Severe Thunderstorm Watch issued March 15 at 11:57PM EDT until March 16 at 4:00AM EDT by NWS Wilmington OH (details ...)

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 61 IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM EDT MONDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS
IN INDIANA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 6 COUNTIES
IN EAST CENTRAL INDIANA
FAYETTE UNION WAYNE
IN SOUTHEAST INDIANA
DEARBORN FRANKLIN OHIO
IN KENTUCKY THIS WATCH INCLUDES 9 COUNTIES
IN NORTHEAST KENTUCKY
LEWIS
IN NORTHERN KENTUCKY
BOONE BRACKEN CAMPBELL GRANT KENTON MASON PENDLETON ROBERTSON
IN OHIO THIS WATCH INCLUDES 32 COUNTIES
IN CENTRAL OHIO
DELAWARE FAIRFIELD FAYETTE FRANKLIN HOCKING LICKING MADISON PICKAWAY UNION
IN SOUTH CENTRAL OHIO
ADAMS HIGHLAND PIKE ROSS SCIOTO
IN SOUTHWEST OHIO
BROWN BUTLER CLERMONT CLINTON HAMILTON WARREN
IN WEST CENTRAL OHIO
AUGLAIZE CHAMPAIGN CLARK DARKE GREENE HARDIN LOGAN MERCER MIAMI MONTGOMERY PREBLE SHELBY
THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF ABERDEEN, ADA, ALEXANDRIA, AUGUSTA, AURORA, BEAVERCREEK, BELLEFONTAINE, BELLEVUE, BLANCHESTER, BRIGHT, BROOKSVILLE, BROOKVILLE, BURLINGTON, BUTLER, CAMDEN, CAMP DIX, CELINA, CHILLICOTHE, CIRCLEVILLE, COLDWATER, CONNERSVILLE, COVINGTON, CRITTENDEN, DAY HEIGHTS, DAYTON, DELAWARE, DILLSBORO, DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI, DOWNTOWN COLUMBUS, DOWNTOWN DAYTON, DRY RIDGE, EATON, ERLANGER, FAIRBORN, FAIRFIELD, FALMOUTH, FLORENCE, FORT THOMAS, FRANKLIN, GEORGETOWN, GREENDALE, GREENFIELD, GREENVILLE, HAMILTON, HEAD OF GRASSY, HIDDEN VALLEY, HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, HILLSBORO, INDEPENDENCE, KENTON, KETTERING, LANCASTER, LANDEN, LAWRENCEBURG, LEBANON, LIBERTY, LOGAN, LONDON, MANCHESTER, MARYSVILLE, MASON, MAYSVILLE, MIDDLETOWN, MILFORD, MINSTER, MOUNT CARMEL, MOUNT OLIVET, MOUNT ORAB, MOUNT REPOSE, MULBERRY, NEW BREMEN, NEWARK, NEWPORT, OAKBROOK, OXFORD, PEEBLES, PICKERINGTON, PIKE LAKE, PIKETON, PIQUA, PLAIN CITY, PORTSMOUTH, RICHMOND, RIPLEY, RISING SUN, SEAMAN, SIDNEY, SPRINGBORO, SPRINGFIELD, ST. MARYS, SUMMERSIDE, TIPP CITY, TOLLESBORO, TROY, URBANA, VANCEBURG, WAPAKONETA, WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, WAVERLY, WEST COLLEGE CORNER, WEST JEFFERSON, WEST UNION, WHEELERSBURG, WILLIAMSTOWN, WILMINGTON, WINCHESTER, WITHAMSVILLE, AND XENIA.

Wind Advisory issued March 15 at 9:34PM EDT until March 16 at 8:00AM EDT by NWS Wilmington OH (details ...)

* WHAT...South winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50 mph becoming west southwest.
* WHERE...Portions of east central and southeast Indiana, northern Kentucky, and central, southwest, and west central Ohio.
* WHEN...Until 8 AM EDT Monday.
* IMPACTS...Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.

Thursday, November 16th, 2017

St. Marys man gets 18 years to life for rape, pandering

By Ed Gebert

WAPAKONETA - Dillon Jay Howell of St. Marys was sentenced in Auglaize County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday to 18 years to life in prison for rape, a first-degree felony, and pandering obscenity involving a minor, a second-degree felony.

Howell, 22, was given 10 years to life for the rape charge and eight years for the pandering obscenity charge. The two will be served consecutively. Judge Mark E. Spees said the severity of the sentence was warranted.

"To do anything less than this would seriously demean the seriousness of this series of offenses," he said.
Howell was arrested on March 28 at his place of employment in St. Marys and was indicted on 10 felony charges of rape of a juvenile who was younger than the age of 13 and two felony counts of pandering. The original charges stated that the incidents had taken place over a period of several weeks.

He accepted a plea agreement on Oct. 6, pleading guilty to the two charges. In exchange for his plea, the other charges were dismissed.

"I just wanted to apologize to everyone involved in this," Howell, who was wearing a yellow jail jumpsuit, told the court on Wednesday. "I just want to be able to prove that this was a one-time mistake and to be able to prove that this isn't me. This will never be me. I just want to be able to prove that I'm not just a horrible person, that this was just a mistake that I made I shouldn't have made."

Defense attorney Gerald Siesel argued for mercy, noting that Howell's parents divorced when he was 4 years old, and his father was an alcoholic and suffered from depression. Howell also reportedly suffers from depression.

"His periodic depression probably was a factor in his behavior," Siesel said.

He also mentioned that Howell has no significant criminal history.

Spees, however, said Howell did not appear to be truly sorry for his crimes.

"The presentence investigation disclosed that there has been very little remorse that you've shown beyond getting caught," he said. "You tended to project blame on the victim herself and projected blame on your life. You didn't take responsibility for what you've done on your own, other than perhaps the lip service you offered here today."

He noted that the effects of Howell's actions with the then 12-year-old girl will certainly be long-lasting.

"Having been a juvenile court judge for the last 23 or so years, I've seen the aftermath of this on children. It lasts way into their adulthood. This young lady is going to need some substantial help to get through the kind of damage you've caused," Spees said to Howell.

In addition to his prison sentence, Howell was declared a Tier 3 sex offender, meaning he must register with law enforcement every 90 days for the rest of his life. He also faces five years of post-release control after he serves his prison sentence and must pay court costs. He was given credit for 232 days already served in custody while awaiting the disposition of his case.

Archive of November 16th, 2017

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Council considers $51.74M budget

Celina

CELINA - City council members this week passed first reading of the 2018 budget that sets aside more than $51.74 million for all accounts, including $7.1 million for the general fund, which pays for the city's day-to-day operations.

Board still waiting on wage study

Election salaries uncertain

CELINA - Elections officials are still awaiting the results of a wage study to determine how much to pay their two directors.

While reviewing the b

Rape reported at Celina High school

CELINA - Celina police are investigating a report made on Wednesday of a rape taking place at Celina High School.

Celina City Schools Superintende

Council member resigns; streets project nears end

Montezuma

MONTEZUMA - Village council member Travis Klosterman on Wednesday night announced his resignation effective Dec. 31.

He said family responsibilities and work are taking too much time to allow him to serve his community effectively.

Local author writing trilogy

Celina woman encouraged to pursue dream

CELINA - Rockford native Cassie McMurry has always loved to write.

Her first book, "Training Camp," is the first of a planned three-part series that tells the story of Paige, a juvenile probation officer, and Matt, a mixed martial-arts fighter training for an upcoming fight.

Fort grads earn All-Crossroads honors

College Notes

A pair of Fort Recovery alums and current University of St. Francis players were named to the All-Crossroads League volleyball team.

Junior outsid

MAC vs. MAC in regional finals

Cavaliers, Flyers put state championship streaks on the line

For seven years, Marion Local and Coldwater have each played in a state football championship game in the same season. In three of those years, both teams have come home with a state title.

Wildcats seeking third state trip in four years

Four straight appearances in the regional title game.

It's a feat most high school football programs dream of. It's a reality for Minster.

Fellow Midwest Athletic Conference member Delphos St. John's is the last hurdle standing between Minster and a third trip to state in four years.

Regional Final Pairings

Division I Regional Finals
Games at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17. Pairings are shown with seeds and records.
Home teams listed first.
Region 1: 1 Cle