CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio - A man was charged with making up a story that a bullet struck his minivan in an area where 24 highway shootings are under investigation, authorities said.

Richard A. Adams III, 33, of Circleville, was arraigned Thursday on charges of making a false report, falsification and inducing panic, said Charma Cantrell, deputy clerk of Circleville Municipal Court. He did not enter a plea and appeared without a lawyer.

Adams initially told investigators his minivan was struck while traveling on U.S. 23 south of Interstate 270 on Columbus' south side. He called 911 from his home in Pickaway County about 27 miles south of Columbus.

The man later admitted to authorities he shot his own van, the task force investigating the shootings said.

Slain firefighter buried in hometown

STURGIS, Ky. - Brenda Cowan, a Lexington firefighter killed in the line of duty Friday, was laid to rest Thursday in her hometown of Sturgis.

Friends and acquaintances clustered around a tent covering the grave as Lexington firefighters in dress uniform carried her casket from a hearse.

More than 30 Lexington firefighters and police officers, along with Lexington Mayor Teresa Isaac, made the 220-mile drive from central Kentucky to participate in the burial.

Cowan, the first black female firefighter in Lexington, was shot to death as she responded to a call for assistance for a person shot in a domestic violence incident.

Patrick Hutchinson of Lexington has pleaded not guilty to shooting Cowan and his wife, Fontaine Hutchinson.

Farmer drinks drop of manure at hearing

WINCHESTER, Ind. - A farmer who wants to build a 1,650-cow dairy farm about 20 miles east of Muncie drank a glass of water with a drop of manure in it to prove the waste material is safe.

During a public hearing Wednesday, Tony Goltstein, a Dutch immigrant, drank the mixture in front of a surprised crowd of about 200 at the Randolph County Fairgrounds.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management, which has authority over water quality issues, conducted the hearing to listen to pros and cons of the Goltsteins' application.

Dairy-farm opponent Barbara Peeg squeezed some manure out of a dropper into a jar full of water. She then put the lid on the jar and shook it.

She was trying to demonstrate that water could be contaminated even if people can't see it. Peeg then delivered the jar to an IDEM official and sat down.

Goltstein came out of the audience, removed the lid from the jar and took a big drink, producing laughs from the crowd.

A group called Environmentally Concerned Citizens of Randolph County and other opponents of the dairy have repeatedly taken their concerns to local government officials.