LEBANON -- Smoke filled part of a living unit of the Lebanon Correctional Institution on Tuesday after a cigarette butt was thrown down a heating vent.
No one was evacuated from the 226-inmate cell block, said administrative assistant Julia Bush. But fans were shut down in the heating vent in the janitor closet. After that, the smoke cleared, she said. Officials think the smoke came from a discarded cigarette butt tossed into the vent, she said.
The Turtlecreek Township Fire Department responded and determined an evacuation was not necessary. The fans were turned back on and the area cleared out within 15 minutes, she said.
Oberlin student beaten by intruder
OBERLIN, Ohio -- An 18-year-old woman who was beaten in her dormitory room at Oberlin College suffered a fractured skull.
A man broke into the room, beat her with a 5-pound attachment to an electric mixer and tried to rape her about 4 a.m. Sunday, police said. He had taken the attachment from the kitchen of the dorm.
The freshman from Los Angeles, whose name was not released, also was injured on the arms.
Police have a description of the man, Oberlin Police Chief Robert K. Jones said.
A student also was attacked and beaten in February while walking alone to her dormitory at the college 30 miles southwest of Cleveland. Police are investigating whether the attacks are related.
The college plans to add safety patrols and crime-prevention programs, said Keith James, director of security.
Ohio U. student found after fall from porch
ATHENS, Ohio -- An Ohio University student who apparently fell from the porch of an off-campus house remained hospitalized Tuesday. Eric R. Lind, 22, of the Cleveland suburb of Rocky River, was found lying in a parking lot next to the house, police said.
It appeared he struck his head on the sidewalk in the fall late Saturday or early Sunday, police said. He was found about 10 a.m. Sunday.
Mr. Lind apparently fell 6 to 12 feet.
He was in serious condition in the surgical intensive care unit at the Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Alcohol may have been a factor in Mr. Lind's fall, Athens Police Lt. Dave Williams said.
Abortion foe wants Bradley's class canceled
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- An anti-abortion activist Tuesday urged the University of Notre Dame to cancel a class on public policy taught by Bill Bradley because of the former senator's support of abortion rights during his 18 years in Congress.
Joseph Scheidler, a graduate and former instructor at the Catholic university, dubbed Mr. Bradley the "abortion senator" and said allowing him to continue teaching at Notre Dame would be as outrageous as allowing Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner to teach a course on marriage.
"I don't want my daughter and four nieces and nephews taught by a man who militantly opposes one of the basic teachings of the Catholic Church," said Mr. Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League, based in Chicago.
Notre Dame spokesman Dennis Brown said the university also believes Mr. Bradley's views on abortion are "wrong," but said the former senator's presence on campus was part of a school policy supporting an open forum of ideas.
UC study seeks depressed youths
The University of Cincinnati Medical Center is seeking depressed children and teen-agers to test whether they can be helped by an adult anti-depression drug.
Symptoms of depression include sad moods, loss of interest in favorite activities, fatigue, disturbed sleep, and sudden changes in weight or appetite.
Volunteers ages 8-18 will receive free medical evaluation, psychiatric consultations and other medical tests. For more information, call 558-3991.
Doctor recognized for work as professor
Dr. V. Franklin Colon, a longtime professor of family medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, has been named 1998 Family Practice Educator of the Year by the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians.
Until early July, Dr. Colon also was director of the Bethesda Hospital family practice residency program. Dr. Colon has been author or co-author of 37 medical research articles, as well as a textbook and a teaching film.
Social worker accused of sex with client
CLEVELAND -- Police have arrested a social worker accused of having sex with a 15-year-old boy.
The boy's father said he caught the two in a hotel Sunday after they allegedly had sex. The father said the 46-year-old woman, who is married and has three children, was still wearing her pink negligee.
"She was still there in the bed," he said.
The woman, who was not identified, was arrested Sunday. Police said Tuesday that they expected to charge her with sexual battery and corrupting a minor.
State law prohibits social workers from having sex with their clients, even if the sex is consensual.
According to a police report, the boy began having sex with his social worker while he was at the Maumee Youth Center, a state institution for delinquents in Liberty Center, southwest of Toledo.
The boy told police they also had sex in a classroom at the center.
Former clerk admits pocketing traffic fines
COLUMBUS -- Faced with videotapes showing him pocketing juvenile traffic fines, former Franklin County Clerk of Courts Jesse Oddi on Tuesday admitted stealing $448,000 as his trial was scheduled to begin.
Mr. Oddi pleaded guilty to all 49 criminal charges he faced in common pleas court. Afterward, he apologized to his family, former co-workers and taxpayers.
He faces a maximum of about 71 years in prison when he is sentenced Nov. 16. Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said the state would recommend Mr. Oddi be sentenced to at least 10 years in prison.
