Area's Top 10 local stories

The Daily Standard staff took a look back at 2016 and chose the following Top 10 stories for the year.

1. Law enforcement investigates deaths of two young children

Investigations and court hearings for two cases involving child deaths this year will carry over into 2017.

A Fort Recovery man could face the death penalty in connection to the Sept. 25 death of a 4-year-old Jaxxen Baker.

Cory Eischen, 39, 5098 Rauh Road, has pleaded not guilty in Mercer County Common Pleas Court to nine charges. He faces one count of aggravated murder, which carries the possible death sentence.

Eischen was arrested on Sept. 26 after sheriff's deputies responded to calls regarding the welfare of a child at the Rauh Road property on Sept. 25.

Baker was pronounced dead at 8:40 p.m. Sept. 25 at Mercer County Community Hospital, and Mercer County Coroner Dr. Timothy Heinrichs ruled the death a homicide from multiple blunt-force traumas.

Eischen is also charged with two counts of an unspecified degree of murder, a first-degree felony charge of involuntary manslaughter, two second-degree felony counts of felonious assault, two second-degree felony counts of endangering children and a third-degree felony count of domestic violence, according to Mercer County Common Pleas Court records. A pretrial scheduled for 2 p.m. Jan. 26 in Mercer County Common Pleas Court.

Mercer County officials also are working with Clark County officials in a case involving the death of an infant who was discovered in a vehicle Tuesday afternoon on Wabash Road.

Brian Hayslip, 22, Springfield, has been arrested in connection with the death of 3-month-old Lily Hayslip. Clark County officials will handle any criminal proceedings in the case.

2. Unidentified bones found near Grand Lake

Forensic experts say human bones found south of Celina at the beginning of the year are those of a male.

Other than the gender of the potential homicide victim, though, investigators have sparse details with which to work and continue to ask for tips.

A woman walking her dog Jan. 3 near state park land, east of U.S. 127, in a wooded area along Grand Lake reportedly found several bones and notified the sheriff's office. The skeletal remains were lying in plain view southeast of the mouth of Coldwater Creek, sheriff Jeff Grey had said.

The University of North Texas determined the bone samples had come from a male, confirming an earlier finding by The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation's London lab.

The bones are believed to be those of a man of unknown race, ranging in age from 20-35 years old and between 5-feet-7-inches and 6-feet-1-inch, based on an autopsy completed by forensic anthropologist Dr. Elizabeth Murray of Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati. Officials believe the skeletal remains likely had been in the area since 2015.

3. Local support grows for Maddy adoption

After months of court hearings and legal twists and turns Brian and Kelly Anderson adopted 2-year-old Maddy.

The Andersons were granted adoption of the girl on Dec. 9 in Mercer County Probate Court. It was the final step after months of legal disputes between courts in Mercer and Allen counties. The girl's birth mother had given permission to the Andersons to adopt Maddy.

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled on Oct. 20 that Mercer County Probate Court could finalize the adoption, and the child was returned on Oct. 21.

Support for the Andersons grew in Mercer County and "Bring Maddy Home" signs were posted throughout the county as the case worked its way through the court system.

4. State puts big bucks into local projects

Municipalities were awarded state project funds all over Mercer and Auglaize counties.

About $7.34 million was awarded to Mercer County communities and another $1.5 million for Auglaize County communities in the biennial state budget passed this summer.

Locally, $5.25 million was awarded to Wright State University-Lake Campus for a connector building to house the school's library, $1.2 million was given to Celina for the Harley Jones Rotary Memorial Amphitheater at the future Bryson Park, and $900,000 went to the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta for a STEM education center.

Also in the state budget, $600,000 was earmarked for a new swimming pool in St. Henry, $975,000 for shoreline renovation and stabilization on Grand Lake, $500,000 for Kuenning-Dicke Natural Area Preserve near New Bremen, $500,000 for Tri Star Career Compact STEM projects, $406,000 to convert Celina's kiddie pool into a splash pad, $350,000 for improvement to ball diamonds at Celina's East View Park, $300,000 for dam rehabilitation, $200,000 for ball diamonds south of Coldwater and for an amphitheater in Coldwater Memorial Park.

Other budget items were $100,000 for a new show arena at Auglaize County Fairgrounds, $125,000 for basketball and tennis courts in Fort Recovery, $80,000 for playground equipment at Rockford's Shanes Park and $75,000 for battlefield signs for the Fort Recovery Historical Society.

State officials also have promised to pay about $8 million of the $25 million cost of a future Tri Star 2.0 project.

Other work being funded by the state includes Community Development Block Grants for street projects in Rockford and Montezuma, handicap accessibility at the Mercer County Courthouse and park equipment in Celina.

5. Voters approve plans for Tri Star 2.0

Tri Star Career Compact soon will consolidate its six sites into a new facility.

In a special election on Aug. 2, the levy to fund the project was approved by nearly 80 percent of voters in Mercer County, more than 66 percent in Auglaize County and 57 percent in Shelby County.

The 15-year, 0.95 mill bond levy will fund about $17 million of the $25 million project with $8 million coming from the state. It will cost the owner of a $100,000 home $33.25 per year.

The facility will be built on a 15-acre tract of land at 7741 state Route 703, Celina, across from Wright State University-Lake Campus.

Tri Star officials are preparing to hire an architectural firm and bids are scheduled to be submitted early in 2017. The building itself could be completed by 2019.

6. Hospital plans major expansion

Construction on a $24 million three-story expansion at Mercer County Community Hospital, Coldwater, began this year.

Work on the parking lot for the 54,000-square-foot building started in November after months of planning. The addition to the west side of the hospital will include an outpatient center, a surgery suite and private inpatient rooms.

Hospital officials anticipate the project will be completed during the summer of 2018.

7. Efforts continue to clean up, develop along Grand Lake

Plenty of positive lake-related news surfaced in 2016 despite continued state-issued advisories for unsafe levels of algal toxins.

Construction of Coldwater Creek Treatment Train, built on a former 40-acre farm field, was completed in 2016 at a cost of $2.1 million. The train cleans water flowing into the Grand Lake from Coldwater Creek through the use of wetlands. It is the second such facility constructed to remove the phosphorus from tributaries.

The first treatment train, on Prairie Creek, was completed in 2013. A third facility is under design for Beaver Creek and another is planned for the Big and Little Chickasaw creeks.

Also, father and son developers William and James Edmonds' continued to advance plans for a condominium/hotel-style resort along West Bank Road. William Edmonds said final plans should be complete by the end of December. They're shooting for a March groundbreaking.

William Edmonds said he aims to attract families to Celina with The Boardwalk. The preliminary site plan, totaling 4.891 acres along Grand Lake's shore, includes four resort buildings comprising 9,900 square feet; a 6,350-square-foot restaurant; two resort-style swimming pools; retail space for offices, general retail and restaurants; and a conference area.

8. Police say drug deal leads to shooting

Law enforcement officials reported a drug deal involving 1 pound of marijuana turned into a robbery and shooting incident on Feb. 11 at Fort Recovery's Ambassador Park.

Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey said a 17-year-old Fort Recovery boy was trying to sell the drugs and was overpowered by six adults and two minors.

After being robbed, the seller pulled out a small-caliber gun and fired, injuring two people. The shooting victims initially claimed to have been shot by a passing motorist as they walked by the lighthouse in Celina.

Those arrested were Kody Chilcoat, 19; Brandon Riley, 18; Samantha Ringo, 18; Morgan Perry, 18; and Julien Kocak, 19, all of Celina. Each was charged with second-degree felony robbery and fifth-degree felony obstructing official business. Also arrested were Dominic Disalvo, 18, Celina, and a 14-year-old female from Rockford, each charged with second-degree felony robbery.

Subsequently Ringo reached a plea deal and was sentenced to up to three years of probation. Chilcoat and Kocak received three-year prison sentences. Riley received an 18-month prison sentence and three years of community control. Perry received a 160-day jail sentence and up to three years of community control.

9. Clean lake advocates oppose chicken farm

WDC Eggs LLC, formed by Cooper Farms Inc., Weaver Brothers Inc. and Division Farms LLC, announced on April 21 that it would not build a 1.69 million cage-free layer hen operation on Fleetfoot Road northeast of St. Henry.

The announcement came two days after about 150 people attended a contentious public hearing in Celina to protest the plan to build the facility in the Grand Lake Watershed.

Most of the concerns centered around fears of worsened water quality in Grand Lake, which was declared distressed in 2011 by the state due to toxic algal blooms that have sickened humans and animals. Other concerns voiced by those at the public hearing included the possibility of residential wells going dry, increased traffic and a degraded quality of life.

WDC Eggs LLC, has not announced an alternate site for the facility.

10. Robberies plague businesses

A rash of robberies occurred this year in Mercer and Auglaize counties.

Edward Smith and John Smead have been accused of taking $600 from the Dollar General store in Rockford on April 18. Smith was arrested about a week after the incident and on June 28 was sentenced to eight years in prison. Smead was arrested April 20 and has a pretrial hearing scheduled in January.

On Sept. 22 a white male reportedly robbed the Second National Bank branch on North Main Street in Celina. Joshuia Buresy, Casey Atkins and Timothy Rios have all been arrested on charges related to the robbery. Atkins and Rios' cases are working through Mercer County courts while Bursey faces a separate case in Indiana and awaits extradition to Ohio.

Gary McBride of St. Marys faces charges after Lester's Tobacco on Celina Road was robbed on Nov. 17. An armed man allegedly fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash. McBride is charged with a first-degree felony charge of aggravated robbery, second-degree felony charge of kidnapping and fifth-degree felony charge of theft. His case is moving through Auglaize County Common Pleas Court.

Honorable mentions

• Mercer County men fighting drug addiction will soon have a shelter to help keep them on the right path. Mercer County House of Hope organizers are putting the finishing touches on a 4,200-square-foot men's home on Mud Pike, located across from the women's house on Mercer County Home Road.

• The Ohio Governor's Cup Regatta, an area summertime staple, was canceled due to declining numbers of participants. Organizers hope the race, offered at no charge to the public, will return in the future.

• Ryan King and his wife, Amanda, co-owners of Can't Stop Running Co., a running specialty retailer in Piqua, took over the Grand Lake Marathon, which is sanctioned by the U.S.A. Track and Field as a Boston Marathon qualifier.

Under their ownership, the event, which also includes a half marathon, marathon relays, a kids' and seniors' marathons and a 5K, attracted nearly 1,000 runners in its third year.

• With deficit spending looming on the horizon, Celina City School Board of Education members in November agreed that any personnel cuts will come through attrition.

Several high school teachers and a half dozen districtwide are expected to retire this year. Deciding whether to replace them will be done on a case-by-case basis.