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The family of Sgt. Brian Dulle, from left: son, Jackson, wife, Abbie, and daughters Maddie, 12, and Emma, 11, prays during a memorial dedication for Sgt. Dulle, the first Warren County sheriff’s deputy killed in the line of duty. The Enquirer/Carrie Cochran

Posted in: News, Warren County |

Tags: Tags: abbie dulle, Brian Dulle, death, deputy, died, marcus isreal, memorial, Sgt. Brian Dulle, warren county, warren county sheriffs

Patrick Parker appears in Warren County Common Pleas court Monday, May 6, 2013. The Mason man is accused of raping a toddler with a screwdriver. The Enquirer/Rachel Richardson

Testimony began Monday in Warren County Common Pleas Court in the trial of a Mason man accused of raping a toddler with a screwdriver.

Patrick Parker, 49, is charged with two first-degree felony counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition, third-degree felonies.

Prosecutors say Parker used a screwdriver and his fingers to sexually assault a three-year-old child he was acquainted with and had access to on overnight stays between July 2007 and June 2009.

The alleged crimes were reported about a year later, according to prosecutors.

The girl’s mother testified Monday that she noticed behavioral changes in the girl beginning in 2008 after overnight stays with Parker. In May 2009, she said the girl asked to give her a kiss on the mouth during which she inserted her tongue in her mouth.

When she questioned her daughter, the girl reported Parker had kissed her in that manner, according to the mother’s testimony.

The girl’s mother reported the incident to officials in Kentucky, where she and her daughter lives. The alleged crimes occurred at Parker’s Mason home, according to court documents.

Prosecutors say the girl two years later disclosed to a licensed clinical psychologist that during this time, Parker had digitally penetrated her with his fingers and a device she described as a screwdriver.

The Enquirer generally does not identify victims of sex crimes and is not identifying the mother to protect her daughter’s identity.

In their opening arguments, defense attorneys denied the accusations and say the girl’s story is riddled with inconsistencies and suggest she may have been coached or asked leading questions by interviewers.

Psychological testing performed on Parker in 2009 after the accusations were made revealed no signs of sexual deviancy, the attorneys told the judge.

Parker faces a possible life sentence on the rape charges. The sentences for the gross sexual imposition charges carry a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison on each count.

The three-day bench trial is expected to wrap up Wednesday.

Posted in: Crime, News |

Tags: Tags: child rape, crime, lebanon, patrick parker, rape, screwdriver, toddler, warren county, warren county common pleas

Anthony Bowman Photo/Warren County Jail

When you gotta’ go, you gotta’ go — even if it is in the shoe department at a Meijer store.

That’s the situation Anthony Bowman, 38, of Deerfield Township, told police he found himself in when he wasn’t able to locate the restrooms in the Deerfield Township store.

Law enforcement officials weren’t so understanding — a Warren County grand jury Friday indicted Bowman on charges of public indecency, criminal damaging and possession of heroin.

The incident occurred on Feb. 22, when store loss prevention officials notified the Warren County Sheriff’s Office they observed a man urinating on shoe racks in the store.

When police confronted Bowman, he denied the incident occurring, but later admitted it after told it was captured on store security video, according to the police report.

Police say Bowman damaged seven boxes of shoes valued at around $450.

He faces up to 22 months in jail and a $6,000 fine if convicted of the charges.

Posted in: Crime, Deerfield Twp., News |

Tags: Tags: anthony bowman, crime, criminal damaging, deerfield township, meijer, public indecency, warren county, warren county sheriff's office

Emilio Estevez, with Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory behind him at the Reds Hall of Fame, announced in October 2012 that he would film a movie about harness racing in Cincinnati. Photo by The Enquirer/Carrie Cochran

John Kiesewetter reports:

Emilio Estevez returned to Lebanon Raceway on Tuesday, starting a three-month pre-production for his “Johnny Longshot” family movie.

Filming begins in early August at the Lebanon harness-racing track on the Warren County fairgrounds. “They’ve been great. They’ve been very, very cooperative,” Estevez said.

Estevez, 50, will star and direct from his script about an aging jockey making a comeback at a harness-racing driver.

• Replay John Kiesewetter’s chat about the film

He set the story in Cincinnati, and plans to use many locations – including Great American Ball Park, a Kroger’s Marketplace and Turfway Park – scouted by Kristen Erwin, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky Film Commission.

Before announcing the film here in October, and accepting a $3.8 million Ohio Motion Picture tax credit, Estevez had toured River Downs racetrack – which was demolished in January.

“That wasn’t a surprise. They were talking about it last year,” he said. So opening scenes of Estevez’s character, John West, as a jockey will be filmed at Turfway.

Estevez will be ride in a two-wheel sulky at Lebanon, possibly Scioto Downs near Columbus, and at New Jersey’s Meadowlands Racetrack. He’ll film the ending first, at the Meadowlands’ $1.2 million Hambletonian Stakes on Aug. 3.

“We’ll shoot the big race in New Jersey, and get back here as quickly as possible and shoot all of August and into September. The bulk of it is in Lebanon,” he said.

Many Lebanon Raceway drivers also could appear in the family movie, which Estevez compares to the three “Mighty Ducks” films in which he played Coach Gordon Bombay.

“There are seven races in Ohio (in the film), and in any given race, up to 10 drivers. There could be hundreds of harness drivers when it’s all said and done,” he said. They’re counted in an estimated 1,500 local “Johnny Longshot” acting, background extras and production crew jobs, including some speaking roles, he said.

“The idea is to cast as many locals are possible, and to use them in a lot of speaking roles. We want to give an opportunity to Cincinnatians,” he said. Major roles to be filled are West’s wife, son and agent; a trainer; and “the bad guy,” he said.

Erwin was pleased to hear that Estevez will hire locals as production designer, cinematographer and other key positions, unlike other feature films shot here.

Posted in: Events |

Tags: Tags: cincinnati, emilio estevez, extras, film, harness racing, lebanon, lebanon raceway, movie, warren county

Carl Weiser reports:

State Rep. Ron Maag, a Lebanon Republican, plans to introduce right-to-work legislation soon – but only for public sector workers.

In a request to fellow House members asking for co-sponsors, Maag wrote: ”Right to Work, also known as “Workplace Freedom,” would eliminate compulsory unionism in Ohio. This means simply that employees would be free to choose whether or not to join a labor union.”

Ohio would be the 25th state to pass right-to-work laws, he said.

• Read Maag’s letter

State Democratic chairman Chris Redfern has already pounced, saying “Here we go again,” a reference to the bitter 2011 battle over Senate Bill 5, which would have reined in the powers and rights of public sector unions.

“Just as SB 5 was soundly rejected by Ohio voters, we expect this unnecessary sideshow – which will do nothing to create more good-paying jobs – to fail, and we intend to hold Governor Kasich accountable for choosing to focus on distractions over Ohio’s middle class,” he said in a statement.

Posted in: Government, News, Ohio |

Tags: Tags: democrats, kasich, lebanon, ohio, politics, representative, republicans, right to work, ron maag, sb5, senate bill 5, union, warren county

Sue Kiesewetter reports:

Warren County residents can safely dispose of unwanted or expired medications April 27 during the National Prescription Drug Take Back.

This is the sixth take-back day since the Drug Enforcement Administration began the program in 2010. Thirteen sites in Butler County will accept medications.

“When we first started doing this, we knew there was a need. We knew this was a service that needed to be provided,’’ said Rusty Payne, DEA spokesman. “What we didn’t realize was the amazing results we were going to get.”

Since the program began in September, 2010, residents across the country have turned in more than two million pounds – 244 tons – of prescription and over-the-counter medications.

The DEA partners with local law enforcement agencies to find sites where medications can be dropped off and collected. Take back days have been scheduled about every six months, Payne said.

They will continue until federal disposal regulations are established and a more permanent solution can be found, Payne said.

Medications and over-the-counter drugs can be turned in from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with no questions asked. Labels can be soaked off, medications can be placed in bags, or residents can black out names and prescription numbers to remain anonymous.

They can be turned in at the following locations in Warren County:

• Warren County jail lobby, 550 Justice Dr., Lebanon
• Springboro Police Department, 320 W. Central Ave.
• Hamilton Township Fire Station 77, 2000 E. U.S. 22/Ohio 3

Posted in: Events |

Tags: Tags: drugs, medications, national prescription drug take back, warren county

Jennifer Edwards Baker reports:

Better designate a driver if you are out drinking tonight.

Law enforcement in Cincinnati and Warren County will be setting up drunk driving checkpoints.

Cincinnati’s will be 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. in the 400 block of Delta Avenue in Columbia Tusculum.

Warren County’s will be 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Ohio 741 and Courseview Drive in Mason.

Patrols also will be stepped up in the areas surrounding both operations.

Posted in: News |

Tags: Tags: cincinnati, dui checkpoint, mason, warren county

Marissa Kruthaup, 22, plants vegetables in their High Tunnel on The Kruthaup Family Farm in Morrow. Her father, Ken, is at left. The Enquirer/ Liz Dufour

John Faherty reports:

Any person who grows one, or anyone who wants to eat one, knows that the wait for a good, juicy, locally grown tomato can feel interminable around here.

The soil is willing, but the weather will not cooperate. The winter lingers, the spring takes awhile to begin and tomato plants typically cannot go into the ground until May. The tomatoes themselves are not ready to be pulled from the vine until sometime around the Fourth of July.

But no solution has been forthcoming. After all, there’s nothing to be done about the weather.

• Photos: Building a better tomato, earlier

Unless, that is, you are a farmer willing to listen to your then 21-year-old daughter who is studying agriculture at the University of Kentucky and has this crazy idea that her dad might want to think about.

That is exactly what happened in Warren County, where a family farm was inspired to be more sustainable and more profitable. This old farm is now using new principles to make more tomatoes. The idea increases sustainability by extending the growing season and allowing people to eat locally more often.

In short, it means fresh tomatoes sooner, and planting in stages, allowing for a longer stretch of perfectly ripe produce. It works on the farm and it can work in the backyard.

A high tunnel, sometimes called a hoop house, is essentially a greenhouse set over a bed in a field. That last distinction is important. A high tunnel is different from a greenhouse because the high tunnel means the plants go directly into the ground.

These are simple structures covered in plastic. The plants are heated by the sun and protected from the wind. Tomato plants like them so much they yield ripe fruit in early June, four to five weeks earlier than normal.

Marissa Kruthaup is the agriculture major, now a senior graduating a few weeks, who brought the idea from the classroom to her father’s Morrow farm two years ago.

It was, she said, a little nerve-racking.

Eight acres on the family’s 75-acre farm are used to grow produce. Farmers, like Marissa’s dad, are often reluctant to change the way they do things – and for good reason. Farming practices are tried over time and crops only come once a year.

(more…)

Posted in: Business, Community, News |

Tags: Tags: farm, ken kruthaup, kruthaup family farm, marissa kruthaup, morrow, tomato, warren county

Rachel Hutzel. File photo

Paul McKibben reports:

A groundbreaking ceremony for the Rachel Hutzel Celestial Observatory at Camp Joy in Warren County is 7 p.m. Saturday.

The observatory is named after former Warren County prosecutor and 12th District Ohio Court of Appeals Judge Rachel Huztel. She died of cancer last August.

The observatory will have a retractable roof for sky viewing, a warm room for winter use and a storage room used to house smaller telescopes. A large patio across the front of the structure will be used for educational programs and sky viewing.

Jeff Blazey, Hutzel’s husband, donated the telescope for the observatory. Blazey, an engineer and an amateur astronomer, built the 12-foot long instrument, except the lens and some parts, during the winter of 2009.

The 11-inch diameter refracting telescope is computer controlled. It will be mounted to a 8-foot tall granite pedestal. Completion is expected before the end of the year.

Hutzel was a judge on the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals (2011-12) and a former Warren County prosecutor (2002-2011). She was the first woman on the 12th District appeals bench and the first woman Warren County prosecutor.

As prosecutor, her profile rose significantly as a result of the highly publicized Ryan Widmer murder trial. Widmer’s wife, Sarah, died in a bathtub drowning in 2008.

In 2009, Widmer’s first jury convicted him of murder, but Judge Neal Bronson threw out the verdict because of juror misconduct. Widmer’s second prosecution ended in a mistrial in 2010. He was found guilty in a third trial in 2011. That verdict is being appealed.

A benefit will be held June 7 at the Manor House in Mason to raise funds for the project. Purchase tickets online at www.warrensky.org.

Posted in: News, Warren County |

Tags: Tags: benefit, camp joy, jeff blazey, manor house, mason, prosecutor, rachel hutzel, rachel hutzel celestial observatory, ryan widmer, trial, warren county

Warren County Community Services wants area seniors to know they don’t have to dine alone.

The organization offers nutritious lunches five days a week at its five senior dining centers across the county, said Mary Catherine Faller, WCCS manager of nutrition services.

Lunch with two menu options is served at noon Monday through Friday at:

• The 741 Center – 570 N. State Route 741, Lebanon, 513-695-2256
• Station Hill Retirement – 114 Dave Street, Lebanon, 513-939-5189
• Union Village Retirement – 327 N. Section St., South Lebanon, 513-267-8293
• Earl Maag Retirement – 124 Pamela Drive, Morrow, 513-889-8886
• Sherman Glenn Retirement – 301 Sherman Drive, Franklin, 937-545-6788

Daily menus are posted at www.wccsi.org or by calling the dining hall.  Suggested meal donation for those 60 and older is $3.  Meal cost for anyone under 60 is $6.  To make a reservation, call the dining hall by 1 p.m. the day before.

Posted in: News, Warren County |

Tags: Tags: dining halls, lunch, nutrition, senior citizens, seniors, warren county, warren county community services