Crews are shown above replacing water lines earlier this year on Court Street. Marysville officials expressed frustration at the slow pace of the work, and ended up taking the original contractor off the project.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Mac Cordell)
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Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part series on 2017’s top 10 local stories as selected by the Journal-Tribune newsroom staff. This story details the stories in positions 1 through 5. Stories 6 through 10 were included in Thursday’s edition. A column explaining the methodology for selecting these stories appears on page 4A.
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The top stories of 2017 included both the dramatic and the mundane, good news and bad, breaking news and stories that have been playing out for years. A pair of murders, one more than 30 years ago, bookend the top half of Journal-Tribune’s stories of the year. Growing pains, in Marysville and in Jerome Township, fill the center of the center of the list.
1- Murder on Fourth Street
In the early morning hours of May 27, Todd Michael Lane, 43, allegedly murdered his roommate, John Dixon.
Union County Prosecutor David Phillips said Dixon and Lane “had been friends for a number of years.” Dixon, 45, owned the home where he and Lane lived.
The prosecutor said there were accounts that Lane and Dixon had, “had some disagreements throughout the day” before the alleged assault. Phillips said it is unclear what the disagreements were about, but none of them rose to the physical level.
During the evening, Lane and Dixon went to a local bar at separate times. Lane left early and after the bar closed, Dixon went home with several friends to listen to music.
Eventually a female friend went upstairs to Dixon’s room and went to bed. Phillips said that about 4:15 a.m., Lane went to Dixon’s room and the men began to argue then fight. A female guest in the home tried to separate the men, but ended up with a slight injury. She then went downstairs to get another guest at the home, hoping he could break-up the fight. Lane allegedly bit that man on the face, pulled his hair and scratched him.
According to law enforcement officials, the fight ended and at 4:31 a.m., Dixon called 911 to report that his friend and roommate had assaulted him. On the call, Dixon gave dispatchers the wrong address, then confirmed that incorrect address.
The 911 operator asks Dixon a series of questions then transfers him to a Marysville police dispatcher. He gives that dispatcher the correct address, but responders were already on their way to the wrong home, blocks away.
Dixon said he was outside and Lane was upstairs in the home.
At that point, 4:37 a.m., the dispatcher tells Dixon, “My officer is there. I am going to let you speak with him. Ok?
“Ok,” said Dixon, and the call ends.
Unfortunately for Dixon, the officers were not at his home but rather at the incorrect. They quickly determined they were at the wrong home and at 4:37 a.m., officials learn the correct address. At 4:38 a.m., officers arrive at the correct address, 627 E. Fourth St.
During the time it took officers to determine they were at the wrong home and find the right one, Lane allegedly attacked Dixon. When they arrived at the correct address police found Lane on the porch standing over Dixon. Lane ran into the home, resisted the officers and was forcibly arrested by two officers.
Medics are called to the scene as the injuries were almost immediately life threatening.
Dixon stopped breathing on the way to Memorial Hospital, but was revived and eventually taken to The Ohio State University Medical Center.
“At OSU, they determined he had suffered a brain death,” Phillips said.
He said Dixon was kept on life support until family members could come to the hospital. Dixon died May 29, at The Ohio State University Medical Center.
Lane was indicted by the Union County Grand Jury, charged with one count of murder as well as one count each of felonious assault and tampering with evidence. Phillips said the murder charge carries a sentence of 15 years to life in prison.
Lane is still being held in the Tri-County Jail with a bond set at $500,000.
2 – Construction, utilities make city streets a mess
One of the most visible ongoing stories from 2017 was work done to City of Marysville streets. WOW! Cable laid down lines, the city worked to repave several roads in town and work on the overpasses at U.S. 31 and Scottslawn Road wrapped up.
It was the city’s water line replacement plan, however, that generated the most frustration among both residents and city officials. After delays that pushed the project more than a month past its planned end date and poor cleanup work by contractor Rock River Construction, city council voted in November to take the company off the project.
“There’s been a level of frustration with all of us with the waterline project,” said City Manager Terry Emery at a November council meeting.
The remaining work was given to Beheler Excavating, who were in the midst of installing roads at the new technology park on Industrial Parkway. While concrete was poured in the trenches for the winter season, affected roads will be repaved in the spring of 2018.
“We had until Nov. 1,” said of the original contractor. “We still aren’t making any progess.”
After months of construction, the Ohio Department of Transportation finished its work to replace bridges over U.S. 33 at Route 31 and Scottslawn Road. Additionally, the city purchased a new traffic light on the Route 31 Bridge that had been temporary during the work. Officials hope it will ease traffic in that spot.
ODOT also began construction of a line of fiber optic cables from the Dublin Metro Data Center to East Liberty. ODOT was hoping to get the project finished by October, but was a bit late.
Regardless, officials also made plans for future work to lay down fiber from the Traffic Research Center in East Liberty, along Northwest Parkway, then south along Industrial Parkway before connecting to Dublin fiber lines at U.S. 33 and Route 161.
3 – Honda celebrates big year
Honda’s 35th year of producing cars in Marysville was a big one for the Japanese automaker. Coinciding with the birthday milestone, Honda launched the all-new 2018 Honda Accord. Honda associates celebrated the production launch in September, and at that event, the company announced it would create about 200 new jobs and investment more than $220 million at the Marysville plant along with adding 100 jobs and investing about $47 million at the Anna Engine Plant for production of the 2018 Accord models.
“The new jobs and production growth will enable us to meet anticipated strong demand for the new Honda Accord,” said Rob May, MAP plant manager. “Reimagining the new Accord and bringing it to life took an incredible effort by our project team and our associates. The privilege of producing America’s best-selling car right here in Marysville is a significant point of pride for our associates and our company.”
The Marysville produced Accord was named “America’s Best Sedan” by Car and Driver magazine, and for the 32nd year in a row, the magazine named the Accord among the “10 Best Cars of the Year.”
In September, Sen. Rob Portman completed his Ohio Auto Manufacturing Jobs Tour at the Marysville Auto Plant. Before he left, the Senator shot a promotional video for the 2018 Accord.
Officials also announced Honda will begin making the Accord hybrid in Marysville again. The Hybrid version had been built locally but production was moved to Japan several years ago.
The Acura NSX, produced exclusively at the Performance Manufacturing Center in Marysville, was selected as a 2017 AUTOMOBILE All-Star and the 2017 Acura NSX was named “Best Dream Machine” of the 2017 MotorWeek Drivers’ Choice Awards.
The company also donated $1.8 million to a variety of health care facilities in the area. Honda was identified as one of the driving forces behind an effort to make Marysville the first fully connected city in the world. Many communities have isolated sections of streets that have capabilities for cars and infrastructure to communicate and some freeways have the technology, but Marysville will be the first city to have every intersection connected.
“It was really kind of a vision of Honda,” City Manager Terry Emery said. “They really wanted a community application. Honda felt Marysville is about the right size community to look at from a connectivity stand point on this technology.”
The company will help equip 1,200 vehicles that regularly drive the streets in the city with on-board units that can communicate with street and road signals and with other vehicles equipped with the units. It will also help install Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) towers at 27 intersections in the city to communicate with each other, with city officials and with the on-board units.
4 – Jerome Township Annexation on again, off again
After years of legal wrangling, one piece of Jerome Township appears to be staying in the township and another appears to be going into Dublin.
In August, the Jerome Township Trustees approved an agreement to drop its annexation appeal of the Gorden properties on the northeast corner of Post and Hyland Croy roads.
In exchange, Schottenstein agreed to withdraw a request to annex the 72-acre Jacquemin and Wesner properties on the west side of Hyland Croy road, directly across from the Gorden property. Schottenstein also agreed to, “reimburse the Township for certain actual and reasonable legal fees and expenses” incurred by the township in connection with the filing and dismissal of the annexation appeal.
Earlier this year, Roger W. Gorden and Denise A. Gorden petitioned the commissioners to move their 44-acre property out of the township and into Dublin. The property is bordered on two sides by Dublin and by Post and Hyland Croy roads on the other. In June, the Union County commissioners approved a request.
The developer has said a community targeting older adults with no children at home would be built on the site.
Additionally, with the Jacquemin and Wesner properties staying in Jerome Township, developers are moving forward with a plan to create a mixed-use development that would include retail, apartment housing a senior living facility and other commercial and residential options. The Jacquemins and developers for the project repeatedly said they did not want to annex into Dublin, but city officials and residents worked to stop the rezoning process and repeatedly stalled the project saying it did not fit with their plans for the area.
A plan proposed by Dublin was released and it looked nearly identical to the one it opposed for Jerome Township.
In June, the township approved an agreement to place certain tax benefits and restrictions on the Jacquemin and Wesner properties. In exchange for certain tax breaks, the developer agreed to make road, water, sewer, sidewalk and other infrastructure improvements.
Those infrastructure improvements had been a major stumbling block for development in the area.
While county officials are concerned about the funding for needed improvements, the township is waiting on Marysville to approve a Joint Economic Development District (JEDD), which would generate at least a portion of the needed funds. While Marysville officials initially praised the JEDD creation, it has yet to be signed by the city. Marysville officials would like to see the district split. City officials would like one JEDD east of U.S. 33, which would be negotiated between Marysville, Jerome Township and Dublin. A second district, west of U.S. 33, would not include Dublin.
5 – Stanley Penn denied parole again
Stanley Penn, the man who in 1982 shot and killed Sheriff Harry Wolfe, was denied parole for a second time.
In 1983, Penn pleaded guilty to aggravated murder, aggravated burglary and grand theft and was sentenced to 27 years to life in prison.
In 2007, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s Parole Board denied Penn’s first application for parole and set his next opportunity in 10 years.
This year law enforcement and county officials along with the general public rallied to keep Penn, now 68, in prison. They sent letters and spoke to the parole board, arguing Penn should not be released because he was on probation at the time of the murder, he has no skills or social network and will likely return to crime and that his actions still impact the community.
In December, the parole board denied Penn’s release. He will not be eligible again for parole until December of 2027.
“We are relieved once again that he has been denied parole,” said Cindy Wolfe, who is married to Harry Wolfe’s son, Steve.
Union County Sheriff Jamie Patton said he and law enforcement officials statewide are “absolutely pleased” with the parole board’s decision.