Edgewood High School is mourning the death of a student in a car crash Tuesday evening. 15 year old Hallie Deaton was a passenger in a Mustang that turned into the path of a Silverado pickup truck on State Route 73 and Wehr Road. Three other teens were hospitalized, including the 16 year old male driver of the car. No one in the truck was seriously hurt. The school is off for spring break this week, but counselors will be available Thursday 1pm-3pm. Hallie's friends and family have set up a Go Fund Me to help the family with expenses. 

(Photo Credit: Facebook, Go Fund Me)

The Butler County Coroner's Office says the trucker killed in a crash on northbound I-75 Tuesday was from Indiana. 43 year old James Barnett III was heading northbound when he swerved to avoid a semi that had slowed down in front of him. He clipped the back of the other truck, and overturned into a concrete median. Barnett died of multiple traumatic injuries when he was ejected from the cab. The truck also lost its load of steel coils, and there was also a fuel leak from the damaged truck. Northbound 75 near the Monroe rest area and a couple of southbound lanes were closed for several hours as the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Butler County Emergency Management Agency, ODOT, and the Ohio EPA investigated the crash and cleaned up the scene. Barnett was from Sellersburg, Indiana, which is just north of Louisville, Kentucky.

West Chester Trustees have agreed to sell the former senior activity center building at 7900 Cox Road. RS Professionals, LLC of West Chester has offered $1.9 million for the property behind the Tylersville Road Kroger store. Kroger had planned to purchase the land for an expansion, but that project was later scrapped. RS Professionals plans to rennovate the building for use as office space. The sales agreement includes a 30 day inspection period and 60 days to finalize payment. The deal was approved during an emergency board of trustees meeting Wednesday.

Masks are now optional on Butler County Regional Transit Authority buses, as well as other vehicles and the agency's indoor spaces. The policy change was announced Tuesday, one day after a federal judge overturned the Biden Administration's mask mandate. The RTA says masks will remain optional as the administration reviews the judge's ruling. The Transportation Security Administration announced they were suspending enforcement of the nationwide mandate.

Tuesday is the Reds home opener at Great American Ballpark, so it is being treated as Opening Day. Barry Larkin will be the Grand Marshal of the Findlay Market Opening Day Parade. Hamilton's West Side Little League All-Stars, the Little League World Series runners-up, will have their own float. Bengals QB Joe Burrow will throw out the ceremonial first pitch to Head Coach Zac Taylor. Wide Reciever Rookie of the Year Ja'Marr Chase will help present the NL Rookie of the Year award to Jonathan India in pregame ceremonies. Tyler Mahle will deliver the first pitch at 4:10pm against the Cleveland Guardians.

A Hamilton man is recovering from a shooting Monday morning. 51 year old Thomas Cooley drove himself to the Hamilton Police 
Department headquarters on South Front Street, where he was found with gunshot wounds by Sergeant Rich Burkhardt and Officer Kristy Collins. He was taken to Fort Hamilton Hospital for treatment. Cooley told police he was shot on the 100 block of Wilson Street. There's no word on what led up to the shooting, and no arrest has been reported.

Longtime Ross Township Trustee Tom Willsey passed away Friday after a battle with cancer. He was 74. He had been a trustee in Ross since 1986. He was a fireman, and past president of the Ohio Township Association. Visitation is Friday from 4-8pm at the Charles C. Young Funeral Home in Ross. Funeral services are Saturday at 11am.

Tom Willsey's Obituary

Former Hamilton chiropractor Stephen Boyd was in the Butler County Jail Monday morning, awaiting his transfer to state prison. Boyd was sentenced Friday to 11 years and 9 months behind bars after pleading guilty to sex crimes involving former patients and employees. In a sentencing memorandum filed with the court, assistant county prosecutor Stephen Wagner called Boyd's actions reprehensible. He says Boyd groomed the nine victims, convincing them his groping and touching was part of their treatment. 

Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser met with reporters for an hour Tuesday, explaining step-by-step how a grand jury chose not to charge five Monroe police officers with the February 11th shooting death of 35 year old Dustin Booth. Gmoser says Booth stood up and pointed a large .45 caliber handgun at officers after they tried to take him into custody during a traffic stop. Gmoser says police also acted reasonably in the events leading up to the shooting, and he says he had no bias as he presented the case to the grand jury. Booth's family is planning a lawsuit against Monroe police.

(Photo: Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser holds up the gun that Dustin Booth allegedly pointed at Monroe police officers before he was shot)

Early voting continues at the Butler County Board of Elections, 1802 Princeton Road, for the May 3rd primary. The Board of Elections will be open the following hours until Election Day:

M-F 8a-5p April 11-22

M-F 8a-7p April 25-29
SAT 8a-4p April 30
SUN 1p-5p May 1
MON 8a-2p May 2