Top local news for Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021

Misty Camp pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Donald McDonald during a hearing Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021 in Butler County Common Pleas Court in Hamilton. NICK GRAHAM / STAFF

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

Misty Camp pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Donald McDonald during a hearing Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021 in Butler County Common Pleas Court in Hamilton. NICK GRAHAM / STAFF

Here is a look at five big Butler County stories today to catch up on the news.


Hamilton woman sent to prison for killing man with baseball bat

Misty Camp pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Donald McDonald during a hearing Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021 in Butler County Common Pleas Court in Hamilton. NICK GRAHAM / STAFF

Credit: Nick Graham

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Credit: Nick Graham

A Hamilton woman was sentenced to prison Monday for hitting and killing a man with a baseball bat in a home on Ludlow Street last year.

Misty Camp, 27, was indicted in December 2020 for felonious assault and murder for the Oct. 31, 2020 slaying of Donald McDonald, according to court records.

Last month, Camp pleaded guilty in Butler County Common Pleas Court to the reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony. The other charges were dismissed.

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Here is what it takes to clear snow in the City of Hamilton

Two snow plows on Monday morning drive down Main Street approaching B Street in Hamilton. (MICHAEL D. PITMAN / STAFF)

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Representatives of the City of Hamilton’s public works department say they are prepared for clearing roadways this winter.

Director of Public Works Jim Williams introduced members of his department who presented the snow clearing plan to Hamilton City Council on Dec. 1. They said each of the 10 official routes covered by drivers throughout the city are anywhere from 50 to 53 miles long. During a snow event, drivers work 12-hour shifts if necessary.

There are enough workers to rotate and make sure folks don’t go beyond a 12-hour shift and that they can get rest.

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Grand jury to consider case of man charged with snatching elderly woman’s purse

Derek A. Vaughn, 58, was charged with robbery, a third-degree felony and theft.

Credit: Submitted photo

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Credit: Submitted photo

A Butler County grand jury will now consider the case of a man charged with robbing an elderly woman after a citizen stopped the suspect in a Lemon Twp. store parking lot.

Shortly after 11 a.m. on Dec. 5, Butler County Sheriff’s deputies and Trenton police officers responded to Kroger on Oxford State Road for the report of a man snatching the purse from an elderly woman inside the store.

The suspect, Derek A. Vaughn, 58, was charged with robbery, a third-degree felony and theft — a fifth-degree felony because of the victim’s age.

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Liberty Way ramp closure coming

Construction continues on the OH 129, Liberty Way and I-75 interchange modification Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021 in Liberty Township. NICK GRAHAM / STAFF

Credit: Nick Graham

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Credit: Nick Graham

The ramp from Liberty Way to westbound Ohio 129 on Interstate 75 will be closed overnight on Thursday for guardrail repairs.

The Butler County Engineer’s Office has announced the Liberty Way ramp at Interstate 75 to westbound Ohio 129 will be closed from 10 p.m. Thursday until 6 a.m. Friday for guardrail repairs.

Work continues on the $24 million project to fix the sometimes tricky to navigate interchange. The engineer’s office recently said the work is about 25 to 30% complete and should be complete next fall.

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Officials continue investigation into threat of shooting at Talawanda H.S.

Oxford Police and Talawanda school officials say they are both still jointly investigating a threat of violence discovered in a girls bathroom at the high school Friday. The discovery led to a precautionary lock-down and later that day an early release of students to better allow police investigators access to the building. (File Photo\Journal-News)

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OXFORD — A threat of violence found last week in a bathroom at Talawanda High School is still under investigation by local police and school officials.

According to Oxford Police the written threat on a bathroom stall, which was discovered by a student in a girls’ restroom on Friday, is still under investigation.

The discovery led first to a precautionary lockdown of the high school and later that day the early release of students at the high school and middle school so city police officers could more easily search the schools, said Talawanda district officials.

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

Best of 2021: Top education stories from Butler County this year

Principal Chuck Hall speaks during a ribbon cutting Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021 for the new career technology wing of Marshall High School in Middletown. The new space includes classes in healthcare, manufacturing, construction and entrepeneurial and business. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Credit: Nick Graham

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Credit: Nick Graham

For area schools, 2021 was a marked improvement from some of the bruising impacts of the coronavirus’s initial 2020 spread but the realities of the pandemic still lingered, creating new challenges in new areas.

And hovering over the entire year was a formidable question for school officials: What lasting impact will America’s worse, potentially deadly virus in the last century have on school children?

Starting with Covid’s onset in March 2020, parts of 2020, all of 2021 — and soon 2022′s school operations — were and will be conducted under the shadow of coronavirus.

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