Tuesday, October 1, 2024
1:00pm-3:00pm
Sandra K-Horn - Undercover: Becoming Street Smart in Central Ohio
Sandra K-Horn’s book, Undercover: Becoming Street Smart in Central Ohio, is the chilling biography of two undercover officers' journeys from rookie cop to undercover officer. Mike Powell and Shawn Bain started their careers in the lower echelon of the Franklin County Sheriff's Department. They worked their way from beat cop to undercover drug enforcement. Powell commanded a nine-county bust operation that included a motorcycle gang and a web of traffickers and led to breaking up a conspiracy of Cuban Nationals. He assisted in bringing to justice individuals contributing to the operation of the Mexican Cartel that worked a network between New York, Columbus, Houston, Miami, and Los Angeles. K-Horn will discuss Undercover and the five years during which she interviewed Powell and Bain to amass information for her book. She will be joined by Sargent Mike Powell (ret), who will answer questions about his time in the Franklin County Sheriff's Department and his work with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
About Sandra K-Horn
Sandra K-Horn has worked in education and journalism. She published her first novel in 2007 and won an Honorable Mention by the Eric Hoffer Award. Writing has been her passion since college. She holds a Bachelor of Science in English and Communication from Bowling Green State University and a Master of Education from Otterbein University. She studied at Ohio University, The Ohio State University, Ashland University, and Harvard University. During her teaching tenure, the Television Academy of Arts and Science awarded Sandra and her students 12 High School Awards of Excellence. Time Warner awarded her Teacher of the Year in 2006 and 2008. Sandra writes fiction and nonfiction. Her fiction books are Downward Spiral (Young Adult) and After the Tears Dry (Contemporary Women's Literature). Her nonfiction book is Undercover: Becoming Street Smart in Central Ohio (biography). As she researched Downward Spiral, she met Sargeant Michael Powell (ret.). He came to the high school where she was teaching and gave a presentation about drug paraphernalia and the current street drugs. K-Horn was fascinated by his stories about teens and that teens know much more about drugs than parents and teachers. Mike has been a consultant on two of her novels and is one of the subjects of Undercover. She is a member of the National League of American Pen Women. Her newest novel is The Springridge Incident. It is about how bullying in one generation becomes a tradition in the next. It's an inspirational story about resilience and self-discovery.