November 25, 2009
Licking County Update
From…County Commissioner Tim Bubb
It is time to celebrate the American Thanksgiving tradition. Regardless of whether you are hitting the road or celebrating at home this year – from our family to yours – a wish for a blessed and joyous Thanksgiving! And as the Courthouse Lights begin to twinkle on Friday night let us look forward to the start of a great Christmas Holiday Season!
Tim and Marianne Bubb
In addition to the 61st annual lighting of the County Courthouse this Friday night there are also four great Licking County Christmas holiday parades in early December. Here are the parade dates and a rundown of the activities planned for Courthouse lighting…
Saturday, December 5th Johnstown Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting - 4:30pm
Saturday, December 5th Pataskala Lighted Christmas Parade – Municipal Park – 6:00pm.
Saturday, December 12th – Alexandria Christmas Parade – 10:00am.
Saturday, December 12th – Outville Christmas Parade – 3:00pm – followed by fun events and food at the Harrison Township Hall.
The Licking County Courthouse will spring to life with holiday decorations and officially kick-off the 2009 holiday season in Licking County this Friday evening…
61st Annual Courthouse Christmas Lighting
Planned For November 27th
The community is invited to attend the Lighting Ceremony and the official start of the Holiday Season in Licking County on Friday evening, November 27th. The evening will feature the annual holiday music program, the excitement of Santa’s arrival, and lighting of the local landmark.
Festivities begin at 6:00pm on the November 27th, the Friday night after Thanksgiving. The holiday music program will feature longtime master of ceremonies Dave Lehman. Joining Dave, on the stage, will be well known local singers Hugh Price, Amy Fraley and Hayley Feightner. Returning this year will be Doug Moran and his brass quintet ‘The Heisey Brass’ playing ‘sounds of the season’. Also, featured will be local singers Tiffany Williams and Katie Freet.
Returning with a special Christmas music performance for the fourth consecutive year will be the Blessed Sacrament School Combined Chorus under the direction of Tammy Witham.
The arrival of Santa in downtown Newark is anticipated around 7:00pm. The “Jolly Old Elf” will extend his best wishes to the community, and with the help of children magically turn-on the Courthouse decorations and lights to begin the holiday season in Licking County.
On hand that evening will be members of the Newark Rodders Car Club. Club members will be presenting a donation from the 2009 ‘Lite the Nite Car Show’ supporting the Christmas Lighting Project.
The new local transportation program Earthworks Transit is providing bus rides downtown for those who need transportation. To schedule your ride, call 740-344-3838 extension 4. The fare to the Courthouse Lighting will be 2 cans of food per person beginning at 4:30pm. The return trip will be the regular fare rate. Rates are available by calling the above number, or by viewing www.earthworkstransit.org. If you do not wish to donate food, rides will still be provided for the standard rates. The food donations go to the ‘Elves in Action’.
The ‘Elves in Action’ will be downtown on the Square the evening of November 27th to kick-off their annual holiday food drive. They will be located on the east side of the Square each evening until Christmas. All food collected will be donated to and distributed by the Licking County Food Pantry Network. Visitors to Courthouse Lighting are urged to bring non-perishable food items.
The Vineyard Church of Licking County will be serving free hot chocolate and popcorn, and again will stage a ‘live nativity’ that Friday evening on the southwest corner of the Square.
Santa will be in the Foundation Park downtown to visit with the children and families after the Lighting Ceremony. This is done in conjunction with the Chamber and the downtown merchants.
On December 12th an event I always enjoy is the Heisey Wind Ensemble’s Christmas Concert…
The Heisey Wind Ensemble presents their annual holiday program with a concert titled "Christmas, the Joy and Spirit" on Saturday, December 12, at 8:00 p.m. The 55 member concert band is under the direction of Dr. Russel Mikkelson, Director of Bands at The Ohio State University in Columbus. The band is celebrating their 25th anniversary season in 2009-2010. Appearing with the HWE will be the Johnstown-Monroe High School Symphonic Choir under the direction of Jeff Rings. Also featured will be former local radio personality Bob Brooker as narrator on a special arrangement by Randal Alan Bass of “The Night Before Christmas”. The HWE Christmas concert has become a holiday tradition for many in the area. A capacity crowd is anticipated. Those planning to attend are urged to arrive early. Tickets for the concert will be available at the door. Adults are $10, seniors (60+) and students are $5, and children under 12 are admitted free. The December 12 concert will be the second of four in the 2009-2010 season. Remaining concert dates are February 20 (The Sound of Music) and April 24 (Happy 25th Anniversary HWE). The group's new performance home is the auditorium of the Alford Performing Arts Hall in the Reese Center on the Newark Campus. Additional information can be found at the band’s web site at www.heiseywindensemble.org
County Commissioner Notes…
Licking County Government continues to move forward with planning for a new Department of Building Code Enforcement to fill a 2010 void in the community. Recently, after extensive interviews, we hired Jack Pryor to be the County’s Building Code Official and lead the effort. Jack is a graduate of Ohio State in Architecture, a 32-year veteran of building code enforcement, and a man highly regarded by building officials across the state.
The County is working to secure contracts with local cities and villages that choose to affiliate, as well as seeking authority from the State Board of Building Standards for enforcement authority on December 11th.
I will keep you updated on our progress on this important project to insure safety, and maintain the quality of residential and commercial/industrial projects in Licking County.
Recently my good friend Rick Platt, the President and CEO of the Heath-Newark-Licking County Port Authority, wrote this on his Newark Advocate blog regarding the much improved health of the local Kaiser Plant. It is great news and I am sharing it with you with Rick’s permission…
Puzzled by Kaiser Plant Misinformation
Senator John Kerry, while Presidential candidate, came to Newark's courthouse square in 2004 and, among the negativity about the economy he spewed was about the "downsizing" of the Kaiser plant in Heath. Of course, Kaiser's Heath plant had just gone through a couple of years of new hiring when he said it. Oops. Wrong.Today, a new blogger with 1970-era information about the Newark economy has joined us from out west. Among his mixed bemoaning was the loss of the Kaiser plant. Loss? Huh?Its time to set the record straight with everyone from among other politicians and the homesick who may be equally misinformed.The Kaiser plant is still here. In fact, from the things I've learned, Kaiser has quite a few things on the positive side to talk about.In 2008, Kaiser enjoyed one of its best years of productivity. More product per person was coming out of the Heath plant than ever. That's impressive.It wasn't too long ago; Kaiser's CEO came to town and congratulated the local workforce for being the number one, most productive plant in the Kaiser system. The hot rolled aluminum process in use at Kaiser's Heath plant is the last of its kind left in the world. Airplane manufacturers look to the Kaiser plant for hard alloy aluminum. It's a one-of-a-kind manufacturing gem.This year, despite being hard hit by the same international industries that have been hard hit like automotive and aerospace, Kaiser is humming along pretty well really. They've upgraded their equipment and are poised for even greater productivity numbers in the future.Plus, Kaiser is giving back to the community in more ways than one. It was Kaiser that led the charge on the very successful Heath Duck Derby that pumped money into United Way in a challenging year for the charity.Yes, there were times that Kaiser took some hard hits from the economy and some self-inflicted ones too. But, those times are in the books.The Kaiser Heath plant has really found its niche and, by all rights, should be a great source of pride for the community for its record of productivity. Let's hope it's here for some time to come.
Thanks Rick for your excellent information and thanks to you - the hundreds of Licking County residents - who read my Commissioner Updates.
Feel free to e-mail any questions to…
(Home) timbubb@roadrunner.com
Or (work) tbubb@lcounty.com
These updates are all posted on my blog at my website at www.TimBubb.com
Best Regards…
Your County Commissioner Tim Bubb
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
County Commissioner - Tim Bubb on Courthouse Security
November 17, 2009
Licking County Update
From…County Commissioner Tim Bubb
Usually my Commissioner Updates are a summary of local and County Government related information. However, this time I would like to share with you an excellent article by Leila Atassi that appeared in The Cleveland Plain Dealer last month.
As a part of the background for the story she interviewed Court officials here in Licking County.
As background you should know that this year, at the instigation of the Ohio Supreme Court and the local judges, we limited access to the Licking County Courthouse and tightened security. The Commissioners did this with great reluctance, but also with the realization the safety of our courts and their staffs, and the general public using the Courthouse is a priority.
Six doors now are secure and alarmed, including the double doors at the top of the steps on each side. Of course they still open from the inside for emergency exit, but again are alarmed.
On the ground level we have a secure prisoner entrance and on the southeast corner the general public entrance. It is at this ‘public entrance’ where everyone must come and go, under the watchful eye of our security staff. Generally people have come to accept this limited and secure access, and have been appreciative of this safety consideration.
A final point regards cell phones and all manner of electronic personal communications devices. They are banned from the Courthouse, and only permitted for Court staff, attorneys and law enforcement personnel.
Frankly, people have come to view cell phones or the small personal computers they have evolved into as an entitlement.
However there are good reasons the judges ask for the ban and that is why I am sharing this Cleveland Plain Dealer story. I feel it is excellent information and will help you understand the changes we are making to take into account the new methods of immediate communication and the threats to our security that can result.
Many of you comment on my newsletters, and I will be curious what you have to say about this subject.
Best Regards…Licking County Commissioner Tim Bubb
Courts struggle to keep trials fair in an age of instant information…
By Leila Atassi, The Plain Dealer
October 06, 2009, 5:28PM
More people are using social media sites, such as Twitter.com, and the trend his implications for courts.CLEVELAND, Ohio —
The first mistrial Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John Russo declared in his courtroom wasn't because of a hung jury, improperly admitted evidence or a procedural error.
It happened, in large part, because of a text message.
An attorney in another Ohio jurisdiction called Prosecutor Bill Mason's office reporting that her sister, who was serving jury duty on the felonious assault case in Russo's courtroom, had texted her with a legal question -- a direct violation of the judge's orders to abstain from doing outside research on the case.
Russo began confiscating jurors' cell phones from then on. But the judge acknowledges that his new policy might just be a temporary solution to a burgeoning problem.
From text messaging to micro-blogging to the ubiquitous nature of the Internet, judges find themselves crafting new policies for their courtrooms in response to evolving technology and its risk to the fairness and integrity of the justice system.
Across the country, stories have surfaced of mistrials caused by jurors describing their trial experiences on social networking Web sites or accessing the Internet and conducting their own research -- all on wireless devices so small they fit inconspicuously in a juror's pocket.
In March, a federal drug trial in Florida ended in a mistrial after nine jurors admitted to researching the case on their iPhones and BlackBerrys. A week later, a building products manufacturer asked an Arkansas court to overturn a $12.6 million judgment, claiming that a juror used Twitter to send updates during the civil trial.
In Cuyahoga County, some judges have banned journalists from blogging live during trials, worried that witnesses waiting to testify could follow the trial on their wireless device from the courthouse lobby. In one case, a judge asked a trial spectator to leave the courtroom out of fear he could be recording the proceedings through a wireless phone ear piece.
And some Ohio courthouses, including Lucas County Common Pleas Court in Toledo, have banned cell phones from the building altogether. Court administrators there hope it will prevent people from taking camera-phone photos of jurors or witnesses -- a new form of intimidation becoming increasingly more popular and problematic in courts.
Judges have always faced the challenge of striking a balance between transparency in the courtroom and the rights of litigants to due process, said Chris Davey, public information director for the Ohio Supreme Court, and chairman of the New Media Committee for the Conference of Court Public Information Officers.
As technology changed throughout the 20th century, courts developed standards to account for the presence of cameras, audio and video recording devices, Davey said.
"Now, we've made another quantum leap forward in terms of what technology is capable of doing, and it requires that courts reexamine how that balance is achieved," Davey said. "Some people already have declared Twitter to be a fad. But there is no question that Web 2.0 and social media are not only here to stay, but they are transforming our culture right before our eyes."
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, like many courts across the country, has not adopted a set of guidelines for judges making decisions about the use of these tools in their courtrooms.
So to offer a framework, the Conference of Court Public Information Officers has sponsored a year-long national research project on the effect of new media on the justice system.
During the next year, the group will examine ways courts use new media and poll judges and administrators on their perceptions about the technology. The completed project will help courts develop their own best practices for using new media to reach out to the community while mitigating the risks, Davey said.
Cuyahoga County judges interviewed for this story reported several beneficial applications for social networking Web sites and other technologies in their courtrooms so far. Photos taken with camera phones at crime scenes have been entered into evidence in some cases, and victims have brought cell phone voicemail recordings with them to court to prove restraining order violations.
And in many criminal cases, defendants who denied that they owned guns or belonged to gangs have been confronted in court by their own Facebook photos featuring them holding weapons and flashing gang signs.
Some judges and court public information officers have embraced Facebook themselves -- establishing profiles to publicize court-sponsored programs, news from the legal community and provide links to court opinions as they are issued.
This instant access to information from the courts, coupled with micro-blogging technology such as Twitter, is a boon for journalists in fierce competition for the public's attention, said Jen Reeves, associate professor of radio-television journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia and an expert on the use of new media tools in journalism.
Covering court trials in real-time is a growing trend among reporters that improves transparency and fosters public dialogue, while reaching a potential audience in its medium of choice, Reeves said.
But the real-time flow of information from the courtroom could cause serious problems for the administration of justice and should be limited as much as possible, said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason.
In most criminal cases, judges order a separation of witnesses to prevent them from knowing the testimony of the others. But witnesses discreetly using handheld devices with internet access could easily follow a reporters' live blog or Twitter feed from courtroom proceedings, Mason said.
"Prosecutors use a witness's inability to get the details straight to impeach their credibility in cross-examination," Mason said. "If they're following previous testimony they could change their story accordingly, and all they're doing is supporting the perjury."
Common Pleas Judge Deena Calabrese agrees with Mason and has banned reporters from blogging or using Twitter in her courtroom. The judge, who is in her first term on the bench, developed her policy after she attended an Ohio Supreme Court seminar on capital murder cases, during which presenters warned of ways that real-time media updates could prompt mistrials.
Calabrese also is sensitive to the effects of other technologies too.
During a recent aggravated murder trial in her courtroom, the judge ordered sheriff's deputies to examine the cell phones of a group of young men sitting in the back of the room.
Calabrese said she saw the men, friends of the defendant, and secretly snap photos of jurors with their camera phones, then scramble to purge the photos when the judge noticed their behavior.
"I know that with my phone I could be online anywhere in a minute," Calabrese said. "And I knew immediately when I looked back there that those guys were either exchanging information with witnesses outside the courtroom or taking pictures of the jury."
The challenge judge’s face is in separating the appropriate uses of technology in the courtroom from the countless ways its use could derail a trial. But short of ordering all computers and cell phones checked at the courthouse doors, judges say they will handle the problems as they arise.
"I guess you just need to be aware of what technology can do," said Judge David Matia. "And equally aware of what technology can screw up."
Licking County Update
From…County Commissioner Tim Bubb
Usually my Commissioner Updates are a summary of local and County Government related information. However, this time I would like to share with you an excellent article by Leila Atassi that appeared in The Cleveland Plain Dealer last month.
As a part of the background for the story she interviewed Court officials here in Licking County.
As background you should know that this year, at the instigation of the Ohio Supreme Court and the local judges, we limited access to the Licking County Courthouse and tightened security. The Commissioners did this with great reluctance, but also with the realization the safety of our courts and their staffs, and the general public using the Courthouse is a priority.
Six doors now are secure and alarmed, including the double doors at the top of the steps on each side. Of course they still open from the inside for emergency exit, but again are alarmed.
On the ground level we have a secure prisoner entrance and on the southeast corner the general public entrance. It is at this ‘public entrance’ where everyone must come and go, under the watchful eye of our security staff. Generally people have come to accept this limited and secure access, and have been appreciative of this safety consideration.
A final point regards cell phones and all manner of electronic personal communications devices. They are banned from the Courthouse, and only permitted for Court staff, attorneys and law enforcement personnel.
Frankly, people have come to view cell phones or the small personal computers they have evolved into as an entitlement.
However there are good reasons the judges ask for the ban and that is why I am sharing this Cleveland Plain Dealer story. I feel it is excellent information and will help you understand the changes we are making to take into account the new methods of immediate communication and the threats to our security that can result.
Many of you comment on my newsletters, and I will be curious what you have to say about this subject.
Best Regards…Licking County Commissioner Tim Bubb
Courts struggle to keep trials fair in an age of instant information…
By Leila Atassi, The Plain Dealer
October 06, 2009, 5:28PM
More people are using social media sites, such as Twitter.com, and the trend his implications for courts.CLEVELAND, Ohio —
The first mistrial Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John Russo declared in his courtroom wasn't because of a hung jury, improperly admitted evidence or a procedural error.
It happened, in large part, because of a text message.
An attorney in another Ohio jurisdiction called Prosecutor Bill Mason's office reporting that her sister, who was serving jury duty on the felonious assault case in Russo's courtroom, had texted her with a legal question -- a direct violation of the judge's orders to abstain from doing outside research on the case.
Russo began confiscating jurors' cell phones from then on. But the judge acknowledges that his new policy might just be a temporary solution to a burgeoning problem.
From text messaging to micro-blogging to the ubiquitous nature of the Internet, judges find themselves crafting new policies for their courtrooms in response to evolving technology and its risk to the fairness and integrity of the justice system.
Across the country, stories have surfaced of mistrials caused by jurors describing their trial experiences on social networking Web sites or accessing the Internet and conducting their own research -- all on wireless devices so small they fit inconspicuously in a juror's pocket.
In March, a federal drug trial in Florida ended in a mistrial after nine jurors admitted to researching the case on their iPhones and BlackBerrys. A week later, a building products manufacturer asked an Arkansas court to overturn a $12.6 million judgment, claiming that a juror used Twitter to send updates during the civil trial.
In Cuyahoga County, some judges have banned journalists from blogging live during trials, worried that witnesses waiting to testify could follow the trial on their wireless device from the courthouse lobby. In one case, a judge asked a trial spectator to leave the courtroom out of fear he could be recording the proceedings through a wireless phone ear piece.
And some Ohio courthouses, including Lucas County Common Pleas Court in Toledo, have banned cell phones from the building altogether. Court administrators there hope it will prevent people from taking camera-phone photos of jurors or witnesses -- a new form of intimidation becoming increasingly more popular and problematic in courts.
Judges have always faced the challenge of striking a balance between transparency in the courtroom and the rights of litigants to due process, said Chris Davey, public information director for the Ohio Supreme Court, and chairman of the New Media Committee for the Conference of Court Public Information Officers.
As technology changed throughout the 20th century, courts developed standards to account for the presence of cameras, audio and video recording devices, Davey said.
"Now, we've made another quantum leap forward in terms of what technology is capable of doing, and it requires that courts reexamine how that balance is achieved," Davey said. "Some people already have declared Twitter to be a fad. But there is no question that Web 2.0 and social media are not only here to stay, but they are transforming our culture right before our eyes."
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, like many courts across the country, has not adopted a set of guidelines for judges making decisions about the use of these tools in their courtrooms.
So to offer a framework, the Conference of Court Public Information Officers has sponsored a year-long national research project on the effect of new media on the justice system.
During the next year, the group will examine ways courts use new media and poll judges and administrators on their perceptions about the technology. The completed project will help courts develop their own best practices for using new media to reach out to the community while mitigating the risks, Davey said.
Cuyahoga County judges interviewed for this story reported several beneficial applications for social networking Web sites and other technologies in their courtrooms so far. Photos taken with camera phones at crime scenes have been entered into evidence in some cases, and victims have brought cell phone voicemail recordings with them to court to prove restraining order violations.
And in many criminal cases, defendants who denied that they owned guns or belonged to gangs have been confronted in court by their own Facebook photos featuring them holding weapons and flashing gang signs.
Some judges and court public information officers have embraced Facebook themselves -- establishing profiles to publicize court-sponsored programs, news from the legal community and provide links to court opinions as they are issued.
This instant access to information from the courts, coupled with micro-blogging technology such as Twitter, is a boon for journalists in fierce competition for the public's attention, said Jen Reeves, associate professor of radio-television journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia and an expert on the use of new media tools in journalism.
Covering court trials in real-time is a growing trend among reporters that improves transparency and fosters public dialogue, while reaching a potential audience in its medium of choice, Reeves said.
But the real-time flow of information from the courtroom could cause serious problems for the administration of justice and should be limited as much as possible, said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason.
In most criminal cases, judges order a separation of witnesses to prevent them from knowing the testimony of the others. But witnesses discreetly using handheld devices with internet access could easily follow a reporters' live blog or Twitter feed from courtroom proceedings, Mason said.
"Prosecutors use a witness's inability to get the details straight to impeach their credibility in cross-examination," Mason said. "If they're following previous testimony they could change their story accordingly, and all they're doing is supporting the perjury."
Common Pleas Judge Deena Calabrese agrees with Mason and has banned reporters from blogging or using Twitter in her courtroom. The judge, who is in her first term on the bench, developed her policy after she attended an Ohio Supreme Court seminar on capital murder cases, during which presenters warned of ways that real-time media updates could prompt mistrials.
Calabrese also is sensitive to the effects of other technologies too.
During a recent aggravated murder trial in her courtroom, the judge ordered sheriff's deputies to examine the cell phones of a group of young men sitting in the back of the room.
Calabrese said she saw the men, friends of the defendant, and secretly snap photos of jurors with their camera phones, then scramble to purge the photos when the judge noticed their behavior.
"I know that with my phone I could be online anywhere in a minute," Calabrese said. "And I knew immediately when I looked back there that those guys were either exchanging information with witnesses outside the courtroom or taking pictures of the jury."
The challenge judge’s face is in separating the appropriate uses of technology in the courtroom from the countless ways its use could derail a trial. But short of ordering all computers and cell phones checked at the courthouse doors, judges say they will handle the problems as they arise.
"I guess you just need to be aware of what technology can do," said Judge David Matia. "And equally aware of what technology can screw up."
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