 |
November 2008 |
 |
|
|
|
|
By MATT NICHOLS
Staff Writer
A former Wapakoneta law enforcement officer’s future is now in the hands of seven state Supreme Court justices.
Former Wapakoneta Police Chief Dave Harrison’s 6-year-old sex crime case reached the pinnacle in Ohio’s court system Wednesday, as justices heard arguments from Harrison’s attorney Dean Boland and state prosecutor Scott Longo.
Each party had 15 minutes to present their case to the justices. After both attorneys argued their cases, a single word in Harrison’s sentencing entry and a grilling delivered to Longo by justice Maureen O’Connor left Boland optimistic about his client’s future.
In June, 2003, Harrison plead guilty to a six-count bill of information after child pornography was found on his computer. After entering his plea, the man who served as police chief from 1988 to 2002 was sentenced to one year in jail.
Seven months after he completed his sentence, it was discovered by county prosecutors that Harrison should have been sentenced with an additional five years of mandatory post release control, or probation.
During a court hearing, Harrison was given the option to either be re-sentenced or withdraw his plea. Harrison chose the latter, taking things back to square one.
With the plea withdrawn, the state of Ohio slapped Harrison with a 23-count indictment which he was ultimately found guilty of and sentenced to six years in prison.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Thursday, 03 July 2008 |
Emergency responders work to improve tornado warnings
By KAREN CAMPBELL
Staff Writer
A police chief’s concern that one of the most populated areas in the city can’t hear warning sirens is part of what local emergency personnel are addressing as they look into the county’s tornado awareness system.
During Wednesday’s Local Emergency Planning Commission (LEPC) meeting, Wapakoneta Police Chief Dave Webb asked about the possibility of installing a new siren or moving an existing one to the portion of Bellefontaine Street referred to as “hamburger row.”
“It’s always an issue,” Webb said. “People out there can’t hear it.”
His wasn’t the only concern addressed with the system, Auglaize County Emergency Management Agency Director Troy Anderson said he was concerned about the approximately 8-minute delay between the National Weather Service issuing a tornado warning last week and sirens sounding in the county.
“We’re trying to improve that delay,” Anderson said.
The delay happened sometime between the National Weather Service issuing the warning and it getting entered into the Law Enforcement Automated Data System (LEADS) in Columbus, Anderson said.
LEADS serves as the electronic communication network for Ohio’s criminal justice system and is used by law enforcement, courts and prosecutors across the state to inquire information about driving records and licenses, vehicle ownership, outstanding warrants, past criminal history and parole status, among other items, such as weather or missing person alerts.
“If LEADS is down, which sometimes it is, there’s going to be a delay in getting one of the primary ways of warning people out,” Anderson said. “We’re trying to work with the state to see what we can do better.
“Anytime you have to rely on a computer system there are going to be problems,” he said. “But if you sat down that night and listened, we sent out our warning right away and then there was a several minute delay.”
Anderson said until Wednesday’s meeting he was not aware of any concerns with sirens in Wapakoneta, which already has five sirens, all purchased by the city. He said an older siren by the new Wapakoneta Waterpark should transmit within a 2 1/2-mile radius, which includes that section of Bellefontaine Street.
St. Marys Fire Chief and LEPC President Ken Cline said the problem with the sirens is they aren’t meant to be heard inside homes and buildings and a lot of people do not understand that.
“They’re designed for people who are outside,” Cline said. “People in their homes need weather alert radios.”
Anderson said that meant most of the people on Bellefontaine Street at that time probably wouldn’t have heard them anyway.
“Pretty much everybody in the county has sirens now,” Anderson said, saying St. Johns was the lone village or municipality not having anything to use as a siren as far as he knew.
State grants could help pay for 50 percent funding of a siren, which costs approximately $20,000, but the grants are competitive among all 88 counties based on population and other factors.
“To me, if you have a ballpark or an outdoor sporting venue, a place where a lot of people might be out and about anytime it’s warm, it’s a good idea to have something,” Anderson said. “The trouble with grants is a lot of times they’re great, but restrictive.”
Sheriff Al Solomon said municipalities and villages should set up policies and procedures about how warnings are issued and when alarms are activated but safety should always be the top priority.
“There have been notification issues in the past,” Solomon said. “When you know a storm is coming, listen to the radio or the TV, look on the Internet. They’re good at getting the information out. Even listen to scanners. A lot of people have those to stay informed.
“We’re doing our best to let residents know when there are warnings,” he said. “But if they know there’s potential, they need to stay updated on the weather, too.”
Anderson said in the case of last week’s funnel cloud reports, a warning was issued for the entire county initially and then made more specific as more details became available to make sure anyone who needed warned was.
Warning sirens have to be reset every 3 minutes by dispatchers because they aren’t made to run continuously anymore, Anderson also explained.
“If they run past 3 minutes they’ll overheat and burn up,” Anderson said. “If they are reset, a fan comes on and cools them down.” |
|
Last Updated ( Friday, 04 July 2008 )
|
|
|
|
