Steinke gave up four hits and struck out 12 to beat Fairborn for his fifth win of the season After a slow start Monday Piqua senior Hunter Steinke caught fire to strike out twelve OH – Someone in Division I college baseball needs to know about Piqua’s Hunter Steinke (Styne-key) The Indians’ senior won his fifth game of the season Monday night at Hardman Field but it was the manner in which he did it that should interest any number of schools looking for a particular kind of pitcher Steinke gave up a run in the first inning on three Skyhawk singles And from that point on he shut out the Hawks on 1 hit and threw his best fastball with two outs in the fifth inning when he clocked 90 miles per hour on a Jugs radar gun Nothing out of the ordinary in this day of high school pitchers Minster Bank is the official banking partner of Press Pros Magazine.com and that’s a rarity which makes him highly unique in the day of big-body and big-velocity criteria for college baseball recruiting And Hunter Steinke doesn’t have that He just throws strikes and executes his arensal He pitches for a program that’s not likely to see the state Final Four in Canton And he simply doesn’t project in a day where college coaches want pitchers that are 6’3″ “Every school I’ve talked to tells me I’m too small,”  he said following Monday’s 4-hit gem “Or they tell me that they wish I was in the 91-93 range,”  he added “The conversation has never gone much beyond that.” But what Steinke has that 70% of college pitchers who throw harder don’t have is the uncanny ability to throw strikes In 43 innings this far in 2025 he’s struck out 79 hitters…and walked 7 “He’s pretty special in that way,”  says Indians’ second-year coach Ryan Callison “He’s a natural strike thrower He has that ability to locate all his pitches When he’s lost it’s because we haven’t gotten him any run support.” Support for your pitcher’s effort…centerfielder Cohen Brown ran down this line drive over his head to make an eye-popping catch in the fourth inning He doesn’t miss starts and he’s averaged six innings per game Monday he threw 95 pitches in the seven inning win over Fairborn “Just regular muscle soreness the day after you pitch,”  he says The Indians bounced back from Monday’s 1-0 deficit to score three times in the third on singles by Cohen Brown and Owen Shawler…then added one in the fourth to effectively put the game out of reach as Steinke hit stride and the strikeouts began to pile up and curve – and recently he’s added the splitter a pitch that he’s just learning to throw effectively as a better variety of an off-speed pitch Monday he had a pair of 3-0 counts on two Fairborn hitters and came back to strike both of them out Mark Knupp’s Muffler and Tire proudly sponsor area sports on Press Pros Magazine.com “I have confidence in everything I throw,”  he adds “If I need to throw the breaking ball for strike one If I need to throw it as punchout pitch I can do that If I need to reach back for more I’ve hit 89 on the gun I can get ahead in the count and expand [the zone].” He’s signed to pitch at Division II Gannon University (Division II) next year in Erie And while his velocity won’t make him unique his ability to throw the ball into a shot glass does Publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA sports and the Buckeyes for Press Pros Magazine “He knows who he is,”  says Callison “He’s not the kind of kid who going to see someone at the next level who throws harder and try to match it He already has the Piqua record for career strikeouts and is one or two wins away from being the all-time wins leader He’s pitched the same way since he was a freshman He’s happy for the opportunity to pitch at Gannon especially in a day where proving yourself at one level opens portal doors to the next “Division I has always been my dream,”  he admits “But no one seems to think I can do it.” because college baseball is full of pitchers who can’t do what Hunter Steinke can We have your next truck,and we have it in stock © PressProsMagazine.com, All Rights Reserved. | Site Map | Terms of Use | Website Designed by Marketing Essentials. Ohio (WKEF) -- Business and building owners in Piqua were looking over the damage from a late night fire Tuesday in Piqua Dayton 24/7 Now's Jeff Schrock spoke with city leaders and businesses impacted We have support from governmental officials as well as businesses in town and the outpouring of support has been very reassuring," said Wilson Reiser The fire leaving multiple businesses impacted owners of two buildings and their businesses were cleaning up and boarding up windows on Wednesday The fire broke out in 100 block of High Street around 11 p.m Reiser told me three businesses were currently occupying the building, which is referred to as Piqua Station and were working to finish three additional tenant spaces at the time of the fire Reiser says although its tragic and a setback they're looking into different options Brian Quinter who owns Quint Creative Signs took Schrock around his building that only suffered water and smoke damage The fire didn't spread further thanks to the quick response by firefighters and was contained to just one building A business owner in that area told our photographer on scene that they were told the fire began in the attic "Just seeing the flames and just watching it was a concern of mine and just being shocked it didn't come to my building," said Quinter Main Street Piqua posted on social media encouraging everyone affected to stay strong and continue to support one another as they navigate through this challenging moment. "The love and support I'm getting because everything can be replaced, but my life or one of my clients couldn't have been replaced if we were here," said Megan Booher, owner of MB Aesthetics. Concern, condolences, prayers were the continued focus several hours after the fire and business owners are on the same page in remaining positive through all of this. "There’s always good things ahead, and I just have to be positive and take this time to reflect on my future goals, and what’s next for me and how I want to come back better and stronger," Booher said. “It was quite a spectacle and we'd like to thank Piqua Fire Department first and foremost and then the surrounding cities that also showed up for the fight, which was Piqua, Troy, Sidney, Fletcher, Covington and Lockington," Reiser said. Business owners say this was devastating for them, but it won't stop them from rebuilding and starting over. No occupants were onsite at the time of the fire, and there were no injuries to crews or residents. Piqua Fire Chief Lee Adams said the team’s focus was on preventing the fire from extending into 101 or 107 E. High St., which share a wall with the building on fire. The building at 113 and 115 E. High St. sustained major damage, and 101 and 107 E. High St. sustained minor to moderate damage from water and smoke. Officials stated the building where the fire happened will likely be a total loss. Investigators are still trying to determine a cause. PIQUA, Ohio (WKEF) -- Miami County first responders are investigating a fire in Piqua. Miami County Dispatch told Dayton 24/7 Now’s Lydia Bice that the fire broke out in the 100 block of High Street around 11 p.m. A business owner in that area told our Dayton 24/7 Now photographer on scene that they were told the fire began in the attic. The business owner just opened their smoothie shop back in October, so this is just devastating for them. Dispatch couldn’t provide much information this morning besides when the fire took place on Tuesday night. However, a Miami County fire official is going to call Bice with more information. Dayton 24/7 Now will update this story as we learn more. Armstrong Williams takes on the news of the week and asks the questions you want answered. Don’t miss our weekly town hall. affecting 147 workers with phased layoffsby Adam Aaro Ohio (WKEF) -- An international supplier of products for manufacturing processes and parts has announced it will be closing its Piqua location impacting 147 employees the company says it will be permanently closing its facility at 1620 South Main Street in Piqua One hundred and forty seven employees will be affected The letter says the layoffs are expected to start taking effect in March and continue in phases through September A small number of employees will transfer to a Nitto facility in Frankfort We've seen several businesses in similar situations like these and that's why we're breaking down the possible causes of these layoffs and the future of the economy in 2025 "Sometimes layoffs are very individual to that given firm so a firm might have trouble for whatever reason," said Jared Pincin associate professor of economics at Cedarville University Nitto Incorporated's facility in Piqua has been known for its work in the automotive industry making more than one million parts per day They create things like electrical wire covers seals for weatherproofing windows and insulation materials this work will soon stop at the Piqua facility as they prepare to permanently close the facility and lay off nearly 150 of its employees between March and September of this year 99 of them are from the production department The others are in departments like engineering Dayton 24/7 Now's Kysha Hancock reached out to the City of Piqua about this unexpected news They sent Hancock a statement that said in part: “The City of Piqua has engaged with Ohio's Rapid Response Team to activate the program resources available to assist the displaced Nitto workers with finding new employment.” The city also said they are actively working to attract a new business to the site "In general we have seen a slowdown in the labor market The next jobs report comes out tomorrow morning so we'll get a peek at what happened in December," said Pincin Pincin explained possible reasons why there's been so many layoffs across all industries "We're seeing a slowdownpart of that slowdown is because we're seeing interest rates are remaining higher than it was originally anticipated We have a slowdown in spending from consumers eventually several years of inflation just begins to eat away at people's ability to spend," said Pincin Pincin told Hancock it’s a ‘mixed picture’ on what could happen with inflation and interest rates so we don’t know what some of their legislative priorities are gonna be," said Pincin Ohio (WKEF) -- If you were standing on McKinley Avenue on Saturday you would not know a tragic situation happened there the night before The Piqua Police Department posted on Facebook a little before 7 p.m 21 that a shooting happened just before 5 p.m The post said officers were responding to a domestic violence call Piqua City Commissioner Paul Simmons described what the scene was like to Dayton 24/7 Now Reporter Jenilee Borek on Saturday "I've never seen anything like this here," said Simmons "When I came out front there were police cars all up and down the street and everything was very close to the vest because it was still an active scene just really nice families that are in them and so she works in the evenings so she texted me She said 'Is everything okay?' She said if I gotta come home for my kids.. Police confirmed in the post that a 44-year-old white male died at the scene but no officers were injured including the officer involved in the shooting Commissioner Simmons said this is tough for everyone involved I'm praying for the officer and his family and the other officers that work for the department," said Simmons One neighbor said he did not want to speak because the family involved are friends of his Commissioner Simmons had a message for the community Miami County dispatch said the 911 call will not be released until Monday Dayton 24/7 Now will continue to keep you updated as we learn more Ohio (WKEF) -- A man is dead after an officer-involved shooting at a home on McKinley Avenue The Piqua Police Department said officers were called for a disturbance around 5 p.m Friday; it was a domestic violence complaint Piqua Police state there is no public threat and more information will be released once it's available The Ohio BCI has been requested to help with the investigation Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Piqua Police at 937-778-2027 Ohio (WKEF) -- Downtown Piqua fire leaves small business owners reeling but local support is already finding them Investigators are still trying to find a cause as those impacted were wrapping their heads around what happened I don't feel like this is reality," said Megan Booher Tuesday night just as she was getting ready for bed she found out something was happening in the building that houses her small business “Another salon owner in town sent me a picture asking if I knew what was going on I thought I was going to go home and go to bed and come in and have new clients tomorrow and that's not going to happen," said Booher What she saw when she finally got downtown was devastating “I realized that nothing was probably going to be salvageable No one ever wants to see something they put their blood and tears in get destroyed in a matter of hours," said Booher other small business owners were already stepping in to support her She owns Smoke + Mirrors right down the road said she has an extra room that I'm more than welcome to use and this is a really good example of putting money and competition aside and that means a lot to me," said Booher “I very well could have been here with a client and it could have gone really bad in that aspect So I'm really thankful that god and whoever else was watching out for me and my last client," added Booher Staci Roth from Mainstreet Piqua said the immediate support for the affected businesses isn’t out of the ordinary we are a family and so it is not surprising that there have been so many people that have reached out from the local businesses to these businesses that have been affected," said Roth Fire Chief Lee Adams said he was grateful for the mutual aid from Piqua's neighbors Piqua and the impacted businesses are now working to clean up and rebuild Ohio (WKEF) -- An investigation has cleared an officer after he was involved in a deadly shooting Marcus Rodriguez was placed on paid leave after the shots from his gun caused the death of 44-year-old David West while responding to reports of a domestic violence situation The body camera footage from Piqua police shows that West was in the basement of a home on McKinley Avenue when Lt Rodriguez and other responding officers entered the home When the officers came to the basement door West alerted the responding officers that he had a pistol in his possession and would not comply with any of the officers’ requests Rodriguez could see West coming around the corner with a pistol pointed at him and the other officers Rodriguez was cleared and was able to return to work with the Piqua Police Department The City of Piqua has released more details about the deadly officer-involved shooting that happened on Friday died on the scene after officers responded to a domestic violence call at a home on McKinley Avenue A press release from the City of Piqua states that a domestic violence call came in at 4:44 p.m West was at home with his mother and father He allegedly assaulted his 65-year-old mother who suffered injuries Four officers responded to the call initially West was in the basement and told officers who were at the top of the stairs that he had a pistol but refused to come upstairs or show his hands Officers gave him several commands to surrender Rodriguez has been placed on paid administrative leave which is the Piqua Police Department's protocol He will remain on leave until the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (Ohio BCI) finishes its investigation The other three officers who responded to the call remain on active duty The last officer-involved shooting involving the Piqua Police Department that ended in a fatality was in July 1988 The last officer-involved shooting that did not result in any injuries was in July 2024 Ohio (WKEF) – After the devastating fire that left multiple businesses impacted addressed the situation on their social media platforms In a Facebook post the non-profit organization expressed their concern and condolences to the beloved downtown business owners The post includes the names of the businesses that the fire impacted: “This tragedy has deeply impacted our downtown community and our thoughts are with all those affected—business owners and everyone who has been touched by this loss,” the post said The post moves on to encourage those in Piqua and let’s continue to support one another as we navigate through this challenging moment,” it said An independent scientist known for testing at the site of disasters, including in East Palestine, has conducted tests near a former battery burning research site in Piqua Both he and an epidemiologist who reviewed the results recommended further testing Residents in the Miami County city have been pushing for more information since they learned that lithium ion batteries were burn for research at a city-owned public safety training facility from 2018 to 2023 In 2023 and 2024, Piqua city officials ordered soil and water testing at the site Those tests indicated no lasting contamination from the program that ended in September 2023 after the Ohio EPA revoked its permit But environmental scientist Scott Smith tested for different chemicals Smith took soil samples around the site in September and shared his results with WYSO He and an epidemiologist both find the results concerning Smith took an interest in Piqua after learning of the history of the battery testing program and announced his intentions to pursue testing here back in July Smith said he took soil samples from three sites in Piqua: a dog park about 250 feet away a resident’s home less than a quarter of a mile away He couldn't access the battery research site At the three sites he tested, he said two of them tested high for benzo(a)pyrene and benzo(b)fluoranthene. One site also showed high levels for dioxins, he said. These chemicals have been linked to causing cancer None of these results exceeded current federal or state guidelines Currently levels are established for oral exposure the agency writes that these chemicals “persist in the environment and bioaccumulate in the food chain.” Benzo(a)pyrene and benzo(b)fluoranthene are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which aren't uniformly regulated by the U.S When Smith compares this to 70 areas of East Palestine he tested the results show similar levels of contamination The Ohio EPA declined to comment on or review Smith’s results The city of Piqua also declined to comment citing a lack of details around the work plan and sampling methods Smith used The city previously said the wastewater from this site was “comparable to commercial and industrial wastewaters that are processed by wastewater treatment plants.” These chemicals have the potential to create something called synergistic toxicity when found with other compounds like metals and dioxins he said the effects can amplify and “make people ill." WYSO asked Hyunok Choi to review Smith’s results. Choi is an epidemiologist and health science professor at Lehigh University in Bethlehem She said soil testing isn’t the most foolproof way for assessing environmental exposure but the toxins found in the soil can pose some risk Choi recommends conducting further testing in the community Choi said testing people for internal samples such as blood and urine would be more indicative of exposure Smith said he can’t draw definitive conclusions from these results But he does believe the community should continue to press their leaders to do more types of environmental testing He intends to go over these results with a toxicologist via livestream to answer questions and concerns from the community “The power is really with the community to hold your elected officials accountable to hold your state and federal agencies accountable and collaborate as a group for the benefit of the public interest and the public health,” he said Lithium-ion batteries power everything from cell phones to electric vehicles. But they can combust suddenly and without warning Researchers are trying to figure out how and why that happens A WYSO investigation uncovered that research was happening in Piqua They're concerned they were exposed to harmful chemicals what was known as a fire training site in Piqua also housed a prolific lithium-ion battery testing program Part of what made it possible is that Ohio has few regulations around lithium-ion battery burning treating it the same as burning farm fields Diane Parke and Alisha Lange thumb through hundreds of documents Lange said she and her neighbors in the Miami County city have led the effort to find out what’s been going on at the training center I just truly don't think we'll ever know,” Lange said Allowing these tests without more oversight put residents' health at risk “That's just so disgusting that the leaders of our community are OK with these chemicals being released in an environment that is so readily accessible by citizens and the community,” she said Resident complaints eventually led to an Ohio EPA visit The department ordered the company to cease testing alleging it had installed unauthorized research equipment The recipe for the Piqua burn site took several ingredients to come together: Bowling Green State University and a state with lax regulations on burning batteries First, Bowling Green signed an agreement in 2018 to train firefighters in Piqua. This agreement gave the school, and a global company called DNV exclusive rights to a testing facility in town A DNV spokesperson said the company hired others and observed them conducting battery safety tests at this location — they didn't confirm nor deny if Energy Safety Response Group was one of those contractors DNV also stated “its standards required that the tests be conducted in accordance with applicable industry standards and local regulatory requirements.“ ESRG and Bowling Green haven’t responded to multiple requests for comment The Ohio EPA also declined several interview requests but it responded to questions by email and recorded statements said the fires were done under what’s called an open burn authorization “Ohio EPA issued permission for open burning involving lithium-ion batteries in Delaware County in 2017 before that operation was moved to Piqua in 2018,” Somerville said When burning batteries is legally like burning wood This was the first time the state agency issued an open burn authorization for lithium-ion battery fires. The authorizations refer to it as “research and training.” The Piqua fire department was authorized to complete these burns ESRG nor DNV are mentioned in these authorizations Currently no other sites in Ohio are authorized to burn this material Open burn regulations ban some materials like dead animals and garbage treating them the same as burning wood or prairies Transparency measures like public comments and local notification aren’t part of the open burn authorization process Inspections of open burns also aren’t typical They began complaining to the Ohio EPA in May 2023 A total of 17 complaints prompted the Ohio EPA and the Regional Air Pollution Control Agency to visit in September “The purpose was to gather information and ask questions about ESRG’s process,” Somerville said. The agencies allege ESRG had installed an unauthorized “burn room” and expanded the testing well beyond what was permitted, according to the site visit report. This led the Ohio EPA to issue a notice of violation calling it “a nuisance in the community." It revoked the city’s permit and ordered a stop to the burns To understand the danger these burns might have posed to the Piqua community WYSO asked expert Michael Pecht to review the Ohio EPA’s site visit report “There's been historically a lot of concern about battery fires and the toxic nature of the batteries, and especially when they get heated up,” Pecht said, a University of Maryland professor who researches lithium-ion batteries “How often the tests are conducted will make a difference It results in more toxins in the air and more pollution.” Pecht said based on his review of the report he’d be concerned about what happened to the tested batteries as well as the water that came into contact with the batteries “The destructive testing can result in fires and the opening of the battery of the contents within the battery,” Pecht said ESRG told the Ohio EPA that tested batteries were recycled Pecht said batteries can combust and let off emissions days after destructive testing — recycled or not “They do mention that (ESRG monitored) some of the pollutants But the pollutants that they monitor don't include things like hydrogen fluoride and other potentially poisonous compounds that can arise,” he said Hydrogen fluoride is a corrosive acid, so it’s dangerous when inhaled And Pecht said other metals such as aluminum cobalt and nickel could also be released during destructive testing The results indicate no lasting contamination But the Ohio EPA acknowledges its own results contained “limited research and incomplete emission data.” Lithium-ion batteries are emerging in relevance Piqua residents might not have known about the testing — but those in the battery industry did a former Piqua city engineer wrote “energy storage safety is a critical issue that threatens to stymie use” of this technology Companies from across North America, Europe and Asia have had their materials tested at the Piqua site, including Tesla, Enersys and Saft according to emails WYSO obtained through a public records request WYSO also obtained logs documenting these tests. They record almost 130 tests between 2021 and 2023 Some involved batteries as large as 40,000 pounds It's possible that residents' exposure to chemicals is even larger than what's been documented — WYSO found discrepancies within test documentation that suggest the company didn't record everything accurately For example, a neighbor called 911 reporting heavy smoke on Nov. 11, 2022. A police report says workers performing battery tests caused an outbuilding to become “engulfed in flames.” that test date doesn't appear on the spreadsheet compiling the test results the Piqua fire department didn’t supervise the company’s activities Former fire chief Brent Pohlschneider said city personnel weren’t on site when this testing took place according to a video Lange recorded in November 2023 and shared with WYSO WYSO hasn’t been able to reach Pohlschneider But WYSO confirmed with the Ohio EPA that Piqua firefighters weren’t on-site for the testing you want to make sure that you're doing it in a safe manner And that there's proper disposal and make sure that there's no contaminants in the air poisons in the air — especially when you're doing destructive testing,” Pecht said you would want to be transparent about what you're doing so everybody understands what the potential risks to the environment and to people's health are.” Piqua city commissioners have started taking action. In addition to the environmental testing, they created a resident committee to investigate the fire training site But some members told WYSO in May that they’ve been frustrated with restrictions on how they can interview staff members Piqua Mayor Kris Lee declined an interview but responded to questions in a recorded statement He said this committee will share its findings “Ultimately the commission is hopeful that a citizen-led independent review of the research activities at the site will put our residents’ minds at ease and provide us guidance on how to prevent a situation similar to this one from happening in the future,” Lee said And Piqua city commissioners banned the burning of batteries on city-owned property in late May. WYSO asked why the city agreed to this testing “Regardless of the merits for or against the battery testing the city’s position is to no longer permit it on city property,” Lee said in an email.  The mayor ordered Lange to leave a meeting in February you were asked not to yell out in the back See ya,” Lee said at the Piqua City Commission meeting on Feb The residents sued in federal court, and the trespass notices were revoked The pushback is coming at a critical juncture for the city. Now Piqua wants to use the training facility for its intended purpose — to train city safety crews. In April, the Piqua fire and police departments held an open house at the site He said he’s especially worried about what he could have been exposed to during the testing “I'm just concerned because I don't know what the actual whole truth is the ability to maybe sell the property,” Ridenour said Piqua Assistant Fire Chief Tim Risner said the department wants things to be different going forward That includes setting up a notification system to let residents know when fire training will take place “We understand that there's got to be trust I'm sending people into the worst situation here and I have to make sure that these people are trained,” Risner said Bowling Green hasn’t participated in the battery testing since 2021. But it still uses the Piqua training facility for its programs and coursework the Ohio EPA said it will increase onsite inspections for both existing and new open burn permits Lange said the environmental agency never should have permitted this without knowing the risks involved “And it's upsetting because these are the organizations that are put in place to prevent this from happening Yet it feels like they're allowing it,” Lange said Residents like her are still awaiting more information Ohio (WKEF) -- A one-year-old girl who suffered critical injuries after being severely abused and slammed on the floor by a man from Piqua has passed away 2024 due to her injuries at Children Medical Center in Dayton is the man accused of harming the child and was arrested on Dec Mayor is being charged with one count of felonious assault and three counts of endangering children "knowingly grabbed the victim and slammed her to the ground multiple times causing a fractured skull and bleeding of the brain." The victim was in the care of him and his wife Documents showed his wife provided babysitting services out of their home We've also learned Mayor works for the City of Dayton as a kiln operator but was found guilty of disorderly conduct back in 2021 A pre-trial conference is scheduled for Jan Piqua Police are currently investigating the case and Dayton 24/7 Now crews will update information as more becomes available