David Miller is the Editor and Publisher of Loveland Magazine
by David Miller
Loveland, Ohio – Peggy Johnson announced her retirement at the end of January after 39 years in education and 6 years as Principal of Loveland High School (LHS).
Thirty-nine-year-old Wyoming High School Principal, Adam Reed, who is entering his 17th year in education was recently announced as Johnson’s successor for the 2021-2022 school year.
Reed grew up in Fairfield and currently lives in Loveland with his family. “I enjoy spending time with my family, golfing, and traveling,” Reed told Loveland Magazine in an email exchange. Education has been his only career path.
“My wife Kate and I have three sons. Nolan is 7 and attends the Loveland Primary School, Hunter is 5 and will attend the Loveland Early Childhood Center next year, and Carson just turned 2.
Adam Reed will be the next Principal at Loveland High School
Reed earned both his B.A. and Masters in Education at the University of Cincinnati before earning his Administrative and Superintendent Licensure from Xavier University.
He is a graduate of Fairfield High School, was a varsity baseball coach, and was an assistant coach on a final four basketball team while at Fairfield.
I asked Reed what were his proudest accomplishments with the Wyoming schools and mentioned that the school certainly has bragging rights in regards to academics. “Leading the high school through the pandemic. Supporting students and teachers academically and socially and emotionally while creating the safest learning environment possible,” was his answer. Reed added, “Being an instructional leader with my staff as we integrated technology into their teaching practices and making the high school a Google school.” Reed is also proud that he created a culture where students “felt heard and valued”.
Adam Reed will be the next Principal at Loveland High School
I also asked Reed what does he feel are his best skills that he will bring to LHS. He said, “I am a student-focused administrator and educator. I believe in meeting our students where they are in order to support their learning and goals after high school. I look forward to creating a positive culture and environment to support our teachers and students.”
“While at Wyoming, I participated in our district-wide One Degree Shift work surrounding diversity,” was Reed’s response to a question about the goals of the Loveland District’s Diversity Advisory Board. He further emphasized, “For the 2021-2022 school year, Wyoming High School has created two new courses, African American Studies, and Women’s Studies. As I transition to Loveland, I will continue to focus on our students and meet them where they are. The work of the Loveland Diversity Advisory Board will be instrumental in creating a safe, equitable, educational environment that celebrates diverse perspectives, identities, cultures, and worldviews for all our students.”
In speaking about her retirement, Peggy Johnson said in a statement issued by the District, “Working with teenagers is an unbelievable honor and seeing how they pursue their interests, overcome challenges, and succeed is a most rewarding experience.”
Johnson has spent 39 years in education, beginning her career as a student-teacher in the Fall of 1980 at Loveland High School. She went on to teach students with hearing and language impairments for 17 years and served as a Special Education Supervisor in Hamilton City Schools. She served as principal of Turpin High School for 13 years and spent the last 6 years leading Loveland High School.
Principal Peggy Johnson at the 2018 Commencement (Loveland Magazine file photo)
A release by the District announcing her retirement said, “While at LHS, Johnson expanded the Advanced Placement program, business program, increased performance on state assessments, and “was dedicated to her students” according to Loveland Director of Human Resources Charles Ogdan. “There isn’t an event that happens where Ms. Johnson isn’t there mingling with students, taking pictures, and posting on Twitter in support of student success and growth,” Ogdan said.
“I wish to thank the LHS school community for the opportunity to work with talented, passionate, and dedicated educators and students and enthusiastic supportive parents and community,” Johnson said in the statement.
There has been a terrifying surge in violence against Asians over the past year, prompting one Ohio company to take a stand on an issue it was arguably on the other side of in 2019.
There has been a drumbeat of random violence against Asians throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier this month, a man went on a shooting rampage in the Atlanta area, killing eight. Six of those victims were Asian women. Then on Monday, sickening surveillance footage showed a man in New York kicking a 65-year-old Asian woman in the stomach and then twice kicking her in the head and saying “you don’t belong here.
🚨WANTED for ASSAULT: Do you know this guy? On 3/29/21 at approx 11:40 AM, in front of 360 W 43 St in Manhattan, the suspect punched and kicked a 65-year-old woman while making anti-Asian statements. Any info? DM @NYPDTips or anonymously call them at 800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/WRE4kSHtRG
The attacks are part of an alarming trend. Nearly 3,800 instances of anti-Asian hate — most of them verbal — were reported to Stop AAPI Hate over the past year. The organization said many more unreported incidents have undoubtedly taken place.
Researchers have linked the increase in anti-Asian hate to former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric regarding the coronavirus. He repeatedly referred to it as the “China virus” and the “Kung flu.”
Last Friday, one Ohio company condemned violence against Asians.
“FirstEnergy condemns the rise in violence across the country and stands firm in our support of the Asian-American community — which includes many of our employees, customers, suppliers and stakeholders,” the company said in a tweet.
As Dave Anderson of the Energy and Policy institute flagged over the weekend, that’s a far cry from the tone of FirstEnergy-financed advertising during the 2019 fight over House Bill 6 — a $1.3 billion energy bailout that morphed into one of the biggest corruption scandals in Ohio history.
After Gov. Mike DeWine signed the bailout law, FirstEnergy and related interests funded a furious fight to stop a citizen initiative to repeal it. Much of the campaign consisted of bogus claims that the repeal effort was really a Chinese conspiracy to take over Ohio’s power grid. Some of the rhetoric in the million-dollar campaign might even have surpassed Trump’s.
“They took our manufacturing jobs,” one spot ominously opens. “They shuttered our factories. Now they’re coming for our energy jobs. The Chinese government is quietly invading our electric grid.”
As the ad makes these assertions, it flashes video of Chinese President Xi Jinping at a Communist Party function.
In another ad meant to scare Ohioans from signing the petition to repeal the bailout, the FirstEnergy-funded effort again falsely linked bailout opponents to China.
“Warning!” it said. “Don’t give your personal information to the Chinese government. Don’t sign their petition allowing China control over Ohio.”
Asked about the contrast between the stance FirstEnergy took last week and the advertising campaign it helped fund in 2019, a spokeswoman said that the company is under new management.
“FirstEnergy’s new leadership team is fully committed to diversity and inclusion and condemning violence and discrimination against Asian Americans,” the spokeswoman, Jennifer Young, said in an email. “We stand behind our statement and will continue to support and foster a workplace and world where all races, ethnicities and other targeted groups are valued and respected.”
Indeed, in October the company fired CEO Chuck Jones and other top executives after an internal investigation found that the company had made a $4 million payment to DeWine’s appointee to Ohio’s utility regulator just before the HB 6 fight heated up.
As FirstEnergy works to move past the rhetoric of 2019, Ohio’s lieutenant governor is digging in on rhetoric from last week.
On Friday, as FirstEnergy was denouncing anti-Asian violence, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted tweeted a story about Robert Redfield, former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Without providing evidence, Redfield claimed that the coronavirus had escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan, China — a claim the World Health Organization called “extremely unlikely.”
Despite that information being in the Axios story, Husted tweeted the story with the question, “So it appears it was the Wuhan Virus after all?
Ohio Sen. Tina Maharath, D-Columbus, is the daughter of Laotian refugees. She told the Associated Press that Husted’s comments echoed Trump’s and only aggravated anti-Asian sentiment.
Husted denied that.
“I was just pointing out that this is an international crisis, in my opinion, that the Chinese government is responsible for and I wanted an independent investigation,” he told the AP. “So I wasn’t trying to accomplish anything that the political left or political right thinks that I might have from that tweet other than to draw attention to the issue.”
In an article in the prestigious journal Nature Medicine, virologist Angela L. Rasmussen said that the “virus probably evolved in a bat host until an unknown spillover event into humans occurred.”
She called claims that the pandemic started with a laboratory accident or intentional engineering “outright ridiculous conspiracy theories.”
As for placing blame for the pandemic on government responses, there seems to be plenty of that to go around.
Deborah Birx, Trump’s coronavirus response coordinator, last weekend suggested to CNN that Trump’s bungled response to the pandemic may have cost hundreds of thousands of lives. A Trump supporter, Husted has avoided criticizing Trump’s coronavirus response.
Loveland, Ohio – There are so many reasons why Loveland is such a great community to be a part of; the biggest reason being the community is ALWAYS ready to pay it forward and give back to those who have made a significant impact in the lives of those who reside in Loveland and beyond!
Darnell Parker, the Loveland High School Women’s Basketball Coach, received devastating news in light of the 2020-2021 basketball season, that he was diagnosed with both Colon and Liver Cancer. Coach Parker decided to take a positive outlook on his Cancer diagnosis by sharing his story and experience with those that in some way had been touched by Cancer in hopes that he would provide both strength and encouragement for those struggling.
Click the article link below to read Coach Parker’s initial announcement to the community about his Cancer diagnosis.
After Coach Parker announced he had Cancer the community of Loveland as well as those who had been positively impacted by Coach Parker rallied around him giving as much love and support as possible. Not only did the community hold multiple fundraisers benefiting Coach Parker they also created the hashtag “ParkerStrong” placing it on both t-shirts and magnets that they then sold, giving the proceeds to Coach Parker and his family.
While Coach Parker was undergoing chemotherapy, the Women’s L.H.S Basketball Team dedicated their season to him, exerting that much more effort to have the most successful season possible. The Tigers ended their season going 20-4, winning the Eastern Cincinnati Conference (ECC) for the 2nd year in a row, and Coach Parker through it all was elected the 2020-2021 ECC Coach of the Year also for the 2nd year in a row!
A couple of Coach Parker’s top-performing athletes had a lot to say about him and his impact on their lives.
“Coach Parker has inspired me to never give up and to always find the silver lining in the worst of situations,” Jenna Batsch said, “He has taught me that every little hiccup in the road is just another opportunity to get better and he has inspired me to live every day with no regrets like it’s your last.”
“Coach Parker got some of the worst news you could ever get and if you hadn’t heard it, you wouldn’t be able to tell,” Tess Broermann said, “He always has a smile on his face, and I’m thankful for his ability to fight. He doesn’t live in fear but leads a life with confidence. He inspires me to not sulk in bad news but make the most out of every day because you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow.”
“Coach Parker is family to me, so it’s a no brainer to do what we can to help him out,” Jenna Stanton L.H.S class of 2018 and former basketball player of Coach Parker’s said, “I know that I could call him any day of the week and he’d be there for me, and you can’t say that about too many people. He’s treated me like family since the day we met and I’m so thankful I was able to play for him and Coach Keith. The Loveland community always comes out in full force to support their own so I’m excited to see the turn out for Coach Parker. He’s done so much for our community, this is the least we can do.”
Jenna now plays basketball at the College of Wooster.
Click on the image below to see Coach Parker talk all about the 2020-2021 basketball season and how he was able to coach effectively while going through chemotherapy in a Loveland Magazine TV exclusive Zoom interview!
Although Coach Darnell Parker has just recently completed round 11 of chemo treatments, he is still making a conscious effort to motivate and inspire others battling cancer to stay strong by sharing his own journey.
Coach Parker’s constant positive outlook on life and his dedication to helping L.H.S student-athletes inspired Loveland’s parents to do something extra special for Parker and his family. Beginning on Monday, April 12th, L.H.S parents Jessica Early and Jodi Stanton, and local businesses, Bishop’s Quarter, The Works, and Narrow Path Brewing Company, will be hosting “Rolling Mondays” in honor of Coach Darnell Parker.
Rolling Mondays will include basket raffles, split the pot, a “Darnell” signature cocktail, music, and a guest bartender competition in which yours truly will be competing in! A percentage of the sales generated at the business hosting the Rolling Monday will be put towards Coach Parker’s Cancer bills.
On Monday, April 12th Rolling Mondays will be held at Bishop’s Quarter with fun events going on from 6 PM until 8 PM. On Monday, April 19th Rolling Mondays will be held at The Works with a Guest Bartender Competition going on from 5 PM until 8 PM. On Monday, April 26th Rolling Mondays will be held at Narrow Path Brewing Company.
So just how did the idea of “Rolling Mondays” come about? Coach Parker supporters Jessica Early, Jodi Stanton, Scott Gordon, owner of The Works, and Loveland Magazine’s David Miller explained to us why this fundraiser is so important to them.
“Jodi Stanton and I discussed the idea of holding a fundraiser in downtown Loveland back in November when we were both organizing t-shirt fundraising. At the same time, Scott Gordon reached out asking if The Works could help support anything,” Jessica Early said, “Since the Go Fund Me and t-shirt fundraisers were going strong in November, we sort of felt it seemed best to wait until the next phase of his treatment process began.”
Early said that in addition to waiting until the next phase of Coach Parker’s treatments, they also wanted to wait to hold Rolling Mondays until vaccinations were readily available so that the event could feel safer. “We understood that our Loveland restaurants took a big hit with the Covid Pandemic and thought it would be great to combine efforts of raising funds for Darnell as well as bringing life and energy back into downtown Loveland.”
“I am so inspired by his ‘style’ of fight. I’m pretty sure most people would stop everything to focus on the fight. Darnell instead uses all aspects of his life as his fuel in the fight. Cancer robs individuals and families of energy, happiness, and positive health. No one seems to be immune from getting stuck in the web of cancer,” Early said, “The best we can do is work together as families and communities to help support those In need. Our Loveland and surrounding communities have been amazing thus far with supporting Darnell. At the same time, we (like so many others) are a community in need as we navigate thru this pandemic. I’ve been so impressed with how our local businesses have ‘hung’ in there and worked on creative ways to stay in business.”
Early shared that she knows the Loveland community will enjoy coming out to Downtown Loveland on Mondays in April to help support businesses, Darnell, and each other. “Connecting to others is so important during this time. My goal is that Darnell doesn’t have the stressor of finances while making health decisions. His battle ahead is long and there will be continued treatment and monitoring for many years.”
Jodi Stanton said, “The idea of Rolling Mondays developed from a few brainstorming conversations of ways we could help Coach Parker. The ideas were discussed early on after his diagnosis. However, we decided to wait until after the holidays and after the first couple of fundraisers including T-Shirt sales and car magnets.” Stanton explained that the idea of Rolling Mondays manifested into using multiple local restaurants/establishments and hosting the event on more than one night.
“I was actually on the interview panel for the hiring of the Varsity Women’s Basketball Coach, along with other parents and coaches. When we interviewed Coach Parker, his enthusiasm and positivity were amazing,” Stanton explained, “From day one with the program, he hit the ground running. Stanton also said that Parker made an unforgettable impact on her daughter’s high school basketball career. “The funny part is, they didn’t always see eye to eye, but, their player/coach relationship turned into something special.”
“Unfortunately, me and my family have been directly affected by colon cancer. My father was diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon Cancer 17 years ago,” Stanton said, “I’m thankful that research has been expanded and there are additional treatment options available to others today fighting this awful disease. I think our Loveland Community shows time and time again why Loveland is so special. When we have someone who has given so much to the athletes in our community, this is the perfect opportunity for others to give back!”
Stanton said that she has no doubt Loveland will show up and provide support not only to Coach Parker but to our amazing restaurants and brewery who have stepped up to assist. “With the pandemic affecting our local businesses over the past year, this is a perfect chance to help out not only the Loveland businesses but Coach Parker as well. I don’t know that we have a certain monetary goal in mind. Anything we can do to help him and his fiancée, Sam, during this difficult time and to let them know they are not fighting this alone will be more than we could have hoped for. Like I mentioned earlier, Coach Parker is a special kind of guy. He invested so much time and energy into our players, our daughters, and the L.H.S Basketball program. Throughout that short time for me, he and Sam have also become two people I call friends. This is just a small opportunity to help out friends.”
Scott Gordon, the owner of The Works, talked about his connection to Coach Parker and why he holds this cause so close to his heart. “I am a Loveland High School grad ‘85 and later came back to help coach baseball for several years. I have too many connections to Cancer and hate hearing when people I know are fighting that battle,” Gordon said, “Coach Parker was my nephew Alec Gordon’s coach many years ago in Glen Este. I don’t know Coach Parker personally, but our paths have crossed a lot over the years. Our staff at The Works knows that the money raised is a small part of this, raising awareness for the ongoing battles with cancer is of course a small part. But, showing a member of our community they are appreciated and loved while battling for their life and health is what Loveland is all about.”
Loveland Magazine’s very own David Miller also weighed in on how Coach Parker has left a lasting impression on his life. “Coach is such a positive expression of all things Loveland. Watching him coach, since he has been here, has been so much fun,” Miller said, “He has a unique way of showing displeasure with an official that never seems to get him in trouble, and his coaching style during games is always to encourage and applaud his players. His constant smile is pretty contagious and it spreads to the crowd.” David added that he was delighted to be asked to help with “Rolling Mondays” and was even more gracious that Loveland Magazine was selected to be the Media Sponsor.
Here at Loveland Magazine, we encourage you to attend Rolling Mondays in support of Coach Darnell Parker. There is no better way to give back to the community than to support an individual that has given so much of himself to the community of Loveland and L.H.S. Join me on April 12th at Bishop’s Quarter as we rally around Coach Parker and his family for one awesome time in Downtown Loveland!
Check out past Loveland Magazine articles featuring Coach Darnell Parker below!
After a disastrous January, coronavirus cases in Ohio steadily marched downward. Then in recent weeks, they hit a plateau. Now, even as greater numbers of Ohioans get vaccinated, case numbers might be inching back up.
Ohio might be part of a disturbing national trend.
The Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center published a set of graphs titled, “America is reopening. But have we flattened the curve?” They map shows trends for each state and color codes them — red for states with increasing case numbers and blue for states where numbers are dropping. How deeply shaded they are indicates how quickly cases are dropping or falling in a state.
The red in Ohio’s graph is so light that it barely amounts to a blush. More disturbing, is that every neighboring state but one is a deeper shade. Kentucky is a very light shade of blue.
The trend extends across the country. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week said that the seven-day average of coronavirus cases nationally was up 7% over a week earlier.
That prompted CDC Director Rochelle Walensky on Monday to say she felt a sense of “impending doom.”
“Now is one of those times when I have to share the truth and I have to hope and trust you will listen,” Walensky said, according to the Charlotte Observer. “Right now I’m scared.”
Those comments prompted President Joe Biden to call on governors in states that had ended their mask mandates to reinstate them.
“People are letting up on precautions, which is a very bad thing,” Biden said, according to the New York Times. “We are giving up hard-fought, hard-won gains.”
The recent rise in cases is probably driven by several factors.
States like Texas have lifted mask mandates and indoor capacity limits. Not only does that take away tools to limit the spread of the virus, it could send a message that the pandemic is over and precautions are no longer needed.
Ohio’s mask and other orders remain in place. And Gov. Mike DeWine rarely misses an opportunity to urge the public to take precautions against the virus.
But as the weather is warming and vaccines are becoming increasingly available, people might be letting their guard down. For example, about half the clientele was unmasked on Saturday at a crowded Columbus convenience store near the softball fields at Lou Berliner Park.
Also, several new variants of the virus are spreading more rapidly than their predecessors. As they crowd out earlier versions of the virus, the spread — and mutations into even more dangerous variants — could accelerate further, experts have said.
The CDC on Sunday said that the number of cases of the “UK variant” — B.1.1.7 — had jumped 115% in Ohio over a week earlier, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
Also potentially hampering Ohio’s fight to squelch the disease is that the state will soon have plenty of vaccine, but millions of unvaccinated Ohioans.
Such “vaccine reluctance” stems from several sources.
Some members of minority groups might distrust the health system after a history of abuse or neglect, meanwhile racial inequities in health care access still impede care. Some people have bought into the myth that vaccines cause autism. Still others might not be able to conveniently find one.
There is also a political dimension.
After a year of former President Donald Trump making false statements about the coronavirus, an NPR-PBS-Marist poll conducted earlier this month found that almost half of Republican men said they had no intention of getting vaccinated.
It appears that many Ohioans are skipping the shot for one reason or another.
Cohorts of older Ohioans who have been eligible for the vaccine for more than a month appear to show the trend. They approach about 70% getting at least a first dose and then the increase slows to a crawl.
“There is value in having no child feel rejected and invisible in their own school. If I can help it, none of them will.“
A story by a Loveland resident presented by Loveland Magazine in collaboration with the Loveland Diversity Advisory Board
A sharp pain startled me. Something had pelted my head. Whatever it was ricocheted to the floor with a hollow plink. I rubbed the back of my skull and looked around trying to determine what had hit me. As I did, I took another sharp blow, this time to the cheek, followed again by a distinct plinking sound. The next shot hit my shoulder. Then my neck. Finally one of the projectiles flew past my face and I was able to identify what was being hurled toward me.
It was a penny.
I looked in the direction from which the projectiles originated and saw a lunch table of my fifth grade peers laughing, trying to look inconspicuous in the conspicuous way guilty ten year-olds have a tendency to do.
“Did she pick them up?” one whispered.
“Shhhhh! She’s looking over here,” the other said, waving his hand in the universal sign to keep it down.
More giggles.
x
I sheepishly rubbed my cheek, which by now was smarting and red. I looked down at the floor where several pennies lay in a telltale scatter at my feet.
Another sharp pain.
“Pick up the pennies, Jew,” someone from the table jeered, just loud enough for me to hear.
I felt the tears welling behind my eyes and willed them not to escape. No one would see me cry. Despite my best intentions, a tear leaked out, betraying me as it rolled down my injured cheek. Its saltiness stung against the broken skin.
x
The perpetrators weren’t the school’s “bad” kids. They weren’t the “troublemakers.” They weren’t the kids who wadded up the stiff brown paper towels, wet them, and threw them up on the bathroom ceiling where they’d stick and harden like cement.
These were the kids who raised their hands to read aloud from the social studies textbook when the teacher asked for volunteers.They attended PSR at the church down the street from my house where a giant tree sprouted pink blossoms each spring before dropping her petals in a sudden heap. These were the kids who, if I’d told a teacher, would elicit the response of ‘Well now that doesn’t sound like them. I’m sure they meant nothing by it. Have you tried ignoring it?’
x
The lone tear fell onto the lunch table, a solitary puddle on the faux wood facade. Pennies? What does that even mean? I pondered this question silently, focusing intently on the fallen tear to prevent more from spilling out. I felt ashamed and embarrassed. I never mentioned it again.
This was the first time it happened, but it wouldn’t be the last.
At ten years old, I didn’t understand the deeply anti-Semitic implications of these kids’ actions. As an adult, I know they picked up on these stereotypes somewhere. I feel confident that the hateful message was learned outside of school, however subtly transmitted. Maybe slips of the tongue by their parents. Maybe from the innuendos presented in the news channel their family watched. Maybe from friends whose families held biases. But what about what they learned–or didn’t learn–while they were in school? What was the message there?
There was nary a mention of Jewish people in my elementary school. Despite a small population of Jewish students, the curriculum had settled into a comfortable rhythm they saw no need to update. I remember clearly how each year my teachers were startled when they learned that I didn’t have a Christmas tree.
“What do you mean?” my second grade teacher asked incredulously. “Everyone has a Christmas tree,” And so it went.
x
I accepted my lot early. I dutifully completed my “Letter to Santa” assignments each December prior to “Christmas Break” where I’d take home the ornament I had to make for my non-existent tree. In the spring, I mustered up fake gusto to color oil pastel Easter egg cut-outs. I completed the multiplication worksheets asking how much tinsel Jane needs to trim her Christmas tree and conducted the science experiments on decorating Easter eggs with various substances, bright red beet juice staining my hands for days.
The message coming from the school was clear: one specific religion was the universal norm. Obviously, I was different. That made me a target.
I share this with you to illustrate that representation matters. While some may disagree, they are likely the ones who have never been in a situation where they were the “other.”
Representation doesn’t mean anyone has to alter their own convictions or feel put on the defensive. It doesn’t mean one side is right and the other is wrong, that there’s a hidden agenda, or that any one lifestyle is being attacked.
What it does do is allow students to learn that the world is full of people whose beliefs, values, and opinions differ from their own. It means the students who aren’t part of the status quo feel a sense of belonging. At its best, it fosters mutual understanding and civility. Representation neither promotes one lifestyle, race, or religion, nor detracts from another. All representation does is to allow students to see that there are different ways of being and that there is validity in who we ALL are.
x
While I cannot change my school experience, we owe it to our own kids the opportunity to explore diversity through equal and prominent representation. If you’re a minority, there is value in seeing someone like yourself; if you’re in the majority, there is value in seeing that there’s an actual living, feeling human being behind the label. Most importantly, there is value in having no child feel rejected and invisible in their own school. If I can help it, none of them will.
Columbus, Ohio – After a spate of seven mass shootings around the U.S. in seven days, Ohio House Republicans introduced legislation that would allow Ohioans aged 21 and older to carry a concealed weapon without a license.
House Bill 227, introduced Tuesday by Republican Reps. Thomas Brinkman and Kris Jordan and co-sponsored by 20 more, also contains other gun rights expansions including:
Removing the requirement that licensed gun owners “promptly” notify a police officer during a stop that they have a weapon in the car. They would only need to tell the officer about the weapon if asked.
Creating an expungement system for people previously convicted of concealed weapons offenses
Under current law, Ohioans must seek licensure from their local sheriff to lawfully carry a concealed weapon. They must complete eight hours of firearms training and complete criminal background and mental competency checks.
Constitutional carry bills like HB 227 have been introduced in every recent legislative session. However, gun advocates see this two-year session as critical, given it’s the last assembly comprised of members representing gerrymandered districts drawn on partisan lines that favor Republicans.
“This is the session in which we need to pass a constitutional carry bill,” said Rob Sexton, legislative affairs director of Buckeye Firearms Association, discussing the bill and redistricting in a podcast last month.
“This is the time to get it done.”
The bill’s introduction comes on the heels of seven mass shootings (four or more killed or wounded) in seven days in the U.S., according to a CNN report.
Ohio House Speaker Bob Cupp, R-Lima, declined to comment on the legislation while speaking to reporters Tuesday, saying he’s “reserving judgement” until he reads the bill. However, he generally affirmed his support for the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Should the bill advance through the legislature, Gov. Mike DeWine could be a wildcard.
After nine died and 27 were injured in a mass shooting in Dayton, he pushed for a comparatively modest set of gun control measures like increasing gun crime penalties and expanding a current legal mechanism allowing a judge to temporarily seize weapons from people with substance abuse or mental health problems.
Lawmakers shelved the proposal and instead passed “stand your ground” legislation last year, removing the legal requirement to retreat before using deadly force in self-defense. DeWine repeatedly raised concerns with the bill, but unexpectedly signed it in the “spirit of cooperation” with lawmakers, he said at the time.
DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said the governor has not yet taken a position on the legislation.
In 2004, Gov. Bob Taft signed Ohio’s constitutional carry program into law. Ohio Republicans expanded places where license holders can carry and decreased training requirements to obtain the license on multiple occasions since then.
In 2020, more than 169,000 Ohioans were licensed to carry a concealed weapon. More than 400 licenses were revoked for causes including felony convictions and mental incompetence, according to a report from the attorney general.
Do you know that Cochrane exhibited her invention at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago? She won the highest prize for “best mechanical construction, durability, and adaptation to its line of work”.
Loveland, Ohio – This is the “Thought Exchange” survey to build the profile the Board of Education can use for the Loveland City School District superintendent search.
For the past several years, students with special needs at Loveland High School have designed hand-made blank greeting cards to gain valuable work experience. We use the money made from the profit of the sales to buy supplies for the room, activities, and often celebrations.
Students design, create, package, and sell these handmade cards to the community and staff members of Loveland. This year we were unable to attend our biggest sales event, The Loveland Craft Fair, due to the pandemic.
The profits from this fair help fund our classrooms and give our students the opportunity to practice social and life skills during outings in our community.
We are looking for new ways to get our craft and our students’ experiences out there.
The community will be able to meet some of our talented students and purchase these amazing cards this Spring at the Loveland Farmers Market. We will have cards available for cash purchase for $2.00 per pack of 4. You can choose from a variety of cards including, happy birthday, thank you, thinking of you, get well soon, tiger paw, and many more.
They are also available for cash purchase through this sign-up Order Form .
We look forward to seeing you again in our community!
