Archive for August 5th, 2008
Source: Gotti arrested on murder conspiracy charge
NEW YORK (AP) — John A. “Junior” Gotti has been arrested on charges linking him to three New York murders, a law enforcement official said Tuesday. Gotti, 44, was arrested by the FBI at his Long Island home. Federal authorities in Tampa, Fla., are expected to announce a racketeering indictment, charging Gotti with murder [...]
Ohio native to fly on space shuttle
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A northeast Ohio native will be on board for NASA’s next shuttle mission, to do work on the Hubble Space Telescope. The space agency announced Monday that astronaut Michael Good will be part of a seven-member crew that will lift off aboard the shuttle Atlantis early on Oct. 8. Good [...]
Farmer sends message to neighbors with car fence
HOOPER, Utah (AP) — A farmer has erected a backyard fence made of three old cars sticking up in the air to send a message to new neighbors that he can do whatever he wants on his property. “This is just a fun way for me to say, ‘Hey boys, I’m still here,”‘ Rhett [...]
Ohio preacher convicted in road rage case
CINCINNATI (AP) — A 71-year-old Cincinnati preacher has been convicted of aggravated menacing, after another motorist said he waved a gun and cursed at her. Thomas Howell could get up to six months in jail on the misdemeanor charge when he’s sentenced Sept. 4. Howell says he was on his way to First Commandment Church [...]
Cliff on edge: Indians’ Lee doesn’t have his best stuff, still defeats Rays to pick up his 15th win
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Cliff Lee overcame early struggles and less-than-stellar stuff en route to another victory. Lee tied the major league lead with his 15th win and the Cleveland Indians stayed unbeaten against the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays this season with a 5-2 victory on Monday night. “Honestly, I didn’t have my best [...]
Steinbach saw line’s potential: Left guard has been a key factor in Browns’ offensive turnaround
BEREA — Long before people began jumping on the Browns’ bandwagon, Eric Steinbach was already aboard. In fact, it could be said he was leading the parade and selling tickets for the ride. “I wanted to be here and I was excited about helping this team improve,” the left guard recalled Monday. “The offensive line [...]
Browns notes: Injuries giving backup tight ends a chance to show what they can do
BEREA — Few NFL teams have a better tight end combination than the Browns’ duo of Pro Bowler Kellen Winslow Jr. and savvy veteran Steve Heiden. Both players, however, are battling minor injuries, giving their three backups a prime opportunity to impress the coaching staff. Incumbent third-stringer Darnell Dinkins, former Bills reserve Brad Cieslak and [...]
High school football 2008: North Ridgeville needs seniors, underclassmen to jell, come together as a unit
NORTH RIDGEVILLE — A philosophy instilled in Jeff Riesen a long time ago by his father is still the basic concept he tries to instill in his players today. “I’ve been coaching for 35 years and the first thing I learned from my father, who was a coach, and from other good coaches along the [...]
Elyria Junior all-stars roll, make regional semifinals
Suddenly the Elyria Little League Junior All-Star softball team is looking like a real contender at the Central Regional Tournament at Firestone Stadium in Akron. Elyria rolled over Michigan 11-1 Monday, a day after downing Missouri 20-2, to advance to a semifinal matchup today at 2:30 against another Ohio team, Poland. Mel Woodard tripled and [...]
Now that’s a real Dream team: U.S. men’s basketball team would rather sleep than go out on the town most nights
SHANGHAI, China — The swarm of photographers quickly reached more than a dozen, all for a can’t-miss chance to witness a real superstar in action. Only Dwight Howard wasn’t doing anything super at all. No dunks, no shot blocks, nothing requiring even a hint of athletic ability. After all, any couch potato can order a [...]
Dan Coughlin: No matter the sport, there’s always a cliche that fits
I heard Browns quarterback Derek Anderson actually say this on the radio last week: “… had to make plays and put points on the board.” That is a darn good strategy. Putting points on the board starts with “moving the chains.” There are many ways to move the chains. A popular one is with a [...]
Cavaliers sign ex-Grizzlie guard
INDEPENDENCE —The Cavaliers signed guard Tarence Kinsey to a contract, general manager Danny Ferry announced Monday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Kinsey, 24, split last season with the Memphis Grizzlies and Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul of the Turkish Basketball League. In 11 games with Memphis, he averaged 3.6 points on .421 shooting and 1.1 [...]
Police destroyed rape kit
ELYRIA — For 17 years, Clarence Weaver has adamantly denied he killed his wife. But now it seems that the evidence he was hoping would clear him never will. Police destroyed a rape kit that Weaver, 73, says would show he was not the one who murdered his wife in 1991. A rape kit is [...]
Honaker gets 18-to-life for killing wife`s boyfriend
ELYRIA — Just before he was sentenced Monday to 18 years to life in prison for killing his estranged wife’s lover, Frank Honaker apologized. Honaker, who was convicted Friday of murder and felonious assault for the Dec. 13, 2007, shooting death of Christopher Betts, said he felt bad that Betts’ children had lost their father. [...]
Bars place their bets for Keno
Roger and Audrey Wilson were determined to give Keno a shot Monday — the day the new Ohio Lottery game debuted. So determined, in fact, that Roger Wilson took off work for the day. And so there they sat early Monday afternoon, watching a TV screen in Quaker Steak & Lube in Sheffield as circled [...]
Amherst puts $4 million levy on fall ballot
AMHERST — Despite an oh-so-close four-vote margin of defeat for a levy sought by the school district in March, the school board will ask voters to approve an even larger amount in November. In an early morning meeting Monday, the board voted unanimously to ask voters to pass a 6.9-mill, five-year emergency operating levy that [...]
Lucky Canton golfer hits hole-in-one, wins a car
ELYRIA — Harold Cropper recalls exactly where he hit his first hole-in-one. It came in 1985 at Green Valley, a golf course in the New Philadelphia area. Chances are he’ll have no problem remembering where he hit his second. It came Monday during the Salvation Army’s 12th annual golf outing at Elyria Country Club. While [...]
Township hosts Family Night Out
Sheffield Township is hosting the second annual National Family Night Out event for Sheffield Township residents from 6 to 9 tonight at the St. Lad’s picnic grounds on Clinton Avenue. The idea behind this free event is to prevent crime before it occurs through resident awareness, said trustee Chad Parsons. “As trustees, we encourage residents [...]
Car of councilman`s wife ringed in dog feces
CLEVELAND — A Cleveland city councilman whose house was torched last week now says his wife’s car was ransacked and ringed with dog feces over the weekend. Councilman Joe Cimperman says it’s very strange, and police spokesman Lt. Thomas Stacho says it’s unclear whether the vandalism is related to the July 28 arson fire at [...]
Ohio woman bills Michigan for traffic delay
PERRYSBURG — An Ohio woman has sent Michigan transportation officials a bill for the $16 she says she wasted on gasoline sitting in construction zone traffic. Carol Greenberg complains there were no signs warning about the work on southbound Interstate 275 where it merges with I-75 near Newport, Mich. So she says she got stuck [...]
Elyria to try again on income tax renewal
ELYRIA — City Council voted Monday to place the 0.5-percent income tax renewal on the ballot for a second time, vowing this time to wage an aggressive campaign to get it passed. Despite an overwhelming defeat in March, when voters rejected the measure by an almost 2-to-1 margin, Mayor Bill Grace said the city will [...]
Lawyer: Death row inmate too fat to execute
COLUMBUS — A death row inmate scheduled for execution says he’s too fat to be put to death, claiming executioners would have trouble finding his veins and that his weight could diminish the effectiveness of one of the lethal injection drugs. Lawyers for Richard Cooey argue in a federal lawsuit that Cooey — 5-feet-7 and [...]
Officer acquitted in death of mother holding baby
LIMA — A white police officer was acquitted Monday in the drug-raid shooting death of an unarmed black woman that set off protests about how police treat minorities in a city where one in four residents is black. The all-white jury found Sgt. Joseph Chavalia not guilty of misdemeanor charges of negligent homicide and negligent [...]
Suspects sought in attack on Oberlin professor
OBERLIN — Police are searching for a man who punched an Oberlin College assistant professor in the face early Saturday morning as the professor was loading plant collection boxes into his vehicle. The professor had a scratched face after the incident at 12:27 a.m. outside the Science Center. He escaped by running into the building [...]
Carlisle Twp. tosses out new Dumpster Day
CARLISLE TWP. — If you were turned away at Dumpster Day on Saturday, township officials are offering another chance to get rid of your trash. Trustees closed Dumpster Day after three Dumpsters were quickly filled and the Ohio State Patrol expressed concern about traffic, Trustee Robert White said. The Carlisle Township service garage at 11969 [...]