Strickland talks about Lima shooting, economy

LIMA — It was a day set aside to celebrate business, but, for Gov. Ted Strickland, there was other business to discuss.Strickland spent most of Thursday in the region touring area businesses for what the Allen County Visionaries hope will become the first of an annual Visionary Day event. Strickland spent the bulk of his day shaking hands and hearing about the region’s business success stories, but he also took time to discuss more immediate issues, including the death of a Lima woman during a police raid last Friday.“Any time there is a loss of life, it is a sad occurrence. It’s a tragedy, but I think it’s very important that the community understand that anger may be OK, but violence is not the answer,” Strickland said.Tarika Wilson was shot and killed by police officers serving a warrant on her boyfriend. Her 1-year-old son was injured in the incident. There have been few details released concerning what happened, but, in the week since the shooting, there has been a variety of demonstrations from community groups demanding answers.Strickland said people have a right to ask for information, but they need to be patient.“We need to find out exactly what happened and why it happened so we can learn from this,” Strickland said. “But we also need to be patient in waiting to find the truth.”The governor started his day with a tour of the Lima Ford Engine Plant followed by a trip to Leipsic for the grand opening of the POET ethanol plant, the first of its kind in the state. By early afternoon, he was back in Lima for a tour of American Trim and its new Advanced Materials Commercialization Center. The center is a partnership of American Trim, Rhodes State College and the city of Lima. A state Third Frontier grant helped fund it. Strickland ended the tour convinced it was money well-spent.“It’s is a great program that is doing much good in Ohio. It’s the kind of program I will continue to support and, hopefully as time passes, expand,” he said.Tim Hawk, executive vice president and general manager of American Trim, took advantage of the governor’s visit to announce a new exclusive agreement with DuPont.“This extends the reach of this center and this technology to a global perspective,” Hawk said.Mayor Dave Berger said the project and others prove that Lima and Allen County cannot just survive tough economic times, but they also can lead.“We can compete. Lima, Ohio, has the resources in industry sector, we have the resources in business sector, we have the resources in the education sector, and we have the resources in the community sector to pull together truly competitive proposals,” Berger said.Strickland moved to St. Rita’s Medical Center in the late afternoon for a tour and visit with members of the Visionaries before visiting Tuttle Construction and the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center. He said the day’s tours left him convinced the region and the state are on the right track.“This is exactly what ought to be happening. Our communities are struggling. We’ve got to have jobs of the future, and that’s what’s happening here,” Strickland said.