Monday, August 07, 2000
Local Digest
Race car driver in serious condition
CLEVES — A race car driver was injured in a crash at Edgewater Sports Park on Sunday afternoon when his car went out of control, hit a wall and flipped over.
The driver, Robert Gottschalk, 57, of Toledo, was in serious condition at University Hospital late Sunday, a nursing supervisor said.
The crash occurred about 5:30 p.m. during second-round eliminations of funny car competitors at the quarter-mile track. The car went out of control, struck several safety walls and turned over, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office said.
The car sustained heavy damage and the driver was trapped.
Track personnel freed Mr. Gottschalk from the wreckage and he was transported to the hospital by Air Care helicopter.
Racing was delayed about an hour because of the crash.
The race was part of the National Hot Rod Association Division No. 3 Federal Mogul Drag Series Race Championship at the track, 4819 E. Miami River Road.
During the crash investigation, racetrack owner Richard Weinle, 63, was arrested after he allegedly assaulted a sheriff's deputy assigned to investigate the crash.
Mr. Weinle was charged with assault on a police officer.
Nursing home site of reported rape
Cincinnati police are investigating two weekend rape reports in Avondale, one of them at the Hillside Nursing Home on Eden Avenue.
District 4 police said the Hillside rape occurred at 3 a.m. Saturday. No further information was available Sunday.
At 2:15 p.m. Saturday, a woman was raped in the basement of a home in the 0-100 block of Erkenbrecher Avenue, police said. The suspect was described as a 25-year-old African-American man who is 6-feet-1-inch tall and weighs 220 pounds.
Endangering and robbery alleged
A Groesbeck man faces charges of robbery and child endangering in connection with an incident Saturday, the Hamilton County sheriff's department said Sunday.
Michael Mulcahy Jr., 25, of the 8200 block of Georgianna Drive was arrested at his home at 9:10 p.m. Saturday.
No information was available Sunday from the sheriff's department about the nature of the incident that led to his arrest. Robbery is a second-degree felony and child endangering is a first-degree misdemeanor.
House fire damage may reach $700K
ANDERSON TOWNSHIP — A fire swept through an unoccupied home on Hawkins Ridge Lane early Sunday, causing between $500,000 and $700,000 damage, Anderson fire officials said Sunday.
The fire at 395 Hawkins Ridge was spotted by a neighbor, who alerted Hamilton County emergency dispatch. The cause remains under investigation.
The owner, whose name was not available Sunday, was not home when the blaze was reported at 2:59 a.m.
Cincinnati, Newtown and Union Township, and Clermont County fire departments assisted Anderson firefighters.
Veteran's mission: Bring back boat
VINCENNES, Ind. — A 74-year-old Vincennes man travels to Greece this month on the mission of a lifetime — to sail a vital piece of World War II history from the Mediterranean Sea to a Louisiana port.
Lee Hunter wants to rescue one of the famed landing ship tanks that helped the Allies win the war. He and other World War II veterans want to turn the boat into a floating memorial on the Mississippi River.
About 1,050 LSTs were made in several cities in the United States, including Evans ville, during the 1940s, but only a few survive. The vessels were vital to nearly every invasion made by U.S. and Allied armed forces during the war.
After the war most were scrapped or given to foreign countries.
One of the surviving boats is LST 325, which the United States gave to Greece in September 1964. Mr. Hunter leaves Aug. 28 for Athens to help bring back the boat.
The vessel earned battle stars for its service in the Sicilian occupation and in the invasion of Normandy.
Big, small winners at lottery show
INDIANAPOLIS — Donna Ditton of Huntington won $273,000 on the Hoosier Millionaire lottery show broadcast Saturday night.
Other winners were: Kay Hanley, Indianapolis, $6,000 and 5,000 instant tickets; Jerry Hobdy, Centerton, Ky., a proxy for his friend Vanetta Hicks, $3,000; Larry Hammond, Osgood, $4,000; Brad Pape, Greenwood, $10,000 and 5,000 instant tickets; Sophie Oberg, Osceola, $17,000.
Contestants for the Aug. 19 show are: Darlene Mack, Fort Wayne; Donna Langdon, Jeffersonville; Mike Cunningham, Indianapolis; Daniel Hart, French Lick; Betty Dukes, Bloomington; and Jean Epperson, New Albany.
Shooting suspect captured in Pa.
CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — A man who police said walked into a restaurant with a shotgun and killed an employee over a domestic dispute was arrested in Pennsylvania on Sunday.
Authorities said Frederick A. Nelson, 42, of Cuyahoga Falls, fired two shots at an employee working at Crocker's Restaurant and Bar just before 10 p.m. Saturday.
Marco Burton, 42, of Tallmadge, was shot in the abdomen and died at the scene, said Sgt. Steven Guldeman of the Cuyahoga Falls Police Department.
After the shooting Mr. Nelson dropped the gun and drove off in a light-colored van. Mr. Nelson abandoned the van early Sunday in Mercer, Pa. near the border close to the Ohio Turnpike and ran away. After a search of the surrounding area Pennsylvania State Police arrested Mr. Nelson about 3:30 a.m. Sunday.
A dispatcher with the Pennsylvania State Police in Mercer said Mr. Nelson was arraigned Sunday in Sharon, Pa., on charges of aggravated murder.
Old hay baler being restored
LEAVENWORTH, Ind. — A 150-year-old wooden press that once churned out 350-pound bales of hay for shipping to the East Coast will be restored and exhibited at a state park.
No one alive today has seen the 35-foot-tall press in action, but that doesn't worry the history-minded volunteers who are preparing to refurbish the antique machine.
“I think it can be made to work again. That's their ultimate goal,” said Joe Pritchett, co-owner and project manager for Pritchett Brothers of Bloomington.
Recruit who tried cocaine reinstated
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — City officials have settled a lawsuit with a woman who was disqualified from the police academy's recruiting class after she admitted to trying cocaine when she was 18.
As part of the settlement, the city will pay the woman $2,000 and will allow her back into the academy.
“She was otherwise an excellent candidate,” said police Chief Rusty York. “It didn't make sense to penalize her for something she did 10 years ago, and for being honest about it.”
The lawsuit was a factor in a decision to update the department's drug policy.
Previously, the police department had a zero-tolerance policy for use of hard drugs, such as cocaine, heroin and LSD.
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