Monday, June 12, 2000
Tristate digest
Child injured in accident is improving
A youngster critically injured in a crash Friday morning in Fairfield Township is “much improved,” Children's Hospital Medical Center officials said Sunday.
Antonio Davis, 3, was in a car that was hit by a Rumpke garbage truck on southbound Ohio 4 at Creekside Drive. The crash killed Antonio's aunt, driver Lucy Davis, 60, of Monroe and her daughters, Demetria and Tambra, both 7.
Antonio is in fair condition at Children's Hospital.
Two receive injuries in two-seater plane crash
GRATIS, Ohio — A small plane crashed into a field Sunday morning, injuring two people.
The two-seater went down near Gratis about 11:30 a.m. after flying in circles at a low altitude, State Highway Patrol Sgt. Joe Little said.
Pilot Harry Linebaugh, 67, was in serious condition and passenger Linda Russell-Grote, 42, was in critical condition at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton on Sunday afternoon.
Witnesses watched the plane strike a gravel driveway, clip an unoccupied farm tractor and crash into a soybean field, Sgt. Little said.
“The plane is demolished. It just kind of sheared everything from front seat forward,” he said.
The flight's origin and destination are unknown because authorities haven't been able to speak to Mr. Linebaugh, Sgt. Little said.
The Federal Aviation Administration will determine the cause, he said.
Faculty members can start businesses
COLUMBUS — Faculty members at Ohio universities can start businesses based on their research under a new law designed to make the state more competitive in luring top teachers — and their research dollars — to state-supported universities.
Gov. Bob Taft, who signed the legislation last week, said the law marks the start of Ohio's efforts to compete in technology-dominated markets.
Until now, faculty members were considered to have a conflict of interest if they owned more than 5 percent of a company hired to manufacture and market products university researchers developed.
The state set the restrictions to prevent faculty members from using taxpayer-financed equipment for private gain or from letting their financial interests distort research findings.
The new law waives the 5 percent limit and allows faculty members to enter into contracts that give them a financial interest in products developed from their research.
Professors who build businesses out of their research provide a great “reputational value” for universities, said David Allen, Ohio State University's assistant vice president for technology partnerships.
Cheating controversy comes with a lesson
COLUMBUS — A cheating controversy over a state proficiency test has school Superintendent Rosa Smith developing rules to guide principals and administrators on how to handle future claims.
A state investigation did not support allegations that fourth-graders at Eastgate Elementary were pointed to correct answers on a proficiency test given in 1999.
The district has no official policy to guide investigations, Ms. Smith said. Frequently, principals handle problems at the building level, calling on district headquarters only when they fear a conflict of interest, she said.
Ms. Smith said she is talking with the state schools Superintendent Susan Zelman to develop district guidelines compatible with state procedures. She also wants the state to clarify when districts should request an independent investigation.
An Ohio Department of Education spokeswoman, however, said the state's 611 districts are different and each should develop its own rules.
At Eastgate, Principal Barbara Blake said she questioned a class of fifth-graders after they reported that they had received help on the proficiency tests the previous year.
She said she was convinced no cheating had occurred and dropped the matter. District officials learned of the allegations later in a call from the teachers' union.
Springfield man dies in one-vehicle crash
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — A Springfield man was killed Saturday night in a one-vehicle crash in this Clark County community, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said Sunday.
The man, whose name was not released pending notification of his family, was traveling west on Willow Road at 11:50 p.m. when he lost control of his Chevrolet pickup truck, police said. The truck swerved, struck a fence and rolled over.
The driver, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the truck and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
State troopers are investigating. The crash was the third fatal wreck in Clark County this year.
Riders show support for missing woman
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — More than 200 people rode bikes for three miles around Bloomington on Saturday to show their support for Indiana University sophomore Jill Behrman.
Ms. Behrman, 19, has not been seen since a bike ride May 31, and police believe she was abducted.
Ms. Behrman had lived in the city year-round with her parents, who are employees of Indiana University. During the weekend bike ride, police worked a telephone line set up to take leads from the public.
Sgt. Rick Helms said “several good leads came in,” and the department will follow up on them.
Newspaper says reports were ignored
INDIANAPOLIS — According to an investigation by the Indianapolis Star, about 100 reports by state inspectors detailing instances of alleged abuse and neglect to hundreds of residents of the state's nursing homes sat ignored at the Indiana Health Professions Bureau because the employee charged with forwarding them to the Attorney General's Office simply did not.
And it wasn't because no one had brought the problem to the state's attention. Last September, a senior citizens' group asked Gov. Frank O'Bannon to look into the health professions bureau and the Indiana State Board of Health Facility Administrators.
“When we asked for an investigation of the health professions bureau, they gave the request to the person we wanted investigated,” said Paul Severance, executive director of United Senior Action.
It took until December, when the state health department called a meeting with officials from its office, the attorney general's office and the health professions bureau.
After that meeting and more urging from United Senior Action, a steady flow of records finally began moving to the attorney general's consumer complaint division.
According to bureau officials, all records from 1999 have now gone to the attorney general, along with any 2000 records that have come in.
Attorney General Karen Freeman-Wilson last month sent out the first wave of letters to affected nursing home administrators, advising them that they are under review. So far, 137 letters have been mailed, with more expected to follow.
Speedway drives cash to N.Ky.
Stadium lease has loophole for extras
Reading exam doubles CPS summer school
Program hits home for teacher
Officer killed in motorcycle crash
Preserving city's broadcast history seems left to us
AIM leader's imprisonment pits protesters, FBI
Careless smoking blamed in fatal fire
Cutting welfare dependency by building self-esteem
Marchers assert rights
Background check may not show crime
Baptist revisions debated
CSO, Riverbend, Shakespeare blend into a satisfying mix
Fat Wally needs more space
Grads may be back as educators
Monroe educators are ready to move forward
Music and much more
Residency proposal called vague
Beating the heat in your own back yard
Pig parade: Pigasus
Program helps low-income families buy homes
Results of our news poll
Woman set for release today
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