Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued March 22 at 9:27PM EDT until March 22 at 10:15PM EDT by NWS Wilmington OH (details ...)

SVRILN
The National Weather Service in Wilmington has issued a
* Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Shelby County in west central Ohio... Northwestern Champaign County in west central Ohio... Western Logan County in west central Ohio... Darke County in west central Ohio... Southern Auglaize County in west central Ohio... Southeastern Mercer County in west central Ohio... Miami County in west central Ohio...
* Until 1015 PM EDT.
* At 927 PM EDT, severe thunderstorms were located along a line extending from near New Bremen to near Fountain City, moving east at 55 mph.
HAZARD...Quarter size hail.
SOURCE...Law enforcement.
IMPACT...Minor damage to vehicles is possible.
* Locations impacted include... Troy, Sidney, Piqua, Bellefontaine, Greenville, Tipp City, West Milton, New Bremen, Minster, Versailles, Covington, Arcanum, Newport, Bradford, Anna, Fort Loramie, Jackson Center, Russells Point, De Graff, and Pleasant Hill.
This includes I-75 in Ohio between mile markers 67 and 106.

Severe Thunderstorm Watch issued March 22 at 5:43PM EDT until March 23 at 12:00AM EDT by NWS Wilmington OH (details ...)

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 73 IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT TONIGHT FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS
IN INDIANA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 8 COUNTIES
IN EAST CENTRAL INDIANA
FAYETTE UNION WAYNE
IN SOUTHEAST INDIANA
DEARBORN FRANKLIN OHIO RIPLEY SWITZERLAND
IN KENTUCKY THIS WATCH INCLUDES 3 COUNTIES
IN NORTHERN KENTUCKY
BOONE CAMPBELL KENTON
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, AURORA, BATESVILLE, BEAVERCREEK, BELLEFONTAINE, BELLEVUE, BLANCHESTER, BRIGHT, BROOKVILLE, BURLINGTON, CAMDEN, CELINA, CHILLICOTHE, CIRCLEVILLE, COLDWATER, CONNERSVILLE, COVINGTON, DAY HEIGHTS, DAYTON, DELAWARE, DILLSBORO, DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI, DOWNTOWN COLUMBUS, DOWNTOWN DAYTON, EATON, ERLANGER, FAIRBORN, FAIRFIELD, FLORENCE, FORT THOMAS, FRANKLIN, GEORGETOWN, GREENDALE, GREENFIELD, GREENVILLE, HAMILTON, HIDDEN VALLEY, HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, HILLSBORO, INDEPENDENCE, KENTON, KETTERING, LANCASTER, LANDEN, LAWRENCEBURG, LEBANON, LIBERTY, LOGAN, LONDON, MANCHESTER, MARYSVILLE, MASON, MIDDLETOWN, MILAN, MILFORD, MINSTER, MOUNT CARMEL, MOUNT ORAB, MOUNT REPOSE, MULBERRY, NEW BREMEN, NEWARK, NEWPORT, OAKBROOK, OSGOOD, OXFORD, PEEBLES, PICKERINGTON, PIKE LAKE, PIKETON, PIQUA, PLAIN CITY, PORTSMOUTH, RICHMOND, RIPLEY, RISING SUN, SEAMAN, SIDNEY, SPRINGBORO, SPRINGFIELD, ST. MARYS, SUMMERSIDE, TIPP CITY, TROY, URBANA, VERSAILLES, VEVAY, WAPAKONETA, WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, WAVERLY, WEST COLLEGE CORNER, WEST JEFFERSON, WEST UNION, WHEELERSBURG, WILMINGTON, WINCHESTER, WITHAMSVILLE, AND XENIA.

Thursday, July 23rd, 2015

Kasich approves arming recruiters

National Guard office in St. Marys affected

By Shelley Grieshop

ST. MARYS - Action by Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Wednesday will put a weapon in the hand of a recruiter at a local National Guard post.

The governor authorized personnel at Ohio National Guard recruitment centers to carry weapons and ordered a review of security policies after the shootings last week in Chattanooga, Tenn., which killed four Marines and a sailor.

Ohio law previously prohibited the carrying of weapons on state-owned property such as the National Guard armory/recruiting office on East South Street in St. Marys. The post is home to Alpha Company, 37th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, an engineering unit.

ONG spokeswoman Maj. Nicole Ashcroft told the newspaper that one recruiter is assigned to the St. Marys site, which also is used by soldiers for meetings, training exercises and other events.

"This (governor's order) will allow the recruiter to carry a weapon," she said.

Other members of the local armory would not be allowed to carry weapons, at least not yet, she said.

"I'm sure this is something they're (ONG officials) going to be discussing," she said. "We realize this shooting wasn't just a recruiter office thing. It can happen anywhere."

Although a lot of paperwork needs to be drafted to change Ohio law and ONG policies, Ashcroft said changes should occur quickly.

"We're going to be working on this fast and furious to make this happen in a week or two," she said.

Following Kasich's authorization, Maj. Gen. Mark Bartman, the adjutant general of Ohio, granted the order to update policies and training requirements for the recruiting centers and a review of all security measures.

"The governor has made it very clear that we must take action to protect our members who are actively engaged in public recruitment efforts," Bartman said. "We are updating our policies and strengthening small firearm training so that those men and women staffing our recruitment offices may protect themselves in the event of a threat."

Several other states also have authorized Guardsmen to carry weapons after the deadly shooting. One of the men killed was a sailor who grew up in Paulding in northwest Ohio; another was a Marine whose father lives in central Ohio.

ONG officials after the shooting in Tennessee temporarily moved eight personnel from its four storefront recruitment offices in Columbus, Dayton, Findlay and Painesville to nearby armories.

The state has 77 recruiting centers across Ohio; most are at armories or Guard bases, Ashcroft said.

- The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Archive of July 23rd, 2015

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