Ohio News Briefs

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State school board to discuss Ohio graduation requirements

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — State Board of Education members are set to discuss whether Ohio’s new graduation requirements should be adjusted as educators warn that too many current juniors are at risk of not graduating next school year.

Those students are the first high schoolers affected by the new rules. A work group that reviewed the rules recommended giving that class more flexibility in how they can earn a diploma.

Superintendent Paolo DeMaria will share his thoughts on that with board members Tuesday.

The requirements outline three paths to earn a diploma: through college entrance exams, or through points systems for end-of-course exams and career-readiness. The work group suggested allowing points for alternatives such as community service or strong attendance.

The board’s authority is limited, so making changes might require legislative action.

Neighbors of historic site worry it will be sold and leveled

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The potential sale of a funeral home that once was a stop on the Underground Railroad has neighbors of the historic site in Ohio worried that it will be leveled to make room for apartments and condos.

The Columbus Dispatch reports owner William Good and his wife, Susan Southwick-Good, are looking to sell the Southwick-Good & Fortkamp Funeral Chapel in Columbus’ Clintonville neighborhood. The funeral home contains the Clinton Chapel, which dates back to 1838.

The Ohio History Connection says the chapel was a stop on the network that helped escaped slaves to freedom. The building became a private residence and then housed a speakeasy before becoming a funeral home in the 1930s.

Good says the building has become “almost impossible to maintain” and taxes are high.

Ohio justice asks lawmakers to stop legal aid elimination

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court has asked the state’s congressional delegation and two senators to stop the proposed elimination of millions in legal aid funding.

Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor says in a letter sent late last month she can’t think of a worse time for the proposal to get rid of the Legal Services Corporation.

The federal agency is one of several that President Donald Trump has proposed eliminating in his first budget proposal.

O’Connor, a Republican like Trump, says the agency provided $12 million of the state’s $40 million legal aid budget in 2015.

O’Connor says that one in five Ohioans qualify for legal aid services, meaning the agency’s elimination would terminate many services that economically challenged Ohioans rely on.

Worker killed in industrial accident at Ohio steel plant

FOREST PARK, Ohio (AP) — A man has died after being crushed by a large steel coil at a plant outside of Cincinnati.

WLWT-TV reports 46-year-old Brian Cupp, of Hamilton, was killed Monday at SteelSummit in Forest Park after a coil weighing more than 30,000 pounds fell on him. SteelSummit’s website says the company provides rolled steel for the automotive, heating and air conditioning and construction industries.

The company said in a statement that it’s cooperating with the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in their accident investigations.

Authorities arrest 1 suspect in Ohio police officer shooting

NEWCOMERSTOWN, Ohio (AP) — Authorities say one of the two suspects wanted in the shooting of a police officer in eastern Ohio has been arrested.

The Times-Reporter of Dover-New Philadelphia reports a 28-year-old suspect was arrested about two hours after the Newcomerstown village police officer was shot Tuesday morning while investigating a mobile methamphetamine lab.

Newcomerstown is about 100 miles south of Cleveland. The officer was taken to a hospital. His condition wasn’t immediately released.

The newspaper reports the officer was shot in the chest and arm and was wearing a ballistic vest.

Authorities earlier said they were looking for a black Geo Tracker with no license plates and darkened windows and that the suspects were armed with handguns and a shotgun.

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