Tuesday, May 09, 2000
Tristate Digest
Butler Co. sheriff's deputy resigns
By
HAMILTON — A Butler County sheriff's deputy charged with domestic violence, having weapons while intoxicated and driving under the influence resigned from his job Monday.
David Jeffries, who had been a court security officer, turned in his resignation after a department administrative hearing.
Hamilton police arrested Mr. Jeffries, 29, of Hamilton on Thursday after an officer saw him drive over several curbs on Carriage Hill Lane before parking, police said. His blood alcohol level was 0.17, higher than the legal limit of 0.10, police said.
He also showed his duty weapon to a woman during an argument, a police report said.
Man pleads guilty in killing-for-hire scheme
PIKEVILLE, Ky. — A Marion, Ohio, man pleaded guilty Monday to voluntary manslaughter in a 1971 killing-for-hire scheme.
Willard “Woody” Christian, 53, faces two to 21 years in prison, under 1971 law, Pike Circuit Judge Eddy Coleman said. He is to be sentenced May 26.
Authorities say Mr. Christian was paid $7,000 by Boone Deskins, a wealthy logger and whiskey runner, to kill his wife, Gladys Deskins.
She was shot and stabbed at her home in Meta. Her body was discovered after she failed to show up for a divorce hearing in July 1971.
Boone Deskins, Mr. Christian, and the two men Mr. Christian allegedly hired for $3,000 to do the killing were indicted on murder charges.
Mr. Christian's trial had been scheduled to begin Monday.
If he had been convicted on the murder charge, under 1971 law, he would have either faced life in prison or the death penalty, Prosecutor Karen Timmel said.
New balloon device opens clogged arteries
Don't tell Dr. Dean Kereiakes that balloons and razors don't mix.
Dr. Kereiakes, medical director of the Carl & Edyth Lindner Center for Research and Education and co-founder of the Ohio Heart Health Center, has begun using a “cutting balloon” as yet another way to open blocked coronary arteries.
The device, made by San Diego-based Interventional Technologies Inc., won U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval April 18. The device features an inflatable balloon, much like those used in standard balloon angioplasty, except this one comes edged with several razor-sharp blades.
The device can cut into blockages that until now required treatment with lasers or other drilling devices. Then, the balloon can be inflated to open the blocked artery with less trauma than conventional angioplasty, Dr. Kereiakes said.
Goodwill gets funds for veteran project
The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded the Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries $197,574 for its Homeless Veterans Reintegration Project.
The project is a specialized program that provides outreach, counseling and referals, job-search training and job development for program participants. The program also assists veterans with budgeting, planning and long-term follow-up.
Mental retardation board member quits
LEBANON — The last remaining member of Warren County's mental retardation board has quit, bowing to pressure from the county commissioners.
Kathleen Morin submitted her resignation Friday, after commissioners voted last week to begin the process of removing her from office.
She had been the only holdout; the other six members of the board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities have left in the past month. Commissioners suggested they consider resigning in the wake of the agency's purchase of two properties at inflated prices as well as other questions about finances.
Commissioner Larry Crisenbery said Monday the county's five appointments will be selected shortly — possibly today. The other two members will be appointed by Judge Mike Powell.
Mrs. Morin could not be reached for comment.
Mom convicted after crack pipe turned in
MEDINA, Ohio — A woman arrested on drug charges after her daughter handed over the woman's crack pipe to a school counselor was sentenced Monday to a year in prison.
Linda Martin, 41, of Medina, was convicted of attempted manufacture of drugs.
The original charge was manufacture of drugs, but that was reduced because she cooperated with police regarding other illegal activity in Medina County, Common Pleas Judge James Kimbler said.
Ms. Martin's teen-age daughter turned in her mother's crack pipe to a counselor at her middle school in February 1999 because she wanted something done to help her mother.
Auditor: Small class sizes don't always help
COLUMBUS — Smaller class sizes and spending more money on students do not necessarily result in better performance, according to a study of five poor, rural school districts released Monday by state Auditor Jim Petro.
Instead, a longer class day and year, having teachers spend more time helping students, and spending more on textbooks and supplies tend to help higher performing districts — factors traditionally believed to contribute to school district success, the report said.
Attorney general wants motto to stay
Ohio's attorney general Monday asked a federal appeals court in Cincinnati to reconsider whether the state motto, “With God, all things are possible,” violates the Constitution as a government endorsement of religion.
Attorney General Betty Montgomery argues that the motto, adopted in 1959, does not endorse a particular religion.
“The First Amendment has always allowed our national, state and local governments to respectfully refer to God,” Ms. Montgomery said.
Appeal Judges Avern Cohn and Gilbert Merritt ruled on April 25 that U.S. District Judge James Graham of Columbus erred in 1998 when he concluded that the words were acceptable as a motto.
Isolated teen is now struggling
DAYTON, Ohio — A young man in his teens rescued along with three younger siblings from the home where their parents had isolated them from the outside world is still trying to cope with life outside that home.
Eddie Sizemore was 16 when authorities discovered him and his younger brothers and sister in their Harrison Township home in January 1999. Officials said they had been isolated for as long as 10 years.
Now 18 and legally an adult, Mr. Sizemore is still trying to adjust to the outside world, the Dayton Daily News said in a story Sunday.
His parents — Lucinda and Edward Sizemore Sr. — pleaded guilty to two counts of non-support of a dependent and were released in December from the Dayton Human Rehabilitation Center after serving half of one-year sentences.
Eddie Sizemore had enrolled in Patterson Career Center but dropped out in late April.
Teacher Pat Kambitsch said he struggled academically and socially and resisted people who tried to help him.
Law grad, 25, accused of stabbing priest
Law backs priest's secrecy
E-mail from the other side
Debbie Hill free after five years in prison
Air Care copters back in service
Finan backs townships against cities
New program helps AIDS sufferers with drug abuse
No jail given in fatal crash
Crisscross lawns come home
Florida reins in radio contests
GET TO IT
Pig Parade: Pigation
Queen City's moments to shine reflected in book
Group anonymously mounts Pig protest
Auditor seeks mercy for sister
Back-to-back Ludlow fires suspicious
Ballpark overseer going for save
Camp Washington Chili honored in NY
Council to hear power rate plan
County: Cities ought to pay more dispatch costs
Dental records confirm victim ID
Fire department marks 50 years
Job not offered to Kemp
Luken names convention team
Methodists likely to maintain stand against homosexuality
Murdock shares in $265M fee
Oktoberfest driver to appeal 13-year sentence
Students give books on their birthdays
Tristate Digest
Two women sought in robbery of Carthage bank
Union troops to muster again at Camp Dennison
Want work? Come to job fair
Welfare dole winding down
