Thursday, July 06, 2000
Tristate digest
Treasurer accused of stealing from league
The former treasurer of a youth baseball league was charged Wednesday with stealing more than $44,000 from the league's bank accounts.
Susan Hammon, 50, is accused of writing checks to herself from accounts she managed for the Greater Loveland Baseball Softball Association.
Prosecutors say Ms. Hammon, who recently moved to Colorado, began taking the money in 1996. She had been treasurer since 1985.
Shortly after Ms. Hammon left her job, league officials conducted an audit of the books and found discrepancies. Prosecutors say Ms. Hammon wrote large checks but did not support them with receipts.
In one case, they say, she noted a check was written to pay umpires, even though the umpires already had been paid.
Ms. Hammon was indicted Wednesday on one count of theft. If convicted, she faces up to 18 months in jail.
Children's Hospital bolsters gene research
Children's Hospital Medical Center has launched an effort to nearly double its research staff in developmental biology and has hired a new director for the division.
Developmental biology is the study of genes, cells and molecules at the embryonic stage. Among the goals for research: How do organs form in children? How can development processes go wrong? And what can be done to prevent or correct developmental errors?
Dr. Christopher Wylie, formerly of the University of Minnesota School of Medicine and founding editor of the medical journal Development, has been named director.
He plans to increase the number of researchers in the division from 11 to 20.
HealthSpan adds TriHealth, Deaconess
HealthSpan Inc., a preferred provider organization with about 90,000 local members, has launched a new PPO that includes a wider choice of hospitals.
HealthSpan's existing PPO includes the hospitals of the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati and Mercy Health Partners. HealthSpan PLUS will include those hospitals while adding the hospitals affiliated with TriHealth and Deaconess.
Man attacks clerk, takes cash register
HAMILTON — A Dairy Mart clerk tried to stop a man from stealing a 12-pack of Budweiser — so the man hit the clerk and took the store's cash register instead of the beer, a police report says.
The clerk, Laverne F. Lang, 53, called police to the store in the 900 block of High Street around 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, after the suspect fled on foot.
Police found Arthur L. Craig, 23, of Hamilton in the rear of a home in the 200 block of Dayton Street and arrested him. He was charged with robbery, attempted robbery, theft and vandalism.
The clerk suffered a swollen face, the report says.
Trustees raise stink over old outhouses
CLARIDON TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A township trustee isn't willing to let two pieces of local history be flushed away — even if they're outhouses.
Trustee David Brockway is fighting a proposal to remove two wooden outhouses that have provided relief to visitors since the late 1800s in this town about 25 miles east of Cleveland.
He views the outhouses as a reminder of times past and a bit of working history. The structures can still get the job done. Both sit atop a cement septic tank that is flushed once a year.
But Trustee Edward Ward wants the outhouses removed, noting that they smell and several wooden boards are rotting.
“We've made some advancements since these were built. It's called indoor plumbing,” he said.
11 hurt when fireworks go awry
WOODVILLE, Ohio — A mortar device shooting fireworks fell over during a July Fourth show, firing projectiles into a crowd of about 2,000 people. Eleven people were injured.
“It could been a lot of worse,” Mayor Jan Busdeker said Wednesday.
It was unclear how many projectiles were fired into the crowd Tuesday night, said Bill Teets, spokesman for the State Fire Marshal's office.
The fire marshal's office said the mortar device, which resembled a roman candle, was a tube about 3 feet long that came packaged with projectiles.
Two people were taken to hospitals where they were treated for burns and released, Mr. Busdeker said. The others were treated at the scene.
The accident happened after 10 p.m. as the village was concluding its annual festival.
Woodville is about 20 miles southeast of Toledo.
Gas protesters take to horses, bikes
MODOC, Ind. — As many as 100 people plan to ride horses and bikes for 25 miles Saturday to protest the price of gasoline, a Randolph County farmer organizing the demonstration said.
The convoy of 75 to 100 riders and bicyclists will make a 25-mile round trip from Modoc to Muncie, Terry Maiden said.
She said gas prices prompted her to start riding her horse to the grocery store and for other errands. One necessary drive, though, sparked the protest.
“We had to go to Kentucky on a family emergency, and it was $40 to fill my truck up,” Ms. Maiden said. “There it was only $1.40 a gallon. It really ticked me off that we (Indiana) were so much higher than everybody.”
Catherine Hooper, owner of A&K farms, read about Ms. Maiden's efforts in a farm publication and was inspired to join her. Gas prices have made her family prioritize their lifestyle, she said.
Natural gas in demand, too
Pastry lovers lose old friend
Gore invites AME members to join his quest
IRS owes millions, audit says
Heavy-hitters stay late at steakhouse
Who should be cast away?
Bad drivers come in all ages
$11.5M for stadium transfered
Councilman Saylor's foes fire first official salvo
Multistate lottery attacked
Poll finds Bush leads in N.Ky.
Sister's arrests strain identity
Suspect can't buy a haven
Suspect subpoenaes council
Bridges pleads not guilty
Care center security reviewed after rape
'Feathered' hair on the cutting edge
Fort Mitchell plans new park
Harry Potter parties greet 'Goblet'
Pig Parade: CPA (Certified Piglet Accountant)
Plaza named for civic giant
Prosecutor: Delays hampering West End board probe
Renovation project hits snag
Coroner: Baby was asphyxiated
Health studies in kindergarten heralds changes
Judges discuss probation officers' complaints
Merit pay plans popular
Ohio limits sale of driver data
Science teachers get back to basics
Stores make way for new CVS in Cheviot
Unwanted animals get second chance at haven in Indiana
Center plans to expand
16 die on Ky. roads over holiday
Driver enters plea in death
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