Ohio: State employment numbers at all-time high in September
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — State officials say the number of people working non-farm jobs in Ohio hit an all-time high in September with more than 5.6 million people employed.
Ohio Department of Job and Family Services spokesman Bret Crow says Ohio added jobs at a 1.9 percent rate from September 2017 to September 2018, higher than the U.S. rate of 1.7 percent for that period.
Ohio’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in September was 4.6 percent, unchanged from August. It stood at 5 percent in September 2017.
The national rate fell to 3.7 percent last month from 3.9 percent in August.
Crow says Ohio gained 3,400 manufacturing jobs last month and the same number of jobs in the other services sector.
There were job losses in several sectors, including construction and leisure and hospitality.
Ohio woman charged with murder for leaving infant in hot car
ZANESVILLE, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio woman whose 1-month-old daughter died of asphyxiation last year has been charged with murder in the death of her 1-month-old son who authorities say was left in a car on a 90-degree day.
The Zanesville Times Recorder reports 27-year-old Samantha Donohoe, of Zanesville, also faces felonious assault, involuntary manslaughter and child endangering charges in Muskingum County. She was arrested Monday.
Authorities say county sheriff’s deputies were called to an apartment building Sept. 4 and found the infant unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
It’s unclear how long the boy had been left in the car.
Authorities say Donohoe’s daughter died after Donohoe fell asleep on a couch with the infant. The death was considered an accident.
A message seeking comment was left Friday with Donohoe’s attorney.
Student’s class essay about being raped sends man to prison
FREMONT, Ohio (AP) — Investigators say a high school student’s essay about overcoming obstacles has led to an Ohio man pleading guilty to raping three sisters years ago.
Detectives in northwest Ohio’s Sandusky County say they began investigating after school officials alerted a children’s services agency and the sheriff’s office.
Sheriff Sgt. Kenneth Arp says one of the sisters wrote in the essay that she’d been sexually abused as a child.
He says the victims were at first reluctant to come forward, but all three told of being raped. He says the youngest girl was 7 when she was first sexually abused.
A judge on Tuesday sentenced 43-year-old Anthony Knight to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to felony rape charges.
A message seeking comment was left with Knight’s attorney.
Woman killed, 6 people hurt in Ohio house fire
MARION, Ohio (AP) — Authorities say a woman has been killed and seven family members have been injured in a central Ohio house fire.
The Marion Fire Department says 61-year-old Nancy Harper was found unconscious in a hallway by firefighters early Thursday. She was pronounced dead a hospital.
A 4-year-old boy found in a bedroom was flown to a Columbus hospital where he is in critical condition.
Three other children and three adults were hospitalized as well. Fire officials on Friday said they had no updates on their condition.
Fire officials say a man was found trapped on a roof of the home. Several children were reportedly dropped from windows to neighbors waiting below.
The home had no working smoke detectors.
Marion is roughly 47 miles (76 kilometers) north of Columbus.
Ohio tests new clearance idea to sell off unwanted liquor
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio’s Division of Liquor Control is testing a new clearance store idea meant to offload unwanted liquor at a premium price.
The state opened its first Last Call store in Columbus Thursday for a test run through this weekend and next. The Columbus Dispatch reports the clearance sale is meant to get rid of liquor that has been discontinued, isn’t moving quickly in regular stores or liquor that is simply overstocked by the state.
Liquor Control Superintendent Jim Canepa says there are a variety of products available, “sort of a treasure hunt.” He says he was inspired to have the state hold a warehouse sale for liquor while shopping for clearance shoes.
The Last Call store is currently a short-term test, but officials say it could be permanent if successful.
National Guard training center renamed for former president
RAVENNA, Ohio (AP) — A military training center in northeastern Ohio has been renamed for the United States’ 20th president.
The Ohio National Guard says its Camp Ravenna Joint Military Training Center in Portage and Trumbull counties was renamed Thursday as Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center.
The Guard says Garfield was a major-general in Ohio’s militia, later known as the Ohio National Guard. The Ohio native became president in 1881 and was assassinated that year
The center used for military units, civilian law enforcement and first responders is undergoing $37 million in upgrades projected for completion in 2022.
Maj. Gen. John Harris Jr., Ohio’s assistant adjutant general for Army at the Ohio National Guard, said in a release that the state-of-the-art facility will allow training in “live, virtual and gaming scenarios.”
