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Police in Ohio town abandon cruisers for golf carts
BREMEN (AP) — Sheriff’s deputies have parked their gas-guzzling cruisers and started up a number of golf carts for use on patrols around this small central Ohio town.
Fairfield County Sheriff’s Sgt. Forrest Cassel said the carts are not just more cost- and energy-efficient. They also encourage better interaction with people in the town of 1,200, he said.
“When you’re out in the open like that, everyone can see you and wave to you,” he said. “When you’re all enclosed in a car, it’s a little bit more difficult.”
The county tested the golf carts in 2007 and decided to bring them back this once gas prices began their recent steep climb, Cassel said.
(Refer to page 5 of today's Daily Chief-Union) |
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| FRIDAY MAY 23, 2008 |
Senate bill would allow all-mail voting
COLUMBUS (AP) - Voting by mail is easy, increases turnout and removes the drudgery of waiting in long lines at polling places, backers say.
However, it also invites increased voter error, fraud and it works against groups such as frequent movers and the homeless, critics fire back.
The Senate is debating a bill that would authorize mail-only voting in elections that have ballot issues but no candidates for office. The last such statewide election was in 2005, when there were five issues on the ballot.
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, Ohio's chief elections officer, sought the mail-only elections shortly after taking office in 2007. She says she wanted to use it as an experiment that could possibly be expanded to include candidates if it was successful.
She had the backing of the state's boards of elections, which see the move as a way to save money. Sen. Gary Cates, a West Chester Republican, introduced a bill last year and it is currently undergoing hearings.
(Refer to page 8 of today's Daily Chief-Union) |
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Cleveland judge unhappy over sex activity at mental hospital
CLEVELAND (AP) - A judge in Cleveland is unhappy about reports of sex between patients at a state-run mental hospital where she sent a woman for treatment.
Judge Nancy Margaret Russo in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court pressed Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare officials on Thursday on their handling of a mentally ill woman sent for treatment last year.
Russo said she was shocked to learn the 33-year-old woman received birth-control pills and counseling after she was caught having sex three times with two other patients.
Northcoast psychiatrist Joy Stankowski said some patients are mentally competent to engage in sexual relationships. Northcoast policy says sexual behavior between patients is discouraged but not always harmful or preventable.
(Refer to page 8 of today's Daily Chief-Union) |
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Coaster closed after accident injures 10
SANDUSKY (AP) - On the verge of the busy Memorial Day weekend, one of Cedar Point's roller coasters remains closed while officials investigate an accident from a week ago.
Late last Friday, one train on the WildCat did not make it up a hill and then rolled backward, smacking into another train.
Cedar Point says nine people were treated for bruises and sprains at the amusement park's first aid station, and one was taken to a hospital to be looked at.
Park spokesman Bryan Edwards says the WildCat will not run again until the cause of the problem has been determined.
The state Department of Agriculture inspects amusement park rides. A spokeswoman there says inspectors suspect a problem with the ride's track.
(Refer to page 8 of today's Daily Chief-Union) |
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