Thursday, July 01, 1999
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Beer-tossing incident lands Reds fan in jail
A Cincinnati Reds fan was escorted out of the stadium Tuesday and cited on a disorderly conduct charge after allegedly throwing a beer at a player on the opposing team.
Sean Norton, 23, of Erlanger is accused of tossing a cup of beer that splattered and hit Arizona Diamondbacks leftfielder Luis Gonzalez. Arizona centerfielder Steve Finley helped point Mr. Norton out in the stands.
The incident held up the game that ended in a 5-4 Reds victory over Arizona.
Authorities gave Mr. Norton a citation and took him to jail because he was wanted on an unrelated charge. He has since been released from the Hamilton County Justice Center.
He is allowed to come back to games if he behaves, said Jody Pettyjohn, director of stadium operations.
“People do things they're later sorry for,” she said.
Medical Mutual offers discount drug plan
Just as debate begins over adding prescription drug coverage to Medicare, Medical Mutual of Ohio has started a discount drug coverage program open to almost anyone.
Beginning Aug. 1, Medical Mutual's “SaveWell” program will charge $52 a year to offer a 50 percent discount off retail price for “most brand-name and generic drugs.” The program offers members a card to present at major pharmacies, which then offer the same discounts that Medical Mutual gets as a managed care company.
Medical Mutual has about 1.6 million members throughout Ohio. SaveWell membership, however, is open to the general public; including people with no insurance, Medicare or private health plans. For information, call (800) 474-2583.
Astronomy events include kids' camp
The Wolff Planetarium at the Trailside Center in Burnet Woodscontinues its series of public shows on seasonal constellations as well as a Summer Astronomy Club for children ages 10-16.
The planetarium shows this summer are on the second and fourth Friday and Sunday of each month, through August. Friday shows run from 8 to 9 p.m. and Sunday shows are 3 to 4 p.m. Reservations are recommended.
The astronomy camp has four meetings remaining this summer. Each includes a planetarium show, hands-on and group activities and a craft. Dates and topics include:
• July 27, 1 to 3 p.m., Wheels in the sky.
• July 29, 8 to 10 p.m., Light years.
• Aug. 17, 1 to 3 p.m., Signs of the zodiac.
• Aug. 19, 8-10 p.m., At the observatory.
Call 751-3679 for information. The cost of the public shows is $2 per person. The cost is $12 per student for astronomy camp. The planetarium also may be reserved for private functions or school groups.
Clermont library has interim co-directors
BATAVIA — Two interim co-directors have been appointed to head the Clermont County Public Library after the director's resignation June 14.
The board appointed Nancy Ehas, collection development coordinator, and Leslie Massey, public services coordinator. A permanent replacement will be sought.
Sonia K. Long, library director since April 1996, resigned for personal reasons.
Mother charged with trying to kill child
AKRON, Ohio — A mother suspected of harming her son so she could gain attention for herself was arraigned Wednesday on a charge of trying to kill him just out of range of a hospital surveillance camera.
Michelle Butler, 23, of Wooster, pleaded not guilty in Municipal Court. Judge Lynne Callahan sent the case to a Summit County grand jury.
Ms. Butler was held in lieu of $500,000 bond. The judge said the woman could be freed if she posted 10 percent of that amount.
The woman on May 5 allegedly twice took her 10-month-old son, Davon, out of range of a camera aimed at his hospital bed at Children's Hospital Medical Center in Akron.
With mother and son out of view, the boy's cries became muffled and monitors keeping track of his heart and brain activities went flat, according to officers who saw the videotape.
The woman returned her son's apparently lifeless body to the bed, where he twitched and began crying. The woman then repeated the scene, police said.
The woman knew she was under camera surveillance at the time, police said. When police confronted her, she told them that “if she hurt the baby, she didn't mean to,” police Detective Sgt. Sylvia Trundle said.
Police are investigating whether Ms. Butler suffers from a condition known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a rare form of child abuse in which an adult purposely makes a child ill to gain attention.
The boy has been placed in foster case and is doing well, said Thomas Roelant, director of the Summit County child welfare agency.
Law officers told to push for grants
COLUMBUS — Sheriffs who gathered at a national convention Wednesday praised President Clinton's endangered program that puts more police officers on patrol.
But the director of the national Community Oriented Policing Services program (COPS) marked his last day on the job with a warning: Local law enforcement has not done enough lobbying on behalf of the grant program.
“We had better get our act together again in the policing community if we want to continue to make a difference, to continue to take advantage of what we worked so hard for in the first place,” COPS Director Joseph Brann said in a speech to the National Sheriffs Association. The speech was the last official duty of the program director, who is retiring.
The program, created in 1994, provides federal grants to communities to hire more police officers.
About 11,300 agencies have received grants to hire more than 100,000 officers. That includes more than $190 million in Ohio funding about 3,200 officers.
County: Stadiums need auditor
Officer in fatal shooting resigns
$145M Powerball fuels frenzy here
Homeless have young faces
More grandchildren living with their grandparents
Sons' legacy lives on in new organ donor law
Two tax relief proposals before city
Ex-Chiquita lawyer's plea deal results in probation
Prayers, not blame, in near drowning
Boy accused of rape in juvenile jail
Deliveryman saves a life, but one lost
Did judge seek help in brother's case?
School board stops on a dime
District fears $19M cut on inventory tax
Textbook example of charity
Blessid Union has fan in Cindy
Center offers care outside medical mainstream
Cincinnati's Century of Change
Era ends as Ripley's Alive! closes doors
GET TO IT
Aiding aged was second career for retiring nun
Buckle up, win chance at big bucks
City defends sting against 'nude interactive conduct'
Community center idea gets new life
Covington may look at day curfew
Cyanide cloud averted in Miami U. lab spill
Day camp lacks kids
Deerfield happy to see township protection bill pass
Expert says cancer blame misplaced
Fairfield's 'Carousel' a city hit
Hamilton police computerize prints
Kasich attacks business' breaks
Lawrenceburg signs deal on landmarks
Man gets prison for partly sinking Belle
Mental health agencies join to save funds
Murder defendant deemed fit for trial
New rates approved for Fountain Square garages
Pair arrested in robbery file suit against city, police and accusers
Public has say on Longbranch plan
Sharing van ride now a better deal
Spouse charged in stabbing
State lifting Silverton's fiscal watch
Taft makes last-minute review of $22.6B budget
Taxi driver charged in fatal crash
Tip leads police to drug arrests
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