Bill spells out procedures for properly retiring Ohio flags

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio House has approved a bill creating procedures for properly retiring the Ohio flag in similar fashion to the U.S. flag.

Rep. Dick Stein is a Republican from Norwalk in northern Ohio. He says the idea for the legislation came from Brandon Tolle (tohl), a Boy Scout pursuing Eagle Scout rank in Stein’s district.

The representative credited Tolle for noting that Ohio didn’t have a similar system for the state flag.

The bill that passed the House on Wednesday sets out procedures for dividing up the flag, reciting a preamble and pledge, and then burning the pieces.

Ohio’s flag became official in 1902. The swallowtail-shaped flag is the only state flag in the U.S. that’s not a rectangle.

The bill goes now to the Ohio Senate.

Ohio county to distribute bags that deactivate drugs

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio county is distributing bags that deactivate prescription drugs as part of the fight against the state’s opioid epidemic.

The Franklin County effort is an alternative to flushing pills or mixing them in coffee grounds or cat litter.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that Franklin County’s Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health board is spending $20,000 to buy 5,000 bags.

The Franklin County and Columbus public health departments will distribute the bags during training sessions on using naloxone, a drug used to revive overdose victims.

The bags can neutralize up to 45 pills, six patches or six ounces of liquid.

A record 4,050 Ohioans died of drug overdoses in 2016, a number expected to rise sharply once 2017 figures are complete.

Ohio continues to add to number of certified police agencies

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The state says it’s continuing to certify Ohio police departments on new standards governing the use of deadly force and other policies.

An advisory board commissioned by Republican Gov. John Kasich created the standards after a series of fatal police shootings in Ohio and nationally.

Agencies that don’t meet the statewide standards as minimum policies will be listed as noncompliant on an annual list to be released next month. Standards also include recruiting and hiring.

The Department of Public Safety announced this month that the Fayette Police Department in northwestern Ohio, the Hiram Police Department in northeastern Ohio and the Cleveland Clinic Police Department have met the standards.

The agency says 516 departments employing more than 28,000 officers have either met the standards or are in the process.

Ohio woman killed by gunshot fired from outside home

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Police say gunshots fired from outside a home in southwest Ohio has killed a 22-year-old woman standing inside the residence.

Authorities have identified the woman killed Friday night as Keyona Murray, of Dayton. She died at a Dayton hospital from a gunshot wound to the head.

A neighbor told WDTN-TV that she heard three gunshots.

No suspects have been arrested.