Health foundation gives $2.3 M in grants

        The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati has awarded 12 grants totaling more than $2.3 million to expand Tristate mental health and substance abuse services.

        Several of the grants focus on criminal justice reforms, including:

        • More than $246,000 in three grants to promote development of mental health courts or mental health diversion programs in Hamilton, Butler and Clermont counties.

        • $300,000 over two years to the Central Clinic to launch a program for women offenders who have mental illness and substance addictions.

        • $249,000 over three years to Transitions Inc. to launch a chemical dependency and social support program in Campbell and Kenton counties for convicts released from jail.

        “The Health Foundation has identified a need for the treatment of substance abuse and severe mental illness associated with the criminal justice system,” said Donald Hoffman, president and chief executive of the foundation.

        “Research has found that the number of inmates in prisons and jails suffering from schizophrenia, manic-depressive psychosis or major depression is three times the number of people hospitalized with those illnesses.”
       

Fund-raiser benefits slain woman's daughter

        The family of a slain Fairfield woman is holding a fund-raising dance Saturday to help support the woman's 7-year-old daughter.

        The benefit to help Justyce Martinstarts at 9 p.m. at Mecklenburg Gardens, 320 E. University Ave. Cost: $10.

        Justyce's mother, Cassandra Betts, 25, was found Dec. 21, shot to death outside a Woodlawn car repair shop. Justyce was in the back seat at the time. She went into the shop and reported that she couldn't wake up her mother.

        Ms. Betts' boyfriend, downtown Cincinnati barber Tony Ringer, is accused of killing her and the fetus she was carrying.

        Donations also can be accepted at any Firstar Bank, account No. 197601030.
       

Michigan man cleared in sex assault

        MONROE — A Michigan firefighter was on his way home Tuesday after Monroe police confirmed he had not sexually assaulted a Monroe woman he met over the Internet.

        Billy Dean Baumer, 33, of Big Rapids, Mich., waived his extradition rights in Kent County, Mich., last week and was brought to Butler County.

        Police Chief Ernest Howard said Tuesday the woman was brought in for questioning earlier in the day and admitted she had lied about being raped. The woman admitted she and Mr. Baumer had consensual sex, the chief said.

        Police will hold a press conference about the case at 11 a.m. today at the police department.

        Mr. Baumer admitted during a recent interview with Monroe detectives that he had sex with the 47-year-old woman, but claimed the encounter was consensual.

        The woman invited Mr. Baumer, who is married, into her home last month after establishing a relationship with him in a Yahoo.com chat room and via phone, police said.

        Mr. Baumer has been a firefighter in Grand Rapids, Mich.,for two years.
       

Cincinnati upgrades teacher standards

        Teachers who want to work in Cincinnati Public Schools must now meet tougher standards.

        The Board of Education on Monday approved new hiring standards intended to improve the quality of the district's teaching force.

        The district is preparing to hire more than 150 teachers for next year to reduce class sizes in grades K-3.

        Newly hired Cincinnati Public School teachers:

        • Must be licensed to teach in Ohio and must be a graduate of an accredited teacher preparation program.

        • Can teach academic subjects only in which they have a major, minor or area of concentration.

        • Must have a grade-point average of at least 3.0.

        Preference will be given to candidates who graduated from teaching programs that include extensive clinical internships, such as the University of Cincinnati's College of Education.

        Candidates with advanced degrees in their subject areas will be given preference.
       

Ohio attorney general visits Clifton school

        Attorney General Betty Montgomery visited Clifton School on Tuesday to observe a new program that provides help to students struggling in class.

Montgomery

        Project PASS (Partnerships for Academic Success in Schools) pairs Talbert House and the Cincinnati Public School in providing prevention and education services for students and their families.

        “Alternative education programs, such as the one at Clifton, get beneath the surface of the problem and find remedies for both the child and the parents,” Ms. Montgomery said.

        The school district got a $400,000 grant from Ohio's Alternative Education Grant Program to run Project PASS, which takes stock of a student's social, emotional and behavioral needs, as well as grades, discipline problems and poor attendance.

        Talbert House provides four specialists to Clifton School who work with students on conflict resolution, violence prevention, truancy reduction and referral to community resources.
       

Clermont hears more about dispatching

        BATAVIA — Clermont County commissioners on Wednesday received updates from law enforcement, technical and legal authorities on its new emergency-dispatch system that's inaccessible to the public.

        The Motorola 800-MHz system will be encrypted, or blocked, from being picked up by police-scanners typically available at mainstream electronics stores.

        Now, most police dispatches are simulcast on both the old system — which is public accessible — and the new 800-MHz system.

        The new system is not expected to be completely installed until after this year.
       

UC professor honored for computer work

        A University of Cincinnati assistant professor — who is trying to help computers store unprecedented amounts of data and deliver it at hitherto unheard of speed — has been honored by the National Science Foundation.

        It gave Yiming Hu a $230,000 Career Award as a promising young researcher. He is in the department of electrical and computer engineering and computer science.

VA starts new women's counseling

        The Cincinnati VA Medical Center has launched a counseling program for female veterans who suffered sexual harassment or other traumatic experiences in the military.

        The Chrysalis program is a response to a 1999 Congressional mandate to increase VA services focusing on women. The outpatient program will provide counseling and other social support services. For information, call 475-6386.

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