Butler County's Most Wanted

Sherrif Jones (blog) has released a new set of Butler County's Most Wanted.

Hat Tip: Hamilton Journal News, Staff Writer Lauren Pack

Boehner Column: "We Need an 'All of the Above' Energy Strategy"

We moved one step closer to developing our own natural resources to provide American energy with the White House announcement that President Bush will lift an executive ban on deep-ocean drilling. But that alone does nothing as it must be matched by congressional action.

Unfortunately, those in control of the U.S. House stubbornly refuse to unlock U.S. resources to help bring down prices at the pump while we wait for emerging technologies and alternative energy sources to become viable for mass consumption. As American families and small businesses face record prices at the pump, they are counting on their leaders in Congress to work together on reforms to help reduce fuel costs. Ending this outdated ban now will help reduce our costly dependence on foreign sources of energy, empower states and local jurisdictions to make decisions about energy exploration, and will also create thousands of good-paying jobs.

For weeks now, House Republicans have tried to bring legislation to a vote in the U.S. House that would help bring down gas prices and put us on a path to being energy independent. Time and again, those bills get caught up in political maneuverings from the Majority party that worships at the altar of radical environmentalism. We’re looking to open up remote, barren land in Alaska for drilling, unlock our deep-ocean resources and develop clean coal-to-liquids technology in what we call an “all of the above” energy strategy. All options should be put on the table, and lawmakers should have the opportunity to vote on them.

While I am promoting the “all of the above” strategy, others in the House are clinging to a “no energy” agenda. Democratic House leaders have announced they would support supposedly speeding up development of energy resources out of Alaska ’s National Petroleum Reserve (NRP-A). But just last year, Democrats passed an energy bill that would actually discourage development in this area. Do they plan to overturn their previous legislation and join House Republicans in unlocking our natural resources for development?

Democrats also claim they will “reconstitute a ban on the export of Alaskan oil” but we currently do not export Alaskan oil so “reconstituting” a ban would be pointless, although it makes for a good rhetoric. The much-heralded “use it or lose it” legislation also makes for good rhetoric but again, it’s completely unnecessary as oil and natural gas companies exploring on federally-leased land must produce results within five to 10 years or they will lose their lease. And the millions of acres some claim is just sitting around untouched is false. At today’s prices, it makes no sense that a company would sit on an oil find rather than develop it and get it onto the market.

We have few legislative days left before the House is scheduled to begin its traditional August break. I believe that we should not leave Washington until lawmakers have the opportunity to vote on meaningful legislation that will help bring down gas prices and set us on the road to energy independence. The more time we waste, the more our working families and small business will suffer. The American public has made it clear that they expect their leaders in Washington to take action to provide some kind of relief from soaring energy prices. The Democratic-run House should stop defying the will of the people and join with Republicans to implement an “all of the above” comprehensive energy strategy that will end our near-total dependence on foreign resources and allow us to develop our own.

Editorial: Fairfield Board Puts Levy on Ballot

Imagine our surprise: the Fairfield Board of Education has put yet another levy on our ballots. In a Hamilton Journal News piece by Eric Schwartzberg, we learn the stakes:

The 2-mill levy would raise $2,787,537 a year and help the school district fund specific long-term items, such a large equipment purchases and major maintenance items.

Every five years since 1983, residents voted to renew the levy at the same millage to fund roofs, school buses, computers, security systems, paving, heating and ventilation systems, plumbing, windows and safety equipment.

Board President Mark Morris said 2 mills would cost an extra $5 a year on a $100,000 home.

If the levy does not pass, the district will have no permanent improvement funds for the first time in 25 years.

We also learn that the board realizes that this is getting tired:

Also at Monday's meeting, board member Jerome Kearns said he and Dan Murray collected information and data from many sources during the past couple of months to create five recommendations for immediate action including eliminating the middle school dean of students position, reducing building budgets by 5 percent, restructuring library services provided to elementary school students, discontinuing weekend and holiday building checks and implementing a hiring freeze for new positions beginning in school year 2009-10.

"These recommendations would result in an immediate savings of $265,400 in the first year," he said.

The Butler County Bugle stands with board member Arnold Engel on this one: he voted against the levy and also says that Kearns' estimate of saving $111,000 via the hiring freeze can not be rolled into the total amount of savings because that money had not been spent previously.

"It's not a savings if you're saying you're not going to spend it," Engel said. "There's no reduction in cost."

Reducing the cost of government, including public education, is imperative for the growth of the region and the state.

It is a noble effort to demand high quality education, but it is absurd to think that we are doing so at the most effective price using the most efficient means. Our community deserves better.

Editorial: "What is Happening in Hamilton?"

Something very bad is happening in Hamilton and the fear is that the disease may spread to the rest of the communities in Butler County if action isn't taken to contain the damage. Two stories from this week perfectly illustrate the nature of the illness that afflicts the city of Hamilton. The first deals with the suggestion that Hamilton adopt a "kilowatt hour" tax and the second recommends that Hamilton install red light cameras.

Butler County is doing pretty okay economically, which is a miracle considering the condition of our state's economy. Gas prices are high, but they aren't as high here as they are in neighboring counties. An energy crisis looms over the horizon and Republicans on city council want to impose a tax on energy consumption. Does that sound like a winner to you? An energy tax is absolutely the wrong move at this time and if Republicans do the deed, it will come back to bite them come election time. People remember it well when Republicans raise their taxes and their energy bills.

Red light cameras are not about safety. Study after study has shown that safety conditions do not improve due to the presence or absence of these cameras. Like the energy tax, installing these cameras is about raising revenue to feed a particularly nasty habit: a bloated budget. There is no safety concern at play here. There was a story out of Springfield, OH where one of these cameras cited a driver for making a legal right turn on red. Bottom line: It is not the city's responsibility to enforce traffic laws, but rather the police departments. That the city would consider deputizing cameras for this job is a joke; that the real reason they are even considering such a move is purely financial is a travesty.

The city of Hamilton ought to look at making spending cuts and reducing the tax burden in order to encourage commerce. That is a proven method of increasing revenue and a much better alternative to the various schemes and scams that city council is currently considering.

Boehner Column: "Energy Independence"

In a few days, we will mark the founding of our great nation, Independence Day. We’ll cheer our historic victory over the British monarch. We’ll celebrate the ingenuity and enterprising spirit that transformed us from 13 colonies to a world superpower of 50 states. And yet with all of our accomplishments, we are still incapable of meeting our own energy needs.

This is insane. Americans are demanding action, but all you hear from the leaders in the Democratic Congress are excuses for why they refuse to schedule votes to put us on the road to energy independence. And the votes that are scheduled are on bills that would actually raise gas prices.

Democratic leaders brought to the floor of the U.S. House a “patch” for the Alternative Minimum Tax that would raise taxes on America ’s domestic energy industry by $13.5 billion. As any small business owner can tell you, when the cost of doing business goes up – and taxes are one of those costs – prices must go up, meaning that consumers will pay more. We’re already paying more than $4 a gallon for gas; how much higher does that have to go before we do something about it?

I recently hosted a telephone townhall with about 300 constituents from the 8th Congressional District and the number one topic by far was gas prices. One thing we discussed was the fact that we import $600 billion worth of oil annually. Think of the dramatic impact $600 billion would have if, instead of sending that money overseas to buy oil, we kept it here at home to create American jobs and create American energy. But instead of offering real solutions, the Democratic Congress is offering sham legislation.

The House recently passed a bill to lower fares for mass transit as part of what Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called a “key component of a clean and green American energy future.” But that bill will force taxpayers to subsidize public transportation costs in big cities while doing absolutely nothing for people living in rural and suburban areas who don’t have access to public transportation.

Speaker Pelosi wanted to pass a “Use It or Lose It” bill to force oil and natural gas companies to produce energy from the lands they lease from the federal government. But federal energy lease holders already must produce oil or natural gas within five to 10 years to remain in compliance with their lease terms and with the law. This law was passed in 1992, and Speaker Pelosi voted for it then.

Democratic leaders refuse to let the House vote on a bill that would let oil companies build new refineries on closed military bases. We haven’t built a refinery in this country in 30 years, and while the existing ones have expanded somewhat, we need to build more to meet our ever-increasing demand. House Republicans have tried to introduce legislation to streamline the approval process for new refineries down to about seven years, compared with the current 10 to 20 years but those beholden to the radical environmental lobby continue to block it.

Democratic leaders also refuse to let the House vote on increasing domestic oil and natural gas drilling. We need to drill for oil on the Arctic coastal plain. The total area we’re looking at is the size of South Carolina ; the area in which the drilling would take place is akin to putting a postage stamp on a football field. Another area where we need to drill is in deep-ocean energy zones far off the U.S. coast, where it’s estimated we could find 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The main reason we’re in this mess is because of misguided federal rules that prevent us from tapping into our own resources based on the mistaken notion that exploration in these remote areas cannot be done in a manner that does not harm our environment.

If I believed we had other sources of energy to turn to right now, I might agree with leaving our natural resources under lock and key. But we don’t, and so it’s all the more critical that we start the process of creating more American energy. It’s going to take at least 20 years before alternative sources like wind, water and solar help meet a significant part of our energy demand. In the meantime, we have no other choice but to go after our own resources if we want to lower gas prices.

As you may know, a nickname for the Republican Party is G.O.P., which stands for “Grand Old Party.” A Democratic colleague recently referred to us as the “Gas and Oil Party.” Compared with the Democrats’ stubborn position of no new domestic energy, no drilling for oil and natural gas, and their continued worship at the altar of radical environmentalism, I’m proud to belong to the party that is actually trying to do something to lower gas and oil prices and help make us energy independent.

Boehner Congratulates First Lakota West Student Named Presidential Scholar

Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) congratulated Lakota West High School senior Raymond Xi on being named a Presidential Scholar.

Raymond, who plans to attend Yale University in the fall where he will study mathematics and economics, is the first student in the Lakota School District to earn this honor.

“Raymond Xi is an outstanding student, and I congratulate him on earning national recognition as a Presidential Scholar,” Boehner said. “Lakota West High School is one of the best schools in Ohio’s 8th Congressional District, and this award also honors the dedication of the school community to giving students a well-rounded education.”



Raymond’s many school activities include President of Mu Alpha Theta, the mathematics honor society; captain of the Academic Quiz team; Peer Counseling leader; and head of the Engineering Tech Society. He also plays piano, belongs to the National Honor Society and Junior Classical League and is a fund raiser for the American Cancer Society. He is also a member of Lakota West’s Ultimate Frisbee Team.

The Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964 by President Lyndon Johnson to recognize the nation’s outstanding high school scholars. Today, the program honors the achievements of both scholar and artists and to date, has honored more than 5,000 American high school students. Each year, one male and one female student from each state, the District of Columbia are selected as well as 15 at-large students, a number of students living abroad and up to 20 students in the arts are selected based on their academic achievements, service, leadership and creativity through the U.S. Department of Education.

Raymond traveled to Washington, D.C., with his parents, Xiaobing and Hui Wang; his brother, James Yihua; and his grandmother, Duqing Chen.

This is a huge accomplishment and a great reflection on our community. Congrats, Raymond! ...and best of luck at Yale!

Boehner Congratulates 8th District Art Contest Winner Trun Vu

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) today congratulated Lakota West High School sophomore Lyndsey Trun Vu for winning the 8th Congressional District Art Competition.

“Trun is an accomplished artist, and I’m proud that her art work will represent Ohio ’s 8th Congressional District to the thousands of visitors who visit the U.S. Capitol,” Boehner said. “I want to thank all the students who participated in this year’s art competition. This is a great opportunity to showcase the talents of our high school artists.”



Trun and her family – father, David; mother, Lehai; brothers, Tri and Minh Dao – visited Washington , D.C. , to attend a ceremony honoring all art competition winners from around the country. Trun joined with other district winners for a group photo on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, and all the students were honored at a reception.



Trun’s winning piece “Looking Up” was done with ink using her fingerprints. Her picture will hang in the U.S. Capitol for a year along with other district winners from around the country. The second- and third-place winners along with two pieces that took honorable mention will hang in Boehner’s West Chester and Troy offices where they may be viewed by the public. Currently, all art work is displayed in the Fitton Center for Creative Arts in Hamilton through Tuesday, May 20.



This year’s contest was judged by Cathy Mayhugh, Fitton Center for the Arts; Sue Samoviski, City of Sculpture ; Laine Snyder, Fairfield Community Arts Center ; and Karen Connolly, a local artist.

The other winners are:

2nd Place: Tatum Berry , senior at Lakota West High School for “Floating Chair. Medium: NuPastel.

3rd Place: Kelsie Garrett, senior at Butler Technology Center for “ Hollywood .” Medium: watercolor/black acrylic paint.

Honorable Mention: Maggie Hinkle, junior at Monroe High School for “The Bird & The Bee.” Medium: Photography.

Honorable Mention: Chris Crabtree, senior at Butler Tech’s Options Academy – The Arts for “The Old Butler County Courthouse.” Medium: Digital Photography.

Photos of all winners and art work submitted for the competition may be viewed in the Photo Gallery at www.johnboehner.house.gov.