(Oxford)--Miami University awarded close to 4,100 degrees during its 185th Spring Commencement ceremony, held Saturday May 18th at Yager Stadium. Chipotle Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, a 1996 Miami graduate, delivered the commencement address. He urged students to always be on time, take and send plenty of notes, be proud of their country, and find their faith. Niccol also gave some interesting statistics for the Oxford Chipotle, which he said is the best performing store in the region during the school year.  He says customers order 1,300 entrees per day, consuming over 42,500 pounds of avocados and nearly 83,000 pounds of chicken last year. "You guys are pretty impressive" said Niccol to begin his remarks. 






Brian Niccol Miami '96

(Images: Courtesy of Miami University)

(Middletown)--An appeals court has overturned the felony conviction of former Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds. A trio of judges from the 10th District Court of Appeals heard the case for members of the 12th District court, who recused themselves from the case. The judges ruled Reynolds was wrongly convicted on insufficient evidence on a charge of Unlawful Interest in a Public Contract. The judges ordered the lower court to discharge Reynold's case. A 30 day jail sentence was delayed while the case moved through the appeals process. The conviction disqualified Reynolds from serving as auditor, and county treasurer Nancy Nix was chosen to serve out the rest of Reynold's term.

A stormy weather forecast for Tuesday night has forced Hamilton City School District officials to move graduation ceremonies up by a day. The commencement will take place Wednesday night May 15th at 7:30pm, the previously announced rain date for the event. Hamilton High's graduation has been held at Virgil Schwarm Stadium since 2021, as the district was still dealing with COVID restrictions. The outdoor ceremony proved to be popular with families. On Monday, seniors walked in their caps and gowns through the hallways of their elementary schools, while grade school students lined both sides of the hallway, cheering them on.

(Image Courtesy: TV Hamilton)

A three judge panel Friday found 41 year old Gurpreet Singh guilty on all charges in the 2019 shooting deaths of his wife, her parents, and her aunt. Prosecutors say Singh methodically shot the victims at their West Chester apartment. The judges re-convened Monday for the penalty phase of the trial, where they will determine whether Singh should be given the death penalty, or life in prison. The first trial in 2022 ended with a hung jury.

(Wilmington)--The National Weather Service confirmed three tornadoes hit Butler County Tuesday night. An EF-1 storm hit Reily Township, toppling a grain silo, causing structural damage to several homes, and downing trees and power lines from the Bunker Hill Woods area to the Indian Ridge Golf Course off U.S. 27. The storm moved along Stillwell-Beckett Road, where most of the damage was reported. An EF-0 storm touched down off Cincinnati-Dayton Road at Henderickson Road in the Blue Ball area. Several trailers were overturned at a business. The touchdown occured just east of the Cleveland-Cliffs mill and near I-75. The third tornado, an EF-1, touched down in Franklin County, Indiana and traveled over eight miles before dissipating after it crossed the state line into Butler County, where an out building was damaged. The weather service office in Wilmington says a dozen tornadoes touched down in the forecast area.

(Photo: Lisa and Jason Rankey took a photo
of the funnel cloud as it formed into a tornado over Reily Township)

(West Chester)--Three people are dead after a three vehicle crash on Cox Road between University Pointe and Service Drive. Two adults were pronounced dead at the scene, and a third adult victim died at UC-West Chester. The road was shut down for several hours after the collision. The crash happened just after 6pm.

(Hamilton)--The Miami Conservancy District voted to pause and re-calculate their controversial rate assessment hike and to seek federal and state grant money for improvements to the flood control system during a special meeting in Hamilton Friday evening. They also proposed to create a hardship exception process, and an abatement for businesses. The vote came as a relief for Hamilton city leaders who say the city's recent progress will stop in its tracks if the high rate increases are allowed to continue.

(Liberty Township)--A man is being treated after allegedly pulling a weapon on a Butler County deputy during a welfare check late Saturday morning at an apartment complex on Hamilton Place. The suspect was taken to UC-West Chester for treatment. No other details were being released.

(Liberty Township)--The Lakota School Board has chosen their new superintendent. Dr. Ashley Whitely was appointed during a special school board meeting on Saturday, May 4th. She will receive a 5 year contract, which begins August 1st. 
Dr. Whitely has been serving as an assistant superintendent for the Wyoming City Schools since 2018. Prior to her time with Wyoming, Whitely was an english teacher and department chair at Lakota East High School. A meet and greet will be held at 5:00pm Monday in the Lakota East Freshman School cafeteria.

(West Chester)--Two people were injured in an early morning apartment fire in West Chester. Township spokesperson Barbara Wilson says dispatchers started getting calls about a fire at the Union Station Apartments around 12:17am. When first responders arrived on the scene, they encountered flames and smoke coming from all three floors, as well as the attic. Fire Chief Rick Prinz says it was very fortunate that everyone was able to get out of the building. One firefighter suffered from heat exposure, and one civilian was treated for smoke inhalation. Both were transported to the hospital, but are expected to be OK. Two dozen units were damaged by the fire. The Red Cross is assisting families displaced by the blaze. The Ohio Fire Marshal's Office is assisting West Chester fire investigators in trying to determine the cause.

(Photo Courtesy: Barbara Wilson)

(Hamilton)--Hamilton police continue their investigation into a train vs. motorcycle crash near the downtown area Wednesday. The accident was reported around 12:30pm on Martin Luther King Boulevard at the crossing just north of Pershing Avenue. The motorcycle operator was taken by life squad to the Butler County Regional Airport, where Care Flight helicopter transported the victim to Miami Valley Hospital's trauma center in Dayton. Police say the victim was alert and speaking. The crossing was shut down for an hour and a half, before re-opening at approximately 2:00pm.

(Lebanon)--A Mason woman is going to prison for causing burn injuries to her 2 year old granddaughter. 51 year old Lashawnda Walters admitted to putting the girl in a bathtub with scalding hot water after the toddler had soiled her diaper. The girl suffered second and third degree burns to over 17% of her lower body, and had to undergo several procedures and a skin graft. Prosecutors say Walters tried to hide video surveillance evidence of her actions from investigators. Walters eventually pleaded guilty to charges of endangering children and tampering with evidence. Walters was sentenced to a term of 7 to 10 and a half years in prison by Warren County Common Pleas Judge Robert Peeler.

(Hamilton)--The Great Miami River Recreational Trail is being re-named in honor of a Hamilton icon. The Hamilton Community Foundation says a ceremony will be held on May 10th to dedicate the Dave Belew Trail, which will run from Rentschler Forest past Joyce Park. The retired Beckett Paper Company executive championed the trail when he served as chairman of the foundation. He played an integral role in extending the trail north of the downtown area. 

(Image Courtesy: TV Hamilton)