Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: Why did Columbus school board quietly undo Brandon Simmons’ censure?

Spotted on the Columbus calendar: SIX (Touring)

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Thursday December 18th Patch AM
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Hi there, Columbus! We've got your morning read ready! Read on to stay connected. ☀️

In today's newsletter:

  • Why did Columbus school board quietly undo Brandon Simmons’ censure?
  • How will new metal detectors change your next OhioHealth hospital visit?
  • How free haircuts are opening big conversations on Columbus’ east side

Also on today's calendar: Service Bar December Cocktail Class and 9 more events.

Find out what's happening in Columbusfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Today's riddle: My brother swallowed a box of firecrackers. - Is he all right now? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

Find out what's happening in Columbusfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

  • Thursday: Cloudy and windy; p.m. rain, with a high of 52 and low of 25 degrees.
  • Friday: Windy and much colder, temps: high: 31, low: 23.
  • Saturday: Turning cloudy; not as cold, with a high of 46 and low of 29 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Columbus school board rescinds censure on member Brandon Simmons (10tv.com) — Columbus City Schools has lifted its yearlong censure of board member Brandon Simmons, tied to a leaked strategy memo created during last year’s school-closure debates. The document detailed media and messaging tactics around closing Broadleigh, Buckeye, Moler and Columbus Alternative High School, and Simmons now says he regrets his role while pledging to keep serving the district’s 47,000 students.
   

2. OhioHealth to install metal detectors at hospitals by 2026 (10tv.com) — OhioHealth, based in Columbus, will add metal detectors and bag checks at public entrances to its hospitals and emergency departments by early 2026, including local facilities like Grant Medical Center and Doctors Hospital. Leaders say the move aims to better enforce a weapons-free policy and protect patients, visitors, and staff amid rising violence against health care workers nationwide.
   

3. Event offers kids a free haircut, mentorship (nbc4i.com) — Kids on Columbus’ east side are getting free haircuts plus one-on-one mentoring through a “Cuts and Conversations” event at Scottwood Elementary. Barbers talk with students about goals, bullying, and decision-making while families can also pick up food pantry supplies, with organizers planning to grow the program into a nonprofit.
   

4. Columbus on track to finish 2025 with fewer than 100 homicides (abc6onyourside.com) — Columbus is on pace to end 2025 with fewer than 100 homicides for the first time since 2014, with 81 killings recorded so far. Community group Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children and partners credit focused policing, youth programs, and faith-based outreach through the Under Triple Digits Initiative. Leaders now aim to sustain and deepen these safety gains into 2026.
   

5. Columbus 'ahead of the curve,' but report finds mental health crisis teams underused (abc6onyourside.com) — Columbus leaders are weighing big changes to how 911 handles mental health and other non-violent crisis calls, after a new report found the city’s alternative response teams are effective but severely underused. Consultants say limited staffing, fragmented programs, and police-based dispatching keep many eligible calls from reaching clinicians, and they’re urging a new unarmed civilian response unit and better coordination as budget talks begin.
   

📸 Around Columbus

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🗓 Upcoming Events in Columbus

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★ Featured events ★

    Thursday December 18
  • SIX (Touring)
    Palace Theatre, 34 W Broad St, Columbus
    7:30 pm

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • Walmart Continues to Brighten the Holidays for Families at LifeTown Columbus —Sam Rossi Read on Patch
  • FOUND CAT, do you recognize this guy?
    He's very friendly but looks like he's been outside a long time (very thin and dirty). Male, no microchip or collar. Due to his condition it's really… (Nextdoor Gables East)
  • If you live off Briggs, keep your pets inside.
    This coyote has been patrolling back and forth for days now. He came by 5 minutes after we brought our pup inside last night. (We go out with her) (Nextdoor Brookshire)
  • Kroger Family of Companies posted a job opening for Online Grocery Pick-Up Clerk in Columbus. Apply here.
  • Hall's Culligan Water posted a job opening for Warehouse Associate/Truck Loader, Monday-Friday Schedule! in Columbus. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Columbus here.

Ok Columbus! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I don’t know. I haven’t heard the last report.
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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