Top stories of 2024: A year of change

The region spent much of 2024 deciding how things might look in the next decade.

Whether it was considering the impact of an immigration surge, the opening of a transformational building in downtown Lima or weighing the pros and cons of a new type of industry, the region had to answer difficult questions.

Reviewing the top stories of 2024, as chosen by the editors and reporters at The Lima News, shows there was still room to dream, perhaps even spending some time looking at the skies above. Still, the area dealt with natural disasters and high-profile court cases that regularly make it on this annual list.

1. Haitians in Lima

Craig Kelly | The Lima News
Land along North Cole Street between Beery and Irvin Roads in American Township could become the site of a new data center.

Lima became aware of a quiet group of immigrants coming into the region in 2024, people leaving the political turmoil and violence in the Caribbean nation of Haiti and ending up in the region.

Estimates range from several hundred to as many as 5,000, with Allen County Sheriff Matt Treglia acknowledging in May the immigrants his office interacted with were all here legally on two-year work visas, making them ineligible for deportation.

Fear and stereotypes ratcheted up about the city’s newest guests after the March murder of Chrislande Auguste by fellow Haitian Gervens Justilien. Both were here legally. Rumors continued to swirl as Springfield dealt with its burgeoning immigrant population, including ones of pets being eaten by immigrants there, which President-elect Donald Trump repeated during a debate.

Still, organizations such as the City of Lima, Mercy Health-St. Rita’s Medical Center and the Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce have opened up to Haitians, including groups bringing people who speak French Creole.

“They come here just looking for a better opportunity,” said Clifford Joseph, who operates an office in Lima to help Haitian arrivals work through getting their needed documentation and helping them find resources to help get started with food, housing and education. “They are not coming to do anything wrong. All they want is better living. They are hard-working. They are not looking for handouts. All they need is to find a job and make a good living.”

2. Eclipse

The region spent the first few months of the year preparing for an onslaught of visitors, as a total solar eclipse came over the area. Schools, businesses and government offices closed April 8.

While visitor totals were perhaps a tenth of the 100,000-plus that emergency planners warned about, residents and guests alike were treated to a truly unique and beautiful light show as the moon passed between the earth and the sun.

In the region, all went as planned, including memorable celebrations atop the downtown Lima parking garage and in Wapakoneta, the birthplace of astronaut Neil Armstrong and the home of the Armstrong Air & Space Museum.

3. Spring & Main opens

In June, the long-awaited Spring & Main project opened in downtown Lima. The building full of restaurant options including five concepts inside, Casa Lu Al, Corner Pins bowling alley, Vista Taco, Nonno’s Cellar and Rudolph’s Foods’ office space.

It was a $10 million renovation of a vacant old building and investment by Good Foods Retaurants owner John Heaphy, who described it as the latest step in Lima’s downtown comeback. The spots have been popular since opening.

“It’s more than brick and mortar,” Heaphy said. “It’s changing people’s hearts; it’s changing people’s minds of what a community can be. It’s bringing our two cultures together. This town is a very diverse town. We’re going to win when we live together, when we play together, when we work together.”

4. Teen deaths

Charlotte Caldwell | The Lima NewsMalik Dennis, 19, was sentenced in December to a minimum 25 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and improperly discharging a firearm into a habitation in the death of Lauralye Sterling, 14.

Shooting deaths of teens were all-too common. One highly visible case included the death of 14-year-old Lauralye Sterling in February.

Malik Dennis, who was 18 at the time, eventually was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison on charges of involuntary manslaughter and improperly discharging a firearm into a habitation. Family members spoke harshly toward Dennis at the sentencing.

“If I had it my way, you’d be getting the death penalty,” Sterling’s grandfather said during sentencing. “I’m not for capital punishment, but in this case, I believe that you should give your life just like you took my granddaughter’s.”

A pair of teens in the region also died of gunshot wounds that weren’t considered homicides, including Grant Siefker, 15, of Columbus Grove, and Ayden Moorman, of Wapakoneta.

In April, a 13-year-old died from injuries suffered in a fight with a 14-year-old. Police didn’t identify that person.

5. Tornados

Three people were confirmed dead, and millions of damage was left behind after an EF-3 tornado hit Indian Lake on the evening of March 14.

A smaller tornado also hit Fryburg in Auglaize County, damaging dozens of homes and businesses.

A Federal Emergency Management Agency estimate found $8.7 million in damage, 174 destroyed homes and 1,138 displaced residents as a result of the storm. There was also $1.4 million in direct support from donations to the United Way of Logan County.

6. Data centers

Craig Kelly | The Lima News
Land along North Cole Street between Beery and Irvin Roads in American Township could become the site of a new data center.

The term “data center” became part of the vernacular 2024, as residents learned about proposals in Perry and American townships and shared their concerns about the noise and electrical and water usage the tech giants might bring.

In October, Microsoft announced it moved on from a proposed project in Perry Township that could have been up to six buildings on 350 acres along state Route 65 between Breese and Hume roads.

In November, a different project came to the forefront, along North Cole Street between Pery and Irvin roads. The company behind the data center hasn’t yet been disclosed, but neighbors raised questions about turning the agricultural land into something that helps support the incremental growth of the data sector.

7. Rite Aid closures

Mackenzi Klemann | The Lima News
Rite Aid pharmacies across the region shut down in August, September and October, leaving some area cities without a pharmacy.

Rite Aid closed its stores and pharmacies throughout the region after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2023. By this October, all of its stores in the region, including those in Lima, Ada, Delphos, Kenton, Ottawa, Russells Point and St. Marys, were shuttered.

That left cities like Delphos without an operating pharmacy, after Rite Aid successfully drove out competition in the past. Some patients started filling their prescriptions through Ohio Northern University’s HealthWise Pharmacy or Mercy Health-St. Rit’as Medical Center.

Businesses such as Meijer, Walgreens and Walmart tried to absorb some of the business, but longer waits were often found after the closures.

8. Hovanec murder

From left, Amanda Hovanec, Anita Green and Anthony Theodorou were all sentenced Oct. 1 in federal court in Toledo in the death of Timothy Hovanec.

A bizarre murder in Auglaize County came to its courtroom conclusion Oct. 1, as a judge sentenced Amanda Hovanec to 40 years in federal prison in the death of her estranged husband, Timothy Hovanec. According to court records, she injected an animal tranquilizer that is lethal to humans, etorphine or M99, into her husband’s shoulder back in 2022 after difficult divorce proceedings.

Her former boyfriend, Anthony Theodorou, of South Africa, received an 18-year prison sentence for his role, which included shipping the tranquilizer into the U.S. Her mother, Anita Green, received a 121-month prison sentence as an accessory after the fact.

9. Transgender bathrooms

Sara D. Davis | Getty Images/TNS
Ohio passed a law required to designate separate bathrooms, locker rooms and overnight accommodations “for the exclusive use” of either males and females, based on one’s gender assigned at or near birth, in both school buildings and facilities used for a school-sponsored event.

Conversations at school board meetings in places such as Elida schools focused partially on which bathrooms students might use, amid concerns about transgender students using facilities with people who were born of the opposite gender.

Ohio eventually passed and signed Senate Bill 104, which mandates separate restroom and locker room facilities for male and female students, based on their gender at birth.

10. Car fire death

Nicholas Stemen, 33, of Elida, faces charges of murder, involuntary manslaughter and endangering children after his 2-year-old daughter, Lillyanna Stemen, was found dead in a burning car in September.

Stemen allegedly operated his vehicle erratically, with one tire missing, on an American Township roadway before the vehicle came to rest near the intersection of Zion Church Road and Shenk Road, where it caught fire, according to a report from the Allen County Sheriff’s Office.

A jury trial in the case is scheduled to begin March 11.

ON LIMAOHIO.COM

Here’s a look at the most-read local news stories on LimaOhio.com in 2024, based on views:

1. Lima police arrest man, 18, in death of 14-year-old girl – 39,385 views

2. TB hospital, Macy’s store to be demolished – 30,939

3. Lima teen involved in Friday night fight has died – 25,838

4. Michigan company buys area grocery stores – 25,737

5. Ohio has passed transgender bathroom laws in schools. Should businesses worry? – 24,347

6. E-verify bill passes Ohio House – 23,927

7. Child dead, father in custody after car fire – 21,839

8. Communities bond in aftermath of area shooting incidents – 20,710

9. Two die in Columbus Grove house fire – 19,042

10. Senate passes resolution to end WEP – 18,116

Source: Google Analytics on LimaOhio.com, Jan. 1-Dec. 25, 2024

Reach David Trinko at 567-242-0467 or on Twitter/X @Lima_Trinko.