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$57M spent against Issue 1
COLUMBUS -- Campaign finance records show that pharmaceutical companies spent nearly $57 million in their successful effort to defeat a ballot issue on drug pricing in Ohio. The Columbus Dispatch reports that campaign finance records filed Friday show that supporters of the issue seeking to cap the price of drugs bought by the state were outspent more than 3-to-1 at just over $17 million. The drug plan opposition set a record for campaign spending on a single statewide ballot issue. Financial backers of a successful campaign to bring casino gambling to Ohio spent $47 million in 2009. The second issue on the ballot known as Marsy's Law, a crime victims' bill of rights, was approved with virtually no opposition. Still, its supporters spent nearly $10 million on their campaign.
State warns of grant scam
COLUMBUS -- The Ohio Attorney General's Office is warning of a scam involving phony offers for federal grants. A release from the office says it has received dozens of reports of the scam from across the state. The release says scammers often begin with a phone call or Facebook message claiming a person was selected for a grant for being a good citizen, paying taxes, or not having a criminal record. They tell the person to pay a few hundred dollars to cover processing fees or taxes to receive the grant that never comes. State officials say about 50 people overall this year have reported losses ranging from $200 to $48,000 to grant scams. Ohioans are urged to report the scam to the Ohio Attorney General's Office.
Meningitis blamed for death
GNADENHUTTEN -- An Ohio school district has announced that its high school will be closed Monday after a student died from what health officials say is a probable case of bacterial meningitis. The Indian Valley Local Schools in Tuscarawas County sent a letter to parents Saturday that said the student's bus, a school restroom, and other surfaces inside the school will be sanitized. The student hasn't been identified. The Tuscarawas County Health Department in a statement on its website said officials learned Friday that a student had died from a probable case of meningitis. The health department says symptoms of bacterial meningitis can appear quickly and progress rapidly. Symptoms include fever, chills, headache, and a stiff neck. The health department is contacting anyone who recently came in close contact with the student.
Wife of pastor also charged
TOLEDO -- The wife of one of three Ohio pastors accused of child sex trafficking has been indicted on federal charges accusing her of interfering in her husband's investigation. U.S. District Court records show 43-year-old Laura Lloyd-Jenkins was arrested Friday in Toledo on such charges as obstructing a sex trafficking investigation and making a false statement. Court records show she pleaded not guilty and was ordered held pending a detention hearing. Her attorney declined to comment after the arraignment. Lucas County commissioners recently fired Lloyd-Jenkins from her job as a county administrator in Ohio. Her husband, Cordell Jenkins, pleaded not guilty to charges alleging he and two other pastors conspired to recruit teen girls to have sex with them and shared photos and videos of the girls.
Hippo to go off bottle feeding
CINCINNATI -- The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden says Fiona the baby hippopotamus will soon eat nothing but grown-up hippo food as she's weaned from her bottles of formula. Fiona is closing in on 650 pounds (295 kilograms) after being born in January six weeks premature and weighing just 29 pounds (13 kilograms), far smaller than typical hippo newborns. Fiona's early struggles caught the world's attention, turning her into an adored icon and star zoo attraction. She received 24-hour care in her first months. A team from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center helped zoo staff insert a lifesaving IV catheter when she became dehydrated. A zoo spokeswoman says hippos are normally weaned between eight and 10 months. Fiona dines with her mother, Bibi, on hay, fruit, lettuce, beet pulp and grain.
Inmates record gifts for kids
COLUMBUS -- Young fathers who are incarcerated in Ohio's youth prison system have recorded videos of themselves reading to their children as holiday gifts. DVDs produced by the Department of Youth Services feature the men and boys reading copies of the Dr. Seuss book "One Fish Two Fish Three Four Five Fish." Copies of the DVD, the nursery book and notes from the dads have been sent to children and their caregivers this week. Youth Services says 35 inmates recorded the videos. About 500 boys and men are housed in three state juvenile detention facilities and a youth center in Ross county. Agency director Harvey Reed says the holiday program helps keep youth connected to their children and developing healthy bonds even while away.
Dad to get home run keepsake
CINCINNATI -- An Ohio man who snared a Joey Votto home run ball during a Cincinnati Reds game this summer is grateful for the chance to finally give the souvenir to the family of a 6-year-old boy who witnessed the blast just weeks before dying of cancer. Wally Herbert, the father of Walter "Superbubz" Herbert, made an appeal this week for the home run ball so the family can add it to a memorial wall for Walter, who died Oct. 6. Minutes after hitting the homer, Votto went into the stands to give Walter the home run bat and one of his No. 19 Reds jerseys during the game Aug. 31 in Cincinnati. Trey Jones saw the appeal on WXIX-TV , looked up Wally Herbert on Facebook, and sent him a message. "I have a 3-year-old son who would like to give you and your family something very special for Christmas," Jones wrote. Wally Herbert said tears filled his eyes when he learned the news. "This is Christmas to me," Herbert said. "That was the day I saw my kid the most excited. When we took him to the game where he first met Joey, he would not sit down. That kid, through nine innings, screamed."
Arrests made in overdose death
MIDDLETOWN -- Authorities say two men have been arrested in connection with the suspected overdose death of a woman whose nine children watched her die in their family's Ohio home. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports Middletown police on Friday arrested 63-year-old Jim Boyer and his son, 32-year-old Keith Boyer, after issuing warrants earlier in the day. They've been charged with tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse and petty theft. The woman died Wednesday in Middletown. Police say the two men stole money from the woman and then left her to die. Her death prompted Middletown police to make an appeal for donations of clothes, blankets, toys and appliances to the family of five girls and four boys ranging in age from 1 to 14.