Saturday, January 16, 1999
TRISTATE DIGEST
Weather keeps 3 of 5 city students home
Average daily attendance at Cincinnati Public Schools this week plunged to about 40 percent, a drop district leaders are blaming on the city's icy secondary streets.
Attendance typically is about 93 percent in elementaries and 84 percent in middle and high schools.
Wednesday night's ice storm led officials to close school Thursday and suspend yellow-bus service Friday. The slick roads also caused bus delays earlier in the week, officials said.
The district excuses absences caused by weather-
induced transportation troubles.
White Bengal tiger from Cincinnati dies
NEW ORLEANS — A rare white tiger sent 16 years ago by the Cincinnati Zoo was put to death because it had cancer, Audubon Zoo officials said Friday.
“Anyone who has ever lost an animal knows what we're going through,” Curator Dan Maloney said. “We wanted to make sure we had investigated all avenues for treatment, but after careful consideration, we know this is the most humane decision.”
Suri was put to death Thursday and buried at the Audubon Species Survival Center in New Orleans.
Suri was a Bengal tiger with a genetic variation that gave her blue eyes and white fur with pale stripes instead of the common orange and black markings. There are only a few hundred like her in the world.
She was 16 years old. Life expectancy among her breed is about 15 to 20 years.
Suri's weight had dropped from 320 pounds to less than 250, her appetite was down, and she was receiving painkillers and steroids to reduce swelling. Veterinarians removed part of her intestine, but the cancer had spread since it was discovered late last year.
The Cincinnati Zoo lent Suri to Audubon in 1983. She was so popular with visitors that the zoo easily raised the $200,000 needed to buy her.
Suspect arrested in school break-in
WAYNESVILLE — Police have arrested one suspect and are looking for a second in connection with a break-in and $7,000 in damage early Tuesday at Waynesville Elementary School.
A computer and a door were damaged, but nothing was taken, police and school officials said. The break-in occurred around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Christopher T. Anspach, 21, of Waynesville is charged with breaking and entering, vandalism, and criminal trespassing. He was in the Warren County jail on $50,000 bond.
The same charges have been filed against Steven Foster, 25, of Lebanon. He remains at large.
UD eases tradition on presidency
DAYTON, Ohio — The University of Dayton decided Friday to make Catholic lay persons eligible to be president of the private Catholic school.
The move breaks the school's 149-year tradition that the president be a member of the Society of Mary, the founding religious congregation. Trustees would still give preference to Marianists when considering presidential candidates.
The university was founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, which includes about 1,600 brothers and priests. The Marianists operate more than 100 schools, including three universities.
Brother Raymond Fitz has been the university's president for 19 years. Although his current five-year term ends this year, he has agreed to serve for two more years.
Two teens charged in Northside fire
Cincinnati fire investigators have charged two teen-age boys with aggravated arson in connection with a Nov. 23 fire at 4018 Apple St. in Northside.
Investigators say the boys, ages 13 and 14, were not involved in other arson cases in the neighborhood.
Seven fires occurred days after a 20-year-old Northside man, Antonio Shafer, was fatally stabbed during a street fight near the intersection of Witler and Hanfield streets. Half a dozen more arsons came in the following months.
Several juveniles have been arrested, but authorities are still seeking tips to lead to more arrests. Crime Stoppers offers a reward of up to $1,000 at its hot line, 352-3040.
Price Hill man sought in shooting
Cincinnati police are looking for a 28-year-old Price Hill man in connection with a Tuesday night shooting that left a man critically injured.
A felonious assault warrant has been filed by the homicide unit for Diego “Paco” Villas, whose last known address was on Kulhman Avenue. He is wanted in connection with the shooting of Wilbert “Mickey” White in Over-the-Rhine.
Mr. White, 61, of Winton Hills, was still in critical condition Friday at University Hospital. Police responding to a traffic accident found Mr. White in his van bleeding from a gunshot wound to his torso.
Mr. White's shooter apparently was a passenger in his van. He was shot as he drove from a nearby tavern, police have said.
Police described Mr. Villas as African-American, about 6 feet tall and 220 pounds.
Police are asking anyone with information on Mr. Villas' whereabouts or the shooting to call the homicide unit at 352-3542 or Crime Stoppers at 352-3040. Callers may remain anonymous.
No bus service but doors open - for the kids
Turfway sold for $37M
Keeneland brings Turfway prestige, historian says
Turfway buyers are big in casinos, lotteries
Carroll has Midas touch with property
Firemen survive fatal blaze
Arson fire ravages wing of junior high school in Hamilton
City schools push for tax increase
Man sentenced to life for raping boy, 8
Events honor Dr. King
Martin Luther King Day events
Annexation fight heats up
Blue Ash to upgrade stoplights
Butler Co. advised to scrap or upgrade computer system
Chief won't quit, so now what?
Jealous over Internet, man kills family, self
Middletown to seek federal law on train whistles
Road builder earning bonuses
Russian diva's 'Salome' sets Music Hall ablaze
Skiers warmed by ice, snow
Tax revenues from casino may be shuffled
TRISTATE DIGEST
Two teens' allegations about jail to be aired
