of the popular small business.

On Monday, a new plate glass window arrived and was installed at The Almond Sisters bakery, 224 High St. Owner Jenni Hubbard said the bakery was closed Tuesday for cleaning before reopening at 8 a.m. today.

“We were really excited,” Hubbard said. “We’re so thankful when the window arrived because of the love from the community.”

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Huge drop in substitute teachers could force changes at more Butler County districts

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

This week’s changing of in-person learning plans at some local schools signals the latest coronavirus course change other area school systems may soon follow, said local education leaders.

On Monday, officials at Madison Schools said they were forced to switch away from in-person classes for grades 9-12 because a school building administrator had tested positive for the coronavirus.

But it was the ripple effect of having to quarantine some teachers and school staffers – and some students – that forced the shut-down of live high school classes at Madison.

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Lawsuit threat pushes Butler County commissioners to switch plan on health insurance

For the second time in two years, the Butler County commissioners switched course on health insurance providers after awarding a new contract, this time under a lawsuit threat.

The commissioners two weeks ago approved switching from self-insurance to a fully insured plan through the County Employee Benefits Consortium of Ohio (CEBCO) with Anthem.

On Monday, they rescinded that contract and approved staying with United Healthcare for another year at a cost of $21.2 million. The CEBCO cost was $21.3 million, a $128,000 difference, according to County Administrator Judi Boyko. The insurance premium increase is 2.2% over this year.

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

Franklin honoring all-time great Luke Kennard with number retirement

Basketball standout Luke Kennard, now playing for the Detroit Pistons, will have his Franklin High School number retired.

Kennard, a 2015 Franklin graduate, wore No. 10 in his Wildcat career. Kennard was named Ohio’s Mr. Basketball in both 2014 and 2015. He set a number of Franklin records, including 2,977 career points, most career assists (470), and most 3-point shots made (263). His career scoring total is No. 2 all-time in Ohio.

Kennard played two years at Duke and was chosen by the Detroit Pistons as the No. 12 draft pick in 2017. In the 2019-20 season, he averaged 15.8 points/game.

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