Sunday, May 02, 1999
TRISTATE DIGEST
Kidnapping suspect has record of abuse
LANCASTER, Ohio — A man charged with holding a 3-year-old girl bound and gagged in his attic was described by his former attorney as developmentally disabled, but not violent, a newspaper reported on Saturday.
Jason Wagner, 23, also has a history of suicidal tendencies, The Columbus Dispatch reported, quoting court documents and interviews with people who know him.
Mr. Wagner is charged with 11 counts, including kidnapping and attempted murder. He was being held in the Pickaway County jail in Circleville on $1 million bond.
The girl was found Thursday about 100 yards from home. She had been missing for four days.
Mr. Wagner was in prison for two cases of gross sexual imposition in 1994 and 1996 in Coshocton County, involving a 4-year-old and a 12-year-old, according to court documents.
Volunteers needed for June 19 River Sweep
Volunteers are being recruited for the June 19 River Sweep cleanup of the banks of the Ohio River and many of its tributaries.
The annual effort — sponsored by the Cincinnati-based Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) — includes shoreline in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.
Volunteers are asked to call ORSANCO at (800) 359 3977 for county coordinators organizing their local efforts.
Cosponsors include state agencies, utilities and other industries.
Clerk of Courts finalist for award
The Hamilton County Clerk of Courts office is in the running for a national award that honors businesses and government agencies for the best use of new technology.
The office was named a finalist this week for a Computerworld Smithsonian Award, which singles out 10 companies and agencies a year for high-tech innovations.
From nearly 500 entries, the Smithsonian judges select the one that best uses technology to help society.
The winner will be announced June 7 in Washington, D.C.
Clerk of Courts Jim Cissell said the entry from his office focused on the development of the computerized court management system.
The system links law enforcement, the clerk's office, courtrooms and other county agencies so everyone involved with the criminal justice system has access to the same information.
Without the system, Mr. Cissell said, his office would soon be overwhelmed by the more than 300,000 criminal cases it processes each year.
Other finalists this year include the Federal Reserve Board, GTE and Lucent Technologies.
Neighborhood churches joining for prayer
Churches and religious institutions in the Pleasant Ridge and Kennedy Heights neighborhoods will jointly offer a service May 6 in observance of the National Day of Prayer. The service will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Pleasant Ridge JayCees Hall, on Ridge Avenue near the intersection with Montgomery Road.
The Rev. Duane Holm, director of the Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati, will speak on “Let There Be Light,” the theme of the service. Music will be led by the Pleasant Ridge Sound Machine.
Judge charged with drunken driving
COLUMBUS — A Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge has been charged with drunken driving.
Judge John A. Connor, 58, of Columbus, was charged after police in suburban Bexley pulled him over about 11:20 p.m. last Sunday, county Municipal Court records show. Judge Connor also was cited for failure to dim his headlights.
Judge Connor refused to take a sobriety test, and his drivers license was seized immediately, according to court records. Under Ohio law, a license must be seized from drivers suspected of being intoxicated who refuse a sobriety test.
Judge Connor was to be arraigned Friday in Municipal Court, but the arraignment was rescheduled to June 4 at the request of his attorney.
Sandusky commission says law targets blacks
SANDUSKY, Ohio — As accusations about the mistreatment of minorities mount, a city commission has recommended dropping a law that gives police the power to arrest people for hanging out in a known drug area.
The commission says the law unfairly targets blacks. About 68 percent of those arrested since the law went into effect four years ago were black — while 20 percent of the city's 30,000 residents are black.
Concerns about the treatment of blacks in this city that sits along Lake Erie have grown in the past month since four black children and a Hispanic boy were arrested for disorderly conduct.
About 50 people met a week ago with local leaders of the National Association for Advancement of Colored People to talk about the race issues facing the city, which was a key point on the Underground Railroad, the network of escape routes used by more than 40,000 slaves fleeing the South.
Processing plant on tap for Portsmouth
PORTSMOUTH, Ohio — A development official says he anticipates that a coke processing plant which would employ 500 people will locate in the area.
“Things are looking very good now,” Bob Walton of the Southern Ohio Port Authority told The Columbus Dispatch for an interview Saturday. The plant “is ours to lose at this point,” he said.
Sun Coke has been talking with community leaders for more than three years about locating the plant in Haverhill, a community on the Ohio River in Scioto County between Portsmouth and Ironton.
The newspaper said the company is close to making a decision and has written area officials a letter saying what it needs before committing to the Haverhill site. Sun also is considering a Pittsburgh site.
Coke, a raw material used in manufacturing steel, is produced by coal to remove impurities.
Cincinnati vs. Flynt: The Sequel
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Issue 4 requires more than 30-second attention span
Insanity to be hard defense for trash-can mom
Successful insanity pleas in Tristate
West-bound commuters should seek new route
4,000 gather for Troutman funeral
Boone to use phone alerts
Montgomery meeting to update on tornado cleanup
Tornado victims robbed of salvaged possessions
Say so long to Stenger's
GET TO IT
How to fell 14-story building unclear, as is site's future
No Namers make best of life in no-man land
'Noah' goes overboard
Portman behind naming CIA headquarters after Bush
Portman, Chabot firm in opposition to war
Taking bows on Broadway
What goes down at the Parktown?
Willis Music celebrates 100 years of service
Wish list for CSO maestro
Dems tired of losing
A school made from scratch
Butler shows its history
Few injuries on stadium site
Investigation continues of ex-property value administrator
Ky. board to consider park grant
Ky. can't keep public defenders
Prisons now help mentally ill
Readers respond to AIDS effort
Regional workforce meeting planned
School board wants input
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