What a mess Dave Smith has got himself into. I've been reading both papers and the comments on ORL. Again a lot of the comments range from one end of the spectrum to the other. There are folks that want to drag him out to the nearest tree & lynch him and at the other end there are people who think DUI is no big deal. Excrement happens.
The Sheriff lawyered up pretty quick and has got a continuation on his preliminary court appearance until the end of the month. I'm guessing they are praying fervently that the urine test results will give them a break. I've been told you can blow positive on as little as one beer if the barley and hops are still embedded on you taste buds. It's the blood alcohol level that is the best bet in cases like this. It takes longer for the alcohol to get into the blood stream.
At this point I'm kind of feeling a little sorry for the man. Tom Giambroni wrote the piece about the Sheriff driving a county vehicle when he got busted. To me that is a gray area. Networking is part of doing business and attending a state association meeting to learn the latest on the command communication vans made it a business meeting. I'm not familiar with what the county rules and regulations are about using county vehicles. The Commissioners are either not available or are "no commenting". If you're familiar with the I-70 route from Columbus you know that the Easton Mall is along the way. Having made that trip myself, once you start seeing the signs for Cambridge you know you don't have that much farther to go and all you want to do is get home.
The Buckeye State Sheriff's Association is back pedaling and distancing themselves from Smith as is folks around these parts. I imagine there is a lot of gruff going on with the trooper that busted a fellow lawman. It happens. However, that trooper's job is to look out for the safety of all of us. If Smith nearly hit a truck he needed to be taken off the highway. The trooper did cut him a break on the breathalyzer. My feeling is Smith knew exactly what he was doing when he inhaled.
My sort of feeling sorry for the guy stems from the fact that here is a man that probably put an end to his sheriff's career due to some bad judgement. He's being hung out in the media for all to see and is probably very despondent over what the future will hold. Lord knows if it wasn't for luck, my guardian angel or the grace of the Good Lord I could have been in his position more than once on the DUI charge. I'm still not the brightest star in the sky but back a few years ago I was stubborn about my ability to drink & drive. The Irish have a saying that the Lord takes care of old drunks and young children. Maybe my survival of those days was in my DNA. I'm not exonerating Dave Smith. I just feel a little sorry for him.
ole nib
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
Meet the Candidates
In case you don't keep up with the Wellsville Forum, (http://wellsvilleohio.proboards75.com/), the future voters have announced that their event has been rescheduled to Thursday - the 25th. That way our mayoral candidates are free to attend both the debate over in Lisbon on the 24th and the meet & greet here in the ville.
The meet & greet in the ville is scheduled for 7 P.M. at the Alumni Center a week from this Thursday. The MJ/Channel 27 debate is to be held at the David Anderson High School from 6 to 9 P.M. on Wednesday, October 24th.
Incidently, if you want to submit any questions for the candidates at the debate you can e-mail them to the MJ. They said any questions must be in by Monday, the 22nd and must be marked for the specific candidate.
The meet & greet in the ville is scheduled for 7 P.M. at the Alumni Center a week from this Thursday. The MJ/Channel 27 debate is to be held at the David Anderson High School from 6 to 9 P.M. on Wednesday, October 24th.
Incidently, if you want to submit any questions for the candidates at the debate you can e-mail them to the MJ. They said any questions must be in by Monday, the 22nd and must be marked for the specific candidate.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Boardwalk Dedication
The Pete Amato Boardwalk between the floodwall and along Little Yellow Creek was dedicated this afternoon. It was a beautiful fall afternoon and everything seem to go smoothly. There was a lot of hand shaking and smiling. Pictured above is the boardwalk taken a couple of weeks ago and the plaque commemorating the event.
There was a small crowd on hand numbering somewhere around 50 folks including dignitaries, reporters and the Revitalization Committee. Since both our local papers were represented I'm sure they will have it well covered in tomorrow's editions. So I won't go into details on that.
Noticeably absent was Dave Lloyd which in my opinion was a shame. Although his opponent was Master-of- Ceremony this dedication was about Wellsville and not village politics. It was about a man who loved his home town so much he left a legacy for its improvement. It was also about a group of nonpartisan people who have dedicated themselves to those improvements. I may be wrong but if you profess to be concerned about the improvement of the ville you would wanted to be seen witnessing another step toward that goal.
ole nib
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Not Above the Law
It's been said that alcohol not only impairs your body it also impairs your thinking. Guess Columbiana County Sheriff Dave Smith experienced this first hand Thursday evening when he was trying to come home from a Buckeye State Sheriffs Association dinner in Columbus. Allegedly speeding and weaving along I-70 Sheriff Smith was pulled over by a State Trooper near Cambridge. The trooper said he detected booze on the sheriff's breath and administered sobriety tests. Apparently with blood shot eyes the sheriff didn't do too good following the pen and he reportedly registered .13 on the breathalyzer.
Thankfully the trooper did his job and took our sheriff off the road. Smith tried to influence the trooper with the "good old boys" defense begging that he be let go since he was a fellow lawman according to the papers. Smith was charged with OVI, speeding and failure to stay with-in marked lanes. His only hope now is that the pee test comes back favoring him. He's scheduled to be in court next Wednesday.
Smith of all people should have realized that he apparently had one too many to get behind the wheel. It's too late now to wish he had spent the night in Columbus to sleep it off. He's not the first person to get busted for enjoying a cocktail hour and maybe later on having one for the road but it looks like he was in denial that he was impaired. Now he has brought down a whole raft of crap on himself and his political career.
According to Tom Gaimbroni, of the MJ, Smith is up for re-election next year and is expected to be opposed by Wellsville native and Leetonia Police Chief John Soldano. We will have to wait to see what develops but right now it looks like there is a good chance to see a Democrat as our next elected sheriff. It's been decades since we've witnessed that.
ole nib
Thankfully the trooper did his job and took our sheriff off the road. Smith tried to influence the trooper with the "good old boys" defense begging that he be let go since he was a fellow lawman according to the papers. Smith was charged with OVI, speeding and failure to stay with-in marked lanes. His only hope now is that the pee test comes back favoring him. He's scheduled to be in court next Wednesday.
Smith of all people should have realized that he apparently had one too many to get behind the wheel. It's too late now to wish he had spent the night in Columbus to sleep it off. He's not the first person to get busted for enjoying a cocktail hour and maybe later on having one for the road but it looks like he was in denial that he was impaired. Now he has brought down a whole raft of crap on himself and his political career.
According to Tom Gaimbroni, of the MJ, Smith is up for re-election next year and is expected to be opposed by Wellsville native and Leetonia Police Chief John Soldano. We will have to wait to see what develops but right now it looks like there is a good chance to see a Democrat as our next elected sheriff. It's been decades since we've witnessed that.
ole nib
Tragic End
In both our morning papers today was news of the death of James "Billy" Yost who was found hanging by a bed sheet in the County Jail. As you all know Billy Yost was being held on a murder charge for killing his father here in Wellsville last June. He was being mentally evaluated to see if he was competent to stand trial. He had plead not guilty by reason of insanity on the murder charge.
Billy was isolated in a single cell and was on 20 minute checks by the staff at the jail. Within 15 minutes of his last check, when he asked to see an officer, he apparently hung himself. Obviously Billy had some serious issues going on and I'm guessing that would have come out when they went back to court in November. Now Billy has other demons to face.
My condolences go out to the surviving Yost family. With-in four months they have lost a father and now a brother. Hopefully the good Lord will provide them solace in their grief. Some will say that Billy did the honorable thing in bringing an end to this tragic story but I don't believe suicide is the right thing to do in any circumstance. Suicide is a selfish act in itself.
ole nib
Billy was isolated in a single cell and was on 20 minute checks by the staff at the jail. Within 15 minutes of his last check, when he asked to see an officer, he apparently hung himself. Obviously Billy had some serious issues going on and I'm guessing that would have come out when they went back to court in November. Now Billy has other demons to face.
My condolences go out to the surviving Yost family. With-in four months they have lost a father and now a brother. Hopefully the good Lord will provide them solace in their grief. Some will say that Billy did the honorable thing in bringing an end to this tragic story but I don't believe suicide is the right thing to do in any circumstance. Suicide is a selfish act in itself.
ole nib
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Heads Up Ladies
There was a small article in this morning's MJ reporting that WPD is looking for a man who has been trying to get women to get into his car. Apparently we have some guy driving around trying to pick up women. It's happened two different times so far.
According to the paper the man appears to be in his late forties, wears a baseball cap, has thin rimmed glasses and drives a silver four door car. The two different times he tried to pick up women he told them his name was "Rick". If this rings any bells call the police at 330-532-1522 even if you're not sure it's related. It may be the lead they are looking for.
The paper said calls will remain anonymous.
In the meantime if you're out walking go with a buddy and put that phone number on speed dial on your cell phone. There is safety in numbers. If this guy tries to grab you scream bloody murder and do whatever is necessary to get away - kick, gouge or whatever. Try to get a license plate number but more importantly get out of there. I seriously doubt this guy is just trying to be friendly.
Although this is negative publicity for the ville someone needs to be thanked for releasing this to the public. Unfortunately we're not immune to creeps like this guy. I'd rather have things like this come out than take a risk on someone being attacked.
Thanks to whoever...
ole nib
According to the paper the man appears to be in his late forties, wears a baseball cap, has thin rimmed glasses and drives a silver four door car. The two different times he tried to pick up women he told them his name was "Rick". If this rings any bells call the police at 330-532-1522 even if you're not sure it's related. It may be the lead they are looking for.
The paper said calls will remain anonymous.
In the meantime if you're out walking go with a buddy and put that phone number on speed dial on your cell phone. There is safety in numbers. If this guy tries to grab you scream bloody murder and do whatever is necessary to get away - kick, gouge or whatever. Try to get a license plate number but more importantly get out of there. I seriously doubt this guy is just trying to be friendly.
Although this is negative publicity for the ville someone needs to be thanked for releasing this to the public. Unfortunately we're not immune to creeps like this guy. I'd rather have things like this come out than take a risk on someone being attacked.
Thanks to whoever...
ole nib
Monday, October 8, 2007
In Response to Holly Smith
In Sunday's The Review there was a letter written by Holly Smith Jr. of Loganville,Georgia. Miss Smith said she was a "marshal" in Georgia although she didn't specify what type of marshal. We can only presume she is in law enforcement. Do they call police people marshals in Georgia? I don't know nor do I know if she is a native of the ville.
In her letter she made comments on the appearance of our fair village with the over grown weeds and how this appearance could be discouraging for new business to locate here. She was also critical of our village officials for not using law offenders as free labor to clean up some of the areas in need of attention. What she did not mention or failed to take into consideration was the economics of not only our village but also that of the whole area.
If memory serves me correctly council and our mayor considered using law offenders as free labor but it was tabled because of the liability insurance issue. Also it would take away from our established labor pool such as village employees. Someone would have to supervise these indentured laborers which would take them away from their regular jobs. In short it would cost money to go this route.
I don't know Miss Smith but she could be too young to remember what life was like back when the steel mills, potteries and brickyards were booming in the area. Although we're going back years, in those days people had money to support local businesses. They bought cars. They bought houses and lawn mowers and other implements to spruce up their properties. That was back in the days when local businesses - the mom & pop stores - were our only choice. There wasn't a Wal-Mart underpricing every little speciality store in the area putting them out of business.
Considering all we've been through over the years I think we have done fairly well to maintain what we have left. Overall the appearance of the ville is in darn good shape for the budgets we are working with. Yea, there is room for improvement and that will come in time when we have money to pay for it. Our industrial base in the local area is next to nothing but we are expecting big things in the near future. The downward cycle is about to take a swing upward for our area economics. Miss Smith must have overlooked the contributing factors in her short sighted comments to the editor. I see Loganville is a suburb of Atlanta. Wouldn't it be nice to be in that economic base. I guess Miss Smith came to town to kick us around a bit and play up the way things are much better where she's living. They may be better down that way but it ain't home.
ole nib
In her letter she made comments on the appearance of our fair village with the over grown weeds and how this appearance could be discouraging for new business to locate here. She was also critical of our village officials for not using law offenders as free labor to clean up some of the areas in need of attention. What she did not mention or failed to take into consideration was the economics of not only our village but also that of the whole area.
If memory serves me correctly council and our mayor considered using law offenders as free labor but it was tabled because of the liability insurance issue. Also it would take away from our established labor pool such as village employees. Someone would have to supervise these indentured laborers which would take them away from their regular jobs. In short it would cost money to go this route.
I don't know Miss Smith but she could be too young to remember what life was like back when the steel mills, potteries and brickyards were booming in the area. Although we're going back years, in those days people had money to support local businesses. They bought cars. They bought houses and lawn mowers and other implements to spruce up their properties. That was back in the days when local businesses - the mom & pop stores - were our only choice. There wasn't a Wal-Mart underpricing every little speciality store in the area putting them out of business.
Considering all we've been through over the years I think we have done fairly well to maintain what we have left. Overall the appearance of the ville is in darn good shape for the budgets we are working with. Yea, there is room for improvement and that will come in time when we have money to pay for it. Our industrial base in the local area is next to nothing but we are expecting big things in the near future. The downward cycle is about to take a swing upward for our area economics. Miss Smith must have overlooked the contributing factors in her short sighted comments to the editor. I see Loganville is a suburb of Atlanta. Wouldn't it be nice to be in that economic base. I guess Miss Smith came to town to kick us around a bit and play up the way things are much better where she's living. They may be better down that way but it ain't home.
ole nib
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