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Associated Press Thursday Ohio Headlines - 11/19/2009
Latest Ohio news, sports, business and entertainment:
PEOPLE-PARKER-BRODERICK
Parker-Broderick surrogate expected on the stand
ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio (AP) - The woman who bore twins for Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick is expected on the witness stand at the trial of an Ohio police chief accused of snooping on the surrogate.
After a one-day break, the trial of suspended Martins Ferry Chief Barry Carpenter resumes today with testimony expected from Michelle Ross. A special prosecutor has said Carpenter entered Ross' home in Martins Ferry in May and took items that identified her as the acting couple's surrogate mother. He and Police Chief Chad Dojack from neighboring Bridgeport are accused of scheming to sell the stuff to celebrity photographers.
Carpenter has pleaded not guilty to several felony counts, including burglary and receiving stolen property.
Dojack is to be tried in January.
ECONOMY
New jobless benefit claims unchanged at 505K
WASHINGTON (AP) - The number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment insurance was unchanged last week, while those continuing to claim benefits dipped.
The Labor Department says first-time claims for jobless benefits were a seasonally adjusted 505,000, the same as the previous week's revised figure and matching analysts' expectations.
In Ohio, claims jumped by nearly 3,300 because of layoffs in the automobile and manufacturing industries.
The national four-week average, which smooths out volatility, fell for the 11th straight week to 514,000, the lowest level in almost a year.
Economists closely track initial claims, which are considered a gauge of the pace of layoffs and an indication of companies' willingness to hire new workers.
OHIO SUPREME COURT-CELL PHONE
Ohio Supreme Court says cell-phone smash unlawful
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The Ohio Supreme Court has reinstated a felony conviction of a man who smashed a cell phone to keep his nephew from calling 911 while they fought.
The state's highest court ruled unanimously yesterday that Raynell Robinson of Marysville in central Ohio violated a state law against disrupting public services.
A lower court had tossed out the conviction, saying the law was meant for large-scale interference with utilities and emergency systems.
But the justices said there was no such language in the law and found it could be applied to the destruction of a single phone being used to communicate with emergency personnel.
Thirty-seven-year-old Robinson had been sentenced to 15 months behind bars on the disrupting public services count.
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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com
OHIO STUDENT-NO PLEDGE
ACLU: Ohio student doesn't have to say 'Pledge'
HUBBARD, Ohio (AP) - The American Civil Liberties Union has asked an Ohio school to stop punishing a student who refused to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
Seventeen-year-old Roxanne Westover says she's an atheist and considers the pledge more religious than patriotic. Because she wouldn't participate, she says she was sent to the Hubbard High School principal's office several times.
The ACLU wrote school district officials Tuesday arguing that students have the right not to say the pledge as a matter of free speech.
Hubbard Superintendent Richard Buchenic says he told the ACLU that the matter has been "dealt with."
ACLU of Ohio staff counsel Carrie Davis says the school intends to follow a district policy that students are not required to recite the pledge.
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Information from: The Vindicator, http://www.vindy.com
VENDING VANDAL
UC grad targets vending machines
CINCINNATI (AP) - A University of Cincinnati philosophy grad's reasoning on vending machines has brought him into conflict with the law.
Twenty-four-year-old Matthew Peterson pleaded guilty yesterday to two counts each of vandalism and breaking and entering. Records show he told police he cut cables and lines to up to 40 beverage and other vending machines on campus because he opposes wasting electricity for advertising and what he called unhealthy or socially isolating products.
As part of a plea deal, prosecutors dropped two other related charges against the 2007 graduate.
Peterson will face a sentence Dec. 15 ranging from probation to four years in prison.
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Information from: The Cincinnati Enquirer, http://www.enquirer.com
FATHER CHARGED
Ohio man cleared of homicide by child abuse in SC
CONWAY, S.C. (AP) - An Ohio man has been found not guilty of homicide by child abuse in the 2007 death of his daughter in South Carolina.
Multiple media outlets reported a jury in Conway deliberated three hours yesterday before clearing 26-year-old Miles Ferguson.
He had been accused of killing 5-week-old Mylee Ferguson while on a family vacation in Myrtle Beach.
Prosecutors said Ferguson shook his child while alone with her July 29, 2007. Defense attorneys said the baby suffered from a serious medical condition that occurred at birth.
Defense attorney Morgan Martin says Ferguson has lived through a nightmare.
Prosecutor Candice Lively was not available for a comment after the trial.
JUDGE-WRONG NOTES
Ohio judge keeps sentence given from wrong notes
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) - An Ohio judge has stuck with a sentence he initially made relying on the wrong case notes, and now the prosecutor wants to appeal.
A spokesman for Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias Heck in Dayton calls 23-year-old defendant Turell Justice "a dangerous, repeat and violent offender" who should have received more than seven years for a home invasion. Justice pleaded no contest to nine felony counts, including aggravated burglary, kidnapping and a weapons charge.
After he first handed down the prison sentence, Common Pleas Judge Gregory Singer said in open court that he had looked over the wrong case.
He called a re-sentencing hearing on November 6 but said at that time he believed the punishment was appropriate, given factors including that no one was injured.
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Information from: Dayton Daily News, http://www.daytondailynews.com
HYDRANTS VANDALIZED
Ohio city offers reward to catch hydrant vandals
CANTON, Ohio (AP) - An Ohio fire department with hydrants so badly vandalized that they're useless during fires is offering a $750 reward.
Canton fire officials say hydrants have been damaged heavily in one neighborhood and firefighters were unable to get water from them during a recent house fire.
Fire Chief Stephen Rich says in a statement that tampering with hydrants puts lives at risk. The reward is for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
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Information from: The Repository, http://www.cantonrep.com
STUDENTS' PRE-GAME PEE
Researchers: Ohio State lake jump a wee bit of fun
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Intrepid Ohio State University researchers have learned students don't just party in a campus lake during rituals before the annual Michigan game.
They also potty there.
Thousands of students will jump into Ohio State's Mirror Lake tonight, ahead of Saturday's football game between the Buckeyes and Wolverines.
Before, during and after last year's big swim, the College of Earth Sciences monitored the water quality.
Postdoctoral research associate Steve Goldsmith says the lake's temperature went up 3 degrees throughout the night, and the ammonia level surged.
He says body heat could explain the warmer water, but the ammonia likely means one thing: urine.
Goldsmith advises students to have fun, just not open their mouths.
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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com
BROWNS-DETERMINED QUINN
Brady Quinn's second chance off to slow start
BEREA, Ohio (AP) - Brady Quinn's rebirth as Cleveland's starting quarterback is already deeply troubled.
After one game.
Quinn lost his job 10 quarters into the season and got it back five weeks later. In his return Monday night, Quinn's seventh career start ended with his sixth loss, a defeat that left him visibly shaken afterward.
He wasn't upset about losing to Baltimore or his two interceptions. Quinn was distraught by his low hit on Terrell Suggs, a collision that injured the linebacker and led to accusations by Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis that he took a cheap shot.
Quinn was fined an undisclosed sum by the NFL for the infraction. He apologized to Suggs and the Ravens following the game and plans to reach out to them again.
LAID-OFF AUTOWORKERS-GRANT
Indiana gets $4 million grant to help autoworkers
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana has won a $4 million federal grant to lead an effort with Michigan and Ohio to help laid-off autoworkers find jobs in the renewable-energy industry and related occupations.
The U.S. Department of Labor awarded the grant yesterday to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development as part of $55 million in green jobs grants announced nationwide.
The Indiana agency will work on the joint effort with the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth and the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.
The three agencies will identify the skills and practices idled autoworkers will need to compete for jobs in green industries, and what's needed for a more efficient auto industry.
The three states expect to present their findings and recommendations in 2011.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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