Columbus news

• Police release report on school bus driver's blood

  23-11-2016 23:58
  
  Authorities found no trace of alcohol or drugs in a school bus driver’s blood after a deadly crash in Tennessee. Chattanooga police Sgt. Austin Garrett told reporters Wednesday that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation tested 24-year-old Johnthony Walker’s blood.Five children died in Monday’s crash. Six remain hospitalized.Walker was arrested and charged with five counts of vehicular homicide. Police said Walker was driving well over the posted 30 mph limit when he lost contro
  
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• Police identify man who died in shooting at Franklinton Wendy's

  23-11-2016 23:55
  
  A sparse arrangement of carnations and empty liquor bottles sits near where a man was shot and killed outside a Franklinton fast-food restaurant this week. Columbus police on Wednesday identified the man who died as 38-year-old Edwin Guerrero. A second shooting victim, a 17-year-old boy, wasn't identified and was said to be in stable condition.
  
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• Gaps in flood insurance jeopardize tens of thousands in Ohio

  23-11-2016 23:25
  
  The presents were in the living room, and Kenya Mullholand took what would be the last picture inside her house days before Christmas 2013. The Mullholand family evacuated in the face of rising flood waters covering Green Camp River Road near Marion. They haven’t lived in the home since.Days after the flood, the Mullholand family returned home. That’s when ceiling cracks began to appear. The earth beneath the crawl space under their home gave way – causing entire sections of th
  
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• Program offers businesses short-term trials downtown

  23-11-2016 23:16
  Small businesses are getting a big opportunity downtown Columbus, the ability to test out the market without committing long term.“We don't know how to sell a wallet without music,”said Paul Westrick, owner of Zeroz.Whether it’s music or the innovative concept of a barely-there carrier for your essentials, Westrick knows how to sell a wallet in a compact Downtown storefront.“We wanted to be able to communicate, we want to be able to meet people, we want to know the pulse
  
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• 'Black Wednesday' increases danger on the roads

  23-11-2016 22:44
  Holiday celebrations mean more OVI arrests and alcohol-related crashes on the roads according to Ohio law enforcement.The most wonderful time of the year is also the most painful time for Bob Kent."I call it a membership in a club you wouldn't want your worst enemy.It's that bad," said Kent.His son was killed by a drunk driver on Christmas Day 2004."We received notice around ten o' clock Christmas morning that our son, Brandon Kent, and Lucas Carmean, and Josh Worthington were killed by a drunk
  
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• College football player charged in high school cheerleader's slaying

  23-11-2016 22:34
  
  A football player at Division III Maryville College in Tennessee faces a first-degree murder charge in the shooting death of a 16-year-old girl who had reportedly recently broken up with him.Knox County Sheriff’s Office officials announced Wednesday that William Riley Gaul, a freshman wide receiver, was arrested in connection with the death of Emma Walker. Sheriff’s officials said Walker was found dead of a gunshot wound inside her house Monday morning. Officials said evidence at the
  
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• Last minute shoppers pack grocery stores before Turkey Day

  23-11-2016 22:25
  
  Employees at the Giant Eagle Market District in Grandview were Wednesday working to keep the shelves stocked with Thanksgiving ingredients. Store managers called Wednesday a "crazy day" as the checkout line grew longer around 3 p.m.Shoppers stood shoulder to shoulder in the baking aisle as they tried to search for the items they needed last minute. Store managers say they have a team dedicated to restocking the shelves.Food items like frozen veggies, turkeys, beans, potatoes, and rolls are flyin
  
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• Backers of marijuana decriminalization efforts say voters being ignored

  23-11-2016 21:55
  
  NEWARK — Four Ohio communities passed measures on Election Day to eliminate fines and jail time for possessing small amounts of marijuana, but some local officials warn that little will change.
  
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• Danceville, U.S.A. Takes Win at Ohio Star Ball For Third Year in a Row

  23-11-2016 21:45
  
  Danceville, U.S.A., the ballroom dance studio located in the Short North has earned another win from the Ohio Star Ball, the largest ballroom dance competition in the United States. The group placed first in the group formation category, winning that category for the third year in a row. “Over 100 studios competed,” says Kylie Kochert, […]
  
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• Father charged with drowning daughter in church baptismal pool

  23-11-2016 21:28
  
  Authorities say a Northern California man has been charged with murder in connection with the drowning of his 4-year-old daughter in a baptismal pool at a church last weekend.
  The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports 42-year-old Gerardo Mendoza Ordaz appeared in Sonoma County court Tuesday afternoon and was formally charged with murder and felony child abuse involving the death at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.
  Judge Arthur Wick ordered a psychologist to evaluate the mental state of Ordaz a
  
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• Reunions at the airport bring hugs & tears of joy before the holiday

  23-11-2016 21:27
  It can be a lonely existence when you're waiting on that special someone to arrive."I woke up at 4 a.m.this morning. I was so excited he was coming in," Kit Vaughan said.Her 15-year-old grandson Alec is coming from Pearland, Texas.Pete Mackenzie, and his dog Rocco are waiting too. His son, Sam, left for college in September."He's a freshman at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine,” Mackenzie said.The wait can be grueling. Time seems to drag on. These parents long for glimpse f
  
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• Doppler 10 Forecast: Showers may slow Thanksgiving Eve travel

  23-11-2016 21:25
  This Evening: Cloudy with showers likely after 5pm.
  Tonight: Scattered showers. Low 40. Wind: SE 5-10 mph.
  Thanksgiving Day: Morning showers followed by partly to mostly cloudy skies by afternoon. High 52. Wind: W 0-5 mph.
  Friday: Cloudy with a slight chance of a late day shower. High 48.Special information: Showers continue to move across Central Ohio this evening and will last until early Thursday. Wet roads will mean additional traffic delays on this already busy travel night. Rainfall amount
  
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• WATCH: President Obama pardons his last pair of turkeys

  23-11-2016 20:38
  
  For the first time since 2009, President Obama carried out the traditional pardoning of the turkeys without daughters Sasha and Malia by his side. This year, he said, they had a scheduling conflict.“Actually, they just couldn’t take my jokes anymore,” he told the small crowd in the Rose Garden. Instead, there to officially pardon Tot (the other turkey, Tater, was the designated back-up), were his two nephews, who, Mr. Obama said, “unlike Sasha and Malia, have not been tur
  
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• Woman pleads guilty in drunken driving crash that killed two

  23-11-2016 20:29
  
  A woman whose niece was killed in a drunken driving crash tearfully embraced the driver, Melita Briggs, on Thursday after Briggs pleaded guilty in a Franklin County courtroom.
  
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• Central Ohio closings for Thanksgiving 2016

  23-11-2016 20:09
  The trash-color collection schedule will rotate one weekday forward until the next holiday, which will be Dec. 26 for Christmas. a Rumpke curbside recycling and yard-waste collection for the city of Columbus will be delayed by one day.
  
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• Manhunt in Florida after police K-9 shot, killed

  23-11-2016 19:29
  
  DELTONA, Fla. — Police in Volusia County, Florida are deploying helicopters while deputies comb the woods beneath in search of a suspect after a K-9 was shot and killed Tuesday while tracking a suspect, reports CBS affiliate WKMG.The dog, named Forrest, was shot at about 7:15 p.m., while police were responding to a call about a fleeing suspect in Deltona, according to Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson.Deputies said the man may be surrounded in the woods, but has not been apprehended. Depu
  
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• Take in Lights and Culture at the Ohio Chinese Lantern Festival

  23-11-2016 18:35
  
  There are several nice lighted displays up for the holiday season, but the Chinese Lantern Festival that debuts in Columbus (and the Ohio region) this Friday, November 25 is the first to focus on culture and the artisans behind the lanterns. “We think the Chinese Lantern Festival will be a good channel for culture exchange […]
  
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• Meyer, Harbaugh have a chance to recharge a rivalry

  23-11-2016 18:35
  The story of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry will always best be told through the tale of Woody and Bo.For 10 years, Woody Hayes' Buckeyes and Bo Schembechler's Wolverines reigned over the Big Ten and captivated the country. Teacher vs. pupil. Dear friends and fierce competitors, their legacies are linked.More than three decades since their Ten Year War concluded, Michigan and Ohio State are about to play one of the highest-stakes games in the history of series that will reach 113 games Saturday
  
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• Block’s Bagels Opening Broad Street Location

  23-11-2016 18:02
  
  In its 50th year of business, Block’s Bagels is making some locale and leadership changes. This January, Block’s Bagels will open a second store on E. Broad Street just outside Bexley to better cater to their main clientele. Hal and Steve Block, the father-son duo running the business, turned to long-time family friend Jeremy Fox […]
  
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• New Local Startup “The Awesome Company” Embraces Differences

  23-11-2016 17:33
  
  Over the years, Jacquie Mahan has undoubtedly made herself no stranger to the Columbus small business community. An Upper Arlington native, Mahan came back to Columbus after finishing school to open the widely successful Mahan art gallery, once located in the Short North. About a year after the gallery’s closing in fall of 2010, Mahan […]
  
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• WATCH: Ellen DeGeneres, Tom Hanks in star-studded mannequin challenge at White House

  23-11-2016 17:25
  
  A star-studded mannequin challenge. Tracee Ellis Ross posted a video on Instagram showing the recipients of the 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom posing as mannequins ahead of the White House ceremony.
  ---Top US civilian honor goes to 21 artists, athletes, othersPresident Barack Obama awarded the nation's highest civilian honor to 21 groundbreaking actors, musicians, athletes and innovators who inspired him over the years and "helped make me who I am.""Everybody on this stage has touched me in
  
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• Work to Start on Missing West Third Avenue Sidewalks

  23-11-2016 17:19
  
  Construction is scheduled to start next week on a long-awaited infrastructure fix for a section of West Third Avenue, just west of Olentangy River Road. Residents of both the Fifth by Northwest and Harrison West neighborhoods have complained for years about the condition of the street as it passes underneath the railroad tracks that run […]
  
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• Fort Hayes Students Design New Purposes for Endangered Buildings

  23-11-2016 17:00
  
  The Columbus Landmarks Foundation is tapping into a new source of ideas for the buildings on its endangered buildings list – students at Fort Hayes Arts and Academic High School. Allison Vrancken, who teaches a STEAM class at the school (STEAM stand for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics), worked with two other teachers over […]
  
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• Six-figure credit-card scam enriches Ohio prison inmates

  23-11-2016 16:59
  
  State troopers are investigating a behind-bars scheme in which stolen credit card numbers were used to place hundreds of thousands of dollars on state prison inmates' commissary accounts. Based on patterns of deposits, the online scam could involve up to $381,000 and as many as 46 inmates at 14 state prisons from early 2015 to mid-2016.
  
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• Lincoln Cafe feeds needy amid social-services center’s possible demise

  23-11-2016 16:59
  
  For four years, the Lincoln Cafe on East Long Street has opened its doors to patrons of the Neighborhood House, a social-services center, for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner. Some who attended Tuesday had fallen on hard times recently. Others just wanted to spend a day out in the community instead of alone at home.
  
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• Tennessee fatal crash revives debate over school bus seat belts

  23-11-2016 16:44
  
  NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A crash that killed five children in Tennessee is reviving discussion over whether school buses - considered among the safest vehicles on the road because of their height and bulk - should also be equipped with seat belts.Only six states require seat belts on large buses. Many others, including Tennessee, have considered but dropped such legislation in recent years out of concerns including cost.
  Among those saying it is now time to reconsider is Tennessee state Rep. Joanne F
  
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• Theatre Review: Broadway Across America’s Delightful Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella

  23-11-2016 16:30
  
  Broadway Across America opened a home-run touring production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella at the Ohio Theatre for a week’s run on Tuesday. This stage adaptation of the classic songwriting duo’s sole musical written for television features a very funny new book by Douglas Carter Beane and cracking direction from Gina Rattan based on original direction by […]
  
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• Trump picks S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley as U.S ambassador to United Nations

  23-11-2016 16:12
  
  WASHINGTON -- President-elect Donald Trump has chosen South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, the first woman tapped for a top-level administration post during his White House transition so far.It will be a Cabinet-level position, and Haley has accepted."Governor Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together regardless of background or party affiliation to move critical policies forward for the betterment of her state and our country," Trump said i
  
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• Letter: Buckeye fervor can be destructive

  23-11-2016 16:01
  
  The Dispatch welcomes letters to the editor from readers. Typed letters of 200 words or fewer are preferred; all might be edited.
  
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• Local Food Action Plan Passes for Central Ohio

  23-11-2016 14:59
  
  The City of Columbus has teamed up with the Franklin County Board of Commissioners in an effort to provide healthy local food to all of Central Ohio. Columbus nonprofit Local Matters detailed needed food improvements in the first ever city-wide food plan — an effort to address the crippling economic issues contributing to the lack […]
  
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• Parents had complained about Tennessee bus driver before wreck

  23-11-2016 14:37
  
  CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (CBS/AP) - A school bus driver charged with vehicular homicide in a crash in Tennessee asked the children if they were ready to die, according to the mother of three kids who were aboard the bus. One of her children was among the five dead.“My daughter said right before the bus flipped that he was speeding around the curve and asked them ‘Are y’all ready to die,’”Jasmine Mateen told CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann. Mateen’s 6-year-old
  
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• Education Insider: Abigail Wexner-founded KidsOhio policy group to close after 15 years

  23-11-2016 14:30
  
  After 15 years, KidsOhio.org is going out of business at year’s end. The nonpartisan organization was founded in 2002 by Abigail Wexner to analyze complex education data and work to improve public schools.
  
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• Springfield teen accused of killing brother will be tried in adult court

  23-11-2016 13:56
  
  SPRINGFIELD — The case of a 16-year-old Springfield boy accused of killing his 14-year-old brother is being moved from juvenile court to adult court.
  
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• Home for the Holidays: Air travel with fewer headaches

  23-11-2016 13:11
  The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel days of the year.48.7 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more for Thanksgiving.That means long lines at the airports.But there are things you can do to make air travel easier.
  Things you should not wear when going through TSA security checkpoints:Huge Dresses: They may be comfortable, but they do increase the chance of a pat down.Cargo Pants: They have too many pockets and almost always set off an alarm because people forget t
  
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• Former Westerville teacher accused of sexual abuse while tutoring

  23-11-2016 13:03
  
  A former Westerville teacher is accused of molesting two boys he tutored in math at their homes in Upper Arlington. Daniel E. Burris, 45, of Orange Township in Delaware County, was arrested on Saturday and charged with gross sexual imposition and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
  
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• Near East Side restaurant feeds needy amid social-services center’s possible demise

  23-11-2016 12:07
  
  The two women chuckled as the waitress set desserts on their table. They were so immersed in conversation, they almost didn’t notice the slices of vanilla cake and fluffy pumpkin pie. The scent of chicken, ham and fresh cornbread wafted through the air, but for them, the food was an afterthought. They were there for the companionship.
  
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• Man killed, teen injured in shooting at Wendy’s in Franklinton

  23-11-2016 11:58
  
  A man is dead and a 17-year-old was injured after a shooting at a Franklinton fast-food restaurant Tuesday evening. The shooting occurred about 6:15 p.m. at the Wendy’s at 1480 W. Broad St. Edwin A. Guerrero, 38, was taken from the scene to Mount Carmel West hospital, where he was pronounced dead about a half-hour later, according to Columbus police.
  
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• Body parts from humans, animals aid medical training

  23-11-2016 11:45
  
  Katie Minser stood inside Delaware Meats on Tuesday and opened a bag to reveal the treasure she had just purchased for $25. Inside were 10 cow eyeballs, some of which appeared to look right back at her. Next week, she had told the clerk, she'll be back to pick up the organs from five slaughtered pigs. Just another day in the life of Minser, anatomy lab specialist for OhioHealth.
  
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• Mingo asks Yost to probe ethics complaint from Data Center ex-worker

  23-11-2016 11:39
  
  Franklin County Auditor Clarence Mingo II wants Ohio Auditor Dave Yost to investigate claims from an employee who quit last Friday, alleging that the county auditor’s office is so rife with conflicts of interest she couldn’t work there anymore.
  
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• Columbus airports are keeping busy

  23-11-2016 11:18
  
  While the day before Thanksgiving is always a busy travel day at John Glenn Columbus International Airport, increased passenger growth at the airport is part of a continuing trend.
  
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• Central Ohio jobless rate dips to 3.9 percent in October

  23-11-2016 11:18
  
  Central Ohio’s jobless rate dipped to 3.9 percent in October from 4.2 percent in September, the lowest of any metropolitan area in the state, according to state figures released Tuesday.
  
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• Turkey Tom pardoned one day prior to Thanksgiving

  23-11-2016 09:56
  For the first time, Slate Run Living Historical Farm has pardoned a turkey for the Thanksgiving holiday.Turkey Tom was pardoned, Wednesday, by the Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Parks and 10TV, along with special guests Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther and Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty.Tim Molone, who is the executive director with Metro Parks, says the decision was easy since turkey egg production was down in 2016."Today, we're going to give amnesty to one of our toms here so he can stay aroun
  
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• 3 ways of spotting drugged drivers on the road

  23-11-2016 09:42
  
  CrimeTracker 10 is hitting the roads to make sure you know about a dangerous trend that is growing.Drugged drivers on Ohio roads caused a 25% spike in crashes since 2012, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation.
  We’ve uncovered where they’re happening the most in Ohio, and when.
  “Drug impairment is really prevalent during the day,” says Sgt. Adam Burkhart with the Ohio State Highway Patrol.“We’re starting to see our afternoon shift is making more OV
  
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• Two arrested at anti-Trump protest near Ohio Statehouse

  23-11-2016 07:45
  
  About 300 people assembled Monday night near the Ohio Statehouse and continued onto North High Street. WBNS-TV reported that the protesters blocked traffic twice in the Short North.
  
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• Public image official for Baylor football arrested for journalist attack

  23-11-2016 05:23
  
  The director of public image for the scandal-plagued Baylor University football program was arrested for attacking a journalist.CBS Waco affiliate KWTX-TV reports Heath Nielsen, 47, is free on bond following his arrest earlier this month on a misdemeanor assault warrant stemming from an attack on Nov. 5 in which a sportswriter was grabbed by the throat and pushed away from a player after the Bears’ 62-22 loss to TCU.Nielsen was booked into the McLennan County Jail on Nov. 8, charged with a
  
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• Ohio State vs. That Team Up North: The Trailer

  23-11-2016 04:42
  
  It's here.There aren't even words to use to describe what The Game means to fans, let alone when there are playoff implications on the line.The No. 2 Buckeyes will host the No. 3 Wolverines Saturday at Ohio Stadium. Latest Playoff Rankings Look Promising for Ohio StateOhio State could get shut out of the Big Ten championship game if Penn State, seventh in the committee's rankings, beats Michigan State on Saturday. But listening to committee chairman Kirby Hocutt it certainly sounds like the Buck
  
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• Kansas waterslide on which boy died to be demolished

  23-11-2016 04:05
  
  A 168-foot-tall Kansas waterslide on which a state lawmaker's 10-year-old son was killed last summer will be demolished once the unfolding investigation of the tragedy is finished, the water park's operators said Tuesday.Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts and the family that runs it said in a statement that the "Verruckt" ride at the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kansas, will be permanently removed from its tower "once the investigation is concluded and we are given permission by the cour
  
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• Man convicted in one murder, acquitted in another, just like co-defendant

  23-11-2016 03:58
  Martin L. Wallington was accused of participating in two separate slayings in Columbus - the beating death of a Florida concert promoter in 2011 and the shooting death of a Georgia drug dealer in 2012. If that sounds familiar, it's because another jury returned the same verdicts in a trial of Wallington's co-defendant, Clemon D. Parham, two months ago.
  
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• Community weighs in on Tobacco 21 Initiative

  23-11-2016 03:56
  
  Columbus City Council could vote to raise the legal age to buy tobacco products in the city from 18 to 21 before next year.At the first public hearing on the Tobacco 21 Initiative Tuesday night, community members, health experts and business owners spoke for and against the proposal.Inside City Council chambers, more than a dozen people took the podium in front of the Health and Human Services Committee to talk about Tobacco 21."I urge you to move forward with legislation," Dr. Phillip Shubert s
  
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• Dad: Pipeline protester may lose arm after explosion amid police confrontation

  23-11-2016 03:47
  
  The father of a woman who was injured Sunday during a confrontation with police near Dakota Access oil pipeline said Tuesday she may lose her arm.Wayne Wilansky said during a press conference outside a Minneapolis hospital that his 21-year-old daughter Sophia was wounded in a concussion grenade blast that “blew the bone out of her arm.”Police have denied using concussion grenades amid the protests. Concussion grenades are non-lethal devices that produce a blinding flash of light and
  
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