8th congressional district

Hollywood Brings Just A Little Bit Of Fame To My Hometown

Posted on May 19, 2015 by CharlieClaywell

17156578214_534f58a81e_oNames like Timothy Hutton, Josh Hutcherson and James Franco are not names usually associated with southwest Ohio where I live, but for 24 hours over the weekend, those names attracted spectators hoping to get a glimpse of Hollywood fame.

All three actors were in town to film scenes from the upcoming Franco film — The Long Home.

Although meeting the stars would be cool, what I was most interested in was watching the film crew transform the town into a movie set. I watched as the building being used as the backdrop for the film– Dale’s Pool Hall as it is locally known — was transformed into a 1940s-era structure. Workers could be seen altering the building’s façade early Sunday morning — eventually adding signage above the diner labeling it F&J’s. While they worked, cars from the 1940s were brought onto the set and gravel was placed on the street to create the appearance of a unpaved road in Tennessee.

Filming started at 4 p.m. and was scheduled to last until 4 a.m.

Although I did not stick around to see the celebrities, I did take my daughter up to the set at 10:30 p.m. to see if she could catch a glimpse of the fame — we left at midnight without success. But despite our lack of success, the set did bring a feeling of excitement and intrigue to our small town.

Other Famous People Visit Preble County

It’s not the first time famous actors have been in Preble County — although it may be the first time a major picture has been filmed here. When Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise starred in Rain Man, some of the movie was filmed in the southwest Ohio area as well as in nearby Metamora, Indiana. My wife — who was a teen when the movie was filmed — was able to secure some movie memorabilia and an image of Tom Cruise watching a go-kart race at G & J Kartway — in Camden on the south end of Preble County.

But there have been others as well.

Garth Brooks was signed to perform at the Preble County Fair about a year before he became famous — and he honored his commitment. Years ago, George Wendt (of Cheers) was spotted at the Preble County Fair and members of the TV Show Dallas were also spotted inside the county.

2843_127627661440But possibly the most intriguing connection to Hollywood and Preble County was from the early 1970s. A character actor — largely unknown today — Billy De Wolfe befriended the region after getting pulled over for speeding on Interstate 70 in Preble County. According to the March 4, 1974 edition of The Register-Herald, which announced his death, De Wolfe’s “comments on national television program put Eaton on the map.” The paper further reported De Wolfe had,

“… adopted the Eaton community and was interested in its activities. It was not unusual for him to make a telephone call to a friend here on the spur of the moment.”

Later that same year he is mentioned in a publication about the annual Preble County Pork Festival. When De Wolfe appeared at the 1973 Pork Festival, the paper said,

“The late Billy De Wolfe of Hollywood, Calif., arrived in the community Thursday and spend many hours visiting with local residents and visitors.

He willingly signed hundreds of autographs, watched the various events and activities, appeared with Bob Braun on the 50-50 Club and was the ‘Candy Man’ in the final numbers of two of the Preble Festival Swingers’ three shows which played to a packed house.”

Although the roles played by Franco and the cast of The Long Home are considerably different than the ones played by De Wolfe, Sunday afternoon in Eaton had the same feeling described more than 40 years ago. Just like De Wolfe, the actors signed autographs and — in the modern era–  took ‘selfies’ with spectators.

And the actors seemed genuinely thrilled by their fans’ adoration.

So, who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky again — with a new generation of actors putting Eaton back on the map.

Categories: 8th congressional district, Ohio Events, Preble County

Books I’ve Read: Sideswiped Offers Insider’s View Of American Political Machinery

Posted on October 22, 2014 by CharlieClaywell

Bob NeyIn my ongoing quest to research what my Congressman John Boehner has — or has not — done for his district, I came across this book by former United States Congressman from Ohio Robert Ney. Ney, was a colleague of Boehner and, let’s just say, there does not appear to be any love lost between the two.

Ney was convicted of a felony in 2006 in what came to be known as the Abramoff Scandal. Sideswiped: Lessons Learned Courtesy of the Hit Men of Capital Hill is an autobiographical look at Ney’s life, the scandal, the jail sentence and beyond. Even if you are not aware of the scandal — or only have a cursory interest in politics — I highly recommend the book because it adds to the public arena two aspects of America that most citizens will not experience firsthand.

  1. It gives the average American a look at how the political machine — regardless which side of the coin a reader lands on — is bigger than any one individual and how it can consume and corrupt. Makes no bones about it, Ney does not excuse his behavior, he readily admits he is a recovering alcoholic and that he had ethical lapses. He does not write from the angle of ‘have pity on me,’ but writes almost as a dispassionate journalist relaying what transpired in his life and career. Because he was in politics for such a long time, he provides some interesting insight to modern U.S. events like voting reform legislation — and on the less newsy side Freedom Fries.
  2. Ney also provides an interesting look at how the penal system works. Ney matter-of-factly relays how he and other, especially political, felons were treated inside the system. Most interesting, I think, was how the halfway house was run and some of the ludicrous — and archaic — rules that were in place that tended to prevent, rather than promote, a convict’s re-entry into society.

In his book, though, Ney, who seems to have little to lose (he went from about $600-a-day salary to less than $2,000/month), shows his southeastern Ohio roots and is more than willing to throw others under the bus — including Boehner. He writes,

“[Boehner] was considered a man who was all about winning and money. He was a chain-smoking, relentless wine drinker who was more interested in the high life — golf, women, cigarettes, fun, and alcohol.”

When the book was released in 2013, Boehner’s spokesperson Michael Steel said,

“This is a convicted felon with a history of failing to tell the truth making a lot of baseless accusations to try and sell books. More than anything else, it’s sad.”

Readers will decide for themselves who they believe, but despite the mud-slinging, the book does shine a light on the unscrupulous connection between lobbyists, politicians and the resulting legislation that is imposed on the American public because of who has a Congressman’s ‘ear.’

Rated 4 out of 5. My main critique of the book are the sidebars. It appears Ney is sifting through a lot of information as he writes. In his defense, it would be very difficult to compress nearly three decades of public life into a 363 page book. However, what he does is include some of the ‘extra’ information in parenthesis and italics, which, at least for me, was somewhat distracting as it tended to interfere with the overall flow of the book.

 

Categories: 8th congressional district, American History, Books I have read, Politics

Disconnect Widens Between Boehner, Constituents

Posted on October 7, 2014 by CharlieClaywell
From the vantage point of Boehner's favorite Preble County diner, you can almost see all the signs of a declining local economy -- the dollar stores, the payday lenders and the county 5th largest employer, Walmart.

From the parking lot of Boehner’s favorite Preble County diner, you can see quite a few of the telltale signs of the declining local economy: dollar stores, payday lenders, the national chains forcing local small businesses to close — and you can almost see the county’s 5th largest employer, Walmart.

Months ago I set up a Google alert for John Boehner to get a better feel for what he is — or is not — doing for the men and women he represents in Ohio’s 8th Congressional District. Using this approach I get a daily email, filled with 4-10 stories in which Boehner is mentioned. I have learned about everything from the nonsensical videos he released to his progression from “Wait until January” to vote on the War against the Islamic state to “Let’s vote now.”

But the most interesting item to me — is what’s missing — campaigning for re-election in the 8th Congressional District.  Instead he is campaigning for fellow Republicans and looking forward to the apparently more important election in January when it will be decided if he remains Speaker of the House.

Despite the fact Preble County just had its single largest event of the year — the Pork Festival — an event which pulls in 125,000 attendees throughout the 8th district and beyond, Boehner did not need to make an appearance since the election victory is all but wrapped up.

But the disconnect between what the Speaker does, and what is happening inside his district is most evident when the national news flow is compared to the news flow ‘back home.’

Preble County Headlines

  • On the front page of the county’s newspaper this week, the one that carries Boehner’s column, the main headline reads, “Meth Lab Discovery.” Meth is just one of the significant drug problems the county faces — heroin use is also on the rise.
  • The secondary headline dives into the county’s financial situation as Preble County Commissioners discuss whether they can afford to build a $1 million dollar building at the county-owned and county-operated landfill. One commissioner says the price tag is too high especially since the bill — through a tax assessment — will be passed on to taxpayers and business owners.

But it’s the inside story that best shows the plight of Preble County. The article (Job and Family Services grant to fund training) talks about how Preble County is one of only 10 counties in the state to receive a $150.000 grant. According to the article, the money,

“will be used to help people who are on food assistance become more self-sufficient. More than 5,000 people in Preble County are on food assistance.”

That means, in a county of about 40,000 residents, one-fifth of its residents need assistance with the basic necessity of food. If you examine a 2013 report about Preble County from Job and Family Services, you will see the number correlates with another stat — 19 percent of the county’s children live in poverty.

Boehner Headlines

Far removed from the poverty that afflicts a significant part of his Preble County constituents, Boehner’s week is filled more with the business of politics. The news flow indicates that Boehner does not campaign heavily in Preble County or other parts of the District because he doesn’t need to.

What is most interesting to me this election cycle is the reduced number of Boehner’s trademark green and white signs throughout the county possibly because only 62 percent of the county’s Republicans voted for him in the May primary — an all-time low.

So, as support appears to be waning for Boehner in this small rural county, can it make a difference?

With slightly more than 27,000 voters in Preble County, it won’t even create a ripple at the national level.

mainDoubleTopThe Truth
In the era of spin, marketing  and competing news agencies how do you know if a politician is being truthful and is, in fact, working for his constituents — and not just the small group of financiers that keep him in office? Several websites and agencies are dedicated to doing just that — separating the spin from the truth.
Categories: 8th congressional district, Preble County