Saturday, April 15, 2000
TRISTATE A.M. REPORT
Schools get payment from stadium tax
Cincinnati Public Schools received the first installment of $100 million it will receive through the half-cent sales tax approved to build two sports stadiums.
City officials gave the school district the first $2.5 million payment Friday.
For the next 20 years, the city will pay $5 million a year to the school district for capital projects. The money must be used for physical improvements to schools and facilities.
Man comes forward in killing 20 years ago
A London, Ky., man who reportedly admitted to a 20-year-old unsolved murder in Winton Woods was indicted Friday by a Hamilton County grand jury.
Michael Proffitt, 40,faces one charge each of aggravated murder and attempted rape. He remains in the Laurel County (Ky.) Detention Center. An extradition hearingis set for Tuesday.
Kentucky State Police say Mr. Proffitt, formerly of Greenhills, confessed to them April 7 because he could no longer live with his secret.
Betty Hoffmann, 55, of Greenhills, was walking her dog in the park July 7, 1980, when she was shot to death. Before Mr. Proffitt's confession, no arrests were made.
Police hunt for Roselawn bank robber
Cincinnati detectives are looking for a bank robber who fled a Roselawn savings and loan Friday afternoon with a backpack full of money.
The man went into Franklin Savings & Loan in the Valley Shopping Center just before 2 p.m.
He handed the teller a note and demanded that money be put in the dark-colored book bag, police said.
Witnesses described the robber as black with a light to medium complexion, in his late teens or early 20s. He stood 5-feet-6 to 5-feet-7, and weighed about 130 to 140 pounds.
At the time of the robbery, he was wearing a green baseball cap, black sweat shirt, bluejeans and sunglasses.
He later took off the cap and black shirt and was seen wearing a light-colored T-shirt as he fled south on Reading Road riding a dark bicycle.
Detectives want anyone with information about the man to call them at 352-3542 or CrimeStoppers at 352-3040. Callers remain anonymous and can receive money for their tips.
Miami U. expects higher revamping costs
OXFORD — The cost of renovating Miami University's buildings in coming years could increase substantially from the $5 million to $15 million the university already spends annually, the university's trustees were told Friday.
The renovation bill for buildings on the school's main Oxford campus and branch campuses in Hamilton and Middletown will increase because many of Miami's 187 buildings were constructed in the 1960s and 1970s and soon will need major work, said Jim Haley, the school's associate vice president for facilities.
The average age of campus buildings undergoing extensive renovations is 47 years.
Other Ohio universities that experienced a building boom in the same era also are looking at similar increases in repair costs, administrators told Miami's board of trustees.
Heimlich endowment effort planned
The Cincinnati-based Heimlich Institute plans to launch an endowment campaign Monday to continue Dr. Henry Heimlich's various research efforts “in perpetuity.”
The endowment campaign is part of the second National Heimlich Maneuver Week, designed by the American Hospital Association to be celebrated April 16-23.
The Heimlich maneuver is known worldwide as a way to save choking victims. However, Dr. Heimlich has battled for years with the American Red Cross over whether the maneuver should be used as the first treatment for near-drowning victims.
The Heimlich Institute, which moved to Deaconess Hospital in 1998, promotes education about the maneuver and supports Dr. Heimlich's other often-controversial research efforts. Among them: malaria therapy as a treatment for AIDS and cancer, and using the Heimlich maneuver as a way to help people suffering severe asthma attacks.
Inmate pleads guilty to attack on guard
HAMILTON — A Butler County Jail inmate on Friday pleaded guilty to charges stemming from an attack on a jail guard.
Thomas Kelly, 25, of Hamilton, pleaded guilty to kidnapping and felonious assault before Butler County Common Pleas Judge Keith Spaeth.
Sentencing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Police said Mr. Kelly attacked Corrections Officer Jamy Fultz with a makeshift knife as she was escorting him from his cell Feb. 20. He was holding the shank to her neck when a paramedic disarmed Mr. Kelly and forced him to release Ms. Fultz, police said.
Mr. Kelly was sentenced four days later to nine years in prison in a separate series of charges: rape, abduction and four counts of illegal-weapons possession.
Nuclear plant plans to look for leak
NORTH PERRY, Ohio — Operators of the Perry Nuclear Plant plan to cut power to 65 percent this weekend to find a small radioactive fuel leak, the plant's owner said.
The leak, detected last week, does not threaten the public or workers, said Todd Schneider, spokesman for FirstEnergy Corp., which owns the plant about 25 miles east of Cleveland.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission allows nuclear plants to operate with a limited amount of radioactive leakage.
The leak in one of Perry's 64,406 pencil-thin fuel rods is the third discovered this year and the 13th since the plant opened in 1987. In 1993, a 25-inch crack in a fuel rod forced the plant to close for 59 days.
If workers can't find the leak this weekend, the plant might shut down for two weeks, Mr. Schneider said.
Inmates begin filling privately run prison
CONNEAUT, Ohio — Newly arrived inmates are helping to put the finishing touches on the second of two privately operated state prisons in Ohio.
“I talked to them about the rules and expectations we had of them,” said Richard Gansheimer, warden of the Lake Erie Correctional Institution for men.
Two groups of 44 inmates arrived at the prison this week in state vans. Similar groups will arrive weekly through July, when the prison reaches its 1,380-
inmate design level.
The medium-security prison is operated by Ogden, Utah-based Management and Training Corp., which runs other prisons in California, Colorado, Utah and Texas.
Ohio's other privately run state prison is the 550-bed, minimum-security North Coast Correctional Treatment Facility in Grafton, about 25 miles southwest of Cleveland.
Butler Co. GOP re-elects leaders
FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP — The Butler County Republican Party on Wednesday re-elected Carlos Todd and Mary Swain to its top positions.
Mr. Todd will continue as chairman of the executive committee, and Ms. Swain will continue as chairwoman of the central committee.
The re-elections occurred at the party's biannual meeting, held at the D. Russel Lee Career Center.
Dow, Nasdaq suffer biggest 1-day drops
6 accused in airman's death
City: No misuse of tourism money
County: Bengals violated policy on bids
A father's story
Forgery scheme alleged
Hope rises from smoldering church
Portune-Bedinghaus battle may cost $1 million
Seniors' test scores highest ever
Tougher teacher training sought Union wants higher standards
Clinton backs school tests
Dowlin less of a target, raises less cash
Enquirer ex-editor sues Gannett
Father charged in infant's death
Get to it
Language of Miamis fades in history
Man accused in Fairfield Twp. rape
New 'home' will best NFL's best
New Monroe Local school district gets to work
Norwood budgets less for recreation
Painful lessons learned
Program receives $250M to help increase city's home ownership
Railroad to depart from Mason
Reward offered in hit-and-run death
School outlay reduced
Sex industry workers offered escape
TRISTATE A.M. REPORT
Winton Woods Cleanup to maintain, beautify park
Woman accused in robbery
Queen City's moments to shine reflected in book
