TEEN BOYS DIES AFTER WRESTLING
BELLEFONTAINE - A 14-year-old boy died as he and other teenswere wrestling at a campground, authorities said Monday.
Shortly before Nicholas Crosby of Bellefontaine died Saturdaynight at the Eagles Campground, several boys between ages 14 and 16had been placing each other in choke holds, Logan County sheriff'sDetective Jeff Cooper said.
Rescue workers were called to the campground, which is about threemiles north of Bellefontaine and approximately 62 miles northeast ofDayton, to try to revive the boy.
No charges had been filed Monday, said Sheriff Michael Henry, whonoted that he was awaiting county Coroner Dr. Michael Failor's rulingon how the boy died. The body was taken to the Montgomery Countycoroner for an autopsy.
EX-SPORTS WRITER
GUILTY OF INDECENCY
KETTERING
- A former Dayton Daily News sports writer faces as many as 30days in jail and a $250 fine for his plea of no contest to a chargeof misdemeanor public indecency.
Municipal Judge Thomas M. Hanna accepted the plea from ScottHalasz on Aug. 12, found him guilty and set sentencing for Sept. 9.The charge, which requires evidence of reckless exposure undercircumstances `likely to be viewed by and affront others,' stems froma complaint made April 12 during the Centerville Elks Relays.
Halasz, 32, was working for the newspaper and had been assigned tocover the relays when police contacted him about a complaint, saidEmily Chambers, vice president/human resources of Cox Ohio, whichpublishes the newspaper. Halasz was suspended after the newspaperlearned of the complaint, she said, and later was fired.
Kettering city Prosecutor Jay Newberry said prosecutors would makeno recommendation on sentencing.
ONE QUESTIONED IN MAN'S SLAYING
DAYTON
- Police were questioning one man and searching for another Mondayin Saturday's fatal shooting of a Cornell Woods resident, Daytonpolice said Monday.
Gary L. Jones, 27, of 3807 Cornell Woods Drive died at 12:50 a.m.Sunday at Good Samaritan Hospital after he was shot in his apartment,the Montgomery County Coroner's Office said.
Jones died from a shotgun wound to the chest, Lt. John Huber said.Witnesses saw two men, one holding a handgun and the other holding ashotgun, flee from the residence and leave in a purple Dodge Neon,Huber said.
Tips led police to a Trotwood apartment off Westbrook Road, wherethey found one possible suspect and the Neon. They also found ahandgun there, Huber said. Anyone with information about the homicideis asked to call Sgt. Jimmy Rohrer at 333-1240.
MAN ENTERS PLEA
IN TRAFFIC FATALITY
TROY
- A Huber Heights man pleaded no contest Monday to misdemeanorvehicular manslaughter in a March 4 crash in Bethel Twp. that killeda Tipp City woman.
Victor Cobb, 42, was found guilty in Miami County Municipal Court.A sentencing date was not set.
Mildred Wortman, 68, was killed when a car Cobb was driving wentleft of center on Ohio 202 and hit a car driven by her husband,Thomas Wortman, 69, head-on, sheriff's deputies said. He was injuredseriously.
Charges of driving left of center and vehicular homicide weredismissed as part of a plea deal outlined for Judge ElizabethGutmann. Municipal Court Prosecutor David Caldwell said that officewas recommending probation and a three-month operator's licensesuspension.
Cobb could receive up to 90 days in jail. Andrew Stewart, a lawyerrepresenting the Wortman family, asked Gutmann to consider some jailtime. Cobb's lawyer, Dana Stamps, said he had a driving record`without blemish' before the crash.
BUTLER SHERIFF
PLANS TO RETIRE
HAMILTON
- Butler County Sheriff Harold Gabbard announced Monday that hewill not seek re-election to the office he has held 11 years and willretire when his term expires in December 2004.
Chief Deputy Richard K. Jones became the first to vie for the jobwhen he submitted a letter of intent to the county Republican Partyand announced his plans to seek the office in November 2004. Jones,49, was brought in by Gabbard when Gabbard became sheriff in 1993.
Gabbard, 71, said he never intended to run for a fourth term. Theonly question was whether he would finish his third term or retireearly, he said, noting that commitments such as the new county jailkept him from leaving early. The father of six said he hopes to spendhis retirement `holding hands and tiptoeing through the tulips' withhis wife, Phyllis, 68.
Jones worked for Lebanon Correctional Institution from 1976 until1993, when Gabbard hired him. The Hamilton High School graduate holdsa master's degree from Xavier University and has taught as an adjunctprofessor in criminal justice.
Jones said he already has the support of county Prosecutor RobinPiper and hopes to earn the party's endorsement. Party spokesman JoeStatzer called Jones a strong candidate with `big shoes to fill.'
CANOEIST PULLED FROM MAD RIVER
SPRINGFIELD
- Springfield Twp. Station 3 rescued a 23-year-old man Sunday whoflipped a canoe in the Mad River.
The man hit a rock when he fell in and was lying on his stomachwhen the fire and EMS department arrived just after 2:30 p.m.,assistant chief Mike Sanders said.
The man, whose name was not released, was taken to Miami ValleyHospital with a fractured back and ankle, Sanders said.
MAN INVADES HOME, TAKES ATM CASH
FAIRBORN
- A man forced his way into a Fairborn home Sunday and demandedmoney from the occupant, police said Monday.
The man knocked at the door of 32 W. Thunderbird Road about 11:21p.m. and told the female resident who answered that he had a pistoland walked in, police said. The woman told police she never saw aweapon.
She told the intruder she had no money in the house, and the manforced her to drive to an ATM where he ordered her to withdraw anundisclosed amount of cash, Capt. Ron Van Nuys said.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Fairbornpolice at 754-3068.
LEBANON SCHOOLS TO SEEK RENEWAL
LEBANON
- The Lebanon Board of Education on Monday night approved ballotlanguage for the district's permanent improvement levy that voterswill decide on in November.
The legislation was the final piece needed from the board tocertify the renewal levy request and send it to the Warren CountyBoard of Elections. By definition, the five-year, 2-mill levy must bespent on permanent expenditures - those that have a shelf life ofmore than five years - such as roofs, parking lots and classrooms.
The levy, if passed, will have an effective rate of 1.646 mills onresidential and agricultural properties and will cost the owner of a$100,000 home approximately $50 per year. It will generate just over$1 million annually.
Superintendent Bill Sears reiterated that the levy is a renewaland there will be no additional taxes if it passes. The renewal couldhelp to ensure the district's eligibility for as much as $33 millionfrom the state, district Treasurer Mary Beth Kemmer said.
By law, there must be at least a 0.5-mill permanent improvementlevy passed by voters for districts to be eligible for funding fromthe Ohio Schools Facility Commission. Predictions indicate thatLebanon could receive between $32 million and $33 million in 2008.
NO CHARGES DUE ON EX-WORKERS
HAMILTON
- Criminal charges will not be filed against five former ButlerCounty Adult Probation Department employees, one of whom wasMiddletown Mayor David Schiavone, accused of falsifying time sheets,officials said Monday.
Chief Probation Officer Gary Yates said he has decided not topursue charges because the case was handled administratively. Allfive have resigned during the investigation that spanned nearly eightmonths and forced an audit of approximately 600 cases.
Yates forwarded the investigative file to the sheriff's office inJuly. That office reviewed it, but took no action and said criminalcharges could be difficult to prove, according to a correspondencesent to Yates on Monday.
The investigation stemmed from a complaint that the workers hadbeen gathering at the house of probation officer William Gray inHamilton for several hours in the afternoons. According toinvestigative files obtained by the JournalNews, on Feb. 3 Yatesordered video surveillance on the house.
The men were observed on tape on numerous occasions in Februaryand March arriving at the home about lunch time and staying sometimestwo to three hours. Time records confirm the men claimed they hadworked full days on several occasions when they were videotaped atthe house. One probation officer said he and the others had playedcards and smoked marijuana during those visits. The others deniedusing drugs during the gatherings.
Schiavone, a supervisor, entered into a settlement agreement andresigned. Probation officer James Armbruster II of Monroe, a formerMiddletown city commissioner and two-time city commission chairman,also entered a settlement agreement. Gray and probation officers RickBaker of Fairfield and Ron Wells of Middletown also resigned.
Compiled from staff, Cox News Service and Associated Press reports
