Governor delays trip to attend funeral

Long-time Westerville resident John Kasich is postponing a foreign trade trip to attend the funeral Friday of two police officers slain in his hometown on Saturday.

The Ohio governor had been scheduled to depart Tuesday on a four-day trip to France and Germany in a bid to attract businesses and jobs to Ohio while also attending the Munich Security Conference.

But the governor now will stay close to home and attend the funeral for Officers Eric Joering and Anthony Morelli at 1 p.m. Friday in St. Paul Catholic Church, 313 N. State St., Westerville.

Until 2001, Kasich lived in Westerville for many years while representing the area for four years in the Ohio Senate and then 18 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. He, his wife, Karen, and their twin daughters now live in nearby Genoa Township in Delaware County.

The governor and his wife paid a visit Monday evening to the flower-strewn memorial to the officers outside the Westerville Police Department.

In a tweet Saturday, Kasich expressed “our prayers and deep condolences to their families and fellow officers. Let’s pledge ourselves to never forget their service.”

Kasich also fielded a phone call of sympathy from President Donald Trump about the officers’ deaths.

The governor ordered flags flown at half-staff on all public buildings and grounds until Joering and Morelli are buried.

Public visitation for the officers will be from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday at the church.