Academic standards set for kindergarten

COLUMBUS - The Ohio Department of Education wants preschoolers to do more than learn how to play and socialize.

The state has established its first academic standards for preschoolers. They are not mandatory, but state officials say using them will help children be prepared for kindergarten.

"If ever there was a critical time in a child's brain development, it's birth to age 5," said Jane Wiechel, a state associate superintendent and president of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

"Parents are paying more than what it would cost for a year of college and yet not getting their money's worth at most preschools."

Rotarian fund-raiser to buy fire cameras

Cincinnati's Rotary Club hopes to raise $500,000 in 150 days to buy more thermal-imaging cameras for the Cincinnati Fire Department.

The Campaign for Sight in the Dark was announced Saturday night at the celebration for the department's 150th anniversary. Cincinnati's was the first paid fire department in the United States.

The club started the fund with $10,000, enough to buy one camera.

Chief Robert Wright said he welcomed the financial help.

The cameras help firefighters find victims in dark, smoky places by detecting body heat.

Experts offer tips on better parenting

ANDERSON TOWNSHIP - Parents are invited to hear experts discuss topics ranging from house parties and the keg law to curfew laws at a Parent Communication Network meeting Tuesday .

"Don't Be Fooled As A Parent," begins 7 p.m. in the Nagel Middle School cafetorium, 1500 Nagel Road.

Topics also include: positive parenting tips, the Anderson Township Juvenile Court System, traffic violations/DUI, drug and alcohol possession and abuse, vandalism and a community safe line.

A panel discussion will feature Tina Ernst, Anderson Township Juvenile Court Magistrate; Pam Sears, a Hamilton County prosecuting attorney; Mike Hartzler from the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department; and Forest Hills School District administrators.

Indiana probation officers swamped

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The number of Indiana residents on probation is growing faster than the number of probation officers charged with tracking those offenders, according to the Indiana Judicial Service.

In 2001, 114,263 Indiana residents joined the probation ranks.

The number of felony cases in the last decade increased almost 68 percent - 15,287 new felony cases to 25,624 new felonies in 2001. But the number of probation officers grew by just 20 percent in that time, from 1,381 to 1,661, according to statistics from the Indiana Judicial Service's probation report for 2001.

Case overturned for judge's ethics conflict

FRANKFORT, Ky. - The Kentucky Court of Appeals has overturned a million dollar medical malpractice verdict in Lexington because it says the trial judge was ethically obliged to take herself off the case.

The suit against Dr. Thomas Abell resulted in a $1.7 million verdict for Tonya Oliver, whose vision was permanently impaired by what the jury deemed a botched series of Lasik surgeries in 1997 and 1998.

It was the largest sum ever awarded in a Lasik malpractice case.

The court of appeals took no issue with the award, but said that Fayette Circuit Judge Rebecca Overstreet "knowingly failed to disclose the facts" that her husband, Jerry Wright, works in the Herren & Adams law firm that represented Oliver.

She should have recused herself or had Abell and all other parties sign waivers allowing her to preside despite her relationship, the three-member appeals court panel said..

Retired lawmakers find insurance break

INDIANAPOLIS - Fourteen retired lawmakers have signed up for health insurance coverage that is estimated will cost the state more than $114,000 this year, The Indianapolis Star reported Sunday.

Indiana's two top lawmakers last year - Senate President Pro Tem Robert Garton, R-Columbus, and former House Speaker John Gregg, D-Sandborn - activated a dormant state law to give retired legislators taxpayer-subsidized health insurance.

The coverage costs each former lawmaker about 5 percent - or $400 - of this year's $8,011 average cost for individual and family coverage.

The move last summer came just two months after the Indiana Senate failed to summon enough votes to override Gov. Frank O'Bannon's veto of legislation that would have created a dedicated fund to pay for the benefit. The money now is coming directly from Indiana's shrinking general fund.