FSIO Meeting Minutes 2019

Meeting Minutes for the Forensic Science Institute of Ohio

The meeting adjourned at 10:45 am. Motion, Bob Budgake; Second, Chad Wissinger. All Members voted in the affirmative.

Respectfully submitted,

Robert E. Budgake, Secretary, FSIO

Meeting Minutes for the Forensic Science Institute of Ohio

A meeting of the FSIO was called to order at 10:04am, on June 13, 2019 at the Ohio Fire Academy, Room 2303, 8895 East Main St., Reynoldsburg, Ohio. President Heather Sheskey (OSHP) presided over the meeting.

The following Members and guests were present: Becky Barlag (Ohio U.), Bob Budgake (Canton-Stark Retired), Nasir Butt (Cuyahoga Co.), Tammy Darden (OSHP), Jen Duvall (BCI London), Angela Farrington (Columbus), Michele Foster (Canton-Stark), Steve Greene (BCI-Retired), Laurel Hart (OSHP), Jim Smith (BCI London), Jami StClair (Columbus-Retired), Anthony Stender (Ohio U.), Tony Tambasco (Mansfield), Mike Trimpe (Hamilton Co.), Brandon Werry (OSHP) and Chad Wissinger (State Fire Marshal). David Cogan (Toledo) was represented by proxy. A quorum was present.

Twelve of the nineteen eligible voters were present or represented.

Secretary Budgake presented the minutes of the March 14, 2019 meeting. The minutes were reviewed and approved. Motion, Brandon Werry; Second, Jim Smith. All Members voted in the affirmative.

Chad Wissinger offered the Treasurer’s report. He disclosed that the FSIO has a checking account balance of $23,023, a savings account balance of $5,001 and a Tong Award’s Fund balance of $36,065. Chad revealed his liking of our new PayPal account. It makes his life as Treasurer much easier. He also stated that our financial advisor, Shawn Whitt, with the Edward Jones Co., was going to stop by after our meetings to introduce himself.

Old Business:

Chad Wissinger specified the Ron Smith course entitled, Finding Latent Print Evidence with Chemistry and Light, will take place October 22-25, 2019, at the Fire Academy.

Those interested can register online at www.RonSmithandAssociates.com/Training . Tuition is $600.

President Sheskey, on behalf of Jeff Lynn, informed the group that he plans to organize another Introductory Expert Witness Testimony Training Course at Ohio BCI, Bowling Green, on August 6 & 7. He will e-mail all an announcement soon.

Brandon Werry expressed his pleasure with the turnout of the Ohio Drug Chemist Meeting April 17, 2019, at the OSHP Academy. There were 90 participants who attended.

Nasir Butt indicated that there have been no meetings this year of the Ohio Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Kit Tracking System Advisory Committee. Nasir said that the State is in the process of signing a contract with a vendor, but no timetable for implementation was specified by the State

Angela Farrington revealed that registration is still open for the ANAB ISO/IEC 17025- 2017 Assessor Training Course, scheduled for August 27-30, 2019, at the Fire Academy, Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Tuition is $1,000 per student, with a maximum class size of 24 students. Angela said the 10 student minimum threshold has already been reached.

Nasir interjected that Cuyahoga County is hosting an ANAB ISO 17025 & AR3125 Transition Training Course at their facility, August 5-6, 2019. The tuition is $450.

Nasir Butt reported the Ohio Ethics Commission offered no official guidance concerning ANAB directly reimbursing Cuyahoga County employees for travel expenses, regarding offsite inspections of other forensic facilities. However, the County has decided that they will pay for the employee’s travel expenses for such visits and will not seek or accept ANAB reimbursement. Chad Wissinger shared that their Division Counsel stated that they can receive reimbursement from ANAB, as long as the funds go to his agency and not directly to the employee.

Mike Trimpe has previously expressed concern regarding the ANAB assessment of their disciplines i.e. explosive residue, soil and wood identification, because they are not doing enough case volume in these specialties. This concern has been alleviated for now, but Mike proposed surveying our Ohio labs, to ascertain what trace disciplines are being performed. He suggested that in the future, a way to preserve these specialties in our state, might be accomplished by agencies submitting these cases to one or two designated facilities, verses all our labs. Jami StClair interjected that just because an agency fails to meet accreditation standards for casework volume, doesn’t mean the agency is prevented from doing an analysis. They just can’t claim they are accredited to perform this analysis.

New Business:

Bob Budgake presented the Membership application of Erik Blaine (Miami Valley). Erik is the new Director of the lab and coroner’s office. Motion to accept, Bob Budgake; Second, Chad Wissinger. All Members voted in the affirmative.

Brandon Werry indicated that they would like to hold a Hypergeometric Sampling Workshop in the summer of 2020. He indicated that their Coverdell grant could be used to cover the travel expenses of the lecturer. Brandon motioned that the membership consider providing lunch for this endeavor; Second, Bob Budgake. All Members voted in the affirmative.

Angela Farrington stated her intention of hosting an AFTE Toolmark Subclass Evaluation Course, September 17^th, 8-5pm. She made a motion to have FSIO pay travel and per diem for the instructor, not to exceed $750; Second, Mike Trimpe. All Members voted in the affirmative. This course will be limited to 15 students and will have no anticipated tuition charge.

Angela Farrington floated the idea of bringing a DNA STRmix (software for interpretation of DNA mixtures) Course to Ohio. The interest expressed from the membership was mixed. Angela withdrew the proposal for now, so she could do additional research.

The next meeting of the FSIO will be 10 am, Thursday, September 12, 2019, at the Ohio Fire Academy, 8895 East Main St., Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Motion, Bob Budgake; Second, Brandon Werry. All Members voted in the affirmative.

The meeting adjourned at 10:50 am. Motion, Chad Wissinger; Second, Bob Budgake. All Members voted in the affirmative.

Respectfully submitted,

Robert E. Budgake, Secretary, FSIO

Meeting Minutes for the Forensic Science Institute of Ohio

A meeting of the FSIO was called to order at 10:01am, on September 12, 2019 at the Ohio Fire Academy, Room 2303, 8895 East Main St., Reynoldsburg, Ohio. President Heather Sheskey (OSHP) presided over the meeting.

The following Members and guests were present: Bob Budgake (Canton-Stark Retired), David Cogan (Toledo), Bill Dean (Hamilton Co. Retired), Jen Duvall (BCI London), Brooke Ehlers (Miami Valley), Angela Farrington (Columbus), Michele Foster (Canton- Stark), Mark Hiatt (Newark), Laura Kimble (Hamilton (Co.), Karen Kwek (BCI London), Jeff Lynn (BGSU), Doug Rohde ((Lake Co.), Jim Smith (BCI London), Anthony Stender (Ohio U.), Tony Tambasco (Mansfield) and Mike Trimpe (Hamilton Co.). Chad Wissinger (State Fire Marshal) was represented by proxy. A quorum was present.

Fourteen of the nineteen eligible voters were present or represented.

Secretary Budgake presented the minutes of the June 13, 2019 meeting. The minutes were reviewed and approved. Motion, Jim Smith; Second, Mike Trimpe. All Members voted in the affirmative.

Bob Budgake, on behalf of Chad Wissinger, proffered the Treasurer’s report. He disclosed the FSIO has a checking account balance of $22,608, a savings account balance of $5,001 and a Tong Award’s Fund balance of $36,575. Bob indicated the FSIO was the pass thru account for the August, ANAB Assessor Training Course. Also, Chad issued a $150 student award check to Connor Berelsman, of Ohio University.

Old Business:

President Sheskey stated, Chad Wissinger sent an e-mail message revealing, that for the Ron Smith course entitled, Finding Latent Print Evidence with Chemistry and Light, to go forward, they need a couple more registrants. Michele Foster and Mark Hiatt indicated they recently registered three students. Therefore, it is anticipated that this offering will proceed. Anyone else who is interested, needs to register by September 23^rd. The course takes place October 22-25, 2019, at the Fire Academy. Registration can be completed online at www.RonSmithandAssociates.com/Training . Tuition is $600.

Jeff Lynn informed the group that the Introductory Expert Witness Testimony Training Course, at Ohio BCI Bowling Green, on August 6 & 7, went very well. They had seven students from Columbus and Lake County. Jeff volunteered to continue offering this course as needed.

Angela Farrington stated the ANAB ISO/IEC 17025-2017 Assessor Training Course, held August 27-30, 2019, at the Fire Academy, Reynoldsburg, Ohio, had twenty-three attendees. The FSIO processed the tuition charges for this course and profited $1,650 for doing so. Angela gave special thanks to Lisa Malloure, from her office, for coordinating this event.

President Sheskey, on behalf of Brandon Werry, proposed the second week of May 2020 for a two day Hypergeometric Sampling Workshop. There were no objections to this offering date.

Angela Farrington revealed that the AFTE Toolmark Subclass Evaluation Course, on September 17, 2020 has been cancelled. A new ATF Bureau Chief has prohibited the intended instructor to attend. Angela indicated that she will try again to organize this offering in the future.

New Business:

Bob Budgake presented a concern from Dr. Gilson (Cuyahoga Co.), regarding their inability to collect overtime from ATF for civilian NIBIN data entry. Apparently, sworn staffing can receive such payments. Dr. Gilson inquired if FSIO is willing to pursue this matter with federal congressional representatives. Only a few of the attendees were aware of this issue. The membership seemed open to supporting Cuyahoga County in this endeavor, if they choose to move forward.

Karen Kwek proposed that we consider offering a one day course regarding pharmacophores, previously given by Dr. John Sprague, in 2014. Jeff Lynn volunteered to make contact with Dr. Sprague. Several members indicated the 2014 version was an excellent presentation. President Sheskey offered the OSHP Academy, as a central location, to hold this course.

The next meeting, which is the Annual Meeting of the FSIO, will be 10 am, Thursday, December 12, 2019, at the Ohio Fire Academy, 8895 East Main St., Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Motion, Bob Budgake; Second, Jeff Lynn. All Members voted in the affirmative. Bob Budgake relayed that the new administrators of the Coverdell grant would like to attend our December or March meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 10:30 am. Motion, Jim Smith; Second, Tony Tambasco. All Members voted in the affirmative.

Respectfully submitted,

Robert E. Budgake, Secretary, FSIO

Meeting Minutes for the Forensic Science Institute of Ohio

The Annual meeting of the FSIO was called to order at 10:05am, on December 12, 2019 at the Ohio Fire Academy, Room 2303, 8895 East Main St., Reynoldsburg, Ohio.

President Heather Sheskey (OSHP) presided over the meeting.

The following Members and guests were present: Becky Barlag (Ohio U.), Bob Budgake (Canton-Stark Retired), Nasir Butt (Cuyahoga Co.), Tammy Darden (OSHP), Jen Duvall (BCI London), Angela Farrington (Columbus), Mark Hiatt (Newark), Mark Losko (BCI London), Jim Smith (BCI London), Anthony Stender (Ohio U.), Tracy Sundermeier (Hamilton Co.), Mike Trimpe (Hamilton Co.), Brandon Werry (OSHP) and Chad Wissinger (State Fire Marshal). Brooke Ehlers (Miami Valley) was represented by proxy. A quorum was present. Eleven of the eighteen eligible voters were present or represented.

Secretary Budgake presented the minutes of the September 12, 2019 meeting. The minutes were reviewed and approved. Motion, Chad Wissinger; Second, Tammy Darden. All Members voted in the affirmative.

Chad Wissinger proffered the Treasurer’s report. He disclosed the FSIO has a checking, PayPal and saving’s account balance of $30,238 and a Tong Award’s Fund balance of $36,580.

Old Business:

Chad Wissinger mentioned that the Ron Smith course entitled, Finding Latent Print Evidence with Chemistry and Light took place on October 22-25, 2019, at the Fire Academy. There were approximately fifteen attendees, two of whom came from the Republic of Oman. Chad stated that the course was worthwhile and presented very well.

Brandon Werry announced that on May 13, 2020 OSHP will host Hypergeometric Sampling and Uncertainty of Measurement workshops. These will take place at their academy and the instructor will be paid via Coverdell Grants funds. Therefore, there will be no tuition charged. OSHP will provide a free lunch at the academy. FSIO will not have any financial responsibility for this endeavor. Brandon estimated that they could seat approximately 130 attendees. He also mentioned distributing an official announcement of this event in January.

Heather Sheskey, on behalf of Jeff Lynn, informed the group that Jon Sprague has agreed to instruct a pharmacophore class at no charge. This presentation was given to a group of Ohio’s crime lab drug chemists several years ago. Jeff floated the dates of April 21 or 28, ²⁰²⁰. The membership indicted that the April 28^th date was preferred. This program will be held at the OSHP academy and has an anticipated length of two hours. Heather also mentioned that the Center for the Future of Forensic Science will be hosting a

Difficult Latent Print Decisions course in Bowling Green, June 15-19, 2020. This training is provided by Alice White of Evolve Forensics. Registration and associated training details will be posted on the Evolve Forensics website: https://evolveforensics.com . Heather cautioned that seating is limited, so best to be prompt in registering.

Bob Budgake revealed that in September, the Board approved sending flowers to the James Tong memorial service, once the date was finalized. Bob has since learned that the family wishes that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the following scholarship funds: 1) the James and Harriet Tong Scholarship in Forensic Chemistry, Ohio University, 2) the James Y. and Harriet P. Tong scholarship in Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, or 3) the Robert E. Connick Undergraduate Scholarship in Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley. Bob motioned that in lieu of flowers that we approve a cash donation to the Tong Forensic Chemistry Scholarship at Ohio U.; Second, Jim Smith. All Members voted in the affirmative. Mike Trimpe motioned that we donate $1,000 to this fund; Second, Brandon Werry. All Members voted in the affirmative. Bob also shared that there will be a memorial serve at 1:00pm, on Saturday, January 11, 2020 at the Dairy Barn, 8000 Dairy Barn Lane, Athens, Ohio.

New Business:

Nasir Butt, Chairman of the Nominating Committee, presented the following slate of officers for year 2020: President-Elect – Rebecca Barlag (will become President in 2021), Secretary – Bob Budgake and Treasurer – Chad Wissinger. Motion to close the nominations and approve the presented slate of candidates, Nasir Butt; Second, Mike Trimpe. All Members voted in the affirmative. Jennifer Duvall will become President on January 1, 2020. Current President Heather Sheskey will remain on the Board and serve as Advisor.

Mike Trimpe queried the group regarding interest in an Edwards vacuum rough pump maintenance course. Edwards is willing to instruct this for $2,500 and would cover various pump manufacturers. This would be a full day class and limited to ten attendees. The membership showed sufficient interest. Mike will research this more thoroughly and report back at our March meeting.

The next Meeting of the FSIO, will be 10 am, Thursday, March 12, 2020, at the Ohio Fire Academy, 8895 East Main St., Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Motion, Jennifer Duvall; Second, Mike Trimpe. All Members voted in the affirmative.

The meeting adjourned at 10:30 am. Motion, Bob Budgake; Second, Chad Wissinger. All Members voted in the affirmative.

Respectfully submitted,

Robert E. Budgake, Secretary, FSIO