Bexley Police Chief Larry Rinehart to address Statehouse Rally: Don't Text and Drive. Thursday September 22, 2011.

Bexley Police Chief Rinehart to address rally.

Sharon Montgomery, a public safety activist, alerts Bexley Public Radio supporters about an event at the Ohio Statehouse in downtown Columbus including a presentation by Bexley Police Chief Rinehart.

A "Don't Text and Drive" Rally is scheduled by state Representative Rex Damschroder, the AAA Ohio Auto Club and Columbus City Council member Michelle Mills. The rally will be held Thursday September 22, at noon on the south lawn of the Ohio Statehouse (arrival time 11:00 a.m.).

Appearing as a rally speaker is Bexley Police Chief Larry Rinehart.

Texting is a popular form of modern communication and the volume of text messages keeps growing. Many cell phone texts are sent from behind the wheel of a moving vehicle. Motor vehicle drivers who text and drive aren’t only putting themselves in danger, they’re also putting other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians at risk as well.

While many forms of distracted driving exist, studies have found texting to be the most dangerous. Virginia Tech Transportation Institute discovered that taking one’s eyes off the road for two seconds doubles the risk of crashing but, on average, those who text and drive spend nearly five seconds looking at the texting device and not at the road. This is long enough for a vehicle traveling at 55 miles per hour to drive the length of a football field.

Currently 34 states and the District of Columbia have laws banning texting while driving. In Ohio, at least 20 municipalities have laws banning texting while driving, and there is a legislative proposal for a statewide ban. House Bill 99, sponsored by state representatives Rex Damschroder and Nancy Garland, would ban texting while driving in Ohio and make it a primary offense. This bill has passed through the House and is now awaiting Senate committee hearings.

The list of victims involved in texting while driving accidents continues to grow.

For more information on the Statehouse rally call 614-431-7896.

Sharon Montgomery discusses the safety bans on texting and driving.

Some Statehouse rules for rally participant:

Corporate banners are prohibited
Signs on sticks, poles or stakes are prohibited
No equipment, apparatus, machine or vehicle is permitted on Capitol buildings or grounds without express written permission
Helium balloons are not permitted
Inflatables are not permitted
Stakes may not be driven into the lawn

Sharon Montgomery.

HELP UPGRADE THE ANTENNA OF BEXLEY PUBLIC RADIO. BE GENEROUS. SEND A DONATION.

Bexley Public Radio Foundation is exempt from federal taxes under IRC Section 501(c)(3). Donations are deductible from federal income taxes for individuals who itemize. Checks may identify the payee as Bexley Public Radio Foundation or WCRX-LP, 102.1 FM.

Bexley Public Radio Foundation broadcasting as
WCRX-LP, 102.1 FM, Local Power Radio
2700 E. Main St., Suite 208
Columbus, OH 43209
Voice (614) 235 2929
Fax (614) 235 3008
Email wcrxlp@yahoo.com
Blog http://agentofcurrency.blogspot.com
Website: www.wcrxlp.com

Design and photograph is copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Bexley Public Radio Foundation. Text is copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Sharon Montgomery.

Police Chief Rinehart: Summer Safety. Letter to the Editor

Summer is finally in full swing. Graduation parties are winding down, the kids are out of school, the pool is in full swing, and we are all looking forward to another great July 4 (July 5 in this case) celebration here in Bexley.

As I was out on my bike this morning patrolling the city, it occurred to me that this is the right time to provide a few key tips for a safe, happy, and citation free summer in our great city:

1. Slow down and obey the speed limit signs. Speeding citations cost money and put points on your driving record.
2. Come to a complete stop at stop signs. Hard to believe, but a few of our drivers struggle with this.
3. Lock your car and put your valuables out of sight. Car break-ins are already increasing and the vast majority of the time the car was unlocked and valuables were laying out in plain sight.
4. Resist the urge to drive to your local fireworks store in preparation of Independence Day celebrations. Fireworks are dangerous and illegal.
5. Protect your identity. Only purchase online items via secure sites and do not allow financial and personnel information to linger in your mailbox. Identity theft is on the rise.
5. Become a member of or start a blockwatch in your neighborhood. Neighborhood watch groups work and strengthen our community.
6. Be vigilant. If someone behaves suspiciously, call the police department: 559-4444. Error on the side of caution and let the police sort it out. We have a lot of traffic through our city. A small percentage of that traffic is up to no good.

That's it. if we all work together our community will be a harder target for criminals, our streets will be safer, and you are much more likely to have a great, enjoyable, peaceful Summer. Thanks and I look forward to seeing you at the parade. Larry Rinehart

Chief Rinehart and "Ride Bexley Ride."

Bexley Police Chief Larry Rinehart announced the third annual "Ride, Bexley, Ride" scheduled for Saturday May 22, 2010.

"Ride Bexley Ride" is the police chief's family bicycle ride and walk against domestic violence. The event starts at 9 am at the magnificent Jeffrey Mansion in Bexley with stops at the Governor's Mansion and OSU President Gordon Gee's home.

The entry fee is $25 per individual and $50 per family with all proceeds going directly to CHOICES.

Sponsors are also needed for the ride. For more information and to sign up or make a donation please go to WWW.CHOICESColumbus.org.

Chief Rinehart said "I am an active advocate against domestic violence and have been since May 12, 2001. In that time I have had the opportunity to speak to more groups of people than I can remember; large and small groups, adults and students, and all types of civic, social, and church groups.

"I have given my presentations to literally thousands of people all over this state. In the course of talking with people before and after my presentations I have come to realize several things that you will not find in the national and local statistics about domestic violence. First, I truly believe that at least 50% of every women in our society will be the victim of physical or emotional violence by the time she is an adult. Either in high school, college, or some dating relationship, at least one half of all women become victims of some form of violence, almost always at the hand of a man.

"Most women recover, get away, get on with their lives and often times forget about it.

"Many do not survive or ever forget it.

"The second thing I have learned is that most men believe it is a women's problem, especially men who have never lived in a violent home, have never experienced relationship violence, and have never been violent to their partner.

"Men simply see it as a women's issue and they could not be more wrong. The vast majority of the time when there is violence in a relationship it is the man who is dishing it out. That is an undisputed fact.

"Men are not only responsible for their own behavior, but men need to accept the responsibility of mentoring the young men in their lives. Us men need to mentor and teach our sons, grandsons, nephews and any other young man who looks up to us that violence against women is not acceptable.

"We need to teach the young men in our lives how to properly deal with emotion and relationships. Until we men step up and have the hard talks with our young men, the plague of domestic violence in our society will continue as it has for far too many generations.

"For the man who replies to this with, "hey, I don't have violence in my house and I have never been violent in my relationships with others," I say, that is not enough. We must mentor our young men. We owe it to our daughters, granddaughters, nieces, sisters, and to all the women in our lives.

"I am honored to serve as a board member for CHOICES eliminating domestic violence. CHOICES has been a powerhouse nonprofit in the fight against domestic violence for over 30 years, running the battered victims shelter and hotline here in central Ohio as well as conducting a host of other advocacy efforts.

"But these are tough times for most nonprofits and CHOICES needs your help. Please join me in my advocacy against domestic and relationship violence by signing up to ride in the third annual "Ride, Bexley, Ride" Police Chief's family bicycle ride and walk against domestic violence on May 22. The event starts at 9 am at the magnificent Jeffrey Mansion in Bexley with stops at the Governor's Mansion and OSU President Gordon Gee's home. The entry fee is $25 per individual and $50 per family with all proceeds going directly to CHOICES. We also need sponsors for the ride. For more information and to sign up or make a donation please go to WWW.CHOICESColumbus.org

"Come join us in our stand against domestic violence and take a ride or walk through beautiful Bexley. Don't forget your helmet."

Larry Rinehart
Chief of Police
City of Bexley, Ohio
614 559-4444
LRinehart@Bexley.org
www.Bexley.org


Bexley Public Radio Foundation broadcasting as
WCRX-LP, 102.1 FM, Local Power Radio
2700 E. Main St., Suite 208
Columbus, OH 43209
Voice (614) 235 2929
Fax (614) 235 3008
Email wcrxlp@yahoo.com
Blog http://agentofcurrency.blogspot.com

Bexley Public Radio Foundation is exempt from federal taxes under IRC Section 501(c)(3). Donations are deductible from federal income taxes for individuals who itemize. Checks may identify the payee as Bexley Public Radio Foundation or WCRX-LP, 102.1 FM.

Design is copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Bexley Public Radio Foundation.

Police Chief Larry Rinehart writes about recent wave of local burglaries for Bexley Public Radio.

From December 29, 2009, to January 22, 2010, our city experienced eight burglaries in the area of College and Sheridan Avenues.

About half of those victims were Capital University students, some home for the holidays when the crimes were committed.

As I write this, we have a good picture of one suspect and we continue to work the crimes very aggressively. Our officers take this spike in burglaries personally.

Putting the criminals in jail is a top priority.

Our police officers and detectives have a very good track record in solving these type of crimes.

For instance, in a ten day period over the holidays we arrested three separate groups of thieves who were committing daytime burglaries in other parts of Bexley.

One of those groups made it a practice to burglarize homes in Bexley and in other communities via the COTA bus system. That was a first for me.

Unfortunately, no community is immune from this scourge.

Our task is often more challenging due to our proximity to some depressed communities and the major roads that pass through our city. In spite of that, our officers, with the help of vigilant community members and some good community watch groups, do a great job of stemming the tide of crime.

In 2008 we received and responded to 13,665 calls for police service. In 2009 that number dropped to 12,370, in large part due to our pro-active police patrol and crime mapping; we intervened and interacted with criminals before a resident had to call the police.

In 2008 we filed 632 charges on people. In 2009 that number rose to 782, again due to good patrol and investigative police work. In 2008 we made 474 physical arrests. That number rose to 628 in 2009, further evidence of effective patrol and investigative work.

While our detective hours required to solve crimes and bring criminals to justice is significantly increasing (mostly due to the types of crimes; ID theft, etc.), the amount of reported crime committed in our city is not increasing.

We have actually seen a decrease of burglaries and Breaking & Entering crimes from 132 in 2007 to 115 in 2008 to 104 in 2009.

As shown by the increase in charges filed and physical arrests, criminals are coming to Bexley in slightly larger numbers.

However, through vigilant police patrol and effective investigation, along with help from a vigilant community, we are effectively interacting with more criminals than ever, before they commit their crime and before the community calls the police department to report a crime.

Even though we put more patrol cars on the street on every shift than any other 2.5 square miles in Franklin County that I know of, our recent arrests of burglars was due to vigilant residents keeping a watchful eye out in their neighborhoods and quickly calling the police when they observed suspicious, out of place activity.

Even though in 2009 we put well over 200,000 miles on police cars patrolling our city, we still need the help of watchful community members to catch criminals and keep our city safe. We hope that this Spring will see the rise of even more community watch groups.

We also need residents and landlords to keep our Bexley homes secure by ensuring that doors and windows lock securely.

Several of our recent burglaries were of residences where every door and window did not lock correctly, allowing criminals easy access. We are working with the Capital University Police Department to spread these safety points to their student population.

Rest assured that your police department is working diligently to discourage criminals from coming to Bexley and to arrest those who come here and commit crimes. As always, we welcome your input, tips, and vigilance in this effort.

If you see a crime in progress call 911. If you see potentially suspicious activity, have information about a crime, or are interested in finding out more about how to start a block watch, call the police non-emergency number at 559-4444. Thank you, Larry Rinehart


Larry Rinehart
Chief of Police
City of Bexley, Ohio
614 559-4444