MILFORD — Firefighters say a leaky exhaust system may have sparked a car fire early Sunday that destroyed a 1991 Hyundai and the Milford Car Wash on Ohio 28.

        There were no injuries, but damages were $350,000, Milford Fire Chief John Cooper said.

        Firefighters were called to the eight-stall car wash in the 1000 block of Ohio 28 just before 5 a.m. and found the burning car inside a car wash stall and the building engulfed in fire.

        The car's driver was on his way to work when he noticed smoke in the car. The driver, who was not identified, pulled into the car wash bay to try to put out the fire with a car wash hose.

        The car wash offers self-service and automatic cleaning. It was unclear Sunday who the owner is.

        Milford firefighters were on the scene for more than three hours.
       

Cleves woman burned while grilling

               CLEVES — A Cleves woman was in critical condition at University Hospital late Sunday after being burned while grilling at her Porter Avenue home.

        Authorities said Vicki Coyne, 38, was using a propane grill in the 500 block of Porter Avenue about 6:40 p.m. when an aerosol paint can near the grill exploded, spraying paint into the flames and burning the woman.

        “The blast was heard three blocks away,” Cleves Police Officer Mark Demeropolis said. The woman was burned on her legs, hands, arms and face.

        Her husband used a garden hose to extinguish the fire.
       

Nurses to protest proposed staffing law

              

        Hundreds of nurses from Cincinnati and other cities plan to rally Wednesday at the Ohio Statehouse to support a bill that would set staffing standards for hospitals and limit mandatory overtime.

        The Ohio rally is part of national nurses week events that include protests at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., and in Seattle, Los Angeles, Madison, Wis., and Lansing, Mich.

        Nurse's unions say legislative action is needed to reverse low staffing levels at many hospitals nationwide. However, hospital interest groups have long resisted minimum staffing laws, contending that such laws would be unworkable because managers already adjust staff levels on a shift-by-shift, floor-by-floor basis to respond to changes in patient demand.

        The rallies are sponsored by the nursing members of the Service Employees International Union, the Ohio Nurses Association and other organizations.
       

Wrights' aquaplane to go on display

               SPRINGBORO, Ohio — The Wright brothers' first airplane built to land on water was returned to the Dayton-area and will go on display next month.

        Last week, a truck hauled the 1913 Model G to the Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport, where it will go on display in June alongside the 1911 Model D.

        The Model G, owned by the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., eventually will join a display planned to open at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton for the 2003 celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first flight.

        The Wright Co.'s chief engineer, Grover Loening, built the plane under the supervision of Orville Wright.
       

Pilot dies in plane he reportedly built

               VALPARAISO, Ind. — A small plane crashed on takeoff and burst into flames Sunday, killing a Michigan man who had reportedly built the aircraft from a kit, police said.

        Myron L. Madsen, 58, of Johannesburg, Mich., was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash in a cornfield next to the Porter County Municipal Airport. He was the plane's sole occupant.

        The Porter County Sheriff's Department said Mr. Madsen's Lancair-320 fixed-wing plane crashed and exploded into flames as it was taking off about 9:10 a.m. Sunday.

        Witnesses told police the aircraft took an extremely long time going down the runway before it finally became airborne.

        It climbed to about 100 feet, then pitched and rolled to the left before crashing nose-first into the ground, flipping upside down and bursting into flames.

        Police said Mr. Madsen apparently built the plane himself from a kit last year and had little flying experience.
       

Eight arrested as Klan rallies in Indiana

               SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Eight people were arrested over the weekend when Klan members scuffled with protesters following a rally.

        Four adult members of the American Knights of the KKK were arrested on disorderly conduct charges. Klansman John Cochran, 29, of Elkhart, was arrested on three misdemeanor counts of battery on a police officer.

        All of the adults arrested were released after posting $100 or $200 bonds, a South Bend newspaper reported. A juvenile Klan member was also being held on charges of disorderly conduct and battery on a police officer.

Owensboro cooking up next Bar-B-Q fest

               OWENSBORO, Ky. — The city calls itself the “Barbecue Capital of the World” — and its annual Barbecue Festival brings tourists and money to the city.

        The International Bar-B-Q Festival brings about $3 million into the local economy each May, the state estimates. Next weekend, the 23rd annual version of the festival is expected to draw 85,000 people to devour 10 tons of mutton, 5,000 chickens and 1,500 gallons of burgoo.

        Owensboro's barbecue tradition dates back to at least 1834 with community picnics. By 1877, St. Martin Parish in Rome was using barbecue picnics as a fund-raiser.

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