Ohio
Tornado with 120 mph winds injures 2 in Northwest Ohio
PAULDING COUNTY, Ohio — Two people had minor injuries and multiple buildings were destroyed when a strong tornado touched down late Wednesday night in Northwest Ohio.
The tornado was one of at least three confirmed tornadoes that were part of a wave of severe weather that moved through the state late Wednesday and early Thursday. It also comes just days after four tornadoes touched down in Ohio.
In Paulding County, the EF-2 tornado touched down near Mandale at about 11:18 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in Northern Indiana. It stayed on the ground for only four minutes, but covered 4½ miles and at one point cut a path 375 yards wide. It generated top winds of 120 mph.
The tornado flipped a “well-anchored” mobile home about 60 feet. Two of the three people inside had minor injuries, according to the Weather Service.
The tornado also destroyed a large barn and damaged several buildings in the town of Dupont. It also damaged several large corn silos.
About 15 minutes earlier, an EF-1 tornado touched down near Van Wert, Ohio, in Van Wert County, which borders Paulding County to the south. The NWS says the tornado stayed on the ground for nine minutes and traveled nearly 13 miles. It generated top winds of 95 mph.
The tornado destroyed barns and also caused damage to a deer farm, reports say. There were no reports of injuries.
In Southwest Ohio, an EF-0 tornado touched down at 1:29 a.m. Thursday in Fayette County, WBNS Channel 10 reports. The tornado, which had top winds of 85 mph, destroyed barns and also uprooted and damaged trees, WBNS reports.
Ohio
Former Ohio State 5-star corner Aaron Scott Jr. lands at Big Ten rival
Former 5-star commit Aaron Scott Jr. has found his new landing spot, and it’s with a rival in the Big Ten. According to an announcement made on social media by Hayes Fawcett, Scott will continue his career with the Oregon Ducks.
Originally from Springfield, Ohio, Scott committed to the Buckeyes over Michigan and others in the class of 2024 as one of the best corners in the country. At the time, it was expected that he could be a big part of the future of the defensive backfield in Columbus. And while Scott received some playing time, he had yet to break into the starting lineup through the first couple of seasons and will have two seasons remaining at Oregon.
Scott had 11 tackles and 1 pass defended through his sophomore season and was expected to be in-line to compete for a starting spot at cornerback next season. It was a surprise when he entered the portal, and we may never really know what kind of situation and conversations occurred behind the scenes.
As a transfer, according to 247Sports, Scott is ranked as the No. 19 cornerback and 291st prospect. Oregon and Ohio State are scheduled to meet each of the next two years, but the Big Ten schedules have not been set when it comes to dates and times
We’ll continue to track the comings and goings of players in the portal as we move forward until it all calms down.
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Ohio
Northeast Ohio native Suzanne Conway brings experience back home to run Cain Park
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — It all started at Cain Park for Suzanne Conway, who will now be returning to the historic amphitheater as its general manager.
City officials announced her hiring Friday (Jan. 16) with Conway starting next month at the oldest operating municipally-owned performing arts venue in the country.
Conway stated in a city press release that she looks forward to “returning to Cain Park, where I began my career all the way back in 1999, and where I first fell in love with live venue entertainment.”
A Northeast Ohio native, Conway brings a wealth of experience back home, having worked in recent years for the country’s largest music venue operator, the House of Blues (HOB).
She has served as general manager at HOB Chicago and San Diego, as well as Director of Music Hall Operations for HOB Dallas.
Conway actually started in 2018 as the assistant general manager for HOB’s operation of Masonic Cleveland.
“After the incredible opportunities I’ve had to grow and do what I love all over the world, I am beyond proud to come home to Cain Park,” she added.
“I cannot wait to bring the best, most diverse live entertainment to Cleveland Heights.”
Her resume also includes early stints in patron services for Great Lakes Theater and a position at Cain Park as Assistant Operations Manager.
Conway then branched into tour management for David Copperfield, film festival operations for Sundance, and managing theater companies at The Old Globe in San Diego.
“She returned for a second tour of duty at Cain Park as Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator,” the city press release noted, adding that her experience has not been limited to the entertainment industry.
“Ms. Conway also counts race director for Susan G. Komen Northeast Ohio, as well as community development manager for the American Cancer Society’s Greater Cleveland Chapter among her career accomplishments,” city officials added.
As she steps into her role operating the entertainment complex at Cain Park, it will look like more of a renaissance than ever.
“Conway’s taking the helm at Cain Park comes at a time of great opportunity, driven in part by the city’s investment of over $5 million in infrastructure improvements,” largely through post-pandemic federal grants, officials said.
The overhaul included seat replacements in the theater and amphitheater, upgrading the audio/visual system, completely renovating the artist and administration building, pavilion roof repairs and adding new lighting on paths and throughout the park.
“In addition, the city built amphitheater-style seating and improved ADA access to the park on its South Taylor end where reinvestment in the Cain Park Village plan continues,” the press release stated.
The work includes restoration of the Taylor Tudor buildings, a $25 million renovation of a mixed-use space near the park.
“We’re truly excited to welcome Suzanne Conway to manage Cain Park. She will arrive at a very exciting time for the city,” Cleveland Heights Mayor Jim Petras said.
Petras added that with unanimous approval from City Council, Cain Park’s 2026 production budget was doubled and the decision was made to elevate Cain Park to its own city department in the near future.
“We were so impressed with her appreciation and reverence for Cain Park as a venue and as a community asset.”
Her salary has also been bumped up to a pay range in line with the city’s communications chief and parks and recreation director.
To learn more, log on to cainpark.com.
Read more from the Sun Press.
Ohio
Bodyguards for GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy didn’t have required Ohio licenses
COLUMBUS, Ohio—During several of Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s recent public appearances, he was accompanied by at least two bodyguards who weren’t registered with the state as required by law, a cleveland.com analysis shows.
The revelation comes as the Columbus-area entrepreneur is moving to fire the Ohio company providing his security after one of his family’s bodyguards was arrested on federal drug‑trafficking charges.
Social-media photos posted by ARK Protection Group of Wayne County; Rpm Gazbpda. the company’s owner who describes himself online as Ramaswamy’s “head of security”; and Ramaswamy’s campaign depict at least two men with Ramaswamy’s security detail during recent events who state records show either had an expired Ohio security-guard license or no such license at all.
Under Ohio law, all security personnel – including personal bodyguards – have to be registered with the state and pass a background check, then renew that registration annually.
They also need additional state certification in order to carry pistols, revolvers, or semi-automatic weapons on the job – which, among other things, requires at least 25 hours of firearms training.
If anyone’s caught working a security job without state permission, both they and their employer can face criminal charges, punishable with jail time and fines.
The Ohio Department of Public Safety, which regulates the state’s private security industry, can additionally fine violators $100 for each day they broke the law, as well as put offending security companies out of business.
However, photos posted by ARK Protection Group on Facebook and Instagram showed (and tagged) Christopher Endres at a Ramaswamy speech at the University of Cincinnati on Dec. 1. Other photos show Endres standing alongside Ramaswamy at Turning Point USA event in Phoenix, where Ramaswamy spoke on Dec. 20.
Endres’ state registration with ARK Protection Group expired in February 2024, according to Department of Public Safety spokesman Bret Crow.
The company set its Instagram account to private on Friday.
Photos posted to Ramaswamy’s Instagram account on Jan. 12 show a second bodyguard, Jacob Owens, accompanying the candidate during a visit to Chillicothe. State records show no sign that Owens has ever been registered to work as security (Ohio does not recognize security-guard licenses or registrations from other states).
In an email, Crow stated that neither Endres nor Owens were included in ARK Protection Groups’ roster of private security guards that it submitted to the state.
Crow would neither confirm nor deny that state officials are investigating ARK Protection Group. However, Crow added that a post by D.J. Byrnes on his left-leaning blog, The Rooster, “contains real information.” The Rooster was first to report ARK Protection Group’s employee‑registration issues.
The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com has reached out to Owens for comment. Endres was briefly reached by phone Friday morning but hung up when a Plain Dealer/cleveland.com reporter identified himself.
A third ARK Protection Group bodyguard for Ramaswamy’s family, Justin Salsburey of Bellefontaine, was arrested Dec. 30 on charges that he and his wife received and sold counterfeit OxyContin pills containing fentanyl, as well as Adderall pills. Salsburey’s security guard license expired last June, though it wasn’t immediately clear if he continued to provide security for Ramaswmay beyond then.
In a statement Friday, Ramaswamy campaign spokeswoman Connie Luck didn’t directly answer questions about how Ramaswamy came to hire ARK Protection Group, nor what vetting – if any – he did of the company or its employees before hiring them to protect him and his family.
“The Ramaswamy family’s contract with Ark Protection Group specifies the requirement to comply with all relevant laws and regulations,” Luck stated in response.
Luck added that “in light of last week’s deeply troubling developments,” Ramaswamy and his family have “begun the process of relieving Ark Protection Group of their responsibilities and transitioning to a new service provider,” Luck stated.
When Luck was asked whether the “troubling developments” only involved news of Salsburey’s arrest, she replied, “This decision was set in motion following last week’s developments.”
Luck also provided a statement from Gazboda stating that he and his company “are sorry to have disappointed the Ramaswamy family.
“Their safety and protection remain our utmost priority, and we are supporting them as they transition to a new security service provider,” Gazboda says in the statement.
The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com has reached out to Gazboda for further comment and details.
While Ramaswamy was the most frequent public figure to show up on ARK Protection Group’s social-media accounts, he wasn’t the only one.
Other photos on the company’s Instagram account, as well as Gazboda’s Facebook account, showed the retired U.S. Air Force master sergeant with celebrities such as singer/rapper Jelly Roll and prominent conservative political leaders such as Donald Trump Jr., ex-U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, and commentator Tucker Carlson.
Theodore Owens, executive director of the Ohio Association of Security & Investigation Services, the state’s main trade group for private security services, said in a phone interview that he was “flabbergasted” to read about ARK Protection Group’s issues – first with Salsburey’s arrest, and now with its registration issues.
“I hate to say this, but it makes the whole industry in Ohio now look bad,” said Owens, who’s not related to Jacob Owens. “I wish you could see me, because I’ve got my face in the palm of my hand right now.”
ARK Protection Group is not a member of Owens’ trade group, and Owens – a 20-year veteran of Ohio’s private security industry — said he hadn’t heard of the company before reading about Salsburey’s arrest last week.
Owens said his organization has already been working with state lawmakers – he declined to say exactly who – to introduce legislation later this year to update Ohio’s regulations for private security personnel – from creating new standards for training and firearms qualification to cracking down on security companies that pay employees under the table (which means the employees aren’t eligible for workers’ compensation if they’re attacked or hurt on the job).
Owens said hearing about ARK Protection Group’s issues has motivated him to push even harder to get those reforms in place.
“I’m like, ‘Yeah, we need to talk to our legislators again and really start working on this,’” he said.
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