Year in review: The most-read Journal-News stories of 2022
Dec. 14—Here is a look at the most-read Journal-News stories for 2022 on our website and news app:
Man indicted in Okeana neighbor homicide; 911 caller says 'he thought he was a Democrat'
A Morgan Twp. man has been indicted for the deadly shooting of his neighbor in November in Okeana.
Austin Gene Combs, 26, was indicted Nov. 10 by a Butler County grand jury for aggravated murder with a gun specification.
The victim's wife called 911 and said they were cutting grass and working in the yard when she came inside to let the dog out. That's when she heard gunshots, she said.
"I look in the backyard and that man is walking away from my husband, and my husband is on the ground," the woman says "He has come over like four times confronting my husband because he thought he was a Democrat. Why, why ... Please, I don't understand."
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First sporting event at new Southwest Ohio mega-complex Spooky Nook Sports is Thursday
The Badin High School boys soccer team hosted Landmark Christian in late August at Spooky Nook Sports, 611 N. B St. It was the first sporting event to be played at the much-anticipated opening of the $165 million complex, a 1.2 million-square-foot redevelopment of the former Champion Mill paper mill.
Full events began this month the inaugural Winter Adult 3x3 Basketball Classic and a Pickleball Party.
Moving into January, the sports center will feature the Spooky Nook Sports Champion Mill and Field Hockey Life Youth Field Hockey Tournament on Jan. 7, and the biggest test to date will be over the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend with the MLK Champion Mill Classic Youth Girls Volleyball Tournament. This event is expected to attract between 10,000 to 15,000 visitors to the city.
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Forest Fair demolition project receives state funding
Butler County's Land Bank will receive $8.7 million in grant funds for 51 projects, though most of the money is earmarked for the demolition of Forest Fair Village.
The lion's share of the grant will help demolish Forest Fair Village. The complex is formerly known as the Cincinnati Mall, Cincinnati Mills, and Forest Fair Mall and straddles the Fairfield and Forest Park borders in Butler and Hamilton counties, respectively.
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Deadly Walmart shooting: Butler County grand jury returns indictments
A Butler County grand jury has indicted a man accused of shooting two people, killing a customer who tried to stop the man in late May inside the Walmart on Princeton Road.
Anthony F. Brown, 32, was indicted for aggravated murder, murder, aggravated robbery, felonious assault and having weapons under disability. The case is assigned to Butler County Common Pleas Judge Dan Haughey.
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After school board's CRT rejection, Edgewood Schools leader withdraws from job candidacy
Fewer than 24 hours after the Forest Hills school board voted to ban Critical Race Theory (CRT) from its classrooms, the Edgewood Schools' superintendent who was seeking a job there withdrew his candidacy.
Russ Fussnecker, Edgewood Schools superintendent since 2015, told the Journal-News he was no longer a candidate for the top job with Hamilton County's Forest Hills Schools.
In June, the Forest Hills Board of Education voted to ban CRT and CRT-related classroom instruction during a heated public meeting that saw some angry audience members shout and walk out over the vote.
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Man who stole more than $730K from animal shelter sentenced to prison
A Wayne Twp. man who admitted to stealing more than $700,000 from the Animal Friends Humane Society pet shelter in Hamilton while serving as a volunteer treasurer was sentenced to prison in August and ordered to pay restitution.
Jeremy Bruce Taylor, 48, of the 3900 block of Withrow Road, pleaded guilty in June to aggravated theft, a third-degree felony. He faced up to 36 months in prison, and that is what Butler County Common Pleas Judge Greg Stephens gave him.
Taylor was led from the courtroom in handcuffs.
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Popular Butler County drive-in restaurant closes, then reopens
A popular Butler County drive-in root beer stand closed in May and then reopened in early December.
The J&E Rootbeer Stand, 6301 Germantown Road, typically opens in early May, and when it remained closed last spring, longtime customers became concerned on social media.
Brooke Solomito, 24, and her stepsister, Cortney Vitori, 35, then bought the business and reopened it.
J&E Rootbeer Stand, which has been open for more than 35 years, was a seasonal business, but the new owners plan to be open year around. But they're not changing the menu. Customers can expect the same tasting footlong hotdogs, french fries and root beer and possibly some new items, they said.
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New movie films in downtown Hamilton
While the COVID-19 pandemic had derailed a lot of movie work in the area, Film Hamilton said more projects are starting up.
Cincinnati saw scenes of "Shirley," produced by and starring Regina King filmed in December 2021, and Middletown saw scenes from "A Bachelor's Valentine," directed by Middletown native Lana Read.
Butler County native and filmmaker Markus Cook resumed the story of Alan Wholman (portrayed by Brooks Harvey) in the sequel he wrote, "Alan and the Rules of the Air." His crew filmed parts of the first movie, "Alan and the Fullness of Time," in Hamilton, and around other parts of Butler County and Greater Cincinnati in 2017.
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Hamilton's Bob Harris is so tough, he beat Chuck Norris in karate
Actor and karate expert Chuck Norris' toughness is legendary. One overstatement of Norris' power is the joke that after he was exposed to COVID-19, it was the disease — not Norris — that had to go into quarantine.
But it's possible Hamilton native Bob Harris is tougher than Norris, because Harris defeated him in karate during the 1970s in amateur competitions. On the other hand, Harris also lost to Norris.
"There's no ifs, ands or buts about that," Harris said. "You lose some, you win some, but in your amateur stage, you don't keep keep count of those."
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Preferred Puppies owner dies; business closed after 35 years
HAMILTON — Cheryl Dalton loved dogs so much, she told her son she considered continuing to work at her Preferred Puppies shop to be her retirement.
Dalton, who first operated Noah's Ark Pet Shop and later Cheri's Preferred Puppies, which later became simply Preferred Puppies, died Dec. 24, 2021 from complications of COVID-19. She had been battling breast cancer that spread to other organs, said her son, Tony Pombo, of Beavercreek. She was 76. Her services were held in January.
Pombo said Dalton operated pet shops almost 35 years, including at its most recent location, 105 Main St., and years ago in the Hamilton West Shopping Center.
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