Editing Addyston, Ohio (section)

==History==
Established in 1891, Addyston was named after Matthew Addy, who had founded the Addyston Pipe and Steel Company in the 1880s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Overman|first=William Daniel|title=Ohio Town Names|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015015361465;view=1up;seq=17|year=1958|publisher=Atlantic Press|location=Akron, OH|page=1}}</ref><ref name=Pollution>{{cite web |last1=Gallagher Newberry |first1=Patricia |title=Plastic pollution: What Addyston's chemical plant has left behind |url=https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2025/02/19/ineos-styrolution-plant-leaves-impact-on-environment/76792741007/ |website=The Cincinnati Enquirer |access-date=February 22, 2024 |date=February 19, 2025}}</ref> Addyston served as a [[company town]] for Addy's foundry, with nearly 80% of the village's homes rented by Pipe and Steel Company workers by the early 1900s.<ref name=Ailing>{{cite web |last1=Wartman |first1=Scott |title=The real estate boom bypassed Addyston. Here's how an ailing river town with 'decrepit' housing looks to rebound. |url=https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2021/03/24/real-estate-boom-overlooks-addyston-hamilton-county-looks-answers/6894177002/ |website=The Cincinnati Enquirer |access-date=January 30, 2025 |date=March 24, 2021}}</ref> In 1894, the company entered into a [[cartel]] with other pipe manufacturers in which they agreed not to compete with each other in order to increase the price of their products. The cartel was the subject of an 1899 [[Supreme Court of the United States|US Supreme Court]] [[United States antitrust law|antitrust]] case, ''[[Addyston Pipe & Steel Co. v. United States]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Addyston Pipe & Steel Co. v. United States, 175 U.S. 211 (1899) |url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/175/211/ |website=Justia |access-date=January 31, 2025}}</ref> Addyston was devastated by the [[Ohio River flood of 1937]]. The closure of the Pipe and Steel Company in the 1950s resulted in population loss and the blighting of many of the village's buildings, particularly in the Sekitan neighborhood. [[Monsanto]] began operating at the site of Addy's foundry in 1952, followed by [[Bayer]] in 1995, [[Lanxess]] in 2005, and [[Ineos]] in 2007.<ref name=Ailing /><ref name=Pollution /> In 1991, part of Addyston was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] as the [[Village of Addyston Historic District]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Village of Addyston Historic District |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail/bcb24794-1818-452b-b27c-57fcb9ebedd2 |website=National Park Service |access-date=January 31, 2025}}</ref>

Addyston's industrial plant has contributed to high levels of [[pollution]] in the surrounding area. In addition to dumping many of its chemicals into the [[Ohio River]], the plant has made use of several [[landfill]]s in the region. The [[Ohio Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA) attempted to designate the plant's Bond Road Landfill in [[Whitewater Township, Hamilton County, Ohio|Whitewater Township]] as a [[superfund]] site due to its extensive pollution in the 1990s, but this was rejected by the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|federal EPA]]. The plant has produced or used numerous [[carcinogen]]s over its history, including [[acrylonitrile]], [[butadiene]], and [[polychlorinated biphenyl]]s (PCBs).<ref name=Pollution /> Addyston's Meredith Hitchens Elementary School ceased operations following a 2005 report by the Ohio EPA that found a significantly heightened risk of cancer at the school due to pollution from the nearby plant. Its students were transferred to the Three Rivers School District, whose closest school was in [[Cleves, Ohio|Cleves]]. In 2009, Ineos and Lanxess agreed to spend $2 million to address the pollution in a deal with the EPA.<ref name=Ailing /> The Addyston plant was cited in a 2021 lawsuit by the state of Ohio against Monsanto for PCB pollution. A Monsanto spokesperson confirmed that the Addyston plant made use of PCBs, but stated that they were not produced at the plant.<ref name=Pollution />

Many residents in the Cincinnati area regarded Addyston as a [[speed trap]] as early as 1948, which village officials repeatedly denied. An article in ''[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]]'' stated that its reputation as a speed trap was "mostly true", citing the fact that Addyston's [[Ohio Mayor's Courts|mayor's court]] saw more than five times as many traffic cases per 100 residents than the average mayor's court in Ohio between 2017 and 2019. Addyston's police department issued 604 traffic tickets in 2019, which the ''Enquirer'' contrasted with the fact that [[U.S. Route 50]] only passes through the village for two miles.<ref name=Ailing /> In March 2020, Addyston Police Chief Dorian LaCourse resigned after it was revealed that he had sold over 60 [[submachine gun]]s that he had acquired from gun salesmen in [[Indiana]] under the guise of using them for police demonstrations.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mayhew |first1=Chris |title=Documents: Ex-police chief of Addyston used authority to acquire dozens of submachine guns |url=https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/local/hamiltoncounty/2020/03/04/documents-addyston-police-chief-transferred-machine-guns-dealers/4952535002/ |website=The Cincinnati Enquirer |access-date=January 30, 2025 |date=March 4, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Edwards Baker |first1=Jennifer |title=State auditor: 'Messy' Addyston audit 'highlights many issues', investigation ongoing |url=https://www.fox19.com/2020/10/08/state-auditor-messy-addyston-audit-highlights-many-issues-investigation-ongoing/ |website=Fox19 |access-date=January 30, 2025 |date=October 8, 2020}}</ref>

In 2021, Addyston's financial situation was referred to as a "record-keeping train wreck" by [[State Auditor of Ohio|Ohio State Auditor]] [[Keith Faber]].<ref name="Finances">{{cite web |last1=Coolidge |first1=Sharon |last2=Gallagher Newberry |first2=Patricia |title=Could Cincinnati get a 53rd neighborhood? Addyston leaders mull annexation to Cincinnati |url=https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2025/01/28/addyston-considers-annexing-to-cincinnati-as-plant-preps-closure/77406412007/ |website=The Cincinnati Enquirer |access-date=January 29, 2025 |date=January 28, 2025}}</ref> In October 2024, Ineos announced plans to close its plant in Addyston in the second quarter of 2025, stating that the plant was "no longer economical".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gallagher Newberry |first1=Patricia |title=Ineos, company tied to September styrene leak, to close Addyston plant |url=https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2024/10/31/ineos-company-tied-to-september-styrene-leak-to-close-ohio-plant/75969589007/ |website=The Cincinnati Enquirer |access-date=January 29, 2025 |date=October 31, 2024}}</ref> Ineos violated the federal [[Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988|Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act]] by failing to inform the [[United States Department of Labor|US Department of Labor]] of its intention to close.<ref name=Pollution /> The Ineos plant made up about a fourth of Addyston's annual revenue, paying $350,000 in income tax and $21,000 in property tax per year. The announcement of its closure deepened the village's financial crisis and raised media speculation about Addyston's potential dissolution and reabsorption into [[Miami Township, Hamilton County, Ohio|Miami Township]].<ref name=Finances /> On November 12, 2024, the Addyston village council voted 4-3 to disband the village's police department and hand over law enforcement responsibility to the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office in order to reduce costs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=King |first1=Courtney |last2=Edwards Baker |first2=Jennifer |title=Addyston Village Council votes to disband police department |url=https://www.fox19.com/2024/11/13/addyston-village-council-votes-disband-police-department/ |website=Fox19 |access-date=January 29, 2025 |date=November 12, 2024}}</ref> In the wake of the disbandment, Addyston Police Chief Jacob Tenbrink suggested that dissolving into Miami Township may be necessary, though Miami Township Administrator Jim Brett expressed his desire for Addyston to remain independent.<ref name= Finances />

By January 2025, informal talks had begun between Addyston and [[Cincinnati]] to discuss holding a referendum on the village's annexation into Cincinnati, with Addyston Mayor Lisa Mear describing herself as "on the fence" about annexation. [[Mayor of Cincinnati|Cincinnati Mayor]] [[Aftab Pureval]] stated that the city wished to explore the effects annexation would have on Cincinnati's finances and public services. The negotiations were arranged by [[Bill Seitz]], who had formerly served as a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] member of the [[Ohio House of Representatives]].<ref name=Finances /> A majority of the village council expressed their opposition to annexation at a February council meeting, but stated that no firm decision had been made regarding the village's future and that extensive funding cuts were needed to maintain the village's independence.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Coolidge |first1=Sharon |title=Addyston leaders resolve to stay a village, but mayor says 'tough decisions' ahead |url=https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/04/no-annexation-for-addyston-but-tough-decisions-ahead/78178368007/ |website=The Cincinnati Enquirer |access-date=February 4, 2025 |date=February 4, 2025}}</ref>