c. NE Guilt irrelevant to inclusion on child-abuse se list By RODD AUBREY ASSOCIATED PRESS COLUMBUS After Dan and Christine Cook told their: 17-year-old son he couldn't move in with his girlfriend, he accused his mother of sexually abusing him, his parents said. The mother was never charged or convicted of any crime. Yet her son's accusation that she abused him by grabbing his genitals and giving him aback. rubs which the parents said is untrue put her name on a list of child abusers.
The list, which -includes accusers, bears nearly .320,000 names. "This is so farfetched that it's unTeal," said Dan Cook, 42, a cabinetmaker and former minister. "There was never any charge, never any conviction; but you still go on the list. This thing reeks. of things like McCarthyism." 7.
"I've been through hell," said Christine Cook, 43, who is in business with her husband. The: Department of Human Services compiles the Central Registry on Child Abuse. Until now, it's been available to caseworkers and other pertinent officials as well as anyone who wanted to know if they were On Thursday, the Human Services agency said it was limiting access to employees with security clear- ance. The program has been under review for about a year but came under public scrutiny last week in the Columbus Dispatch, which reported questions raised by the American Civil Liberties Union. As for the Cooks' case, Human Services spokesman Eric Kohring said specifics of the list were confidential and he couldn't even say if Christine Cook was named.
The accusing son, James Cook, moved in with his girlfriend and her mother since turning 18, his parents said. He could not be reached for comment. Similar lists exist in at least 45 states. Questions similar to the Cooks' are being raised elsewhere, too. A group called.
Victims of Child Abuse Laws VOCAL is preparing a federal lawsuit to challenge a registry's constitutionality in Missouri. "It's very, very disturbing that the government is going around making secret lists based on unsubstantiated said Kevin O'Neill, ACLU legal director in Ohio. The Ohio registry is part of the agency's effort to protect get proper care for the abused and keep track of abusers, Kohring said. It includes the names of anyone involved in a child abuse investigation, and entries can run for three months to 10 years, depending on the findings. Onto and the Region Faulty wheel Toledo makes landing an emergency FROM WIRE REPORTS Columbus COLUMBUS Cincinnati America West Flight 603, bound from Boston to Columbus, landed at Port Columbus International Airport without incident at about 12:50 p.m.
yesterday after losing part of a wheel rim, airline News from around the region spokesman Dik Shimizu said. No one was injured. turning to his hometown to teach was carrying 107 passengers part time at the University of Cinand crew members. cinnati School of Law. The plane was cleared for Gilligan was a councilman in landing after Columbus control- the 1950s and '60s and a one lers determined by a visual check Democratic congressman in 1964.
that the landing gear was locked He hasn't lived here since being into position. elected governor in 1970. Blaze that burned 4 boats in Gilligan South spent Bend, the past 12 where years he may be arson, chief says taught at Notre Dame and headed TOLEDO the university's Institute for InArson was the likely cause of a ternational Peace Studies. fire at a downtown marina yester- Working out of a small office at day, a fire official said. UC, Gilligan will be putting toFour boats were destroyed and gether a series of seminars on soseveral others were damaged.
All cial and political issues. were in dry dock. The fire was reported at about 6:30 a.m., Chief he said. co*ckfighting bill needs Coleman Battalion said One damage Fire was John esti- wake-up call, groups say mated at about $126,000. COLUMBUS cause was not immediately Animal rights activists are wordetermined.
ried that legislation introduced The fire is probably not related two months ago to make recent marina fire at Cedar nored. fighting a felony has been igPoint, Coleman said. The bill was introduced by Rep. Dean Conley, D-32, of Columbus, Ex-Gov. Gilligan returning on Jan.
21. to teach at Cincinnati U. "We're frustrated, to say the CINCINNATI least," said Sandy Rowland, director of the Great Lakes Office of John J. Gilligan, 71, is return- the Humane Society of the United ing to academic life after a politi- States. "All we're asking is that cal career as a governor, congress- they address the issue." man and councilman.
"There's a lot of buck-passing "I decided a long time ago I going on," said Ritchie Laymon, liked the academic life," said the president of the Ohio Legislation former Ohio governor. He is re- for Animal Welfare Coalition. with it. ELMER Christine and R. Dan Cook stand in their cabinetmaking business in Columbus.
In addition to naming, accusers The names eventually are re- said. something like this that if and accused, the entries note the time, date and circ*mstances of the alleged abuse. The registry does not include a decision of guilt or innocence and is used only for statistical purposes, Kohring said. THE PLAIN DEALER, MONDAY, APRIL 6, 1992 1 Order to join Sierra Club draws fire By SONJA BARISIC ASSOCIATED I PRESS CINCINNATI When businessman Donald Bohnert leaves prison after one year for illegally dumping hazardous waste, he will have to do some more time as a member of the Sierra Club. Bohnert and other polluters in Ohio are becoming members of the environmental group as part of their sentences.
But some civil rights advocates say the requirement violates the constitutional right to freedom of association. "We have the freedom to choose what groups we belong to," said Jim Rogers, associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Ohio chapter in Cincinnati. "Heaven forbid that anyone in government should order us to have to belong to a particular group." He said he would look into Bohnert's case. Bohnert's lawyer, Mike Walton, said Bohnert agreed to join the group as a condition of probation. He said Bohnert thought it was fair.
"This was part of the negotiation between ourselves and the attorney general," Walton said. Regardless, the Washington Legal Foundation said the agreement reached with Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Thomas Nurre was inappropriate. The Washington, D.C.-based public interest law center filed a complaint with the Ohio Supreme Court March 26, contending the agreement requires Bohnert to support "a highly activist and politically oriented special interest group." The center provides legal help in matters involving support of small ARE YOU IN PAIN? Let me tell you about chiropractic and gentleness. 100 YEARS OF TRIUMPH OVER PAIN GENTLE CHIROPRACTIC IS A SCIENCE Developed in America, by Americans, Gentle (or "soft chiropractic requires chiropractic is approaching its 100th locating precise points where light pressure anniversary. Accepted and proven, can be applied to achieve chiropractic relief chiropractic has brought relief to millions of from pain.
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Bruce Bond -BOND CLINIC OF CHIROPRACTIC 22308 LAKESHORE BOULEVARD, EUCLID SHORE CENTER SHOPPING CENTER moved, Kohring said. And anyone objecting to being listed can say so with a note in their file. Caseworkers investigated James Cook's allegations for eight months and produced no charges, his parents even The Cooks, who also have children you're innocent, you're dead," Dan ages 13 and 10, are trying to start an Cook said. Ohio chapter of VOCAL. They said the only people who belong on such "There's no due process in the a list are convicted child abusers.
thing. An accusation becomes a is such a smear to be accused of viction, and that's the end of that." 'Just because a defendant agrees to do something that is improper doesn't make it Paul Kamener of the Washington Legal Foundation businesses and the free-enterprise system. "Just because a defendant agrees to do something that is improper doesn't make it right," spokesman Paul Kamener said. The Supreme Court's disciplinary counsel is required to investigate the complaint. Such investigations, which are confidential, can take several weeks.
Nurre said he hoped Bohnert would learn from other Sierra Club members. "I came up with the idea of sentencing him to the club after thinking about what they stand for and what they do, as opposed to what he was doing to the air and to the ecology," Nurre said. Bohnert, a dry-cleaning products supplier in suburban Mount Healthy, pleaded guilty last year to a 219-count indictment filed by the Ohio a attorney general, who accused him of illegally transporting, storing and dumping hazardous wastes. Bohnert lied to customers that he was licensed to dispose of wastes. He used a self-storage locker to stash contaminated dry-cleaning fil-.
ters, paint wastes, thinner from auto body shops and sludge-filled drums. He also dumped waste in creeks. Nurre sentenced him in November to eight years in prison and fined him $2.1 million. Ohio Attorney General Lee I. Fisher said it was the toughest sentence in Ohio for an environmental crime.
Bohnert will be released in November after serving one year. Nurre said he granted the release partly because of the 63-year-old Bohnert's age and because he has tuberculosis. Bohnert will be on probation for five years. During that time, he must do 1,000 hours of community service and join the Sierra Club. He must attend meetings regularly.
The Sierra Club promotes enjoyment of the Earth's wilds and responsible use of its natural resources. It offers its 621,000 members nationwide activities that include hiking and lobbying for conservation, such as wetlands protection. The group turns 100 this year. Steve Kissing, spokesman for the Sierra Club's chapter in the Cincinnati area, said he hoped Bohnert would use his membership to understand better how his actions could harm the environment. And the Sierra Club could learn from Bohnert's experience, Kissing said.
"I hope that he'd be willing to share that with us how he arrived at the point that he did, how we can best reach others out there who may be in his position," Kissing said. Alex Levinson, a lawyer at the Sierra Club's national headquarters in San Francisco, said the club didn't know if other judges nationwide were requiring polluters to join the group. In Ohio, Joseph Rauh of Akron and Larry Knepp of Alliance were convicted in July of illegally dumping 32 drums of toxic waste at five sites in Northeast Ohio. Rauh, president of Akron-based Rauh Rubber, and Knepp, an employee, were given two-year suspended prison sentences. But they were sentenced to 20 days in jail, fined and ordered to do community service work.
They also were ordered to join the Sierra Club. Stark County Common Pleas Judge Harry Klide said he looked at the memberships as a way to "demonstrate to the community that we all have to be sensitized to the environment." Rauh declined comment. Repeated attempts to reach Knepp failed. Judge Ronald Bowman of Lucas County Common Pleas Court in February ordered the owner of a Toledo electroplating company to be an active member of the Sierra Club for three years. Walter Mox of Herbert Orr Co.
had pleaded guilty to one count of illegal storage of hazardous waste. The company improperly dumped lead-based sludge on the ground. In addition to imposing fines, the judge sentenced Mox to 120 days of house arrest and 165 hours of community service. He also must give five speeches about pollution to community groups. Mox also declined comment.
Bowman said requiring offenders to join the Sierra Club did not violate their civil rights. He said judges had leeway in setting probation terms, such as ordering an offender with an alcohol problem to join Alcoholics Anony. mous. "If I order you to join AA why can't I put you in the Sierra Club? It's the same type of thing," said Bowman. Libraries lobby for fewer cuts By JOHN CHALFANT which, of course, is a cut as far as we're concerned.
ASSOCIATED PRESS COLUMBUS The Ohio Library Association lobbied legislators last week to minimize expected cuts in state funding for 250 local libraries. Libraries are supposed to receive 6.3% of revenue generated by the state personal-income tax. But funding for this year was frozen at 1991 levels because of government budget problems. The library system was spared from cutbacks imposed in December to help erase red ink in the current state budget year, which ends June 30. But Patricia Latshaw, president of the association, said legislators told librarians not to expect another exemption from cuts likely to be imposed after July 1.
Those cuts would help reduce a projected $577 million deficit in the next state budget. "For 1992, we are living on the same money as 1991, "Our fear is that we are going to see more than just that freeze. If the state keeps bleeding, something has to stop that hemorrhaging, and we've been told that we are not going to be exempt any more than anybody else from some kinds of cuts," Latshaw said. Latshaw, director of community relations for the Akron-Summit County Public Library, said state funding was the main source of income for local libraries. In 1990, state funding of $258 million made up almost of public library operating expenditures.
Latshaw said that while cuts appear inevitable, librarians would try to have them applied fairly. "I think realistically it cannot be avoided. I think we all understand that. We just hope that for the service of our patrons we can avoid it as much as possible," she said. About 340 members of the Ohio Library Association, the Ohio Library Trustee Association and the Ohio Educational Association met individually with their local legislators.
Bill to try juveniles as adults wins backing ASSOCIATED PRESS COLUMBUS A woman who was shot in the face during a store robbery told a state legislative committee that she thinks the 14-year-old girl who pulled the trigger should be tried as an adult. 'It is unfair that this girl, being 14, will face a short sentence," Shawna Hunter, 18, of Columbus, told the House Judiciary and Criminal Justice Committee last week. "I face a lifetime people staring and people asking, 'Did you see her Hunter limped into the hearing room using a crutch. Her lower jaw, where she was shot, was swollen. Jerrie Jones, 14, pleaded guilty last confinement by the Ohio Depart- Vukovich, D-52, of Poland, offered ment of Youth Services until she his support.
He suggested that the turns 21. bill be expanded to include other "On her 21st birthday, after com- crimes, such as drug distribution and mitting this crime, she can be back rape. out on the street," said State Rep. During her testimony, which took Edward J. Thomas R-28, of Co- less than two minutes, Hunter told lumbus.
House lawmakers about the holdup Thomas testified for his bill, which Jan. 31 at a convenience store where would require anyone older than 13 she worked. who uses a gun during a felony to be She said the girl walked into the tried as an adult. store with a sawed -off shotgun, stuck "It strikes me that if a 14-year-old the gun to a man's head and took his is capable of this kind of premedi- money. tated crime it is only right that he or She said the teen-ager then put she subsequently be sentenced as an the gun to Hunter's face and pulled adult," Thomas said.
the trigger, blowing off her lower The committee did not take action jaw. By RODD AUBREY month to the shooting. She faces on the bill. But State Rep. Joseph.
