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Athens City Council

City Council president announces resignation, OU students plan to run for city office

By EMILY BOHATCH | Dec. 8, 2014

Jim Sands has been a consistent presence in Athens City Council chambers for the last 16 years as a councilman and — in more recent years — as the president of council.But after months of absence, Sands announced his resignation last week, in an email to Clerk of Council Debbie Walker.“He’s choosing to move forward with his life away from council,” Kent Butler, D-1st Ward, said at Monday night's City Council meeting.Butler has been acting as president in Sands’ absence.“I have been honored to serve the population of Athens and work with other elected, appointed and hired individuals who also serve Athenians,” Sands said in the email.Sands cited various medical issues, which included a hospitalization in Columbus, as reasons for his resignation.“Jim is priceless,” Butler said. “(He adds) a ton of institutional memory… and a lot of experience.”Sands was elected to council in 1998 and was an active member until 2012, when he became president of council.“I hate it (that Sands is resigning),” Jeff Risner, D-2nd Ward said.Risner added Sands has been “great on council” and renowned for his ability to calmly handle situations.“There could’ve been a riot and the house could be on fire and he would have been calm,” Risner said.Also at the meeting were two prospective candidates for elected city positions.Republicans Aaron Dauterman and Andrew Looker, both juniors at Ohio University, said they would be running for an at-large position on council and for mayor, respectively.There has not been a Republican on City Council since 2003.Mayor Paul Wiehl announced last week at council’s meeting he would “probably not be seeking reelection.” Later that night, Councilman Steve Patterson, D-At Large, said he would be running.Looker, 20, said he considered running even before Wiehl made his announcement.“I’ve seen a lot of things that aren’t as good as they should be right now (in Athens),” Looker said.As a full-time student, Looker said if elected, he would continue on with his academics while maintaining duties as mayor.Dauterman echoed this sentiment.“Really, this is a part-time responsibility," Dauterman said. “It’ll be easy balancing going to school.”@emilybohatcheb346012@ohio.edu

The Post

Summary of the crime from this semester

By Emma Ockerman | Dec. 5, 2014

After this semester, officials with the Athens Police Department said they’re not too worried about Ohio University’s once-renowned party reputation. In fact, APD Chief Tom Pyle doesn’t see it as a major concern. This semester, he said, burglaries were the department’s main focus.Lt. Tim Ryan, OUPD’s head of criminal investigations, said crime rates remained consistent in terms of a year-to-year basis.Burglaries, Thefts There were three incident reports for burglaries since Aug. 22 that resulted in investigation or arrest, with 29 additional reports for theft, said Lauren Schneider, APD records clerk.In the days following the Athens Halloween Block Party, Pyle said the department received about six calls reporting a burglary — all tied to one offender. “The burglaries that we’ve had this entire year have been troubling and seem to be getting worse,” Pyle said. The number of incident reports for burglaries from January to October nearly doubled compared to years past, The Post previously reported. OUPD saw six burglaries on campus during Fall Semester — four of which were reported from Jefferson Hall. The department also received 56 theft reports.OUPD received 10 burglary reports last Spring Semester.Nuisance party and noise violationsThis fall, APD received 32 dispatch calls complaining of a too-rowdy party under the city’s nuisance party ordinance. Pyle said the department typically lets partygoers off with a warning, unless they’re argumentative with officers or continue to be belligerent. Calls for noise violations streamed into dispatch at a much higher rate — 255 alone from Aug. 22 to December. “I have a sense that nuisance enforcement will be up and noise enforcement will continue to be down,” Pyle said.  Alcohol violationsOU’s party reputation isn’t dead, Pyle said, it’s just weakening. Since Aug. 22, the Athens Police Department has filed 74 incident reports for underage consumption — typically resulting in a citation. During Fall Semester of 2013, according to a previous Post report, APD handed out 150 citations. “For the sake of everybody, I think it’s a good thing,” Pyle said. “We can still party, and have a reputation for partying, but we don’t have to be number one.”OUPD saw 85 alcohol-related reports, about 29 percent of which were labeled as underage consumption. Assault and RapeAccording to APD records, there have been no incident reports resulting in citation or arrest for sexual assault and aggravated assault since Aug. 22. Ten incidents of rape were reported to APD during Fall Semester of 2013, a previous Post report said — most in October of that year.Eleven rapes were reported to APD in 2013 in all, according to the department’s annual report.On campus, three rapes were reported to OUPD during Fall Semester. The most recent report was recorded on Nov. 25, when a woman said she was raped in Shively Hall by a “known assailant” three years ago. RobberiesOUPD received two robbery reports this semester — one of which was a false report that spurred a crime alert. The false claimant, 19-year-old Karsten Vuillemot, of Mansfield, was found guilty in the Athens Municipal Court in September of making a false alarm. Police received another notable report on Nov. 17 about an aggravated robbery on South Green. A man was assaulted and robbed at gunpoint by three men on the north side of Pickering Hall. The victim said the assailants took $100 and his room keys.Two days later, police determined that William Johnson and Thaddeus Basham were involved in the robbery. Drug Violations OUPD received 79 drug-related reports — 56 of which were reported happening in residence halls. Aside from court fines and punishments, OU also imposes sanctions or disciplinary actions on students who receive drug violations.Sanctions for first time offenders who possess or use marijuana include six to nine months of disciplinary probation and a $200 charge to their student accounts, among other sanctions.Students who have another marijuana violation while on probation face a minimum one-month suspension.Ryan said the number of marijuana-related reports this Fall Semester were roughly the same number as the previous Fall Semester. He said OUPD received 60 marijuana-related reports compared to the 68 the department received in the Fall Semester of 2013.@JOSHUALIM93JL951613@ohio.edu@eockermanEO300813@ohio.edu

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