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The Saints in Ohio Need Our Help!
Pastor Bill Dunfee with foreword by Rev. Flip Benham • 8/5/2010
As you all know, things are heating up with the Foxhole ministry. Pastor Bill and others from New Beginnings have talked with some of our local law enforcement officials regarding the enforcement of the Community Defense Act - in which adult businesses are to be closed from the hours of midnight to 6:00 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. While Prosecuting Attorney Bob Batchelor states that the sheriff's office has been informed that the law is to be enforced, we have yet to see any action from the sheriff's department. The Foxhole remains open way past midnight with new customers entering in what should be "after hours." We were even asked by Mr. Batchelor, "How do we know that what's going on inside the building after 12:00 is not just a bunch of people playing cards?" and were told that "an investigation" would need to take place to ensure that "adult cabaret" business is what's going on. It is our hope that with increased pressure from the Church and the Christian community, our officials will begin to enforce the laws that are already on the books to protect us and our communities from the detrimental effects of such businesses. _______________________ We NEED your help in this battle. Below is some information regarding the prosecuting attorney and his duties, the Sheriff's Department Code of Ethics, contact information for both offices and information on the Community Defense Act, i.e., Senate Bill 16 (ORC 2907.40(B)), along with specific talk points regarding our situation with the Foxhole. We need you to contact both offices to voice your concerns about the negligence of our sheriff's department and their failure to enforce the law. They have been contacted by our ministry team on numerous occasions regarding the fact that the Hole is still open past 12:00 - with no action taken to close the doors. Please, prayerfully take the time to contact these offices so that we may see the closing of this den of iniquity. _______________________ Duties of the County Prosecutor Advises County Officials : In his capacity as chief legal counsel for all county officers, he may advise and offer written opinions to county officers in matters connected with their official duties. The Prosecutor is required to prosecute and defend all suits and actions which any board or officer directs or to which the board or officer is a party. Contact Information: Coshocton County Prosecutor's Office Bob Batchelor, Prosecuting Attorney 318 Chestnut Street Coshocton , Ohio 43812 (740) 622-3566 Office Email: bobbatchelor@coshoctoncounty.net Sheriff’s Department - Code of Ethics: As a Law Enforcement Officer, my fundamental duty is to serve mankind; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the Constitutional rights of all men to liberty, equality, and justice. I will keep my private life unsullied as an example to all; maintain courageous calm in the face of danger, scorn, or ridicule; develop self-restraint; and be constantly mindful of the welfare of others. Honest in thought and deed in both my personal and official life, I will be exemplary in obeying the laws of the land and the regulations of my Office. Whatever I see or hear of confidential nature or that is confided to me in my official capacity will be kept ever secret unless revelation is necessary in the performance of my duty. I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, animosities, or friendships to influence my decisions. Without compromise for crime and with relentless prosecution of criminals, I will enforce the law courteously and appropriately without fear or favor, malice, or ill will, never employing unnecessary force or violence and never accepting gratuities. I recognize the badge of my office as a symbol of public faith, and I accept it as a public trust to be held so long as I am true to the ethics of LAW ENFORCEMENT service. I will constantly strive to achieve these objectives and ideals, dedicating myself before God to my chosen profession...law enforcement. Contact Information: Sheriff Timothy L. Rogers 328 Chestnut Street Coshocton, OH 43812 740 622-2411 Email: sheriffrogers@coshoctoncounty.net AN ACT To amend section 503.52 and to enact sections 715.55 and 2907.40 of the Revised Code to restrict the hours of operation of sexually oriented businesses, to prohibit patrons and employees of a sexually oriented business who are not immediate family members from touching each other while on the premises of that business and while the employee is nude or seminude, and to require the state to indemnify a township or municipal corporation for liability incurred in enforcing a resolution or ordinance that regulates adult entertainment establishments, is adopted in conformance with the Attorney General's guidance, and is found by a court to be unconstitutional or otherwise legally defective. Sec. 2907.40. (B) No sexually oriented business shall be or remain open for business between 12:00 midnight and 6:00 a.m. on any day, except that a sexually oriented business that holds a liquor permit pursuant to Chapter 4303. of the Revised Code may remain open until the hour specified in that permit if it does not conduct, offer, or allow sexually oriented entertainment activity in which the performers appear nude. (D) Whoever violates division (B) of this section is guilty of illegally operating a sexually oriented business, a misdemeanor of the first degree. TALK-POINTS WHEN CONTACTING PA BATCHELOR AND SHERIFF ROGERS: 1. The New Castle Foxhole does NOT hold a liquor permit – thus, regardless of any other perceived reason, according to ORC 2907.40, the business is legally required to be closed between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 6:00 a.m. 2. The New Castle Board of Trustees has enacted zoning codes that specify that adult businesses are to be closed Monday through Thursday at 11:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 12:00 p.m. and closed all day Sunday. Their codes also specify that the business is not to be open until 12:00 noon on any day (except Sunday). 3. Prosecutor Bob Batchelor specifically told us that the hours of operation regulations are to be enforced, but that an “investigation” would be necessary to determine whether the activity going on after hours is actually “ adult cabaret” activity. The law states that “No sexually oriented business shall be or remain open for business…” 4. The neon sign at the Foxhole specifically states its’ hours of operation being 7 p.m.-3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. on other days. 5. We are asking the police department to enforce the midnight closing of the Foxhole “adult cabaret” (as admitted in court proceedings – U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Eastern Division, Case No. 2:07 CV-875). 6. We are asking the prosecutor’s office to hold the police department accountable to this task. |
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