2020 Committee Appointments – Mayor Duncan presented the following list of reappointments to various citizen committees:

The reappointments of Healy Jackson to the Planning Commission; Dan Deitz to the Board of Zoning Appeals; David Dickerson (Precinct B), William Meyer (Precinct C), Steve Brooks (Precinct D), and John Gray and Beth Ritzert to (Precinct G) to the Budget Review Committee.

Mayor Duncan explained that there are several other vacancies on the citizen committees. City Council and City staff are in the process of identifying citizen volunteers for appointment at the February 3 Council meeting.

It was moved by Mayor Duncan and seconded by Vice Mayor Byington that the aforementioned appointments be confirmed. Upon a viva voce vote on the question of the motion, same passed unanimously and it was so ordered.

Public Safety Department Awards, Chief Alan Hill – Chief Hill recognized Lieutenant Chuck Balaj and Public Safety Officer Jeff Yount, Jr. for receiving awards from the Tactical Crime Suppression Unit (TCSU) at their annual banquet held this past December. He explained that TCSU is a committee of the Police Chiefs of the Miami Valley Communication Council (MVCC) member cities. TCSU meets monthly to discuss training, share information, and work on cooperative projects. One of those cooperative efforts is the Organized Crime Task Force, an agency of the Ohio Attorney General supported by MVCC member cities. The city of Oakwood currently has an officer assigned to the task force fulltime.

Lieutenant Chuck Balaj received the 2019 TCSU Investigator Award for his outstanding work and dedication leading to the arrest and conviction of Laith Alebbini, a Dayton resident. During early 2017, a federal criminal investigation began with Alebbini as the suspect. Alebbini was ultimately arrested on April 26, 2017, at the Cincinnati/Kentucky International Airport as he was attempting to board a flight to Jordan. From there, Alebbini made plans to travel to Syria to join ISIS. Alebbini was committed to traveling overseas for the purpose of joining ISIS and engaging in violence in support of a foreign terrorist organization. Lt. Balaj’s hard work is to be commended. There is no doubt that our city, county, state and country is a safer place because of Lt. Balaj and the other Dayton/Cincinnati Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) members.

Detective Jeff Yount, Jr., received the 2019 TCSU Agent of the Year Award. This award is the most significant award given out from TCSU. Chief Hill shared that he was proud to recognize Detective Yount, Jr. for receiving this award recognizing his hard work and dedication. Chief Hill explained the Detective Yount, Jr. is assigned to the Organized Crime Task Force fulltime and works undercover. The TCSU Commander said that Detective Yount, Jr. is a “go-to” guy that will do anything to help out. Chief Hill thanked Detective Yount, Jr. for his selfless dedication and tireless efforts.

Recognition of Lieutenant Jeff Yount, Sr.: Chief Hill recognized Lieutenant Jeff Yount, Sr. for 30 years of service, and his pending retirement on January 27, 2020. Chief Hill explained that most public safety officers are now hired as a lateral entry with numerous years of service. Lt. Yount, Sr. has been with the city of Oakwood since 1989. Since being hired, he has worked in all facets of the Public Safety Department, including considerable amount of time in the detective section, and assignment with the Organized Crime Task Force. In 2003, Lt. Yount, Sr. was assigned to a cold case task force made up of detectives from Montgomery and Warren county police agencies. Lt. Yount, Sr. was involved behind the scenes in putting together a case against former Springboro Police Lt. Jim Barton who was charged for hiring the people who raped and murdered his wife. Since 1955, the Oakwood Public Safety Department has only had seven directors. Lt. Yount, Sr. has worked for five of the seven during his career. Chief Hill thanked Lt. Yount, Sr. for his efforts and dedicated to the Oakwood community. He wished Lt. Yount, Sr. nothing but the best in his upcoming retirement.

December 11 Event at Oakwood Junior High: Chief Hill reported on a significant incident that occurred on December 11 at the Oakwood Junior High that had a positive outcome. During the early morning hours of December 11, an Oakwood Junior High student received a text message from another teenager residing in northeast Ohio, approximately three hours away. The text message said that the individual had plans to harm himself. The Oakwood student reported the text message and it was then communicated to the Public Safety Department. Captain Mike Jones and Detective Kasey Ballinger immediately went into action. In the matter of an hour, Captain Jones and Detective Ballinger identified the individual and made contact with the local sheriff’s office. The local sheriff’s office quickly located the individual, who admitted that he was looking for a way to commit suicide. Chief Hill recognized Captain Jones and Detective Ballinger for their efforts and said that there is no greater impact on someone’s life than saving it. Chief Hill closed his comments by providing information about suicide awareness and prevention, including the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.