Presented by Hometown-Motors, Inc.

(Editor’s note: Litter Media’s Dan Ramey worked for Smith from 1983-1988)

Dave Smith, long time owner of WFCB and later WCHI, passed away Wednesday afternoon following an extended illness. Smith was 76.Smith arrived in the First Capital in 1983 moving from his native Fostoria, Ohio where he began his career with WFOB. He would also later acquire the station where he worked as a teenager.  Smith was more than an owner, he was also a trained engineer and performed duties as a Chief Engineer in Toledo and was known to assist numerous other Ohio stations with his technical expertise. Bob Neal spent a good number of years working for Smith right out college in the 1980s until the stations sold in late 1999.“

Dave was courageous moving his family to Chillicothe” Neal told Litter Media. “Dave was an innovator developing a hyper local business model before anyone used the term in the industry. Dave devoted hours of airtime publicizing dozens of charities and was a true humanitarian. All this made Dave truly inspirational to me and countless others.”

Litter Media’s Dan Ramey was part of the staff Smith inherited when he purchased WFCB in ’83. “Dave created a family atmosphere for all who worked for he and Annette” Ramey said in a posting on Facebook. “For those who only know me through Cavalier Sports, Dave was the one who gave me the opportunity to become the Voice of the Cavaliers. I was small part of the broadcast team in 1982, but when Dave arrived in 1983, he turned me loose and it changed my life forever. He didn’t hold me back when I told him I was entertaining a job from Sunny 95 and rooted for me as my career appeared to be taking off to new heights.”

Smith’s station made its greatest stride in popularity when morning man Chip Arledge, aka The Rotund One, began a petition drive to bring rocker John Mellencamp to Chillicothe. The drive began in 1986 and Arledge’s campaign was rewarded in December of 1987 when Mellencamp performed two free shows at OU-Chillicothe’s Shoemaker Center. As an added bonus, toys were collected for local children’s charities. The event launched Arledge’s career to points beyond Chillicothe. 

“Over the years, I had a chance to work with Dave in several markets outside of Chillicothe” Arledge told Litter Media. “I can honestly tell you that every one of those markets benefitted from Dave being involved in its radio landscape. I loved him like an older brother and will miss him more than I miss being ten years old.”  

As corporate ownership began to consume radio stations in smaller markets, the focus has drifted from what many remember as local radio with the “mom and pop” style portrayed by Smith.

Buzz Perri, a 1980s Chillicothe transplant from New York City, was given a chance to operate a Saturday night show called “The Lazer’s Edge”. He recounts “Saturday nights was anything goes. Dave and Chip gave me a break. ‘Keep it clean, Buzz, keep it clean.’ Words I’ll always remember.”

Ty Tatman commented on Ramey’s Facebook post “Local small town radio was pretty amazing in the environment Dave created and nurtured here” Tatman wrote. “He was a great fella.”

Ramey adds “Smith was a fan of local music. If he and Annette weren’t at The Cross Keys for the Goosetown Astonishers, they were at The Dock at Water for live music.” 

Smith was predeceased by his loving wife Annette in August of 2019. First Presbyterian Church will host a public memorial service for Dave on Monday, February 8, 2021 at 6:00 pm, streaming on First Presbyterian’s Facebook and YouTube Channels. 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE OBITUARY FOR DAVE SMITH

Presented by McDonalds, I’m Lovin’ It!

(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted on Thursday provided the following updates on Ohio’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

VACCINE UPDATE

Ohio is among the top five states for delivering COVID-19 vaccine doses to long-term care facility residents. As a result of this aggressive effort to vaccinate those in long-term care, Ohio is beginning to see a drop in cases.

Pfizer has notified Ohio that they believe they will increase their shipment of vaccine by 40 percent around mid-to-late February. Shipments could additionally increase even more by the end of March. Pfizer is currently shipping approximately 73,000 doses to Ohio per week.

Moderna doses have increased from 73,200 two weeks ago to 105,600 doses that are expected next week. 

Ohio was one of the first states to draw unused doses from the long-term care program, and those 77,000 extra doses are being delivered this week to select CVS and Walgreens pharmacies.

ODJFS PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TEAM  

Governor DeWine announced the formation of a new Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) Public-Private Partnership Team to improve Ohioans’ experiences with the unemployment system.  

Members of the team will include highly-skilled experts, most of whom are on loan from some of Ohio’s top banking and insurance companies:

• Fifth Third Bank
• Nationwide 
• Western & Southern Financial Group
• Encova Insurance
• KeyBank

Pat Tiberi, President and CEO of the Ohio Business Roundtable, worked with business leaders to identify the best talent for the partnership team who have experience in large organizations’ call centers, claims processes, and fraud detection. 

“These experts will provide recommendations and solutions to improve the call center, claims process, and fraud detection efforts in the state unemployment system,” said Governor DeWine. “They’ll examine short-term and long-term improvements. Our goal is quick action while keeping an eye on the long-term best processes going forward, and we will continue working to improve the unemployment system so that eligible Ohioans in need can receive the financial assistance they are counting on during this pandemic.” 

The team currently has around 16 members but is expected to grow.

UNEMPLOYMENT UPDATE

This week, Ohio has paid out nearly $100 million to more than 110,000 Ohioans receiving traditional unemployment. This represents some extended weeks of benefits plus an additional $300 a week, which were included with the new federal aid.

Starting this Saturday, more than 155,000 Ohioans will also start seeing benefits from this new federal aid package. This includes Ohioans who recently lost a job as a result of the pandemic as well as Ohioans who continue to be impacted due to the pandemic. 

By the last week in February, all Ohioans impacted by unemployment will have the ability to claim all the weeks and supplements available under the law and receive the benefits they are owed.

OPIOID SETTLEMENT

Governor DeWine also commented on Ohio’s $24.7 million settlement with McKinsey & Co. for its role in fueling the opioid crisis. The settlement is part of a $573 million national settlement encompassing 47 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories.

Settlement funds will be distributed as part of the OneOhio plan which focuses funding to programs that address prevention, treatment, and long-term recovery as well as criminal justice and public awareness costs that promote the overall health and well-being of Ohioans.

Ohio was one of the first states to file lawsuits against the opioid manufacturers and distributers that pushed millions of addictive pills into Ohio. Last year, the state developed the OneOhio partnership with Ohio townships, villages, cities, and counties that filed suit against these same companies. 

“Although McKinsey was not a part of the lawsuits that brought Ohio together under the OneOhio plan, I am pleased that Attorney General Dave Yost has decided to leverage this recent settlement to start the work of OneOhio and begin the development of a statewide foundation,” said Governor DeWine. “We remain committed to holding these drug manufacturers and distributors accountable. When the settlements for those cases happen, Ohio will be ready to implement the necessary funding, programs, and services for Ohio’s communities.”

CURRENT CASE DATA

In total, there are 910,847 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 reported in Ohio and 11,509 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total of 47,110 people have been hospitalized throughout the pandemic, including 6,800 admissions to intensive care units. In-depth data can be accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov. 

Video of today’s full update, including versions with foreign language translation, can be viewed on the Ohio Channel’s YouTube page. 

Presented by Hometown-Motors, Inc.

The State of Ohio is one of 33 states and the District of Columbia that are members of a coalition taking a stand to protect homeowners from unlawful fees.
 
The bipartisan coalition opposes a proposed class action settlement that would permit a mortgage servicer to profit from illegal payment processing fees charged to homeowners who pay their mortgage online or by phone.
 
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey says “Companies that pad their bottom line with unlawful processing fees cannot be allowed to continue such conduct in West Virginia or in any state.”
 
The coalition’s brief opposes the proposed settlement in Morris, et al. v. PHH Mortgage Corporation, et al., a case in which mortgage servicer PHH Mortgage Corporation would be able to continue to profit from unlawful processing fees the company has been charging one million homeowners nationwide.
 
For years, the coalition argues, PHH charged homeowners an illegal fee — ranging from $7.50 to $17.50 — each time a homeowner made a monthly mortgage payment online or by phone, despite many Americans paying their mortgages one of these two ways.
 
Nowhere in these homeowners’ mortgage contracts is their authorization for such fees and PHH does not charge “processing” fees for any other customers, including those who pay by check or via automatic debit payment. Charging debt collection or similar fees not expressly mentioned in the mortgage contract is unlawful in the 33 states involved in the legal action.
 
The coalition opposes the proposed settlement arguing it would not only permit PHH to continue to charge the unlawful fees, but also would allow it to actually increase fees — up to $19.50 per month — for the remaining life of the loan, which, for many homeowners, could be another 20 to 30 years.
 
The coalition further objects to the inadequacy of the monetary relief, as the proposed settlement is designed to ensure that a portion of the monetary relief intended for homeowners will actually end up in PHH’s hands.
 
Furthermore, homeowners whose loans are still serviced by PHH will not receive any direct monetary payments for prior unlawful payments received by PHH.
 
West Virginia joined the New York- and Minnesota-led coalition with attorneys general from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.