HOUSE EXPLOSION
Ohio home leveled by explosion
SCIO, Ohio (AP) - Authorities say a house in a small eastern Ohio village was leveled by a large explosion while the family that lived there was at church.
Firefighters said the explosion Sunday morning in the village of Scio in Harrison County could be heard and felt miles away. Debris from the blast flew across the street into neighbors' yards.
Nobody was hurt.
WTOV-TV reports that the house was a total loss.
Authorities are checking to see if might be related to a natural gas problem, although the homeowner said he wasn't aware of 1. The family was at church and a got a call about the explosion.
The Ohio State Fire Marshal's Office is investigating.
OFFICER INJURED
Ohio officer injured during pursuit
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (AP) - Authorities say a central Ohio police officer was seriously injured when he was hit by a fleeing suspect's car during a pursuit.
The Knox County Sheriff's Office said 23-year-old Danville officer Chad Lishness was hit early Sunday while deploying spike strips to try to stop the car that being pursued by other officers.
The pursuit started after reports of a burglary. The sheriff's office said the driver who fled officers was 18-year-old Joshua Baldridge. He was arrested and jailed later. The sheriff's office said charges against him are pending.
The officer was in good condition at a Columbus hospital.
POLICE CHASE-MINIVAN
Patrol: Woman in minivan hits 125 mph during chase
LEBANON, Ohio (AP) - The Ohio State Highway Patrol says a woman driving a minivan led troopers on an interstate highway chase that reached speeds of 125 mph.
The patrol said it happened Sunday morning when a woman was found by a trooper sleeping in the stolen van in a rest area in Lebanon in southwest Ohio. She fled, leading troopers on a chase for 23 miles.
The patrol said 43-year-old Benjie Pauline Brown was arrested at about 7 a.m. Sunday when she crashed the van into a trooper's cruiser in Warren County.
Brown and two officers sustained minor injuries. She faces a litany of charges, including receiving stolen property, felonious assault and fleeing and eluding. She was being held in the Warren County jail, whose records didn't indicate if she had an attorney.
PARKERSBURG BASEBALL
Feasibility of Parkersburg baseball to be studied
(Information in the following story is from: News and Sentinel (Parkersburg, W.Va.), http://www.newsandsentinel.com )
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (AP) - Officials in the Parkersburg area are looking at bringing a minor league baseball team to the city.
The Wood County Development Authority has hired consulting firm AECOM to conduct a feasibility study.
Mayor Bob Newell tells the Parkersburg News and Sentinel that officials plan to begin meeting with area economic and development groups on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the proposal.
A public meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Belpre City Hall in Belpre, Ohio.
Newell says the proposal isn't a city project. He says it's a community project through the development authority.
GAS PRICES-OHIO
Gas prices take big jump in Ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Gas prices have taken a big jump in Ohio and the U.S.
A gallon of regular gas in Ohio was listed at an average of about $3.84 in Monday's survey from auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. That's up 27 cents from last Monday's average.
Analysts blame the increase partially on recent signs that the U.S. and European economies still face considerable challenges.
The Ohio price this week Monday is 19 cents higher than the national average.
The state average is about 26 cents higher than this time last month, and 16 cents higher than at the same time in 2012.
The lowest average price in the state Monday was about $3.75 in the Youngstown area.
TEEN DEAD
Autopsy due for teen found dead by Ohio road
LORAIN, Ohio (AP) - Autopsy results are due for a 17-year-old boy whose body was found by a roadside in northern Ohio.
The (Lorain) Morning Journal reports that the body of Deandre McDowell showed no significant signs of trauma. The body was found Friday night along a road in Lorain, west of Cleveland.
Lorain County Chief Deputy Coroner Dr. Frank Miller told the newspaper that it wasn't clear how long McDowell had been dead before his body was found. The teen was last seen getting out of a friend's car in the area Thursday evening.
RAPPELLING DEATH
Man dies while rappelling in Ohio park
LOGAN, Ohio (AP) - Authorities say a 52-year-old man died when he fell from a cliff while rappelling in southeastern Ohio over the weekend.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said the man died in the fall Saturday in Hocking Hills State Park near Logan.
Agency spokeswoman Mark Bruce said man - who is from Centerville, in the Dayton area - fell from the top of a 130-foot cliff. His name has not been released.
Bruce said the man had accompanied a Boy Scout troop to the state park. He was rappelling at about 5 p.m. Saturday in the rock-climbing area of the park when he fell.
It was the second fatal fall in the park so far this year.
HOME INVASION SLAYING
Police in NW Ohio: home invasion victim targeted
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - Police in northwest Ohio are searching for three suspects in the shooting death of a business owner during a weekend home invasion.
Lucas County Sheriff John Tharp identified the victim of Saturday morning's attack as homeowner James Safadi, 34, of Waterville Township near Toledo.
Authorities said he apparently was an intended robbery victim.
According to The (Toledo) Blade, Safadi and his family own several carryout stores in the Toledo area.
Jeff Kozak, a detective with the Lucas County Sheriff's Office, said the victim was shot in the chest with a handgun.
HOSPITAL SHOOTING
Ohio man to stand trial in hospital shooting
AKRON, Ohio (AP) - An Ohio man is standing trial for allegedly shooting his wife of 45 years in a hospital intensive care unit in what may have been a mercy killing.
Jury selection in the aggravated murder trial of John Wise is scheduled to start Monday morning in Summit County Common Pleas Court in Akron. He has pleaded not guilty.
The 67-year-old Wise, of Massillon (MAS'-ih-lawn), was charged with shooting his 65-year-old wife Barbara in the ICU unit of Akron General Medical Center on Aug. 4. She died the next morning.
A friend said Barbara Wise had been disabled by a stroke and that the couple had agreed they never wanted to become disabled in a nursing home. Wise's attorney said his client had always acted toward his wife with love.
DRAG RACING ACCIDENT
Mayor's brother hurt in Ohio drag racing accident
CLEVELAND (AP) - The brother of Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson is recovering at a hospital after being injured in a drag racing accident.
A Cleveland School District spokeswoman tells The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer that Nick Jackson, deputy chief of business operations for Cleveland's schools, was hurt after a wreck during practice runs Saturday at Thompson Raceway Park in Thompson.
Spokeswoman Roseann Canfora says Jackson is in good condition at MetroHealth Medical Center and is expected to be released soon.
OBIT-MILLER
Ohio newspaper editor David Miller dead at 66
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) - Editor David C. Miller of The (Bowling Green) Sentinel-Tribune newspaper in Ohio died Saturday at a hospital in York, Pa., the paper said in a statement. He was 66.
Miller was vacationing at Gettysburg, Pa., in late April when he became ill, according to city editor Harold Brown.
Miller joined the Sentinel-Tribune staff in July 1971 as a reporter and had been editor since January 1980. Under his leadership the paper received Associated Press General Excellence Awards in its division in 2004 and 2005.
He was a graduate of Bowling Green State University.
He is survived by his wife, Judy, a daughter, Jessica Blakely, a son, Aaron, and three grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements are pending at Deck-Hanneman Funeral Home in Bowling Green.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
FOX19-WXIX
