2020 in review: A year of pain, challenges, hope in Clark and Champaign counties

But it was also a year of perseverance as friends and family mourned the loss of a former football coach, hundreds gathered in Clark and Champaign counties to protest racial injustice and strides were made to improve the community.

As this year comes to a close and a new one begins, here are some of the stories that resonated with News-Sun readers.

Champaign County woman one of area’s first coronavirus deaths

When you consider the early warnings about those at most risk of death from the coronavirus, Angela Faith White, born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, might have been one of the last people you’d think would have to worry.

She was just 56 and in good health. She did not have a compromised immune system that would concern a doctor.

When they were young, White home-schooled her three daughters on eight acres in Cable, an unincorporated community in Champaign County. With her daughters — Annemarie Bradford and Sara, Amie and Leah White — grown, Angela lived in the four-bedroom empty nest with her husband, Christoper.

Sara, of Miami Twp., said her mom was “kind of a homebody” and that “unless it had something to do with her kids and her husband, she just really didn’t leave the house very often.”

Sara said her mother, who often had a cough, sought medical attention after losing her appetite and coming down with a recurring fever. She took a coronavirus test, but her fever spiked before she received the results and her family knew something had to be done.

Angela was sedated on March 23 before being transferred from Mercy Health - Urbana Hospital to Springfield Regional Medical Center.

Her health continued to decline and the family made the decision to take her off life support, which Sara said her mother would have wanted.

Wearing protective gear, the Angela’s daughters said goodby to her on April 8 at Springfield Regional Medical Center.

Sara says her dad could not be in the room because “he just couldn’t fathom watching his wife take her last breath and watching her heart rate become zero.”

Sara said she doesn’t know how her mom became infected with coronavirus.

Former Wittenberg assistant football coach dies at 38

A beloved former assistant football coach at Wittenberg University passed away over the summer at his home in Lexington, Ky., at the age of 38.

Sean Ross coached nine seasons at Wittenberg from 2007-15 and was one of the longest-tenured full-time assistant coaches Joe Fincham has had in 25 years as the head coach.

Ross died in his sleep on Aug. 6 and the cause of death was later revealed to be an enlarged heart.

He was part of five NCAC championship teams over a span of nine season.

Ross arrived at Wittenberg in 2007 and was elevated to defensive coordinator in 2013.

Ross left the football program in 2016 but stayed at the university, moving into the position of associate director of leadership giving.

Ross held that position until 2018 and then moved to a job at Kentucky State University as director of major gifts. He was working for the United Way at the time of his death.

Ross’ older brother Scott described him as a healthy individual whose death shocked everyone.

Friends and family of Ross gathered in Springfield during October to celebrate his life.

John Legend announces TAC’s free shuttle service after Kroger closure

Springfield native John Legend announced a free shuttle service after Kroger on South Limestone Street closed its doors in early March.

The shuttle service, by The Abilities Connection, a Springfield-based non-profit organization, and the City of Springfield, took residents to the Kroger located on East Main Street.

With the closure of Kroger, the south side of Springfield was labeled a food desert - with the closest grocery store is roughly four miles away.

In addition to the shuttle service, Legend also announced that he was partnering with city officials to come up with a more permanent solution to the grocery chain closure.

Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck previously said there is no immediate timeline on when the south side of Springfield will see a grocery store. Instead, he said the city is working with Dillin LLC to “put a business plan together to make the space an attractive location for a business to go into.”

The shuttle service ran through early June.

Coronavirus: Mercy Health - Springfield has outbreak

Over a dozen employees of Mercy Health Springfield Regional Medical Center tested positive for the coronavirus in June.

It was one of a number of outbreaks being investigated by the Clark County Combined Health District at the time as coronavirus cases continued to increase in the county.

It was reported that 13 employees at Springfield Regional had tested positive by the second week of June. Seven of the 13 confirmed cases were Clark County residents, while the other six were employees who lived outside the county.

A representative of the combined health district told the News-Sun at the time that the outbreak appeared not to have originated with a positive coronavirus patient.

At the time it was reported that no patients the employees came in contact with prior to their positive tests had tested positive.

A representative of Mercy Health stated at the time that Springfield regional continues to follow all safety protocols “each and every time we care for patients and also follow the guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state department of health to minimize exposure to other patients and our associates.”

Another store at the Upper Valley Mall to close its doors

Victoria’s Secret, a store at the Upper Valley Mall closed for good in January.

L Brands, a parent company of the women’s lingerie chain, said they had no further comment on why the store closed or whether the store plans to relocate somewhere else in Clark County.

Victoria’s Secret was one of the few remaining stores in the Upper Valley Mall.

In January, the mall had 12 storefronts open including Hollywood Nails, Sheer Perfection, GNC, Bath & Body Works, Spencers Gifts, Emporium, Shoe Dept. Encore, Sonics School of Dance Gymnastics and Cheerleading, Popz Topz showroom, Foot Locker, Home Plate Sports Academy and Epic Loot Games and Comics.

Protest in Springfield over George Floyd death

The killing of an unarmed black man while in Minneapolis Police custody in May sparked a series of protest across the country.

Multiple demonstrations took place in Clark and Champaign counties as organizers and participants protested against racial injustice.

George Floyd’s death renewed conversations about police brutality and systemic racism in the country and prompted massive protest in the months that followed.

Floyd was videotaped being held down by several police officers after being handcuffed. One officer was captured on video pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes.

Floyd was later pronounced dead.

Hundreds of people marched through downtown Springfield at the end of May to protest his death and police brutality as well as highlight injustices faced by Black communities across the nation.

Springfield officials and representatives of local law enforcement also condemned the actions that lead to Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. They also called out racial injustices as well as praised the peaceful protests that occurred, but condemned acts of vandalism.

Other demonstrations took place in Springfield and New Carlisle. Demonstrations also took place in Champaign County.

Teen killed, 1 injured in rollover crash in Clark County

A 17-year-old was killed in Clark County on Aug. 17 after a car hit a tree and rolled over multiple times, according to Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Destiny Wells, 17, was driving south on Old Clifton Road at 4 a.m. when the 2008 Honda Accord went off the left side of the road. The car struck a tree before overturning multiple times, according to troopers.

Wells, who was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. Her passenger, Traymonta McKinney, 20, of Springfield, was transported to Springfield Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, according to troopers.

Speed was a factor in the incident, according to troopers. At the time, it was the 11th deadly crash in the county in 2020.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine hopes to see county fairs held in some form

The Clark County fair board made the decision in June to hold only a junior fair, which meant no rides, games or grandstand entertainment.

Organizers wanted to host a socially distanced event over the summer that would adhere to state coronavirus guidelines.

As a result, there was no charge for admission and most of buildings were not open as the fair was scaled back this year. Funnel cake and other fried foods were still offered as 14 vendors set up shop.

The Clark County Agricultural Society was looking at a $110,000 deficit to hold a fair without revenue-generators like rides and entertainment.

However, a $50,000 grant from the state and close to $30,000 from the Convention Facilities Authority in Springfield made the financial hit easier to take.

This came after a state working group in May was determining what county fairs would look like this year amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Mike DeWine said at the time that he suggested that fair boards start thinking about how they can conduct a junior fair.

Springfield Highway Patrol trooper arrested on rape, sexual battery charges

A Springfield Post Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper was arrested on Sept. 18 in Champaign County on charges of rape and sexual battery.

John Mcleod, 40, of Marysville, was arrested by the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office on two counts of rape, two counts of sexual battery and one count of aggravated trafficking in drugs, according to online court records. He was given a $40,000. As of Thursday afternoon, he was not listed as an inmate in the Tri-County Jail in Mechanicsburg.

Mcleod’s case in the Champaign County Common Pleas Court remains open, court records show. A motion to continue was filed by Mcleod’s attorney for the jury trial set for late January, but the Champaign County Prosecutor filed a memorandum in opposition of that motion. Court records do not show if that motion has been accepted or denied.

OSHP Lt. Robert Sellers said Mcleod was on leave without pay pending the outcome of the investigation. Mcleod was assigned to the Springfield Post of the OSHP prior to being placed on leave, according to Sellers.

Mcleod began working for the highway patrol in 2013, according to his personnel file, which was obtained by the Springfield News-Sun through a public records request. Throughout his time with OSHP, Mcleod received “meets expectations,” on all of his yearly reviews. His only punishment came in late 2019 when Mcleod failed a random drug screening and tested positive for marijuana.

In late 2018, Mcleod was transferred to Columbus and served as a “plainclothes investigator,” for roughly a year before returning to the Springfield post in January of 2020.

Compiled by Staff Writers Hasan Karim, Brooke Spurlock and Natalie Jones.