WEEK IN REVIEW
Friday, April 14, 2023

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine Week in Review

For the week ending April 14, 2023

Above: Governor DeWine and the First Lady open the East Liverpool City Hospital East Palestine Clinic with a ribbon-cutting. Right: The Governor and First Lady observe plant sampling.

On Monday, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and First Lady Fran DeWine traveled to Columbiana County for the official opening of the new primary care clinic in East Palestine. Following the ribbon-cutting, they traveled to New Waterford where Ohio Department of Agriculture plant health inspectors will begin the process of collecting plant tissue samples from area farms that will be analyzed for the presence of specific semi-volatile organic compounds associated with the February train derailment.

Also on Monday,?Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted provided remarks and met with students at the Choose Ohio First?Scholar Showcase in Columbus. The program?is designed to significantly strengthen Ohio?s competitiveness within STEM disciplines and STEM education.?Choose Ohio First funds higher education and business collaborations that will have the most impact on Ohio?s position in world markets such as aerospace, medicine, and information technology.?

On?Tuesday,?Governor DeWine announced that the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services has been awarded nearly $2.9 million in federal funding from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to help state officials meet the behavioral health needs of citizens affected by traumatic events, such as natural disasters, mass shootings, and other large-scale man-made and terrorist events.

?The recent train derailment in East Palestine is a prime example of how disasters can impact the well-being of individuals, families, and communities,? said Governor DeWine. ?It is essential that our behavioral health care system is able to quickly respond to the immediate and long-term behavioral health care needs of those adversely affected by trauma. These funds will accomplish just that by strengthening Ohio?s emergency preparedness planning and ensuring a swift, coordinated response when surges in behavioral health needs inevitably occur.?

Governor DeWine and the First Lady at Washington Elementary School in Marietta

On Wednesday,?Governor DeWine visited elementary schools in Marietta and Heath to?observe classroom activities, discuss how the Science of Reading has been implemented in its lessons, and to hear about the students' experience with it.?

Also on Wednesday,?Lt. Governor? Husted traveled to Montgomery County for a tour and roundtable discussion at the?Kettering Fairmont Career Technology Center to hear from students and educators?about how Career Technical Education funding in the Executive Version of the State Operating Budget would help expand their programs to better meet regional workforce needs.

Lastly, on Wednesday, Governor DeWine provided updates regarding?remediation work at the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine.

The cleaning of Leslie and Sulphur Runs continues to go well. The oxygenation was successful in significantly decreasing the contamination levels in the water. The air pumps have been removed and the focus has shifted to sediment cleaning. The process involves agitating the sediment to release the contaminants, which are then contained and collected.

Other work at the site includes hazardous waste removal, fish testing, track installation on the south rail line, responding to the April 10 truck accident, examining results from a dog necropsy, testing private wells, and operating the permanent East Liverpool City Hospital East Palestine Health Clinic.

Governor DeWine leading St. Catharine School in the Pledge of Allegiance

On Thursday, Governor DeWine visited St. Catharine School in Columbus to participate in the morning assembly.

Also on Thursday, Governor DeWine appointed?Robert B. Radcliff to the OneRecovery Ohio Foundation Board.?

Radcliff's professional background is in law enforcement. In 1980, he began his career as a deputy sheriff in Pickaway County. After 32 years of working in all aspects of the sheriff's office,?Radcliff was elected sheriff of Pickaway County.?While serving as sheriff, he recognized the impact the drug epidemic was having in his community and worked with then-Attorney General Mike DeWine to deliver innovative services to inmates, such as peer support and medication-assisted treatment.?He is currently the chief bailiff for Pickaway County Common Pleas Court Judge P. Randall Knece and is a reserve deputy sheriff for Sheriff George W. Lavender Jr. of Ross County.?

Lastly, on Thursday, Lt. Governor Husted gave keynote remarks at the Wright State University Workforce Development Summit on career pathways available to Ohioans including TechCred, Apprenticeships, and Career Technical Education.?

Governor DeWine with Ohio Youth in Government students

On Friday,?Governor DeWine visited with students at the Ohio Statehouse participating in the Ohio Youth in Government program.?

Also on Friday, Governor DeWine visited?an elementary school in Springfield to?observe classroom activities, discuss how the Science of Reading has been implemented in its lessons, and to hear about the students' experience with it.?

Also on Friday,?Lt. Governor Husted gave remarks at the first district-wide Pickaway Ross Career and Technology Center Business Advisory Council meeting on economic development wins in Ohio and opportunities for business and education to collaborate to prepare Ohio's future workforce.

Also on Friday, Governor DeWine announced the appointment?of Nathan Shaker to the Wayne County Municipal Court.?

Shaker began his legal career as a law clerk in 2003. In 2005, he worked as an associate attorney at Gary Lieberman Co., L.P.A. Shaker transitioned to the public sector in 2006 when he became the assistant prosecuting attorney at the Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. Shaker then moved on to Richland Pediatrics as the part-time corporate counsel and also served as a research associate with State and Federal Communications Inc. In 2012, Shaker returned to the Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney's Office and in 2015, was promoted to first assistant prosecuting attorney. In 2018, he took on the role of magistrate and assistant court administrator with the Wayne County Municipal Court, which is his most recent role until the Governor's appointment.

Also on Friday, Governor DeWine announced that he is awarding $20 million in grants to support more than three dozen community-based intervention programs in their work to prevent violence and support crime victims.

A total of?39 programs will receive funding as part of?Governor DeWine's Community Violence Prevention Grant Program.?The grants support collaborative approaches by non-profit entities and governmental agencies that partner to reduce community violence.

"This program is the latest step in our holistic approach toward enhanced public safety in Ohio," said Governor DeWine. "From giving our law enforcement officers new tools to fight crime to strengthening community-based initiatives that prevent future violence, we're striving to ensure that our communities have the resources they need to protect and support the public."

Lastly, on Friday, Governor DeWine provided updates regarding?remediation work at the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

According to the Ohio EPA, about 12.1 million gallons of liquid wastewater have been hauled out of East Palestine in total.?There is currently a pile of about 11,700 tons of excavated soil waiting for removal from East Palestine, versus 25,400 tons that have been removed.?

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Dan Tierney: 614-644-0957