Some of Today's State News Headlines
Today is Wednesday January 9, 2008
Former Ohio death row inmate delayed in trip home to Scotland
DAYTON (AP) - A British citizen released from jail after spending two decades on Ohio's death row was thrown another roadblock Tuesday in his journey home to Scotland.
Ken Richey, 43, was to leave from Dayton International Airport as part of a plea deal, but his flight to Chicago was canceled because of thunderstorms in the Chicago area.
It was unclear Tuesday night when he would leave for Scotland.
Richey, who pleaded no contest Monday to three charges related to a fire that killed a 2-year-old girl, walked free for the first time since 1986 when he was accused of setting the fire at an apartment complex.
Richey arrived at the airport Tuesday afternoon wearing blue jeans and a black U.S. Marines baseball cap. His flight was delayed for about two hours before it was canceled.
He refused to talk to reporters, saying, "I can't speak."
(Refer to page 5 of today's Daily Chief-Union)
Family, friends bid goodbye to five killed in Ohio crash
BALTIMORE (AP) - Friends and family filled a Lutheran church Tuesday to remember four children and a young mother killed by a wrong-way truck on an Ohio interstate crash.
"Bethany, Haley, Vadie, Lacie, Jordan. You will not be forgotten!" the message board outside Saint Luke Lutheran Church read as people filed into the church under sunny skies.
Bethany Griffin, 36, of Parkville, and three of her daughters - Vadi Griffin, 2 months; Lacie Burkman, 7; and Haley Burkman, 10 - died in the crash along with Jordan Griffin, 10, the daughter of Bethany Griffin's husband, Danny Griffin Jr., 36.
Danny Griffin was injured in the accident along with 8-year-old Sydney Griffin.
Michael Gagnon, of Adrian, Mich., faces five counts of aggravated vehicular homicide in the Dec. 30 crash on I-280 in Toledo. Investigators said after the crash that Gagnon's blood-alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit when he drove the wrong way on Interstate 280 in Toledo and slammed his pickup truck into the family's minivan.
(Refer to page 5 of today's Daily Chief-Union)
Education board considering grading schools on safety
COLUMBUS (AP) - Despite a recent drop in violence in Ohio schools, state education officials are considering grading schools on safety because it continues to be a top concern for parents.
The Ohio Board of Education is considering grading schools on how well they maintain safety in the classroom, either as an additional factor in formal school accountability grades or as a separate informative tool for parents.
A subcommittee of the board is exploring ways to measure school safety and include a grade on school report cards issued every year by the state.
"Parents' biggest concern is often safety. (Violence occurs) in all of our schools now, not just urban; it's suburban schools, too," said Sue Westendorf, a board member from Bowling Green.
The proposal comes two months after a state report revealed that school violence and truancy has declined in Ohio. The state's 614 school districts reported nearly 80,000 incidents of fighting and violence last school year, a 10 percent drop from the previous year.
(Refer to page 5 of today's Daily Chief-Union)
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