Here are your morning headlines for Friday, August 31:
- ICE raid detainees indicted;
- Ohio State trustee resigns amid Urban Meyer decision;
- Officials confirm fentanyl exposure sicked dozens at Ohio prison;
- Shapiro announces apartments for homeless female veterans;
- State to begin mailing absentee ballots;
- New body armor arrives for state agents after grievance;
- Barberton teen pleads guilty in mansion arson;
13 ICE raid detainees indicted
Authorities say 13 people detained during a June immigration raid on an Ohio meat packing plant have been indicted federally with using false documents while applying for a job. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Cleveland says 11 of the 13 people charged are Guatemalan citizens. The other two are from Mexico. They're accused of making a false statement of citizenship and using false Social Security and state ID cards with another person's name. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided the Fresh Mark plant in Salem on June 19, detaining 146 employees. An ICE spokesman said the detained workers were primarily from Guatemala. The company based in northeast Ohio noted after the raid that it's a member of an ICE self-policing program that helps verify workers are in the U.S. legally.
Ohio State trustee resigns amid Urban Meyer decision
An Ohio State University trustee who thought football coach Urban Meyer deserved more than a three-game suspension has resigned from the board. Jeffrey Wadsworth resigned after Ohio State suspended Meyer and athletic director Gene Smith last week after an investigation found they had tolerated bad behavior for years from a now-fired assistant coach also accused of but not charged with domestic violence. Wadsworth told the New York Times on Thursday he felt Meyer hadn't demonstrated "high-integrity behavior" and that the findings of the investigation "raised an issue of standards, values — not how many games someone should be suspended for."
Officials confirm fentanyl exposure sicked dozens at Ohio prison
Officials have confirmed that a substance that led to nearly 30 people at an Ohio prison being treated for drug exposure or suspected exposure was a mixture of heroin and fentanyl, the State Highway Patrol said. Prison guards, nurses and inmates at Ross Correctional Institution in Chillicothe were treated Wednesday with the anti-overdose drug naloxone after an inmate showed signs of a drug overdose, and some people experienced symptoms consistent with exposure to the opioid fentanyl. Medical officials said symptoms such as nausea, sweating and drowsiness were reported. Fentanyl — considered much more powerful than heroin — has been linked to thousands of overdose deaths nationwide. Law enforcement officers routinely use gloves when responding to overdoses to avoid possible exposure.
Shapiro announces apartments for homeless female veterans
Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro has announced plans to open an apartment complex for homeless female veterans and their families in the coming months. During her State of the County address Thursday, Shapiro said Summit Liberty House is a partnership with Family and Community Services, the city of Akron and the Summit County Land Bank. It will be modeled after a similar facility in Portage County and expects to open by the end of the year. A fundraiser will be held at Akron Civic Theater late next month.
State to begin mailing absentee ballots
The state will begin mailing absentee ballot applications to voters this week ahead of the November election. Voters who fill them out will receive a ballot once absentee voting begins on October 10. The first mailing goes out today to nearly 8,000,000 people. There will be two more after that for people who recently registered or updated their information. This is the fourth time absentee ballot applications have been sent out statewide.
New body armor arrives for state agents after grievance
New body armor has arrived at the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to replace bulletproof vests that had expired.
A spokesman for Republican Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Mike DeWine says 68 new vests arrived Thursday and were being distributed. Dan Tierney says another three vests still need to be fitted. New vests were ordered after a union grievance first reported by The Associated Press. The May 3 complaint listed 53 of 99 special agents, investigators and personnel transport workers whose Kevlar vests had passed the five-year expiration date set by the National Institute of Justice. DeWine said he was unaware of the situation until receiving the grievance. Democratic rival Richard Cordray and law enforcers around Ohio have faulted DeWine for a failure of basic equipment management.
Baberton teen pleads guilty in mansion arson
A Barberton teen has pleaded guilty to arson for the fire that destroyed a Summit County mansion. Police say 19-year-old Donavin Gowin was one of four teens who started the January fire at the vacant Cornus Hill Mansion in Fairlawn. The teens said they didn't think the fire they left burning inside in a refrigerator would spread. The other three charged are juveniles.
