Staff/Wire reports

COLUMBUS - Responding to allegations that police dispatchers mishandled 911 calls from a man claiming to be the interstate highway sniper, a communications supervisor has given the workers new instructions.

"It does not matter if you believe the call is a prank, or not important enough, or you already know what they are going to say because you have heard it all before," supervisor Vicky Crawford said in a memo. "You are not to make assumptions and decide who is worthy of your attention."

Police released the memo Monday, when they announced two dispatchers were being investigated for the way they handled three 911 calls made Jan. 26 by a man saying he was responsible for 20 shootings at cars, school buses and homes on or near a section of Interstate 270 south of the city.

The dispatchers under investigation, Cara Caldwell, a three-year veteran of the department, and Barbara J. Taylor, who has worked there for 11/2 years, could not be reached for comment Monday. Telephone listings for them could not be found.

Episcopal church undergoes breakaway

VERSAILLES, Ky. - A 157-year-old Episcopal church is becoming a ghost town on Sundays, as its conservative members have broken off to form their own congregation.

Historic St. John's Episcopal Church in downtown Versailles drew only 60 people to its three Sunday services. Most of its members left after diocesan leaders fired the entire governing board at St. John's.

The conservative board had clashed repeatedly with the diocese bishop, Stacy Sauls, because of Sauls' support for the ordination of openly gay bishop V. Gene Robinson, a Lexington native.

Church leaders were removed by the diocese's executive council on Jan. 7, after being told they failed to follow proper procedures for hiring a new minister.

Days after the firings, peeved St. John's members voted to form a new church, called St. Andrew's, and contributed $40,000 in seed money.

About 180 people attended St. Andrew's on Sunday, gathering at the Falling Springs Arts and Recreation Center in Versailles.

Meth lab cleanups cost Indiana police

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The growing number of methamphetamine labs being discovered in Indiana's rural areas has stuck Indiana State Police with an ever-expanding bill for cleaning up the hazardous chemicals used to make the drug.

State Police spent more than $66,000 statewide last year to dispose of hazardous chemicals found at 1,026 meth lab sites, said spokeswoman Stephanie Jones.

Detective Sgt. Jeff Kastenschmidt said the labs are more prevalent in southwestern Indiana because the strong odor emitted during the drug's production is more difficult to detect in the region's rural settings.

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant known to cause brain damage, high blood pressure, anxiety, paranoia and violent behavior.

Police locate about 20 percent of the illegal labs after they explode, often burning those who cook the drug or destroying the building housing the labs, said Sgt. Lori Petro of state police's Fort Wayne Post.