Saturday, March 18, 2000
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Mini-Marathon offers free health screenings
Participants in this year's Cincinnati Heart Mini-Marathon can get free cholesterol screenings on the eve of the March 26 race.
The ChoiceCare/Humana Cincinnati Heart Mini-Marathon Fitness Clinic will offer the screenings and counseling in the Cholesterol Low Down booth 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. March 25 at the Albert B. Sabin Convention Center, downtown.
Mini-Marathon participants can have their cholesterol checked, receive their results and get heart-healthy information.
The fitness clinic also will offer blood pressure screenings, blood sugar testing and body fat testing.
For information, call 281-4048, or go online at www.cinheartminimarathon.org.
Mercury cleanup cost about $100,000
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Cleanup of a neighborhood mercury spill required digging up more than 200 cubic yards of contaminated dirt and debris and came at a cost of nearly $100,000 to taxpayers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Friday.
The eight-day cleanup began March 4 when mercury was found in an alley and several yards. Investigators discovered that neighborhood children had been playing with and breaking open mercury-filled relay switches that had been left in a barrel behind an abandoned house.
Exposure to high levels of mercury vapor can cause long-term health problems of the brain and kidneys, especially in unborn children.
Families in six houses were evacuated while their homes were decontaminated. Tests on 16 children showed there were no mercury levels of any health concern.
The EPA said the contaminated material will be taken to a hazardous-waste landfill.
Police went too far, restaurant says
NEW CASTLE, Ind. — When a fast-food worker spit on a sandwich served to a state trooper, authorities collected DNA evidence from all males working there at the time.
Resulting laboratory tests linked a 16-year-old employee of the Burger King restaurant to saliva found on the sandwich, and he now faces delinquency charges.
The restaurant, however, also feels offended: Its owner is taking steps to sue the Indiana State Police over what it claims were heavy-handed tactics by the trooper and business it has lost since the agency warned other police to check the food served there.
The arrested youth is accused of spitting on a chicken sandwich that Trooper Daniel G. Jones bought Oct. 9.
Trooper Jones, who ordered the sandwich at a drive-through window, became suspicious after the window attendant told him to “enjoy your sandwich,” according to a court document.
The officer found what looked like saliva on top of the bun. Tests conducted at a state police lab determined the presence of saliva, and it provided them with a full genetic profile, Henry County Prosecutor Kit Crane said.
The prosecutor said that action was unfortunate but necessary for the investigation because the incident “could have been very serious.”
Sheriff fires two who testified against him
TIFFIN, Ohio — The Seneca County sheriff has fired two of three employees who testified against him in a theft in office and intimidation case.
Sheriff H. Weldin Neff, who was cleared of all charges last week, ordered the third employee to face a disciplinary hearing Monday.
“I'm not giving any reasons,” Sheriff Neff said Friday. “I'm just saying they've been dismissed.”
The sheriff denied that he fired Capt. Dennis Brady and Maj. Timothy Thwaits because of their testimony. He said the decision was part of getting “back to business.”
“And I think that's what we're doing,” he said.
The three employees had been on administrative leave since December 1998 after they testified against Sheriff Neff in the trial, which was halted for more than a year before resuming in December.
Capt. Brady and Maj. Thwaits testified that Sheriff Neff asked them to carry out personal duties for him on county time. Those orders, they said, included questioning employees about their testimony before a grand jury in a misdemeanor stalking case involving the sheriff. Sheriff Neff still faces that charge.
The third employee is Nancy Porter, the county jail's administrative assistant. Sheriff Neff would not give details on the alleged violations that led to the disciplinary hearing, saying it was a personnel matter.
Hauler can't carry egg farm's manure
MARION, Ohio — A judge barred a waste hauler from dumping or spreading manure from Buckeye Egg Farm on fields in Marion County, at least until another judge rules in a related case.
The order Thursday by Judge Lawrence Grey, a retired visiting judge from Athens County, renewed a March 2 ruling by Marion County Common Pleas Judge Robert Davidson. It bars OrganiGro Inc., of Marion, from dumping or spreading manure until there's a ruling in a case in Licking County.
The attorney general's office has asked Licking County Common Pleas Judge Gregory Frost to force Buckeye Egg to control flies coming from its operations in Hardin, Licking and Wyandot counties.
A state health official told Judge Frost this week that getting rid of the manure is the only way to break the life cycle of houseflies that have been invading the homes of Buckeye Egg's neighbors since late February.
Dennis Tubbs of Marion sued OrganiGro in February. He and other landowners accuse the company of improperly disposing of manure, resulting in odor and fly problems.
Buckeye Egg has been besieged by citizen groups and state environmental regulators. But earlier this week the company was praised for cleaning up more than 8 tons of manure that an independent hauler dumped on a road east of Johnstown in central Ohio.
The company sent 20 employees and heavy equipment to clean up the mess.
The hauler dumped the manure on his way from Buckeye Egg's Hartford complex to a farm north of Granville, where it was to be used as fertilizer, said Deputy Tom Brown, the Licking County Sheriff's Department's environmental enforcement officer.
Workshop will tell how to seek HUD grants The Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will hold a workshop 10 a.m.-2 p.m. March 25 at the GrassRoots Leadership Academy, 3330 Reading Road, Avondale.
The program will explore the federal grants available through the HUD office, and will also provide an opportunity to speak with a local HUD representative. Community council leaders, grants writers, organizations seeking federal funds, and anyone interested in the federal grants process should attend.
A $10 fee will cover light refreshments and materials. Child care is provided for $2. Reservations are needed by Monday. For information, call 872-0100.
Airport could be 10th busiest by 2015
Charges in OTR case in jeopardy
Gun dealers wary of deal
Police step up hunt for serial rapist
Man spends 2 days in jail mistakenly
County defends ballpark firm
Reds to recruit business teammates
CPS turns attention to job cuts
Prom should be fun, safe, not over the top
Candidate used drugs extensively
Plans for '513' delayed
Fish fries perennial favorite
'More coyotes than ever' reported in Hamilton Co.
Norwood shooting defended
Queen City's moments to shine reflected in book
CSO soloists give rousing show
GET TO IT
3 to receive NKU Lincoln Awards
Bellevue turns Irish
Creativity is key to tournament
Disabled trucker wins shot at license
Fairfield schools mull staffing
Finan wary of Ohio in Powerball
Former trainer faces charge
Head-on crash in Evendale injures six
Kids awarded for timesaver
Kings schools prepare to add space
Ludlow mayor vetoes budget
Monroe's meters go high tech
Riverside man hurt in Price Hill crash
Sheriff gets surplus boost
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