When Kristy Tipton started working at Ashland University in June, part of her job was to get a new testing center off the ground.
Tipton, whose job also includes online program support, said she couldn’t have done it without the help of many people.
“This testing center can be used university-wide and the Pearson VUE component is already being used by the community,” Tipton said in mid-November at the center, which is in the basement of the university’s building at 930 Claremont Ave.
According to its website, Pearson VUE is the industry’s largest network of professional test centers with computer-based testing for more than 450 professional organizations’ certifications.
Recently, the testing center also became authorized to give Certiport exams for more professional certifications.
In addition to allowing the public to earn professional certifications, the center will benefit AU as a site for makeup exams, standardized tests and college placement testing.
The biggest part of it, though, is the Pearson VUE aspect of it.
Helping prepare Tipton for that was Terry Echols, an adjunct professor at AU who runs a Pearson VUE testing center for Cuyahoga County Public Library (CCPL) at the Maple Heights branch. He allowed Tipton to observe his site one day.
“Employment seekers are continually adapting to an ever-changing industry and thus having a testing center in Ashland County will further support economic recovery and self-sufficiency,” Echols said.
Tipton said Echols was especially helpful in bracing her for the long list of Pearson VUE technical requirements, which include having cameras in the testing room, computer stations at least four feet apart and a secure testing site so lockers are needed for things like cell phones, watches, etc.
The university’s IT department was very helpful in getting the site ready, which took about a month to set up and another month to receive Pearson VUE authorization, Tipton said.
Through Pearson VUE certification, the testing center at AU offers thousands of certification exams, from accounting to insurance to telephone systems and everything in between, particularly teacher licensures. Tipton said she can give almost 500 different teacher licensure exams and, so far, most of the center’s testing has been those types of tests.
The testing center is under eAshland, formerly known as the College of Online and Adult Studies, but now offers all kinds of non-traditional learning for all ages.
“The goal of this will be a revenue-generating unit for the university,” said Shawn Orr, dean for eAshland. “It’s never going to be huge, but we do hope someday it will be able to cover itself. We get a small fee for each Pearson VUE test we give.”
Orr, who helped come up with the proposal for the testing center, has been helping fund it through her dean’s budget and anywhere else she can find extra money since it doesn’t have a budget yet.
“We’ve been able to get a lot of internal donations – old equipment and old lockers not being used,” Orr said. “The space was empty and we’re reusing furniture and computers that were in storage.”
To help with startup costs, Tipton applied for an Ashland County Community Foundation grant with the help of Sarah Swaisgood in the university’s Grants and Foundation Relations office.
Tipton taught Swaisgood’s son and daughter at Ashland Middle School, where Tipton was a science teacher for several years before making her career change to higher education, which includes working toward a doctorate degree in leadership studies from AU that she plans to finish in spring 2024.
Swaisgood said the testing center will thrive under Tipton’s direction because she brings many years of experience as an educator, is organized and is a natural leader.
“It will be a great asset to our faculty and students, serving as a dedicated space to administer standardized tests, as well as a space for students to take makeup exams, eliminating the need to coordinate a time and location that works for both professor and student,” Swaisgood said. “The university Grants and Foundation Relations office is always happy to partner with our faculty and staff to support the needs of our students.”
James Cutright, executive director of the ACCF, said his organization is always happy to help support Ashland University’s faculty and staff members like Tipton and its students, too, as well as the community – as this grant will do.
Besides marketing materials, the grant of a little less than $1,000 helped purchase things like erasable notebooks and dry erasers, noise-cancelling headphones and a white noise machine to block out the sounds from the floor above that houses the university’s Student Accessibility Center, Tipton said.
The Student Accessibility Center has a testing site for students with disabilities. Before COVID, the university had another testing site for about 25 years in the College of Education for teacher licensure tests.
“It is very good news that the new center is now open,” said Mitchell Slater, the COE coordinator of Blackboard, data analytics and Ohio Assessments for Educators test preparation at AU. “Many students have expressed relief that they may again take OAE tests here on campus.”
Because that earlier test site was Pearson VUE certified, Tipton said Slater has been very helpful with the new one, which is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays and stays open one of those days until 7 p.m. once a month.
To find specific hours it’s open to the public, visit pearsonvue.com, which is also the best place to schedule tests, or check out the center’s website for more information at www.ashland.edu/testing-center.
Scheduling in-person tests on days it’s open to the public also can be done as long as computer stations are available, said Tipton, who added that the center is available to AU staff and faculty anytime by appointment. Tipton can be reached by phone, too, at 419-207-4998.
Speaking with Ashland County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Blake
With this being Ashland County’s First Homicide of 2023 is there any information that can be released yet?
Press Release on Saturday
On Friday, January 27, 2023, at 3:38 p.m. the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a female requesting we search a vacant house for a missing male. The male had been reported missing to the Ashland Police Department (APD) that morning.
Deputies were able to enter the house and conduct a search. A deceased male was located on the 2nd floor of the master bedroom. At this time, detectives from the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office and Ashland Police Department were called to the scene. It had been determined that the male had been deceased for some time.
The Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI) and the Ashland County Coroner were called and arrived on scene. After an investigation, the male was identified as Kurtis Harstine, age 41 of Ashland and revealed that the male had been shot with a weapon.
The deceased male was taken to Lucas County to have an autopsy completed.
Steven Drummond Age: 26
White /Male / 5’9’’ / 160 / Blond Hair / Blue Eyes
Wanted by the Richland County Sheriff’s Office for failure to register as sex offender / and a failure to register as sex offender out of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.
Ties to the Mansfield Ohio and Tampa Florida areas.
Billy Southerland Age: 47
White / Male / 5’5’’ / 135 / Brown Hair / Blue Eyes
Wanted out by the Richland County Sheriff’s Office for rape.
Ties to the Mansfield and Ashland Ohio areas
Wesley lambert Age: 31
White / Male / 5’11’’ / 150 / Black Hair / Brown Eyes
Wanted by the Richland County Sheriff’s Office for tampering with evidence F3
Ties to Mansfield and Shelby Ohio.
Richard Kiser Age: 56
White / Male / 5’7’’ / 180 / Brown Hair / Brown Eyes
Wanted by the Richland County Sheriff’s Office for a failing to provide change of address as sex offender
Ties to the Mansfield, New Philadelphia, Conneaut, Bergholz, Lawrenceburg, TN
Reward money is available for information directly leading to an arrest. Anyone with information concerning any of these fugitives can contact the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force office at 419-774-3565 or the tip line at 1-866-4WANTED (1-866-492-6833) or you can send a web tip at the following webpage http://www.usmarshals.gov/district/oh-n/index.html.
Tipsters may remain anonymous, and a cash reward may be available. The Task Force’s “Dangerous Dozen” fugitives can be viewed at https://www.usmarshals.gov/sites/default/files/media/document/dangerous-dozen.pdf, which is updated monthly.
The NOVFTF Akron Division consists of the following federal, state and local agencies:
United States Marshals Service, Mansfield Police Department, Ohio Adult Parole Authority, Richland County Probation, Richland County Sheriff’s Office, Ashland County Sheriff’s Office, Bucyrus Police Department, Galion Police Department, Huron County Sheriff’s Office, Lexington Police Department, Loudonville Police Department, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Ontario Police Department, Plymouth Police Department, Willard Police Department and Crestline Police Department.
White /Male / 5’9’’ / 160 / Blond Hair / Blue Eyes
Wanted by the Richland County Sheriff’s Office for failure to register as sex offender / and a failure to register as sex offender out of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.
Ties to the Mansfield Ohio and Tampa Florida areas.
Billy Southerland Age: 47
White / Male / 5’5’’ / 135 / Brown Hair / Blue Eyes
Wanted out by the Richland County Sheriff’s Office for rape.
Ties to the Mansfield and Ashland Ohio areas
Wesley lambert Age: 31
White / Male / 5’11’’ / 150 / Black Hair / Brown Eyes
Wanted by the Richland County Sheriff’s Office for tampering with evidence F3
Ties to Mansfield and Shelby Ohio.
Richard Kiser Age: 56
White / Male / 5’7’’ / 180 / Brown Hair / Brown Eyes
Wanted by the Richland County Sheriff’s Office for a failing to provide change of address as sex offender
Ties to the Mansfield, New Philadelphia, Conneaut, Bergholz, Lawrenceburg, TN
Reward money is available for information directly leading to an arrest. Anyone with information concerning any of these fugitives can contact the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force office at 419-774-3565 or the tip line at 1-866-4WANTED (1-866-492-6833) or you can send a web tip at the following webpage http://www.usmarshals.gov/district/oh-n/index.html.
Tipsters may remain anonymous, and a cash reward may be available. The Task Force’s “Dangerous Dozen” fugitives can be viewed at http://www.usmarshals.gov/…/fugitiv…/pdf/dangerous_dozen.pdf, which is updated monthly.
The NOVFTF Akron Division consists of the following federal, state and local agencies:
United States Marshals Service, Mansfield Police Department, Ohio Adult Parole Authority, Richland County Probation, Richland County Sheriff’s Office, Ashland County Sheriff’s Office, Bucyrus Police Department, Galion Police Department, Huron County Sheriff’s Office, Lexington Police Department, Loudonville Police Department, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Ontario Police Department, Plymouth Police Department, Willard Police Department and Crestline Police Department.
Chester Township – On Friday January 27th, 2023 at approximately 7:19 p.m. troopers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Wooster Post were dispatched to a report of a severe crash on U.S. 250 east of milepost 2.
The investigation revealed a red 2003 Ford Ranger was westbound on U.S. 250 driven by Shane P. Tincher, 41, Ashland. A 2008 Peterbilt commercial semi was eastbound on U.S. 250 driven by Denver B. Webb, 59, Williamstown, West Virginia.
Troopers determine the Ford Ranger slid left of center into the eastbound lane of U.S. 250 and was struck on the passenger side by the 2008 Peterbilt semi. After impact, the Ford Ranger was pushed off the south side of U.S. 250 and the Peterbilt came to rest in the eastbound lane of U.S. 250.
Tincher, the at-fault driver of the Ford Ranger was seat-belted and was transported to Wooster Hospital for non-life threatening injury. His passenger, Heather R. Legg, 44, Ashland, was killed as a result of the crash. Webb, the driver of the Peterbilt, was not injured in the crash.
Alcohol and drugs are not believed to be factors in the crash.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol was assisted on scene by the Wayne County Coroner’s Office, and New Pittsburg Fire and EMS.
According to scanner reports, an Ashland County Sheriff’s Office Deputy responded to 571 Township Road 851, at around 3:30pm this afternoon to do a welfare check. The welfare check was requested from APD.
Scanner reports, Nankin EMS called to the scene for a person with a GSW, Gun Shot Wound, then reported the person was cold to the touch. Have EMS stage and contact the Ashland County Coroner’s Office.
Ashland County Sheriff’s Office Detectives showed up on scene, followed by Ashland Police Division Detectives. The next reports were to have BCI respond to the scene.
As of right now, besides the Detectives from both agencies, BCI and the Ashland County Coroner’s Office are on scene.
Chief Deputy Blake said nothing will be released until tomorrow morning some time.
Friends, Family, and the Law Enforcement community gathered at the Ashland County Sherri’s Office Annex room to wish Pam Risner a very happy retirement. Plus, a great meal and reminiscent stories from years gone by.
Sheriff E. Wayne Risner and Chief Deputy Blake kicked off the event with humorous comments, with little jabs at Pam. Both remained cautious in their comments joking about the reason for her retirement. Wayne told the crowd, “Well she is my wife. I’d better be careful,” with Chief Blake saying, “I’d like to have my job for a few more years.”
Ending in the Top Ten Reasons Pam Retired……..
Pam Risner then gave the following speech:
Twenty-six years ago, Commissioner Dick Miller made the first 911 call to the Ashland County 911 dispatch center. Twenty-six years ago, I was hired by the commissioners to handle all the pre-911 data and maintenance going forward. One of the most important and momentous jobs implementing the 911 database system was the creation of the MSAG (Master Street Address Guide). Unless you lived it, you cannot even imagine the tremendous amount of time and effort it took to create it. It is the absolute bible of the 911 system and implementing and maintaining the MSAG is absolutely vital! New streets and annexations have come to Ashland County and implementing and maintaining a pristine MSAG is the part of my job that I am most proud of.
There have been MANY changes since 911 was first implemented 26 years ago. Locating and finding tape recordings is a breeze with today’s technology. 26 years ago, was a whole different story. The arrival of caller ID 911 was a really big deal for Ashland County. Before caller ID, getting the location of a caller could be a tremendous challenge to the dispatcher.
I remember well the 911 call where a male caller advised that he had wrecked his motorcycle and was laying severely hurt in a field somewhere. He was able to give a general area, but it took a lot of clever maneuvering to find his location – Officers using their sirens with him advising how close he thought they were. Fast forward to the implementation of caller ID. This same individual went back to the same location, called 911 and we were able to immediately pinpoint his location. When someone calls 911, they expect a quick response! In my 26 years, I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that each and every 911 update to our system has SAVED LIVES! In my 26 years, I’ve only seen our 911 system get better and better with each step forward and now with NG (Next Generation), we can now text 911. I can only imagine what else the future holds.
Moving to this location in 2001 was a very exciting time for all of us. We had survived Y2K… lol and looked forward to what the future held.
I’ve been in the dispatch room through some very stressful calls. I was there when the April 7, 2003, fire call came in that claimed the lives of 11-month-old twins. The mother was consequently convicted of the arson death of these girls.
I was there when the fire call came in, to a fire call on County Rd 1153 that took the life of a 5-year-old boy. And who can forget the 2019 fire that took the life of 3 children. This is just the tip of the iceberg to the calls that come into our 911 dispatch center. No matter the call, the dispatchers are professional and get the job done. What you don’t hear or see is how they fall apart afterwards!!! I’m extremely proud to have been a part of the 911 family all these years. And have I mentioned that they are my heroes!!
On the flipside, there have also been some pretty hilarious 911 calls. I will never forget the call that came in from 5-year-old David. Sue Kelley took the call from David and believe it or not it made it to Jay Leno. It was obvious at the beginning of the call that there was no immediate emergency. He advised that he was in the bathroom, but he wouldn’t advise what the problem was. Finally, after some coaxing, in a tearful voice he said… I don’t have any toilet paper… She then coaxed him into getting his mom and in his tearful voice he yelled… Mom come here, I did something!!
My job evolved over the years to include records, records management, reporting and public records requests. All of which I took very seriously! More recently, this also included body and dash cam requests. When the public requests a bodycam you have to watch it in its entirety to determine if there is any portion that would need to be redacted. On more than one occasion I have held my breath and watched in awe as our officers turned around a potentially dangerous situation. Have I mentioned they too are my heroes! One bodycam incident that stands out to me involved officer Wenrich on what I believe was a welfare check call. Officer Wenrich literally ran for his life and barely made it back to his cruiser as he was being chased by a wild turkey! Lol!
In the last 26 years people have come and gone; times have changed, and I’ve been lucky to have been a part of these changes. There have been very happy times, some not so happy times, and some extremely sad times. But through it all, we’ve always had each other’s backs.
Each and every one of you at the sheriff’s office are family to me!
I leave you with two incidents that stand out to me as being the top two contenders for ACSO’s funniest moments to me:
In second place is The Visitor… I was coming out of my office one day to go to dispatch and down the hallway I could see this animal slowly making his way down the hall. I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking at… did someone bring in a dog???? I slowly crept after it and our visitor turned out to be a raccoon that had somehow found its way into the building.
And first place is what I will call The Hunky Highway Patrolman… A few years ago, there was a pursuit on I71 that ended up in Ashland County, with the suspect crashing his car and fleeing into the wooded area. Eventually the suspect was apprehended. There was going to be a press release in the EMA room, and I was in there making sure everything was set up. The Highway Patrol PR individual from Columbus, who was also involved in the pursuit and search came into the room to prepare his statement for the news teams. He had gotten pretty sweaty, and he asked did I mind if he changed his shirt… I didn’t have any problem at all with that… lol!
The EMA room and dispatch are connected and there is a window with blinds between the two.
As he was changing his shirt, I glanced over at the window and there were two sets of eyeballs peering between the blinds. To this day I don’t know how I kept a straight face!
Thank you to all of you for coming to celebrate my retirement… it means more to me than you will ever know. Thank you for all the hard work that went into making this event so very special… I know the individuals who made this happen. Thank you!
The last 26 years have truly been a ride and I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world!
Thank you all!!!
End of speech.
Ashland County Prosecuting Attorney Christopher R. Tunnell commented, “Pam has been a fixture at the Sheriff’s Office for 26 years. Her efforts setting up and maintaining Ashland’s 911 system has saved lives. Pam Risner is one of Ashland’s unsung heroes. The staff of the Ashland County Prosecutor’s Office and I wish Pam all the best in retirement.”
Common Pleas Clerk of Courts Deborah A. Myers told me, “I’ve had the pleasure of working with Pam and have seen firsthand her dedication to public service. I’m appreciative of her 26 years of serving Ashland County residents, and wish her a long, enjoyable retirement!”
Retired Chief of the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office, Carl Richert, who attended Pam Risner’s well deserved retirement celebration today at the Sheriff’s Office said, “What a wonderful send off, after her many years of dedication to the Sheriff’s Office and the community! Pam will truly be missed by all and will leave very big shoes to fill! We wish her a very happy and long retirement! Love you, Pam!”
On Friday, January 27, 2023, at 3:38 p.m. the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a female requesting we search a vacant house for a missing male. The male had been reported missing to the Ashland Police Department (APD) that morning.
Deputies were able to enter the house and conduct a search. A deceased male was located on the 2nd floor of the master bedroom. At this time, detectives from the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office and Ashland Police Department were called to the scene. It had been determined that the male had been deceased for some time.
The Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI) and the Ashland County Coroner were called and arrived on scene. After an investigation, the male was identified as Kurtis Harstine, age 41 of Ashland and revealed that the male had been shot with a weapon.
The deceased male was taken to Lucas County to have an autopsy completed.
Sheriff’s Detectives and APD Detectives worked together on this case throughout the evening.
This is an ongoing investigation and further information will be released upon completion of the investigation.
Joe Lyons •
January 31, 2023
When Kristy Tipton started working at Ashland University in June, part of her job was to get a new testing center off the ground.
Steven Drummond Age: 26
Billy Southerland Age: 47
Wesley lambert Age: 31
Richard Kiser Age: 56
Steven Drummond Age: 26
Billy Southerland Age: 47
Wesley lambert Age: 31
Richard Kiser Age: 56
