Friday, April 21, 2000
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Ohioans pay more for medications
BY
PORTSMOUTH, Ohio — Southern Ohio residents pay far higher prices for common medications than people in Canada or Mexico, according to a study released Thursday by the Committee on Government Reform.
The study compared average retail pharmacy charges in the 6th Congressional District (which includes all or parts of 14 southern Ohio counties) to Canadian and Mexican retail prices for five top selling medications: Zocor, Prilosec, Procardia XL, Zoloft and Norvasc.
On average, Canadians paid 86 percent less and Mexicans paid 81 percent less than people in southern Ohio.
The price differences illustrate how much of a burden medications can be for seniors and uninsured people — and support arguments for Medicare adding a prescription drug benefit, said U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Ohio, who requested the study.
Not only do drug companies charge higher prices to U.S. citizens, many get U.S. tax breaks and public funding for research and development, Mr. Strickland said.
Middletown summit on youths planned
MIDDLETOWN — The Second Ward Community Council will hold a youth summit in the coming weeks to address the problems of youth crime, drug use, general hopelessness and a lack of options for the future.
The council was formed by concerned residents in January 1999 with a mission to develop community leadership to create a drug-free, clean, safe and beautiful community with comprehensive services.
The Rev. Michael A. Bailey, council chairman, said the youth summit will be open to area organizations that serve youths. A May or June date will be set.
The council also agreed at a recent meeting to sponsor an adolescent HIV prevention workshop May 25 and 26.
For more information about the events or the council, which will meet again May 7 at Middletown Community Center, call Mr. Bailey at 423-8798 or co-chair Donna Jackson at 424-9374.
Butler sheriff's Web chat popular
HAMILTON — Butler County Sheriff Harold Don Gabbard has declared Wednesday's experimental Internet chat a success, and said he plans to schedule more chat sessions.
At most times, the chat room the sheriff used was nearly filled to its capacity of 25 participants, Brad Kraemer, sheriff's spokesman, said Thursday.
Topics ranged from the sheriff's use of the “tent jail” to preventing the spread of pornography.
A transcript of the session is posted on the sheriff's Web site: www.butlersheriff.org.
Jail clamps down on telephone scam
HAMILTON — A problem with Butler County Jail phones, which allowed inmates to make calls and charge them to unsuspecting third parties, has been corrected, officials said Thursday.
Phone service at the jail, which was shut off a week ago after officials learned about the problem, has been restored.
Unsuspecting parties were duped into accepting collect calls from the jail's pay phones, officials said, and then the inmates found a way to dial other parties and have the calls billed to the person who originally accepted the call.
Three Hamilton men — Charles Taggart, 23, Christopher Barger, 28, and William Parrish, 31 — are accused of unlawful use of telecommunications, a fifth-degree felony.
Anyone who has been billed for these bogus phone calls from the jail is encouraged to contact Detective Mike Laney at 887-3640.
8 organizations receive grants
Eight faith-based organizations will share more than $152,000 in grants announced Wednesday from a family trust fund.
Catholic Social Services will get $10,750 for a caregiver respite program; St. Leo Church will get $30,800 for a new boiler for its community center and $4,900 for new equipment for a food pantry.
The Vietnamese Senior Association of Cincinnati will get $8,500 to provide services to senior members in Catholic parishes; Combined Generations of the Holocaust of Greater Cincinnati will get $15,000 for a high school teacher training course.
The Jewish Community Center will get $25,000 to support the Maccabi Games event for teens; Jewish Family Service will get $15,000 to support counseling services; the Baptist Ministers Conference of Cincinnati and Vicinity will get $19,000 to tutor suspended students, and the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Cincinnati will get $23,500 to support homeless shelter transportation services.
The money comes from the Mills Memorial Trust Fund, which is administered by the United Way and Community Chest.
After-school program started at Glad House
Glad House, a treatment program for children of single, low-
income mothers with substance-abuse problems, has replaced its residential program with an after-school program.
The agency has served 82 children since forming two years ago. Of those, 43 lived at Glad House while their mothers were in treatment programs. The rest participated in weekly outpatient counseling sessions.
The residential program got fewer referrals than expected, said Dr. Beatrice Lampkin, Glad House president. By changing the service, the agency will be able to help more children, Dr. Lampkin said.
Now, children who would have stayed overnight at Glad House will spend several hours after school at the agency and then be transported to relatives or temporary foster care.
Lingerie ads on buses exposed by paper
CLEVELAND — Public buses here are being cleaned up — with little strips of vinyl to hide ads directing people to a racy Web site.
The ads promote Shoptalk Lingerie, a company with two stores in suburban Cleveland that sell erotic apparel. The ads feature the company logo, a pair of big red lips and the slogan: “Where Fun & Fantasy Begin.”
Beneath that is a Web address for the store. The site's home page featured partly nude women in lingerie with slightly blurred body parts.
The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority ordered the ads covered up after the Plain Dealer informed RTA officials the site was pornographic, the newspaper reported.
Daryl Greene, manager of Shoptalk, said Thursday the stores now have a new Web site that simply advertises products.
Econ grad leaves $500,000 to college
WILLOUGHBY, Ohio — A woman who earned an economics degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and made small donations to the school throughout her life has bequeathed more than $500,000 to the college.
Alice Batchelor, who died Feb. 19, left the bulk of her estate to her alma mater in Delaware, near Columbus.
The gift will be used for a graduate student scholarship in economics. Ms. Batchelor, 90, graduated from Ohio Wesleyan in 1931.
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Woman is link in kidnap of man
