Here are your morning headlines for Monday, December 18th:
- Indian Valley Schools close after meningitis death;
- Canton meat processing plant worker dies in machinery;
- Cleveland Orchestra trombonist files defamation suit;
- Ohio among states that spend the least on tobacco prevention;
- Akron musician Ralph Carney dies;
- Cleveland settles suit over officer who shot unarmed man;
- Akron halts water disconnections for the holidays;
Indian Valley Schools close after meningitis death
A Tuscarawas County high school is closed today after a student died from what health officials say is a probable case of bacterial meningitis. The Indian Valley Local Schools sent a letter to parents Saturday that said the student's bus, a school restroom and other surfaces inside the school will be sanitized. The name of the student has not been released.
Canton meat processing plant worker dies in machinery
Authorities say a worker caught in a machine at a meat processing plant in Canton has died. The Stark County Coroner's Office has identified the worker killed Saturday afternoon at the Freshmark plant as 62-year-old Samuel Martinez. A coroner's investigator says the Canton resident stepped into a chute and got caught in a waste grinder. It's at least the second work-related death at the facility.
Cleveland Orchestra trombonist files defamation suit
A Cleveland Orchestra musician is suing several people he says made false statements to try to damage his reputation and career. The Plain Dealer reports principal trombone Massimo La Rosa filed a lawsuit last week in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. La Rosa is seeking damages and an injunction to prevent several individuals from publishing information about him. The lawsuit alleges the online statements have affected La Rosa’s career by leading to cancelled performances and teaching engagements. One of the defendants in the suit includes a lecturer at the University of Iowa, where a police report against La Rosa was filed in 2011. Criminal charges were not filed. La Rosa’s attorneys and the Cleveland Orchestra have declined to comment.
Ohio among states that spend the least on tobacco prevention
A new report shows the state of Ohio’s spending on tobacco prevention programs ranks 30th among U.S. states. Ohio has budgeted $12.5 million for prevention and cessation programs for fiscal year 2018. The report shows the tobacco industry spends about 30 times that amount marketing its products to Ohioans. The Dispatch reports about 1 in 5 adults in Ohio smokes, compared to about 1 in 7 nationally. Nearly a third of the state’s cancer deaths is due to smoking. The report was a joint effort by advocacy groups including the American Heart Association and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Akron musician Ralph Carney dies
Akron native musician Ralph Carney has died at age 61. The Plain Dealer reports Carney died from head injuries sustained after a fall at his home in Portland, Ore. Carney was the saxophonist in the band Tin Huey that was founded in Akron in the mid-1970’s, and went on to a solo career as a one-man band, including collaborations with artists including Tom Waits. His nephew, Patrick Carney, is the drummer of the Akron native rock band The Black Keys.
Cleveland settles suit over officer who shot unarmed man
Cleveland has agreed to pay $375,000 to settle a lawsuit that claimed a Cleveland police officer shot and wounded an unarmed man who was trying to surrender while lying face down in a garage. The lawsuit claimed that in 2014, Sgt. Timothy Patton shot 29-year-old Kipp Holloway "without provocation. " The suit also claimed Patton and other officers provided no first aid despite the fact that Holloway was bleeding "profusely," handcuffed him and forced him to walk to an ambulance.
Akron halts water disconnections for the holidays
The city of Akron says it will not disconnect water service to non-paying customers over the holidays. Mayor Dan Horrigan announced in a release that the annual moratorium lets customers “maintain water service during their holidays.” The Water Supply Bureau will stop disconnections on Saturday. Disconnections will resume on January 2.
