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Associated Press Friday Morning Ohio Headlines - 2/12/2010
Latest Ohio news, sports, business and entertainment:
OHIO LOTTERY-POWERBALL
Mid-April start seen for Powerball in Ohio
CLEVELAND (AP) - Lottery officials expect Ohio to become a Powerball state on April 16, with tickets going on sale for a drawing the following day.
Powerball is a big-money, multistate game similar to Mega Millions, which is already played in Ohio. Ohio Lottery spokeswoman Jeannie Roberts says Ohioans won't have to drive to Pennsylvania or Kentucky anymore if they want to take a chance on Powerball's jackpots that have reached into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Ohio Lottery Commission estimates the state will earn $10 million a year in Powerball profits.
The mid-April start date is not a firm one. Lottery commissioners have scheduled a final vote on Powerball for April 6, and sales would begin 10 days later. But first, lawmakers must sign off on the game.
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Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com
SENIOR LUNCHES-LISTERIA
Listeria scare halts senior lunch program in Ohio
CLEVELAND (AP) - Concern about possible listeria contamination has halted lunches for thousands of senior citizens in northeast Ohio.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture says a routine test last week found the bacteria in chicken and dumplings prepared for the Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging, which provides lunch for senior centers in five counties. The agency stopped the service yesterday; officials hope to find a way to resume the meals as early as Monday.
No illnesses have been reported.
The food was supplied by Tom Paige Catering Co. in Cleveland, which says it's cooperating with health officials and having additional tests done to make sure any and all tainted food is destroyed.
Listeria can cause fever, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.
CLEVELAND HOUSE EXPLOSION-INDICTMENT
Prosecutors: House blast suspect tampered with gas
CLEVELAND (AP) - Prosecutors say a man accused of causing an explosion that devastated his Cleveland neighborhood broke into the vacant house that blew up and tampered with the gas line.
The Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH'-guh) County prosecutors office also says 57-year-old William Calderwood stole appliances, furniture and pipes from the house, which was next door to his.
Calderwood was indicted yesterday on one county of burglary and 72 counts of aggravated arson. Authorities say the fiery January 25 blast damaged 72 neighboring homes on Cleveland's west side.
Calderwood previously pleaded not guilty to one count of aggravated arson in the explosion. He's scheduled to be arraigned on the new charges February 26.
He remains jailed in lieu of $300,000 bond.
OHIO HORSES RESCUED
Owner of sick horses pleads not guilty to cruelty
PORT CLINTON, Ohio (AP) - The owner of an Ohio farm where dozens of malnourished horses were rescued has pleaded not guilty to 42 counts of animal cruelty.
Robin Vess' plea was entered yesterday in northern Ohio's Ottawa County by her lawyer, who said his client could not be in court because she's hospitalized for depression.
Prosecutors say Vess allowed dozens of Arabian horses to starve and did not seek medical care for them.
Her attorney, Mark Davis, has said only some of the horses were underweight, and that their poor physical condition was due to illness, not lack of food.
At least one horse was found dead by the Humane Society of Ottawa County last month, and several others had to be put down. The Humane Society is now caring for 36 horses it seized.
SHAQ-REALITY TV
Shaq's television show picked up for second season
CLEVELAND (AP) - Shaquille O'Neal says his reality television show "Shaq Vs." has been picked up by ABC for a second season.
Among O'Neal's highlights in the first season was a football competition against Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, a swimming race against Michael Phelps and a boxing match against Oscar De La Hoya.
O'Neal says he has talked to a number of athletes about new challenges for next season, but nothing has been finalized.
KROGER-SHELL
Kroger, Shell make deal for gas discounts
CINCINNATI (AP) - The Kroger Company and Shell Oil are combining forces to offer gas discounts for grocery shoppers at Shell stations.
The deal is a big expansion of the largest U.S. traditional grocer's ability to use gas incentives, an increasingly popular industry tool for building loyalty among recession-squeezed households.
Beginning Monday, Kroger shopper card customers in five markets in Ohio, Tennessee and California can get at least 10 cents off a gallon at Shell stations after buying $100 in groceries.
Adding Shell to Kroger's own gas stations will triple the number of places Kroger shoppers can get discounts in those markets - and provide them for the first time in the San Diego area, where Kroger's Ralphs stores don't sell gas.
GILLETTE-NEW SHAVER
Gillette's next: Fusion ProGlide
CINCINNATI (AP) - Gillette is set to launch yet another new shaver - and, no, this time it's not adding any new blades to its own best-selling Fusion, just making it better.
The Fusion ProGlide, to land on store shelves in June, is the first shaver Gillette has developed since Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble bought the company in 2005, just before the current five-blade model made its debut.
The Fusion produces $1 billion in annual sales. But Boston-based Gillette says P&G researchers have added their skin care and body chemistry expertise to help create a still smoother and more comfortable shave.
The Fusion ProGlide's suggested price of $10.99 is 10 percent higher than the Fusion's.
HUMVEE'S LAST HURRAH
Humvee could soon be an Army relic
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The Army's long relationship with the hulking Humvee could be coming to an end as it seeks better ways to protect soldiers from roadside bombs in war zones.
The Army's proposed budget doesn't include money for the all-terrain Humvees. An Army spokesman says the 2,620 vehicles the Army already has ordered will be the last it buys.
Eric Sitterle (SIH'-tur-lee) of Cincinnati is a board member on the Humvee's fan club and calls it the most exciting thing you've ever ridden -- at three miles per hour.
The Humvee gained popularity in the 1991 Gulf War and became a cultural icon when a civilian version was produced
But concerns over its safety rose as insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan developed powerful improved explosive devices.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
AP-NY-02-12-10 0910EST
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