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Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
'I went through hell.' Judge acquits ex-school treasurer, daughter of theft charges
A former Wayne Local School District treasurer and his daughter, a teacher at the district, recently went on trial facing allegations of theft, but by the end of the proceedings, the presiding judge described the prosecution's case as being 'very disappointing.' Ronald James, 69, and Jenae James, 44, were acquitted May 13 of all counts during a two-day bench trial before Warren County Common Pleas Judge Timothy Tepe, who dismissed the charges. The elder James was indicted in October 2024 on theft in office, tampering with records and having an unlawful interest in a public contract. His daughter was also indicted on a single count of theft. Prosecutors argued that James used his position as treasurer to secure a landscaping contract for a company owned by someone they described as a 'business associate,' for whom James performed accounting services as an independent contractor. However, the judge saw things differently. An attorney representing James wrote in a May 12 court filing that James had the authority as treasurer to execute contracts under $25,000. The attorney said James wanted the school board to make the final determination, which it did when it approved the contract in August 2022. 'I heard no evidence that Mr. James exerted any influence over the board that voted independently to approve this contract,' Tepe said in court. In a scathing ruling dismissing the charges, the judge blasted as non-credible the testimony of former school officials who took the stand as part of the prosecution's case. Tepe said that former school board president Dr. Jim Byers had 'a personal ax to grind' with the ex-treasurer and directed an investigation into James, who left the district in 2022. A Wayne Local Schools spokesperson has yet to respond to an email from The Enquirer seeking comment on the judge's ruling in the case. Jenae James was a third-grade teacher when she was charged with felony theft related to American College Testing money, according to Kevin Hughes, her attorney. Hughes said the younger James was coordinating ACT exams, a standardized test used for university admissions in the U.S., and was being paid $350 per test for the additional services she provided during the COVID-19 pandemic. She oversaw 10 tests beginning in July 2020 and the extra money she received was allocated by ACT to pay her. The funds were sent to her through the school, where her father was involved in processing those payments, Hughes said. He added that the superintendent also had to sign off. The judge also sided with the younger James by dismissing the charge against her, saying 'there was no theft that occurred.' Hughes said there was never an attempt to hide any of those transactions. 'It was always above board,' he added. James was placed on administrative leave following her 2024 indictment, and a grievance process is currently underway, though she has so far not been allowed to return to work, Hughes said. 'She loves her students and has been taken out of the classroom,' the attorney said. The judge's decision to dismiss the charges against the father and daughter was not the result of deliberations, but instead came in response to defense attorneys' request for acquittal after the prosecution ended its case, court filings show. 'The court is certainly in favor of eliminating government waste, but this day-and-a-half has been a waste,' Tepe said of the trial. For Ronald James, who worked for Wayne Local Schools for 25 years following a decades-long career with General Motors, the judge's ruling comes as a long-awaited vindication. 'It's very disheartening that it occurred,' James told The Enquirer. 'It just seemed like the cards were stacked against me for some reason.' James said his family has been in Waynesville – a village in Warren County of more than 2,600 residents – for roughly 200 years and that having his name wrongfully tied with alleged crimes in court papers and news coverage was harmful to him and his loved ones. 'I went through hell,' James said. Still, James looks back fondly at his time with the school district, where he coached youth sports and volunteered to teach personal finance classes. 'It was great to be a servant in Waynesville to kids I love,' he said. His primary concern now is ensuring that his daughter can go back to teaching, the job that she loves. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ex-Wayne Local Schools treasurer, daughter acquitted of all charges
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
ACT outage disrupts testing in Tennessee
A widespread outage disrupted testing for 29 out of the 34 districts administering ACTs on Tuesday. The Tennessee Department of Education said it learned of a national service disruption affecting the platform used by the ACT, which stands for American College Testing. The standardized test is largely accepted by colleges and universities as part of the application process. "Throughout the day, TDOE has been communicating with the impacted districts," a spokesperson form the department told The Tennessean via email on Tuesday afternoon. "They have the authority to decide when/if to postpone their ACT testing day." The issue was identified and resolved as of Tuesday afternoon. Students who already began their test before the disruption will be able to pick up where they left off when they return. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: ACT outage disrupts testing in Tennessee
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How Jesse Solomon Could Have Learned From West Wilson and Carl Radke's Past Mistakes
is starting to wear on me. For a jovial dude, he is really bringing a bad vibe to Summer House this year. He has jumped headfirst into a flirtationship. And is already joking with the guys that he is no longer single. For some reason, I expected more from Jesse, but instead, it looks like he is following in Carl Radke's and West Wilson's footsteps. Instead of learning from their very public mistakes, I fear Jesse is going to replicate their actions. Instead of singing, 'What would Jesse Solomon do?' the second-year roomie should have been asking what did Carl and West do? Jesse has found himself in a relationship, kind of. The new girl, Lexi Wood, has caught his eye and he is proper love struck. Jesse isn't playing around. The man left her a drunk dial from inside the home. And he Facetimed her while with the boys to report his whereabouts. I'd say he was the most desperate guy on Bravo, but Shep Rose already has that title. The flirting has been at an all-time high, and I find myself cringing every time Jesse talks about his crush. Jesse also has a weird way of showing that he likes Lexi. First, he makes an obscene joke about her last name, 'Lexi give me Wood,' which I don't even know why the model pretended that joke was funny. Then, at their first family dinner, he questions her education. He asked her if she felt she was a ditz and if she took the SATs or ACTs. Firstly, Jesse, Lexi is from Canada. Students from Canada don't take the American College Testing (ACT) so I ask, who is the ditz now? I just wish Jesse had thought before he let his words fly right out of his mouth. If insulting someone's intelligence is a flirting tactic, then color me surprised and out of date. I can't exactly say I appreciate that he has already categorized as 'super hot' before she even opened her mouth upon walking through the front door. Now, I am not saying I'm a Lexi fan. I'm not, to be honest. But she deserves a bit more respect than being graded like a piece of meat. I can't help but think that Jesse just sees her as a summer fling and not girlfriend material. Jesse is giving gross this season, and it makes me sad as he was such a fan favorite. Jesse is coming off as annoying, and we are only two episodes into Season 9. Last summer, he was humble, and fans empathized with his health struggles. But this year, he is rude, making judgey faces and sharing comments that are just ridiculous. During his confessional Jesse point blank said he was pushing Lexi to see where the line was for her. We've seen this type of behavior before, specifically from West and Carl. You would have thought that Jesse would have taken a page from Carl or West's book about how to not treat women in the house. Yet, here we are, watching Jesse go down the same path his two friends followed. In their final conversation, some feel Carl gaslit the hell out of Lindsay Hubbard. He asked for 'softness' not realizing how offensive that comment is to women. And while he struggled to communicate with Lindsay he had no issue talking to everyone else. The same could be said for West. He led Ciara Miller on, and when things got hard, he ran. He, too, spoke with the press about how he didn't like Ciara, but his actions told a different story. If Jesse isn't careful, he is going to find himself in the same position as his two bros. Both men apologized to Ciara and Lindsay after they received backlash from fans. I doubt either one really understands why the women were so upset. Jesse needs to shape up or ship out when it comes to his treatment of Lexi. And just so we are playing fair here, Lexi should also not be entertaining his ridiculous courting methods. Summer House is available to stream on Peacock. TELL US – DO YOU THINK JESSE SHOULD HAVE LEARNED HIS LESSON? The post How Jesse Solomon Could Have Learned From West Wilson and Carl Radke's Past Mistakes appeared first on Reality Tea.
