Departments respond to fire at McDonald’s

AVON — Firefighters from several departments were called in Friday to respond to a fire at the McDonald’s near the state Route 611 exit of Interstate 90 in Avon.

First responders from Avon reported at about 8 a.m. that the fire, which was largely contained to a freezer, was out.

They requested that firefighters from Sheffield continue to respond with mutual aid but called off other departments.

McDonald’s area supervisor Brian Doak, who was at the McDonald’s this morning, said the fire was a “small electrical fire” and “really nothing was damaged.”

Employees noticed the fire, reacted swiftly, evacuated the building and called the Fire Department, he said, adding that a manager had put out the fire with an extinguisher before firefighters arrived.

The McDonald’s was open for business as usual Friday.

Patrol: Lorain County tops in repeat DUIs

COLUMBUS — The State Highway Patrol said that Franklin County, which includes Columbus, has a wide lead for drunken driving arrests.

But Lorain County is the top county for felony cases involving suspects with four or more previous convictions.

The patrol said that from January 2008 through the end of November 2009, troopers made nearly 3,100 arrests in Franklin County for operating a vehicle while impaired. The county saw more than 1,000 more cases than the No. 2 county on the patrol’s list, Butler County outside Cincinnati. Lucas County, which includes Toledo, ranks third.

The patrol said troopers made nearly 23,000 drunken driving arrests statewide.

Man pays $72 with cheer for a taco

SANDUSKY — So much for the value menu.

A Taco Bell manager said a man who appeared drunk walked into the restaurant earlier this week and handed him $72 for just one taco.

The manager told police near Sandusky that the customer, who seemed to be in his early 20s, refused to take back the money and told workers “Merry Christmas.”

Manager Aaron Ohm said he thought for sure the man would return for his money, but so far he hasn’t shown up. Police are holding on to the money as evidence and say if it’s not claimed in 60 days, the store manager will get a late Christmas gift.

State prisons chief retiring

COLUMBUS — The head of the Ohio prison system has announced he’s retiring less than two weeks after ushering in the nation’s first single-drug lethal injection process.
Terry Collins announced his retirement Friday after a

33-year career in corrections. He has been director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction since 2006.

Collins had to lay off employees and pushed for alternative punishments for low-level offenders as the inmate population hit record highs and the state fought dropping revenue.

Collins announced last month Ohio would adopt a single-drug execution method in hopes of ending a 5-year-old lawsuit claiming the three-drug process could cause severe pain.

The state on Dec. 8 became the first in the country to execute an inmate with one dose of a powerful anesthetic.

Collins’ retirement is effective Jan. 31.

Ruling rebuffs lame ducks

CLEVELAND — A ruling from the Ohio attorney general means some lame-duck county officials in Cleveland won’t get to finish their terms.

Attorney General Richard Cordray told Cuyahoga County on Thursday that officials will be out of office as soon as new leaders are elected or have their appointments confirmed under the county’s new government setup.

Some lame-duck officials want to serve out their terms.

Last month voters approved a charter that in 2011 will replace the three county commissioners with an elected executive and
11-member council.

The elected auditor, clerk of courts, coroner, engineer, recorder, sheriff and treasurer will be replaced by appointees.

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