A May 1 mass shooting in Springfield left one woman dead and four other people injured.
The incident was the city’s second mass shooting in less than a year.
The shootings led to the death of De’Arion Welliford, 23, of Springfield. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The other shooting victims — two women and two men, all the ages of 19 to 24 — were transported to local hospitals. One person was transferred to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, and two others arrived on their own to Springfield Regional Medical Center with gunshot wounds.
Braxton Miller group announces acquisition of Urbana University campus
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
The efforts of a group including Braxton Miller to purchase the former campus of Urbana University are moved forward in April after finding a financial partner for the acquisition.
The new institution in Champaign County will be known as the Pro Development Institute.
The group says it “will become the first ever dual collegiate and professional pathway program that features its own leagues to maximize athletic growth and opportunities.”
Tenants announced for business park at former Upper Valley Mall site
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
The developers of Springfield’s former mall announced its first tenants for its industrial park in March.
Eby-Brown and Rittal Inc. will occupy Upper Valley Business Park in Springfield.
Formerly the Upper Valley Mall, the property is undergoing a complete interior and exterior renovation, and has been repositioned as a business park for office and light industrial users, according to site developer Industrial Corporate Properties (ICP).
A look into the future of the former Upper Valley Mall: Could it be the region’s latest success story?
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Springfield’s former mall will begin transitioning into its new life as a business park this year.
Ohio-based developer Industrial Commercial Properties (ICP) agreed to purchase the Upper Valley Mall property from the Clark County Land Reutilization Corp for $2.25 million last June, and the sale closed Aug. 6.
ICP, founded in 1996, is a commercial and industrial rehabilitation and economic redevelopment company that works with local partners to give new life to shuttered buildings. The regional development company has worked recently in the Springfield area prior to its purchase of the former Upper Valley Mall, located at 1457 Upper Valley Pike.
Clark County restaurant owners ‘broken up’ about having to close permanently
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
A man and his wife were upset about having to close their Clark County restaurant permanently due to rising costs.
Sis’s Restaurant, located at 2 W. Pleasant St. in Catawba, closed in late March
“We’re both really broken up... it’s killing us,” owner Matt Warner said.
Sis’s was a mom-and-pop breakfast and lunch place with its own sausage gravy made from scratch, hand patted burgers, fresh cheesesteaks, and hand-cut meat and vegetables, Warner said.
Clark County deputy killed in mobile home park shooting
A veteran Clark County Sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed July 24 as he responded to a report of a person shot inside a mobile home in Harmony Twp.
Matthew Yates, a 15-year member of the department, died as a result of the shooting, Sheriff Deborah K. Burchett said fighting through tears.
Deputies and other law enforcement could not get to 41-year-old Yates for hours after he was shot. When they did get him out, the mobile home caught fire and was destroyed.
Clark County deputy auditor fired, under investigation
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
The State Auditor’s Office investigated a former employee of the Clark County Auditor’s Office following a January incident that resulted in the employee’s termination.
Robert Vanderhorst was later sentenced to seven years in prison and was ordered to pay restitution for the theft of more than $1.8 million in county money.
An employee of the Clark County Auditor’s Office since 1991, Vanderhorst was fired Jan. 12 after the Clark County Auditor’s Office said it learned of the allegations.
Springfield basketball great Nate Miller dies at 34
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
The Springfield community reacted in shock in June to the death of Nate Miller, 34, a 2005 South High School graduate who played college basketball at Bowling Green and remained active in his hometown, coaching middle school basketball and baseball.
“I can’t believe this,” another South great, Dee Miller, wrote on Facebook. “My heart is broken.”
“Rest In Peace, Nate Miller,” Springfield graduate Karlos Marshall wrote on Twitter. “His name was synonymous with a culture of winning at Springfield South. Nate was just coming into his own by pouring into the youth upon his return from an extensive international basketball career. We lost a true icon. This one hurts!”
Watch: Doorbell camera captures Clark County tornado damage
A doorbell camera at a German Twp. home in Clark County captured some of the destruction when a tornado roared through the area in early June.
Things are calm at the beginning of the minute-long video, which was captured at a home in the 2600 block of Stoney Creek Street. But then the wind quickly picks up, and tree limbs, garbage and other debris starts to fly. Toward the the end, several trees can be seeing slamming to the ground and on top of a shed.
No one in the home was injured.
Rax’s return to Clark County a step in rebirth of roast beef chain
For Rax owner Richard Donohue, the addition of the restaurant to the New Carlisle area is a return to the company’s roots and a continuation of the roast beef sandwich chain’s revitalization.
The chain known for its roast beef and cheddar sandwiches once had locations throughout the Midwest, having its start in the 1960s in Springfield with a restaurant called “Jax,” according to Donohue.
The Rax company went bankrupt in the early 1990s, but its resurrection in Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois is work at the hands of Donohue, an Ironton native.
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