Cincinnati Zoo tiger kills Neb. cage mate

        OMAHA, Neb. — Two rare tigers were accidentally allowed into the same cage at the local zoo, and one animal — on loan from the Cincinnati Zoo — killed the other as a group of visiting children looked on.

        The attack Thursday prompted the firing of one employee and the suspension of another, said Lee Simmons, director of the Henry Doorly Zoo.

        A faulty gate and human error allowed the tigers to wander into the same outdoor cage, Mr. Simmons said. The Indochinese tiger, a female on loan from the Cincinnati Zoo, killed the female Bengal tiger “in the blink of an eye,” Mr. Simmons said. Both are rare breeds.

        “A couple of our folks simply lost their focus and put some animals where they weren't supposed to be,” he said.

TRAGEDY TOMORROW, COMEDY TONIGHT!: The grandeur that was Rome will be invisible when Lakota East High School presents Stephen Sondheim's musical comedy A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum April 20-22 in the school's Little Theater, 6840 Lakota Lane. It's the story of a slave, Pseudolus, who struggles to win the hand of the beautiful Philia for his young master Hero, in exchange for his freedom. At dress rehearsal, Mike Haury (center) played Miles Gloriosus and Joe Shim (from left), Tom Dinuscio and Evan Floyd played soldiers. Tickets are $8 at the high school, at the door, or by calling 759-8615, ext. 245. (Michael Snyder photo) | ZOOM |

        “I have to believe it really was human error,” said Mike Dulaney, general curator of the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. “Tigers do what tigers do. They are predators, and they will defend their territory. If the Bengal surprised the Indochinese and the Indochinese was in a better position, it's going to happen.

        “It's not that Omaha doesn't know how to keep and manage them. Big cats are their specialty. Omaha has dealt with more tigers than any other zoo in the U.S.”
       

Norwood officer's case to be heard

        NORWOOD — A Hamilton County grand jury will hear the case of a veteran police officer April 19, Norwood Police Capt. Mike Wheeler said Tuesday.

        Lt. Steve Daniels has been suspended with pay since March 12, while the department conducted an internal investigation. Police officials have declined to release details.

        The Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office will present the case to the grand jury, and two Norwood officers will testify, the captain said. The grand jury will decide what charges, if any, should be filed against the 22-year Norwood police veteran.

        Lt. Daniels, who previously worked in the department's criminal investigations section, was promoted to lieutenant from sergeant about three months ago.

        He remains on paid administrative suspension, Capt. Wheeler said.
       

Warren OKs exemption on tax for Down Lite

        LEBANON — Warren County commissioners Tuesday approved a 50 percent exemption from personal property taxes for five years for Down Lite International.

        The move will help the 20-year-old company undertake about a $12 million expansion and relocate up to 85 jobs to Deerfield Township. Down Lite wants to build a 191,000-square-foot manufacturing and office complex to house $625,000 in machinery and equipment.

        Township trustees supported the tax break at a meeting last month.

        The company, which plans to break ground in May and complete the project by spring 2002, manufactures down-filled products such as comforters and pillows for private brand names. Down Lite wants to move from its two locations in Loveland to the Governor's Pointe North industrial park on Duke Drive.

        Township and county officials said the company could add 40 full-time positions over the next three years.
       

Ex-school bus driver faces traffic charge

        A traffic charge was filed Monday against a former Loveland City Schools bus driver over an incident in which a Loveland Primary pupil was dragged 300 feet by a bus.

        Tammy Sue Fox faces a minor misdemeanor charge after the March 23 incident that left 7-year-old Charles Schebor with minor injuries after his foot became caught in the bus door.

        A toxicology report under review last week by the Hamilton County Coroner's Office came back inconclusive, said Loveland Police Chief Dennis Rees.

        Ms. Fox, employed with Loveland City Schools since October 1997, resigned from her position.

        The traffic charge — violation of school bus licensing rules — carries a maximum fine of $100, according to the Clermont County clerk of courts office.

        Ms. Fox, who could not be reached for comment, is scheduled for arraignment April 24.
       

Death row inmates to get final speech

        COLUMBUS — The state has reversed its policy prohibiting death row inmates from making a final speech.

        Officials with the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction changed the policy after checking with other states.

        The policy prohibiting the final speech was meant to protect family members of murder victims from hearing potentially upsetting statements.

        “We weighed the interest of the public against the possibility of harm to victims. And we found that after checking with other states and looking at the history of things, very little was said that could be construed to be harmful to the victim,” Joe Andrews, a prisons department spokesman, said Tuesday.

        The American Civil Liberties Union sued Ohio over its policy in July 1999, saying inmates had a constitutional right to a last statement.

        A bill to prohibit inmates from making a last speech was passed by the Ohio Senate a year ago but did not make it out of committee in the House.

        The new policy could be tested as soon as next week. Jay D. Scott, sentenced to die for the shooting death of a Cleveland delicatessen owner, is scheduled to be executed April 17 at 9 p.m. by lethal injection.
       

44 pounds of cocaine found in parking lot

        DAYTON — Twenty wrapped blocks of pure cocaine were found inside three cardboard boxes in a parking lot behind a football stadium, the second largest cocaine seizure in this Ohio city's history, according to the FBI.

        The cocaine was found Monday evening next to Welcome Stadium, used by the University of Dayton and high school teams.

        “Somebody lost about a half-million dollars of cocaine wholesale,” said Charles Goodwin, assistant special agent at the Dayton office of the FBI. “Somebody's going to miss this much product.”

        If sold as crack cocaine, the 44 pounds could have netted nearly $4 million on the street, Agent Goodwin estimated.

        He would not say who found the drugs or how, but said the shipment was clearly a professional job.

        “This is typically how you see it coming directly from Colombia,” he said. “This is a sophisticated trafficking organization.”

        The confiscation is second only to the 55 pounds of cocaine seized seven years at Dayton International Airport, Agent Goodwin said.
       

GOP considering term limit attempt

        CLEVELAND — The Cuyahoga County Republican Party is considering a petition drive to place a charter amendment on the November ballot to limit terms for Cleveland's mayor and council members, all Democrats.

        Cuyahoga GOP Chairman Jim Trakas said the party's ward and precinct leaders in the city will meet Thursday to decide whether to try for the charter amendment.

        Republicans could seek signatures at the polls in the May 8 primary election, he said.

       The Cincinnati Enquirer/MICHAEL SNYDER

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