More negative publicity for Middletown! Stories like this send a discouraging message to families looking to relocate to the vicinity of Hamilton-Middletown-Lebanon-Monroe. Of course, Judy The Matron and The Doogmeister give very little consideration to promoting in-migration of middle-class working families. They've more preoccupied with propping-up the obsolete downtown and leveling older neighborhoods nearby.

Vet, you are absolutely correct, and I appreciate that you didn't immediately jump to negative conclusions, as the Journal expects people will do when it posts a headline like that.  It was a random search, which are conducted periodically.  No drugs were found.

You make a good point, Viet Vet. However, when a story like this is published, it sends a terrible message that is not easily corrected. How is Middletown viewed by the S.W. Ohio region? That's the issue.

Perplexed wrote: You make a good point, Viet Vet. However, when a story like this is published, it sends a terrible message that is not easily corrected. How is Middletown viewed by the S.W. Ohio region? That's the issue.

Not just the lockdown affecting the image of the city.......Middletown's image has been damaged, perhaps forever, with the antics of city hall with their low income, Section 8 saturation, helping to entice an increase in crime, some done from out-of-towners from Dayton and Cincy, and the fact that this city has become an attraction for those who are not desired by more respected communities. This is a haven for the criminal element now, particularly with theft and heroin usage. Of course, the schools come into play by producing less than desirable results that cause those considering Middletown to look elsewhere for their kids education.

In a nutshell....

MIDDLETOWN IS:

Low performing schools compared to surrounding communities

High crime in the form of theft and robbery

High heroin usage

A nice crop of prostitutes in the downtown area

A stagnated town with few job choices in the "livable pay scale" area

A town with poor streets

A town of poverty and low median wage levels

An inept city government making consistently poor decisions

An economically deprived town with little growth as compared with surrounding communities

A town with little entertainment offering nothing for the younger generation

A cash-strapped city, poorly managed

A blue collar town in reality, mis-focused by a few on making itself a cultural, artsy, education destination which may never come to fruition (and probably won't)

A city of very stubborn, clueless leaders, obsessed with doing things their way with total disregard for the majority of the citizens and their wants and needs.

How do we recover from the mess they have created?

1. Remove the cancer- all current city managers must go along with the bobbleheads we have now on council. They have done too much damage to retain any of them.

2. Replace with new treatment in the form of new thinking, focus, people and direction with emphasis on jobs and 1st priority spending on the basics to benefit ALL people. Police, fire and streets. Extra fluff will have to wait until we satisfy the basics needs. Many will demand more.

3. Increase progressive state of activity as the basics are restored and prioritize the new direction spending emphasizing the greatest need in order of importance while maintaining #1 above.

4. Eliminate special interest spending that doesn't involve the majority of the people. This downtown. artzy stuff, and all ideas like it, must go as a top priority. No more real estate buying crap for the city. No one gets special treatment. Invite the private sector in. Help them get started and let them go staying out of their way and eliminating all the strict rules and hoops to jump through.

5. Watch the city grow and develop without government strangleholds. Keep the gov. nose out of their business, collect the taxes and make frugal decisions on what you collect to run the city. JMO

I have learned that the same police and same police dogs searched Fenwick, on the same day, but no mention of that in the paper.