Excedrin completes Browns’ ‘perfect’ season fundraising
CLEVELAND (AP) — The aspirin maker Excedrin has kicked in over $7,000 to complete a fundraising effort to pay for a parade should the hapless Cleveland Browns finish the season with a “perfect” winless record.
Cleveland sports fan Chris McNeil created a GoFundMe account in late October to raise $10,000 to pay for a Jan. 6 parade celebrating a Browns 0-16 season, which has occurred just once in NFL history.
New Jersey-based GSK Consumer Healthcare, the manufacturer of Excedrin, said Thursday it would kick in $7,683 to complete the effort because the company wants Browns fans to know “we understand their pain.”
The Browns are 0-12 with four games remaining.
McNeil has said donations will be given to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank should the Browns actually win a game.
Suspect in Lachey’s bar shooting turns himself in
CINCINNATI (AP) — Police say the suspect in the Thanksgiving day shooting of a bar manager at singer Nick Lachey’s Cincinnati restaurant has turned himself in.
A grand jury has indicted 36-year-old Lavoris Hightower on charges of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, having a weapon under disability and tampering with evidence.
Hightower turned himself in Thursday night. His attorney says police identified the wrong man in the Nov. 23 shooting of 27-year-old Ellie Richardson.
Prosecutors say Richardson was leaving Lachey’s when she was nearly hit by a van. She approached the van, and that’s when prosecutors say the driver fired one shot that struck her in the face.
Richardson has since been released from the hospital. She is originally from Bellefontaine.
Lachey says his band, 98 Degrees, is planning a benefit concert for Richardson Dec. 15.
State board approves plans for natural gas plant near Toledo
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Regulators have approved the construction of a new natural gas power plant in northern Ohio.
The Ohio Power Siting Board on Thursday approved plans for a plant in Lucas County just outside Toledo. The new 955 megawatt plant will be built next to another natural gas plant that began operating earlier this year.
About a dozen natural gas power plants are being built or are in the planning stages around the state.
They use gas from shale fields in Ohio and neighboring states and turn it into electricity.
Organizers to request Ohio state funds for John Glenn statue
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Organizers of a sculpture effort to honor the late John Glenn are banking on Ohio’s love of the famous astronaut to try to attract some state funding.
A New York graduate student championing creation of the statue says he’s preparing a request for about $20,000 in state funding toward estimated project costs of between $175,000 and $200,000. Capital budget requests are due Jan. 3.
The sculpture would be placed outside the John Glenn Post Office in Glenn’s birthplace of Cambridge, roughly 80 miles (129 kilometers) east of Columbus.
The first American to orbit Earth died a year ago Friday at age 95. His death drew thousands of mourners to the Ohio Statehouse, where he lay in repose for a longer period than assassinated President Abraham Lincoln and others in history.
Kent State University student dies
KENT, Ohio (AP) — Officials at Kent State University in Ohio say a student has died.
Authorities have identified the student as Devin Moore, a senior broadcast journalism major. While the university did not provide details, witnesses say Moore collapsed while playing basketball at the school’s Student Recreation and Wellness Center Wednesday night.
The Akron Beacon Journal reports staff members attempted reviving Moore. The student was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A gospel choir concert for Moore was held at the university Thursday night.
The university says it is providing on-campus support for students.
Family of Ohio woman struck by bus sues transit agency
CLEVELAND (AP) — The estate of a woman who died after being struck by a public transit bus in Cleveland has sued the transit agency and the driver who hit her.
The lawsuit filed Thursday in Cleveland on behalf of Joan Kuendig’s children says Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority driver Antoinette Peterkin was negligent when she struck the 69-year-old Kuendig in a crosswalk near Cleveland’s Public Square on Dec. 7, 2016. The suit says the agency failed to ensure its buses were working properly.
The lawsuit says Kuendig was struck when Peterkin rolled through a stop sign. Keundig died 22 days later at a hospital.
Peterkin was fired, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor vehicular homicide and received probation.
The lawsuit seeks a minimum of $25,000.
A GCRTA spokeswoman declined to comment about the suit.
Ohio symphony orchestra receives $8 million donation
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Ohio has received an $8 million donation, the largest in the group’s history.
The Columbus Dispatch reports the orchestra received the donation from the estate of Anne Melvin. Melvin, a local philanthropist and supporter of the arts, died in December 2016.
In a statement Thursday, her daughter says the symphony was “one of the great loves” of her mother’s life.
Denise Rehg, symphony executive director, says they knew Melvin had made provisions for the orchestra in her will but they did not know exactly how much.
She says the donation will help add to the symphony’s endowment that started last year. The endowment has raised a total of $12.8 million with the donation.
Rehg says their goal is to eventually reach $50 million.
Government won’t pursue ex-quarterback’s retirement funds
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The government says it’s dropping plans to go after retirement funds for an ex-Ohio State and NFL quarterback who’s serving prison time for scamming participants in a million-dollar sports ticket scheme.
The U.S. Attorney’s office says 57-year-old Art Schlichter (SHLEES’-tuhr) owes more than $2.2 million from judgments against him in two separate criminal cases.
Federal prosecutors had sought money in Schlichter’s two NFL retirement funds, but said Thursday they’ve determined Schlichter doesn’t have money in the funds.
Schlichter is serving a nearly 11-year sentence on federal fraud charges. Prosecutors say he promised college and NFL game tickets, including to the Super Bowl, but never delivered despite receiving thousands of dollars in payments.
It’s unclear who’s representing Schlichter. A former attorney said he wasn’t familiar with the government’s request.
