State hopes to train thousands of people to watch for signs of terrorist activity
Friday, July 25, 2003
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

State officials want to train Ohioans to help seek out terrorists through a program unveiled yesterday.

The theory is that the average citizen knows his neighborhood better than the average police officer, so it’s a good bet he’ll notice suspicious activity, said Domingo Herraiz, director of the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services.

The program’s slogan —"Watching Out, Helping Out" — sums up its goal. Officials hope to help Ohioans recognize the warning signs of terrorism and to understand they have power to help combat it.

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White dog with black spots still at large after biting woman in University District
Friday, July 25, 2003
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

A woman in a wheelchair was attacked by a pit-bull terrier this week, leaving her with bites on her arms and legs.

Authorities still are trying to find the dog and who owns it, Columbus police said.

Debra Ballin, 50, said she usually keeps an eye out for the many pit bulls owned by residents in her University District neighborhood.

But as she approached her apartment from an alley behind her E. 14 th Avenue home about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, she saw no dogs and counted on a safe path to her door.

That’s when a white pit bull with black spots ran straight for her.

"It came right up to me and started barking and biting," she said. "It was so scary, it kind of shocked me."

The dog bit Ballin’s left leg first, then latched onto her left arm and began shaking her arm in its mouth.

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Every chance they get, the editors at the Columbus Dispatch publish commentary opposing legal self-defense in the state of Ohio. Judging by the state of affairs in Columbus and around the OSU campus, the Dispatch prefers that only the bad guys be armed. The crime wave around campus has gotten so bad, Columbus police have even told volunteers at the Community Crime Patrol to stay out of the area.

As this Dispatch story shows, Senate delays in fixing HB12 and sending it to Gov. Taft are resulting in rendering lesser-advantaged college students (who cannot afford to move to more expensive housing) completely and totally defenseless.

Crime rate around Ohio State scares students, parents
Friday, July 25, 2003
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The Big Apple seems a lot safer to Donna Pardo than the area near Ohio State University where her daughter Sara lives.

"Crime in Columbus in general looks like it’s out of control; I was much less concerned about her when she spent last summer in New York City," Pardo said yesterday.

Violence has plagued the campus area in recent months, including the execution-style killings of three young people in a house on E. 11 th Avenue Wednesday.

On Sunday night, a man was shot and killed in an alley not far away. And in April, five young people were killed in an arson.

That’s not to mention riots that broke out in November after OSU’s football win over Michigan, and a serial rapist who attacked 12 women last year.

Columbus police say they’ve tallied seven slayings so far this year in the precinct that covers off-campus housing for Ohio State University, compared with three all of last year and four the year before.

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Cincinnati Enquirer
Ohio Moments

Soldiers fined 50 cents for lack of weaponry

On July 25, 1788, the first Ohio law to establish and regulate a militia was published in Marietta. It mandated all men between 16 and 50 perform military duty. They were required to arm themselves with a musket and bayonet, a cartridge box, powder horn, one pound of powder and four pounds of lead. They also were ordered to drill every Sunday.

By November, fines were implemented for those who failed to meet the requirements. For example, a soldier with no musket and bayonet had to pay 50 cents. Those who failed to show up for drill were fined 25 cents. Refusing guard duty cost them $1. And failure to serve in case of invasion meant a court-martial.

In 1791, the law changed the day of the weekly drills to Saturday. Those who drilled didn't have to go to church on Sunday. But those who attended church services - with their guns - were exempt from drill.

OFCC PAC Commentary:
How far we have sunk in Ohio, from a day when all men were not only allowed, but required by law to own firearms. Back then, Ohio law recognized that an armed society was a safer society. Notice that churches were not legislated as victim zones, but rather that the law gave citizens incentive not only to attend church, but to do so while armed.

Today, Gov. Bob Taft is the leader of those who continue the fight to disarm law-abiding citizens who want to protect themselves, their children, their spouses, their property, and their homeland.

Click here to read the story in the Cincinnati Enquirer.