Some of Today's State News Headlines
Today is Thursday November 15, 2007
Party problems persist despite riot reduction efforts
COLUMBUS (AP) - Ohio State University student Edward Knezevich eagerly rattles off the do's and don'ts of holding a successful off-campus party.
Hire people to check ID's. Go with cans, not kegs. If the party is advertised on Facebook - an online hangout site - do not make it an open event.
"Have fun, keep it safe, keep it clean," said Knezevich, 19, a second-year student from suburban New Albany.
Knezevich speaks from hindsight. An off-campus party he helped host two months ago burst its seams and led to a near riot as hundreds of partyers briefly battled police, who used repeated doses of chemical spray to break up the crowd.
"Bottles, cans, debris, trash, etc began to be thrown at the officers and other fights broke out in the crowd," according to an e-mail from Columbus police to the university. The Associated Press obtained the e-mail through a public records request.
Ohio State University, the country's largest campus at 52,568 students, has spent five largely successful years preventing riots of the kind that made national headlines in 2002.
(Page 5 of today's Daily Chief-Union)
Security experts audit Cleveland schools after shooting incident
CLEVELAND (AP) - Five weeks after a high school student wounded two teachers and two classmates before killing himself, security experts are conducting an audit of safety at the city's 110 school buildings.
Experts from the Council of the Great City Schools, a Washington-based coalition of 66 urban school districts, will spend the next few days reviewing security at district buildings. The seven-member team includes police chiefs from the Los Angeles and Dallas school districts.
"The reports we generate are often quite critical," said Bob Carlson, director of management services for the group.
He said the council has done about 150 peer reviews over the past decade on school districts' operations and instruction methods.
"The school building ought to be a safe haven for children," said Carlson, adding that there's probably no 100 percent safe school in the country.
The audit is part of various measures the district has taken since Oct. 10, when SuccessTech Academy student Asa Coon wounded four people at the downtown school before killing himself. The 14-year-old had a juvenile court record and was upset about flunking a history class.
(Page 5 of today's Daily Chief-Union)
Experts say summer drought led to expensive foundation repairs
CINCINNATI (AP) - Expensive repercussions from this summer's drought are showing up in southwest Ohio homes and businesses in the form of cracked foundations.
Experts say the area's clay base is to blame.
"As it dries out, it actually shrinks," said Bill Turner, president of Criterium-S.T.A. Engineers in suburban Springdale.
When that happens, the clay pulls away from the foundation and the weight of the building can make it twist or pull apart, leaving gaps in the foundation and windows and doors that no longer close properly.
Ernest Pace of Sharonville said repairs to his 18-year-old, two-story brick house have been estimated at $10,000.
"I've gotten over the initial shock," Pace said. "But I'll be crying all over again when I get the bill."
Permanent repairs can mean digging under the concrete footer a foundation sits on and driving metal rods underneath. In some cases, hydraulic jacks are used to lift the footer.
"We're busy every day," said Steve Cohen, owner of Buckeye Structures, whose company is booked through December.
(Page 5 of today's Daily Chief-Union)
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