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Urbana
DAILYCITIZEN
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 2010
SPORTS
Browns
release
Anderson
Cleveland released quar-
terback Derek Anderson
on Tuesday ...
See Page B-1
Former major
leaguer
Joey Long
hurt in crash
By BREANNE
PARCELS
Staff Writer
ST. PARIS – A former
major-league baseball pitch-
er was flown to Miami Valley
Hospital by CareFlight after
a single-vehicle crash on
Kiser Lake Road Tuesday
evening.
Chief Deputy Matt
Melvin, of the Champaign
County Sheriff’s Office, said
Joey Long, 39, of St. Paris,
was transported after his
pickup truck left the road-
way and collided with a tree
just after 7 p.m. Long was the
only occupant of the vehicle,
Melvin said, noting that
Johnson-St. Paris EMS also
responded to the scene of
the crash.
A Miami Valley adminis-
trator said Long was being
treated in the emergency
room as of 9 p.m. Tuesday,
but his condition was
unavailable as of press time.
Long played part of one
season with the San Diego
Padres in 1997 and left pro-
fessional baseball a few
years later. He is a Graham
High School graduate.
Breanne Parcels can be
reached at
bparcels@urbanacitizen.com.
Mad River Twp.
trustees to
discuss truck
damage
Special to the Citizen
The Mad River Township
Trustees have called a spe-
cial meeting, to be held
Thursday, March 11 at 10:30
a.m., to discuss damages to
their 2006 Ford F-350, and to
meet with the insurance
adjuster.
The meeting will be held
in the garage of the Mad
River Township building,
2773 Vance Road, St. Paris.
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7 4 8 2 5 8 0 3 0 1
GRAHAM LOCAL SCHOOLS
Jenkins: Situation not typical ‘doom and gloom’
Struggling district facing
deep cuts or higher taxes
By BREANNE PARCELS
Staff Writer
ST. PARIS – About 20 individuals attended a
work session of the Graham Board of Education
Tuesday evening to get an update from district
officials on proposed cuts for the 2010-2011
school year and also to weigh in on the propos-
al.
“We’re not voting on anything tonight,” said
Board Member Pat Wagner regarding the
planned cuts. The board instead scheduled
another meeting for community input to be held
immediately after the next regular board meet-
ing on March 22 at Graham Elementary School,
It must be spring musical season!
The Triad High School Drama Department in North Lewisburg will be presenting three
showings of its performance of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” on March 12 and
13 at 7 p.m. and March 14 at 3 p.m. Above, Boston Gregg rehearses a scene during
Tuesday's dress rehearsal. Gregg plays the Caterpillar in this scene.
Ohio State janitor’s gunfire
kills co-worker, self
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio State
University janitor who was about to lose his job
walked into a maintenance building for his
early morning shift Tuesday and shot two
supervisors, killing one of them and fatally
shooting himself. No students were hurt.
Nathaniel Brown, 51, arrived for work at the
nation’s largest university dressed in dark
clothing, a hooded sweat shirt and a backpack.
He then opened fire in an office suite using two
handguns, campus Police Chief Paul Denton
said.
Brown spent five years in prison in the
1970s and ’80s for receiving stolen property
but lied about it on his job application, records
show. It wasn’t immediately clear whether
Ohio State had done a background check
Informing Champaign County Since 1838
and will also be looking at holding forums in
early April in Rosewood and Christiansburg.
Treasurer Ryan Jenkins and Superintendent
Norm Glismann reviewed the list of items that
have been targeted to cut the district’s expenses
by a total of $604,583.38.
“We tried to do things that would impact
instruction the very least,” Glismann said. “We
tried to make it an inclusive process, involving
every staff member in the district. We asked
everyone who had a good idea for saving money
to come forward, and we got many, many sug-
gestions. Everyone has felt a cut at least a little
bit.”
Glismann said the latest proposal outlines
items that will be cut, along with those that may
eventually be on the chopping block, depending
on the outcome of spring union negotiations, as
well as items which were suggested but not
Citizen photo by Alex Howell
on him.
Ohio State released documents from
Brown’s personnel file showing that supervi-
sors complained he was tardy, slept on the job
and had problems following instructions. The
university sent him a letter March 2 informing
him that his employment was to end Saturday.
About a half-dozen other employees were in
the building when the shooting began, Denton
said. He described the shooting as work-relat-
ed but didn’t describe a motive.
The shooting was reported at 3:30 a.m.
Tuesday. Police tactical units surrounded the
building and found Brown with a self-inflicted
gunshot wound in a garage bay, Denton said.
He was pronounced dead at a campus hospital
See ‘OSU’ on Page A-3
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50 CENTS
practical to cut, such as elimination of all high
school bus routes.
“Everything on this sheet will still need to get
done, so everyone will need to do what they do
now, plus a little more,” he said. One of the posi-
tions that will be eliminated is currently held by
Business Manager Nick Mescher, and Glismann
noted that other administrators will be responsi-
ble for similar duties.
“We have eliminated one bus route,” he
added. “I had to meet with the least senior bus
driver and tell that person, ‘I’m sorry we don’t
have a job for you next year.’ There have been
people who have been hurt very deeply by these
reductions.”
Glismann said about 80 districts in 17 other
states have changed to four-day school weeks in
the past five years, but that’s not necessarily a
See ‘Graham’ on Page A-2
CITY OF URBANA
Deer in city is
council topic
Some want better lighting
at Monument Square
By KATHLEEN FOX
Assistant Editor
The subject of deer traipsing around the city
occasionally comes up at Urbana City Council
meetings, and it came up during Tuesday’s regu-
lar session.
“We have to move or reduce the population,”
Councilman Larry Lokai said, adding that people
are complaining about the animals eating green-
ery. He said the city needs to look at “harvest-
ing” the deer.
“There are places in town where people actu-
ally hang up salt licks,” Councilman Steve Shaw
said. “That should be discouraged.”
Councilman Al Evans noted that putting cat
food outdoors also is an invitation to deer and
other animals.
“All cities across Ohio are experiencing the
same thing,” Street Superintendent Colin Stein
said of invading deer. He said using weapons
against the deer is inadvisable since they are pro-
tected by the state during non-hunting seasons
and since using weapons in the city is illegal and
dangerous.
Stein advised people to check recommended
deterrents listed on Web sites of the Ohio
Department of of Natural Resources and OSU
Extension. He said a top deterrent is said to be
small electrical fences.
“They say after one or two times touching it,
they won’t be back,” he said. “If they realize
there’s no food there, they will leave.”
Shaw discussed another problem he thinks
should be addressed. “The Square’s too dark,”
he said, encouraging more or brighter lights for
Monument Square, an intersection he drives
through every night.
Shaw said brighter lights would resolve a safe-
ty issue and highlight the city’s “showcase.”
Councilman Bill Bean agreed and said making
Monument Square brighter should be a priority.
City Administrator Bruce Evilsizor said the
staff is looking into the situation.
Council action Tuesday included the first
reading of an ordinance that pleased all. The
Planning Commission recommended a zoning
change from R-2 (Residential) to B-2 (Business)
to enable Toby Taylor to demolish a house and
build a sandwich-ice cream shop on his property
at 801 Miami St.
“That part of the city is definitely under-
served,” Evans said of Urbana’s west side. He
said the business addition will be an asset for
people looking for a place to eat and families out
to enjoy ice cream.
Bean added that the eatery will go well with
the nearby Simon Kenton Trail.
Community Development Manager Melanie
Kendrick noted the Westside Market on Miami
Street has opened its doors for business.
Other council action included:
•Authorizing an $8,629 purchase order to
Kaffenbarger Truck Equipment to install a bed
and hydraulics for a pickup truck purchased late
last year for the Street Division.
•Authorizing the Ohio Department of
Transportation to proceed with berm stabiliza-
tion and resurfacing of state Route 55 from U.S.
Route 68 west to the city limits. The city’s 20 per-
cent participation for the project is $89,100. The
project will be done this summer.
•Authorizing an agreement with the County
Commission to provide legal counsel to indigent
people charged with city violations.
See ‘Urbana’ on Page A-2