It’s that strange time of year in Ohio, where it’s warm one day and cold the next. That’s left some mixed results in our rose garden:
Rose: To the First Amendment and free speech! You may have seen a Lima man dismissed his libel lawsuit against The Lima News on Thursday as they were trying to pick a jury. At the heart of it was not just the newspaper’s right to share ideas on the Opinion page, but your right to share yours in columns and letters. Our attorneys, John Bussian and Steven Keslar, had a solid defense of the First Amendment ready. They may not get a ticker-tape parade, but we all should be thankful you can still share your opinions in Lima.
Thorn: To David Bell, who recently pleaded guilty to engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. Authorities originally charged him with cocaine trafficking and possession. He faces up to 11 years in prison, but the real victim is the lives ruined by drugs brought to the region.
Rose: To Teresa Maag, of Leipsic, whose idea was featured in the nationally syndicated Pluggers comic strip on Tuesday. Her idea involved pluggers writing passwords on sticky notes and putting them on the computer screen.
Rose: To Denny Ricker, of Columbus Grove, whose idea was also featured in Pluggers on Feb. 13. His idea was about how a plugger knows his weight is stable b using the same hole in his belt each morning.
Rose: To crews involved in cleaning up the Delphos train derailment last Sunday. As East Palestine showed us, train derailments can be a dangerous, messy business. The electrical outage certainly inconvenienced residents, but the absence of injuries is worth celebrating.
Thorn: To Tyler Dunlap, a former Lima Police Department officer, who will spend 180 days in jail for assault, resisting arrest and obstructing official business in an incident in June 2022 in Wapakoneta. The Auglaize County judge, Andrew Augsburger, said Dunlap didn’t show enough remorse to deserve a lighter sentence.
Share your suggestions for Roses and Thorns by emailing [email protected], calling 419-222-NEWS (6397) or visiting LimaOhio.com/formeditor.
