Gary Stewart, 36, of Green Township is winning praise for getting involved when he realized a man was viciously beating a woman in Miami Whitewater Forest Thursday morning.

"His presence stopped the attack," said Sgt. Dale Reatherford, a Hamilton County Park District ranger. "He did detain the guy."

Stewart, who is training for next month's Flying Pig Marathon, was running in the park shortly after 10 a.m. when he heard a scream.

"I looked back and here's this heavyset guy," Stewart said. "This woman jumped up and said, 'Help me!' "

Stewart told police the man had hit her in the back of the head with what appeared to be a sawed-off baseball bat.

The suspect then made a threatening move so Stewart said he kicked the man in the stomach. Stewart's girlfriend, who was riding in-line skates as Stewart ran, sprayed the suspect with Mace.

The couple held the man until a Hamilton County sheriff's deputy arrived.

The attack appeared to be a random act of violence, Sgt. Reatherford said.

Click on the "Read More..." link below to read what this has to do with concealed carry reform.

Given how much the Ohio Supreme Court has been in the news of late, we thought this April 21 Peter Bronson column, published in the Cincinnati Enquirer, would be of interest:

"While Ohio is digging in the couch cushions for spare change like a wino in a bus station, the Ohio Supreme Court is building a new palace bigger than the Capitol.

Lawmakers gave the Court $85 million to repair, renovate and remodel the old Ohio Departments Building near the Capitol in Columbus.

The 1933 Art Deco building will be restored like a treasured relic on Antiques Roadshow. A project manager compares it to the Omni Netherland Plaza Hotel in Cincinnati.

It sounds like a beautiful treasure, worthy of historic restoration.

But the timing couldn't be worse. The appropriations for the project began in 1997 when the tax spigot was wide open and the revenue trough was overflowing.

But now the state is so desperate, Gov. Square Bob Sponge Tax wants to tax cable and satellite TV. That makes the court's palace look nearly as tacky as Saddam's Playboy mansions next door to starving Iraqis."

Click here to read Bronson's entire column.

The bureaucrats at the Ohio State Highway Patrol have repeatedly voiced opposition to any concealed carry reform law that allows persons to exercise their right to self-defense in an automobile. In opponent testimony before the Ohio House Criminal Justice committee, Capt. John Born argued in favor of keeping in place a ban on carrying loaded weapons in cars, stating that if a person is attacked, she can "just drive away".

Here are four recent examples of Akron residents who couldn't "just drive away" when attacked in their personal vehicles. Two are dead.

Montrose slaying unsolved.

Man is shot in face; police seeking info.

Carjacker grabs auto with passenger still inside.

Police investigate man's fatal shooting.

On April 10, Columbus community newspaper ThisWeek published an editorial opposing the reformation of concealed carry laws in Ohio, entitled "The logic behind concealed weapon proposal eludes me".

OFCC President Jeff Garvas submitted a response, which was published in the April 18 edition of ThisWeek.

The entire response has been archived, and can be accessed by clicking here.