The Year in Review
As another year comes to a close, the Butler Eagle staff looked back on the news and sports stories, photos and social media posts that best defined 2019 in Butler County.
Additionally, for the first time ever, the Eagle turned to its readers for input on the news stories most important to them.
Today we present our 2019 Year in Review as selected by the Eagle staff and readers.
The three top stories this year were the federal case against Stephanie and Scott Roskovski, who stand accused of defrauding Butler Health System of $1.3 million; the spring rains and flooding that impacted communities across Butler County; and this month's sale of AK Steel, one of Butler County's largest employers, to Cleveland-Cliffs in a $1.1 billion deal.
Cathy Rape dropped two letters in the mail May 28 that were bound for federal and state emergency management offices.The Harmony mayor wrote that in the 15 years since Hurricane Ivan decimated the area, flooding has gotten worse.Less than 12 hours later, Harmony and surrounding communities again were struck by heavy flooding, with several feet of water filling the streets. Businesses were left to take stock of the damage, and residents took to the familiar task of pumping water from their homes.The end of May brought an unpleasantly familiar scene to many areas of Butler County: Phones buzzing with weather warnings gave way to a deluge of rain — more than six inches in some places. Basements were flooded and streets rendered impassable, with home and business owners left to hope the damage wasn't too severe.While the county's southwestern region received the brunt of flooding, heavy rain flooded numerous areas of the county.In July, flooding in Buffalo Township caused Little Buffalo Creek to swell rapidly, ripping away trees and rocks from its banks. One man's handmade volleyball courts — a popular community site — were washed away by the flooding.June flooding caused finger pointing in Middlesex Township as residents complained of housing developments dumping water on their land.In Bruin, the volunteer fire department opened its doors as a temporary shelter for residents with flooded homes.Homes in Butler's West End saw some flooding in July when Sullivan Run endured heavy rains.In the fall, communities banded together in special meetings to study solutions for persistent flooding.A report resulting from those meetings held less than positive results. It stated that any number of fixes would take years or decades to implement and cost millions of dollars, and the results would be “negligible.”
In April, the federal government revealed an investigation into a Butler County couple, charging Stephanie and Scott Roskovski with stealing more than $1.3 million from Butler Health System.Forty-two charges resulted from an alleged scheme the couple engaged in to steal money from Stephanie Roskovski's former employer.Charges include embezzlement from a health care benefit program, money laundering, false statements in a loan application and mail fraud, according to court documents. The Roskovskis each could face more than 30 years in prison, a fine of $2.6 million or both. Stephanie Roskovski joined BHS in 1994 as director of Community Health Planning and ultimately was appointed as chief operating officer in 2012. She held the position until being fired in August 2017.Scott Roskovski, owner of Switchback MX in Clay Township, was a detective at the Butler County District Attorney's Office. He was fired last year by Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger when his office learned of the investigation.They both pleaded not guilty and remain free on $250,000 unsecured bonds, which allow the defendants to keep their money, unless they flee.If the Roskovskis are convicted of mail fraud, money laundering and embezzlement, the government will seek forfeiture of a number of their belongings — including Switchback MX, their house in Dogwood Court, a Toyota Tundra, Honda Ridgeline, Range Rover and an International 4200 Water Truck.In November, investigative documents were unsealed that revealed the impetus for the charges. The investigation began in 2017 and led to the search and seizure of documents, electronic devices and email correspondence belonging to the Roskovskis during summer 2018 and their arrests in April. Prosecutors allege that a portion of the embezzled money was used to purchase and redesign Scott's “expansive motocross racetrack.”Attorneys Michael Comber and Wesley Gorman, representing the couple, petitioned the court in October in separate filings on behalf of the Roskovskis to suppress all search warrants connected to the case, thus suppressing any evidence seized. The motions argue the warrants were unconstitutional, and in the case of the emails, violated the confidentiality of attorney-client privilege.
Cleveland-Cliffs, the country's largest producer of iron ore pellets, will be the new owner of AK Steel.The merger, which was announced in early December, is expected to close in the first half of 2020.Cleveland-Cliffs will acquire $1.1 billion in issued and outstanding shares of AK Steel stock, so Cleveland-Cliffs shareholders will own 68 percent of the company and AK Steel shareholders 32 percent.AK Steel will become a subsidiary of Cleveland-Cliffs and will retain its branding and corporate identity, according to a news release announcing the merger.The release said the new company will produce “high-value iron ore and steel solutions to customers primarily across North America.”Lisa Jester, corporate manager of communications and public relations at AK headquarters in West Chester, Ohio, said while some shuffling of company officials might occur, no changes are planned for the 1,350 hourly and salaried workers at Butler Works in Butler Township.Cleveland-Cliffs will continue its operations from the Cleveland headquarters while maintaining “a significant presence at AK Steel's current offices in West Chester, along with its Research and Innovation Center in Middletown, Ohio,” according to the news release.Formerly Armco Steel, the company was purchased in 1999 by the Kawasaki Steel Corp. It merged its initials, forming AK Steel.Butler Works produces electrical and stainless steel melting and casting, hot and cold rolling and finishing operations housed in 3.5 million square feet of buildings on 1,300 acres.Butler Works is the only plant in the nation that produces the high-permeability electrical steel used in power transformers.
