Friday, June 04, 1999
TRISTATE DIGEST
Man indicted on charges of robbery, terrorizing
A Cincinnati man was indicted Thursday on charges of terrorizing a family of five while robbing a restaurant in Springfield Township.
Rico Engleman, 19, faces charges of aggravated robbery, robbery and kidnapping in connection with a March 30 incident at a Buffalo Wings and Rings restaurant on Compton Road.
If convicted of all charges, Mr. Engleman could be sentenced to up to 114 years in prison.
Prosecutors say Mr. Engleman and another man, who has not been identified, broke into the restaurant brandishing guns and demanded money.
They say the men terrorized the family — a husband, wife, sister and two children — until their demands were met.
Report: Sirens' warnings not for people indoors
Cincinnati's sirens cannot be expected to alert residents to severe weather and other disasters, said Safety Director Kent Ryan. He said people should buy weather radios instead.
The outdoor warning system “is not designed to alert individuals inside buildings” or even inside cars, the safety director wrote in a report dated Thursday. The warning system's effectiveness came into question when it failed to alert many residents during the early morning of April 9, as a tornado approached.
City Councilman Paul Booth had asked Mr. Ryan for a report on the warning system.
A tone-alert weather radio receives severe weather watches and warnings broadcast directly from the National Weather Service.
headUC's Giannella named
head of medical group
Dr. Ralph Giannella, director of the division of digestive diseases at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, has been named president of the American Gastroenterological Association, a 10,000-member medical specialty group.
Dr. Gianella is a nationally-recognized expert on E. coli and other food-borne and water-borne bacteria that cause disease, who has written more than 240 medical journal articles, abstracts and textbook chapters.
Deadline for tax bills is midnight June 21
The deadline for Hamilton County residents to pay their 1998 second-half tax bills, which were mailed last week, is midnight June 21.
Taxpayers with questions about their bills can contact Hamilton County Treasurer Robert Goering at 946-4820.
Discovery of body in Northside probed
Police are investigating the death of a 37-year-old white male who was found by a friend Wednesday in Northside. The body was discovered in the 4000 block of Cherry Street.
The friend made the discovery about 10:30 a.m. Police said there was no apparent cause of death or possible motives.
Ohio expands probe of child-welfare system
COLUMBUS — After discovering that a Franklin County foster care agency had misspent more than $186,000 on personal items that included a leather couch and tickets to sporting events, State Auditor Jim Petro said Thursday he was taking his investigation of the child welfare system statewide.
“The work that we're going to be undertaking with the Ohio Department of Human Services is intended to stop abusive practices of those public funds that are directed — or intended to be directed — to help children,” Mr. Petro said.
Mr. Petro said his office would conduct a spot check of the roughly 130 private foster-care agencies around the state and would examine the state's oversight of Ohio's child welfare system.
The audit released Thursday revealed that Searchlight — a private nonprofit agency that is funded entirely with public dollars — misspent $186,640, more than 7 percent of its revenue from Franklin County Children Services, between January 1995 and October 1998.
Some of the items turned in to the county for reimbursement — personal seat licenses for Nationwide Arena in Columbus, the leather couch, and tanning and nail care — were clearly personal expenses, Mr. Petro said. The bulk of the money — $96,771 — came in the form of undocumented cash expenses.
A lawyer for James Search, the co-founder and executive director of Searchlight, disputed the audit's findings.
Four seniors to graduate minus state certification
GARRETTSVILLE, Ohio — Four high school seniors will receive diplomas, even without state certification that they passed a required proficiency test, the school district's superintendent said Thursday.
The students at James A. Garfield High School should not be penalized because someone misplaced their tests, Garfield Local School District Superintendent Charles Klamer said.
To receive a diploma, high school seniors must have passed all parts of the state's ninth-grade proficiency test. Otherwise, a student qualifies for a certificate of attendance.
“The board passed a motion to not have them retested and to grant them a diploma. It's our belief they passed the test,” Mr. Klamer said.
The class of 78 students will graduate Sunday in Garrettsville, about 35 miles southeast of Cleveland.
The tests are designed to measure students' knowledge in writing, reading, math, science and citizenship.
Students who don't pass all the tests in the ninth grade get other chances through May of the 12th grade, and then after their class graduates.
The four seniors took the test in May. The district sent the tests to National Computer Systems, which grades proficiency tests for the state, Mr. Klamer said.
The company confirmed it received the tests at its office in Iowa City, Iowa, Mr. Klamer said. “They have no indication once it was received what happened to it,” he said.
They're not just guards - they're guardian angels
'Patient Protection' bill loses liability provision
Lawmaker says she got mixed signal
Worst-case toxic disaster risks revealed
Advice for judges: Curb your tongues
Country Day checked after threats
New area code may be necessary
Slain man's family awaits answers
Races disagree on police
Results no surprise locally
Stomping injured bird: Murder or mercy killing?
Art to cover base of fountain
Killing puzzles Clermont officials
Neighbors win long fight over landfill
A doctor who babies her patients
Law limits hours, places teens can work
School's out: Hurry up and rest
WVXU returns to its old format
GET TO IT
Bowling teaches kids discipline
Butler Co. in final running for plant
Chief sues city over 2nd dismissal
Confusion envelops beautification
Council awaits report on expanding Sabin center
Couple sentenced for tax evasion
Democrats hope picnic brings spark
Drug ring supplier receives 30 years
Family among 16 in drug indictments
Group still opposing light rail
Harrison hopes to lure business, shoppers
Methadone pits county, city
Middletown board seat to open up
Residents unsatisfied with mining company's reassurances
Residents protest early tax deadline
Signs of sin abound, Graham says
Skaters can't wait for park
Treatment plant site a surprise
Trio invade Middletown home
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