Ohio
Local student named 2024 Distinguished Senior at The Ohio State University
COLUMBUS — Kiley S. Holbrook of Amanda, has been named a 2024 Distinguished Senior at The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES).
“The Distinguished Senior Award is the most prestigious undergraduate award in CFAES and honors top graduating seniors on the Ohio State Columbus campus,” said Ann Christy, CFAES professor and associate dean for academic programs. “The 23 award recipients exemplify the CFAES mission in areas such as academics and scholarship, research and innovation, service and involvement, and influence and leadership.”
Holbrook is an agricultural communication major in the Department of Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership (ACEL). She was nominated by college faculty and staff who felt that she personified the award’s attributes of academic, disciplinary, and professional excellence.
The first-generation college student was on the dean’s list for seven semesters and worked under ACEL associate professor Annie Specht on what she calls her most valuable learning experience. She volunteered as a researcher on an Ohio State University Extension project. Along with several undergraduate students, she analyzed the digital media output of agriculture and natural resources Extension teams to establish their patterns of communication with stakeholder groups and set a baseline for a future communications plan.
The Fairfield County resident completed three summer internships. Her love of public policy led her to internships as a legislative page with the Ohio House of Representatives, as a policy intern with Ohio Corn & Wheat, and as an intern with the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture in Washington, D.C.
Holbrook’s extracurricular activities included service as a member of Ohio Corn & Wheat’s Collegiate Policy Academy, the John Glenn Civic Leadership Council, a CFAES Ambassador, and host for the Experience Ohio State for a Day program. She was also a member of the Mount Leadership Society Scholars program, and did volunteer work for The Columbus Dream Center, Garrett Recovery, and Amanda Christian Church.
“Kiley was also one of 10 U.S. students named to a cohort of the Cargill Global Scholars, a leadership development experience that brings together university students from across the globe to discuss and dissect systemic challenges that face our global community,” said Annie Specht, her academic and research advisor. “The topic of food security resonated with Kiley, due to her own childhood experiences of scarcity.”
All of these experiences resulted in a newfound sense of self-confidence for Holbrook. “It took me almost four years to realize that I deserve the life that I am living, not because it was given to me, but because I have worked hard to earn it. This is my greatest sense of self-accomplishment,” she said.
After graduation, Holbrook will either attend graduate school or contribute to the agricultural industry through a career focused on advocacy for agricultural policy. “My aspiration is to secure a position as a policy analyst specializing in international agriculture and trade policy,” she said. “I aim to eventually pursue a PhD and work in agriculture policy research.”
A reception for the Distinguished Senior Award recipients and their families was held on Thursday, April 4, hosted by Ann Christy and Cathann A. Kress, Ohio State vice president for agricultural administration and CFAES dean. Meet the 23 outstanding students and learn more about each via a YouTube video release at go.osu.edu/CFAES2024DSA.
“Honoring the award recipients for their excellence will be a highlight for us this spring. These students have excelled and most certainly will continue to thrive in their future careers,” said Christy.
In autumn 2023, there were 2,224 undergraduate students in CFAES pursuing Bachelor of Science degrees in 21 majors. Learn more about CFAES academic programs at go.osu.edu/B4V2.
Cincinnati Children’s is expanding its access to care across the region, including in Northern Kentucky.
The health system reported in its latest Community Impact Report, released to the public June 9, that six new locations opened in 2025, including facilities in previously underserved communities such as Clermont and Clinton counties. Rural areas often have limited access to specialized and emergency care, placing residents at a higher risk of health challenges and death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here are the new locations:
- Brandon and Kelly Janszen Union Building, 2015 Children’s Way, Union, Kentucky.
- Crestview Hills Urgent Care, 2765 Chapel Place, Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
- Children’s Eastgate, 4315 Ivy Pointe Blvd., Union Township, Ohio.
- Loveland Primary Care, 10554 Loveland-Madeira Road, Loveland, Ohio.
- Wilmington Primary Care, 1150 W. Locust St., Suite 500, Wilmington, Ohio.
- New Richmond School-Based Health Center, 1135 Bethel-New Richmond Road, New Richmond, Ohio.
Cincinnati Children’s is one of the top-ranked children’s hospitals in the Midwest. The medical professionals at the system’s more than 50 sites provided care in 1.75 million encounters with patients during the July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025 fiscal year, spokesman Barrett Brunsman said.
Some locations are first of their kind
In Boone County, the Brandon and Kelly Janszen building opened at the hospital’s Union location in April 2025, becoming the first in Northern Kentucky to offer both primary and specialty care, including offering behavioral health counselors, lab services, X-ray and ultrasound.
In Kenton County, the hospital opened its first urgent care in Northern Kentucky in July 2025 as part of renovations at the Crestview Hills location, offering residents access to pediatric providers on evenings and weekends.
In Ohio, the Eastgate location opened in October, combining specialty clinics, outpatient surgery and an urgent care center in “the first of its kind on the East Side for Cincinnati Children’s,” where some main campus surgeons and providers now see patients, Brunsman said.
Two primary care centers also opened in 2025: Wilmington, the only primary care in Clinton County dedicated exclusively to children from newborns through teens; and Loveland, which offers closer care to families who once drove farther.
Cincinnati Children’s also introduced the New Richmond School-Based Health Center in September 2025, after reporting over 7,000 patient encounters in 2023 from the village’s ZIP code, including 2,375 without an identified primary care provider, Brunsman said. The new health center is within walking distance for 1,000 middle and high school students, and is open to their families and other children in the community.
The school-based center was funded by a grant from Ohio’s Appalachian Community Innovation Centers program, obtained by New Richmond Schools. Across the other five new locations, Cincinnati Children’s invested around $141 million in renovations, design and acreage, the hospital noted.
NEWTON FALLS, Ohio (WKBN) – A woman accused of driving intoxicated while working for the Postal Service in a mail truck entered a plea Tuesday in her case.
Michele Kellar, 47, of Warren, pleaded guilty to OVI, a first-degree misdemeanor, according to court records.
Court records state that she was sentenced to 12 months of probation and her license was suspended for a year, with limited driving privileges. She can also serve three days in a driver’s intervention program.
Trumbull County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Kellar in March after those living on Anderson Anthony Road NW in Braceville reported seeing the driver of a mail truck at the end of their driveway had passed out. They reported that they were able to wake the driver up, but said she drove off.
Deputies found the mail truck down the road, where she had driven off into a yard. According to the police report, the woman appeared very intoxicated with glassy eyes and slurred speech.
At the time of her arrest, a spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service confirmed that Kellar was an employee but declined to comment further. WKBN reached out Thursday for more information on Kellar’s current employment status, but a spokesperson said the Postal Service does not disclose internal administrative actions.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Severe thunderstorms rolled through Northeast Ohio on Wednesday night, bringing down trees and knocking out power to thousands.
The heaviest damage seemed to be in Lorain County in the city of Lorain and Amherst. The Amherst Fire Department said there are large trees down on Jackson Street and Cleveland Avenue.
Check FirstEnergy’s, AEP’s, and Cleveland Public Power’s websites for the latest outage numbers.
More storms will work through the area overnight, as another disturbance reaches the area after midnight.
These storms will be ordinary in nature, though they could contain heavy downpours.
These storms should last through the middle of the day tomorrow, before clearing later in the day.
Lightning strike in Brunswick.
West Park neighborhood lightning show in Cleveland.
Submit any photos and videos from storm below.
Check back with the 19 News First Alert Weather team for the latest weather forecast.
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