For the second consecutive year, murder leads the Journal-Tribune Top 10 list. As voted by Journal-Tribune newsroom staff, September’s murder suicide was the top story of 2018. Additionally, the top story from last year, Todd Lane’s murder of his friend and roommate John Dixon, reappeared on this year’s list of top stories as Lane went to trial, pleaded guilty and was sentenced. Other stories — Honda’s accomplishments, development in Jerome Township, city infrastructure and Memorial Health expansion — also found spots on last year’s list as well as this year’s.
As always, some of this year’s top stories were about what got the community talking — the two murders as well s the police department’s decision to purchase an armored vehicle.
Even so, many of this year’s top stories were not about a single act, but rather were developing story lines. Many dealt with the growth in the community — bridge replacement, Jerome Development, school levies and stadium expansion and hospital growth — reflect the growth and growing pains of Union County. The community’s role as a leader in smart automotive technology is also reflected in the smart intersection showcase and the city’s innovation park development making appearances on the list.
1-Body found in freezer
Local authorities found a grizzly scene in Sept. 8 when they discovered the body of Diane West in a chest freezer in the basement of her Milstone Drive home.
Her husband, Kenneth, was nowhere to be found.
According to a release from the Marysville Division of Police, the daughter of the victim requested a well-being check Sept. 6.
“The family member was concerned as she had not seen or spoken to her mother in several weeks,” states the release. “She had received text messages from her mother’s phone, however she did not believe they were written by her mother.”
When officers first went to the home, no one answered the door. By Saturday, Marysville Police detectives had received a warrant. Police and agents from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) began their search of the residence a little after 2 p.m.
Marysville Deputy Police Chief Tony Brooks said BCI was called since several concerning factors intersected. Nobody had received contact from Diane for several weeks, her texts seemed suspicious and Kenneth could not be located.
“We didn’t know what we were going to find,” Brooks said. “As time went by, the concern for her wellbeing rose.”
Authorities found Diane’s body in a small chest freezer in the basement. Union County Coroner’s Office Investigator Lance Emberling said it’s estimated that Diane West had been dead for anywhere from three to six weeks.
Kenneth was found dead Sunday in a hotel in Galloway, according to Emberling. Emberling said West appears to have committed suicide with a gun, and left a note.
Kenneth reportedly wasn’t paying his share of the bills, and the pair began arguing. Eventually, it came to a head.
“They had a fight and she punched him and he basically, in a nutshell, he was tired of her stuff,” Emberling said.
It referred to Diane’s “constant nagging,” and said she was “never satisfied.” Union County Coroner’s Office officials, however, said it might have been more a case of a husband not pulling his weight.
2-Honda howcases smart intersection
On Oct. 4, the eyes of the tech and automotive worlds were on Marysville as Honda demonstrated for the first time publically it’s smart intersection technology.
The technology, mounted above the four cross sides of the intersection at Main and Fifth Streets in Marysville, allows infrastructure and other vehicles to communicate with each other.
The cameras capture bird’s-eye-view video of the area. Honda’s software creates a 360-degree image of the intersection and identifies cars and other moving objects, such as pedestrians, motorcycles and emergency vehicles, and broadcasts important information to surrounding connected vehicles. On-board computers decode the information and, when necessary, provide visible and audible alerts to the driver.
At the demonstration, city and company officials stressed that Marysville’s is the only real-world application of the Smart Intersection technology. They said a public-private partnership allowed Marysville to be the test bed for the Smart Intersection technology.
Over the next months, every intersection in Marysville will be equipped with the smart technology. Additionally, company and city officials are planning to equip nearly 1,400 local vehicles with onboard units that will be able to communicate with the infrastructure-based technology and with each other.
Marysville City Manager Terry Emery said the intersection is part of the city’s bigger 33 Smart Mobility Corridor project. Through the partnership, with help from the state and federal government, is installing Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) towers along U.S. 33, meaning equipped vehicles will be able to get on the freeway in Dublin drive to and around Marysville then drive back, staying connected to the infrastructure the whole time.
Officials have said the testing will allow developers to tap into nearly limitless applications.
3-Lane pleads guilty, sentenced
In October, Todd Lane was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his involvement in the 2017 death of his friend and roommate, John Dixon.
Initially charged with murder, Lane, 44, was in the third day of his August trial when a plea agreement was reached. Prosecutors amended the murder charge to involuntary manslaughter and dropped a felonious assault charge against him. In exchange, Lane pleaded to one count each of involuntary manslaughter, a felony of the first degree, and tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony.
Lane killed Dixon, 45, of Marysville following a night drinking and an eventual argument May 27, 2017 at the home the men shared at 627 E. Fourth St., Marysville.
According to testimony during the trial, on May 26, Lane and several friends were at a bar. Lane left early, shortly after Dixon arrived. When the bar closed, Dixon went home with several friends. In the early morning hours, Lane and one of those friends began fighting. Dixon also eventually became involved in the fight.
When the fight broke, Dixon called 911. He initially gave dispatchers the wrong address and confirmed it. The error delayed first responders.
When police arrived at the address given by Dixon, they found Lane standing over Dixon, who was face down on the porch with a head injury not breathing.
Lane ran into the home where officers tackled and arrested him.
Dixon stopped breathing on the way to Memorial Hospital but was revived and taken to The Ohio State University Medical Center, where he died two days later.
4-Main Street Bridge replaced
The Main Street Bridge in Marysville was closed for several months this year, causing some light traffic headaches and big business problems.
“I think the state and the city owe us money,” said Rich Cencula, owner of Minit Lube on Main Street.
He’s still calculating losses, but Cencula estimates his revenue was down 25 percent during the period the bridge was closed down.
The Main Street Bridge was closed in February and in July. Earlier this year, Cencula said he’s comparing what he made last year during the same time with what he made during the closure.
“It has affected all of us down here,” he said.
ODOT announced the project more than a year before it began. The goal was to replace the aging bridge with a new one. While the project was slated to start in March, it was moved up to Feb. 19. It then pushed back from the original end date in June, to July 17.
A fact sheet on the city’s website has the project costing the Ohio Department of Transportation an estimated $3 million. The project was completely funded by the state, with no money coming from the city.
5-Jerome Township continues development
Jerome Township remains one of the fastest growing townships in the state and that growth is causing a variety of issues.
In February, the county’s board of elections rejected has rejected a series of petitions that would have allowed Jerome Township residents to vote on a proposed housing development. The decision cleared the way for the proposed 439-lot Villages at Glacier Pointe to be developed on 248.6 acres on McKitrick Road, north of Mitchell-DeWitt Road.
Also in February, the township’s Board of Zoning Appeals approved a pair of requests, paving the way for a controversial FedEx trucking center in the community.
The ground distribution site is planned for a 99-acre site on Industrial Parkway. Officials expect the developer to invest more than $50 million dollars into the regional facility that will create about 250 jobs, many of them for drivers, but about 50 to 75 working in the building.
Several residents have appealed the decision with the Union County Common Pleas Court, citing noise and safety concerns.
The Ohio Department of Transportation unveiled a plan to widen the intersection of U.S. 42 and Industrial Parkway as well as the interchange of U.S. 42 and U.S. 33 and to build signals on U.S. 42 at both sides of the U.S. 33 interchange.
This summer construction began on the 60-acre development known as Jerome Grand at Jacquemin Farms. The development includes a 300-residence rental community, a 10-acre independent and assisted-living care facility area and retail as well as an enhanced farmers market. The rental community is expected to open early next year.
Throughout the year, Marysville and Jerome Township continued discussions on a joint economic development district that would allow the city to extend water and sewer service to a portion of southeast Jerome Township. The agreement would also impose Marysville’s income tax on new commercial or industrial development in the area.
6-Marysville School District passes levies
The Marysville School District had two levy issues pass this November.
One of them was a 6.56-mill continuing renewal levy and the other was an initiative to switch funding from its bond reserve to its permanent improvements fund.
The levy passed with 7,972 people supporting and 4,232 people opposing it. However, the bond issue passed with 6,256 voters supporting and 5,927 people opposing it.
The levy generates $3.2 million a year for operating expenses, and its renewal made sure voters would retain a 10-percent rollback on their taxes. The levy has been in place since 1989.
If the levy didn’t pass, the district would have the opportunity to place it back on the ballot for spring and fall 2019.
With the levy and issue passing, the continued funding can go toward an additional school resource officer (SRO). An SRO was needed because the district reported a shortage in officers watching the schools.
Since the bond fund already has a plentiful amount in reserve, the money will now be directed to the operational fund to extend the district’s money.
The district hopes it does not have to introduce new money proposals until 2023.
7-Marysville P.D. purchases armored vehicle
City officials presented plans to purchase a Ballistic Armored Tactical Transport (BATT) vehicle to the city’s finance committee in July, which unanimously voted to recommend it.
“It’s not a tank, it’s not a military vehicle, but it is a ballistic shield,” said Deputy Chief Bo Spain.
Officials also presented it to the public safety committee earlier that day, which unanimously supported it.
Finance Director Justin Nahvi said the vehicle will cost about $241,300. To pay for it, about $166,300 would come from the police department’s trust fund, made up of confiscated money from criminal cases. Also, about $75,000 would come from the general fund. As new money is added to the police trust fund, the general fund would be reimbursed.
Officials say the vehicle will allow officers to execute dangerous warrants more safely. Spain said that on July 2, the city got a call from the Sheriff’s Office to request assistance from the city’s SRT executing a search and arrest warrant on Watkins Road. Spain said they knew the suspect had been doing meth for about two weeks, and he knew he was armed.
“Here we go on this mission and we do not have any protection,” Spain said. “The only protection we have was afforded by the suspect who had a dump truck in his driveway.”
8-Memorial breaks ground on expansion project
In the spring of 2018, contractors began moving ground for Memorial Health’s long planned Memorial 2020 project. As the year closes out, the steel for the three-story inpatient tower has vastly changed the hospital campus appearance.
The new inpatient and outpatient pavilions are part of the $50-million project that will provide state-of-the-art facilities and replace all existing patient rooms with the exception of those in the obstetrics and nursery department.
The inpatient pavilion, on the northeast corner of the campus, will house 36 new patient rooms, as well as 12 unfinished rooms for future expansion. The modernized rooms will have full, private bathrooms. The rooms are adaptable so patients may remain in the same space, even if their medical needs change.
The project also includes the construction of an outpatient pavilion, on the west side of the campus, which will provide space for a number of health services, with a convenient drop-off area and nearby parking. The outpatient facility will house lab space, oncology, neurosurgery, nephrology, rheumatology, diabetes education, medication therapies, gastroenterology neurology, a wellness center, cardiac rehabilitation and pulmonary rehabilitation. Of the cost of the project, Memorial Health conducted a fundraising campaign to cover $4 million of the cost of the new facilities. The system reached this goal near the end of 2018, but he system will continue to sell engraved brick pavers, to be placed near the inpatient pavilion, through mid-February.
Memorial officials expect both pavilions to open in late 2019.
9-Marysville moves forward with stadium project
The Marysville High School stadium project is planned to be completed before the first football game of the 2019 season, with the Bunsold Middle School stadium project nearing completion.
According to J-T articles, the project looks to renovate the high school stadium by building an adjoining track facility and create a football and track facility at Bunsold Middle School using permanent improvement fund dollars. The two football fields, which could also feature soccer and lacrosse, would have artificial turf. Plans were revealed in 2017, with an estimated cost of $8.4 million.
In January, MSA Architects was contracted to replace Schorr Architects of Dublin on overseeing the stadium renovations. At the time, the project yielded an $8.9 million price tag, and other details of the project were subject to change.
In April, MSA Sports, owned by MSA Architects, revealed changes to the project. These included adding bleachers, an enhanced entryway with concession and the donor wall being moved to the main walkup area to the southern entrance.
In August, Bruce Daniels, operator of Honda Marysville, pledged $750,000 to the project fund, and will be spread out over the next 10 years.
Late in the year the project experienced some snags. The stadium costs were estimated at $7.14 million, but each contractor who bid for the project returned with too high of bids.
The district then tweaked the project’s details. It was decided the district will direct purchase turf, lighting and bleachers to drive down the project bid estimate. The bleachers will also be constructed from a different metal.
The project’s cost estimate now totals at $5.73 million, and officials hope to open bids during the January 2019 board of education meeting.
10-Innovation Park in place
This year saw the first rumblings of activity at the Innovation Park site on Industrial Parkway.
Union County received $1.5 million to create what officials are calling the Automotive and Mobility Innovation Center (AMIC).
The Union County Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) requested $2.1 million in 2018 to construct a 20,000-square-foot educational and entrepreneurial facility as part of the 33 Innovation Park in Marysville. State officials approved $1.5 million for the project as part of the state’s capital budget.
Officials said the AMIC will house an entrepreneurial center and business incubator, office and co-working space for emerging companies as well as state agencies, a testing lab, a data center, space for k-12 and higher education institution and a display area to promote and educate citizens on smart mobility.
While the state will pay $1.5 million, the overall price tag is estimated at $3.9 million. Phillips said that as part of that, the City of Marysville would donate land inside the Innovation Park. That land donation is estimated at $560,000 with an additional $201,300 of infrastructure development pledged. Phillips said there are two potential sites within the Innovation Park — one on Industrial Parkway and the other on U.S. 33.
According to information sent to the state, partners as well as developers who could collect rent from tenants would pay the remainder of the cost for the center.
Phillips said the MEC, which services more traditional entrepreneurs, will continue. He said that while the CIC is looking for a management group to run the AMIC, it has learned some lessons that will carry over.
Marysville City Council also passed legislation allowing Elford Construction to be the first builder at the Innovation Park. They’re currently planning on constructing a spec building, which officials hope can attract other potential tenants.
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Other stories considered but not making the top 10 story list include: a flu outbreak in January, other developments in the ongoing story of the U.S. 33 Corridor, robbers targeting local pharmacies, changes in adaministration at local school districts, soybean tariffs effecting local farmers, a stand-off at Honda caused by an ax-wielding employee, the city’s new alcohol district, Plain City extanding its water lines and making a deal with Columbus, a Fairbanks Board of Education member getting into legal trouble, Honda reducing production on certain vehicles, a performance by Luke Bryan, an Uber driver charged with rape, escaped West Central inmates, a car chase in Marysville resulting in a crash, an enrollment bulge at local schools, Chris Schmenk voted as the county’s first female commissioner, the influence Mill Valley on this year’s election, parents filing a federal lawsuit against Triad in relation to bullying, Triad officials tackling the problem of student vaping and a Triad officials banning backpacks in schools.