Thursday, August 6, 1998
Cincinnati firefighters rescued a 28-year-old Pleasant Ridge man Wednesday morning when a blaze broke out in his first-floor apartment.
The fire started about 7:45 a.m. in the 5500 block of Bosworth Avenue. Other residents escaped before firefighters arrived. Fire investigators listed the cause as careless smoking. The damage is estimated at $15,000.
Jury awards $4.7M in discrimination case
A federal jury awarded a Loveland woman nearly $4.7 million after agreeing with her claim that she was discriminated against when she lost her executive job at Xerox Corp.
Connie Rapp had worked at Xerox in Cincinnati for 26 years before losing her job in a 1995 reorganization. She had been the district business manager, an executive position, said Ms. Rapp's attorney, David Torchia.
Xerox found new jobs for all the men who lost their positions in the reorganization, but not for Ms. Rapp, her attorney said. Ms. Rapp filed sex and age discrimination claims against her former employer with the U.S. District Court in Cincinnati. While the jury rejected her age discrimination claim, it ruled Tuesday that she was discriminated against because she was a woman.
"Xerox has a long and devoted record of supporting diversity" and denied the claims made by Ms. Rapp, said company spokesman Brent Laymon. "We are going to pursue all our legal options about getting the verdict overturned."
Officer, deputy arrest suspect in bank robbery
COLERAIN TOWNSHIP -- A 29-year-old man, armed with a toy gun, robbed the Northside Bank and Trust Co. in Colerain Township on Wednesday, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department.
The bank, at 9315 Colerain Ave., was robbed at 12:10 p.m. No injuries were reported.
The suspect, later identified as Vincent D. Walsh, entered the bank, displayed what appeared to be a handgun and demanded money, authorities said. The suspect fled the bank with an undetermined amount of cash and was observed by Colerain Township Officer Doug Zellar.
The officer, along with Hamilton County Deputy Mike Linder, chased the suspect and arrested him at the Colerain Bowl parking lot at 9189 Colerain Ave., Colerain Township. A toy gun was located along the route of the foot chase, authorities said.
Charges are pending the outcome of investigation by the sheriff's office.
U.S. EPA cites company on emission violation
ADDYSTON -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has filed a complaint against the Bayer Corp. plant in Addyston, charging it has exceeded sulfur dioxide emission limits by burning high-sulfur coal.
In the complaint, EPA officials proposed a $54,000 penalty. Bayer, which operates a polymers manufacturing plant at 356 Three Rivers Parkway, has 30 days to answer the complaint.
In a prepared statement, Bayer said it disagreed with the EPA findings and the proposed fine. Officials said they would appeal the complaint through the EPA appeals process.
The company's statement said it will explain its data in more detail with the EPA.
Sulfur dioxide causes acid rain, and exposure to it can adversely affect breathing, according to the EPA. Children, the elderly and people with existing heart and lung conditions are most sensitive.
Black bear euthanized after cancer discovered
TOLEDO, Ohio -- The Toledo Zoo has put to sleep its female American black bear after discovering she had cancer. The male died last year.
Mohawk, 33, died Monday.
Veterinarians found cancer in Mohawk's stomach when they sedated her to examine a tooth they thought was broken, Tim French, curator of mammals, said Wednesday.
Any time they sedate an animal, veterinarians take the opportunity to do physical exams, he said. They could feel a tumor in Mohawk's stomach and removed an 11-pound mass that later was determined to be cancerous.
School should reopen after illness scare
MIDDLEPORT, Ohio -- A southern Ohio elementary school that was closed after a second-grader tested positive for exposure to Legionnaires' disease is expected to reopen for the school year.
Middleport Elementary School's teachers and nearly 170 students were transferred to other schools after the building was closed in May.
Compounding fears was the fact that the girl's teacher was diagnosed by a physician with Legionnaires' and died of pneumonia in February. However, tests by the state concluded the teacher's case didn't meet the definition of Legionnaires'.
