News

NEWTON FALLS, Ohio - Several dozen Ohio National Guard members have returned safely to northeast Ohio after a yearlong deployment to Kuwait.

The Vindicator in Youngstown reports 39 Guard members based in Ravenna arrived in Newton Falls in two buses Saturday. They were welcomed by plenty of relatives.

The newspaper says the group did construction work at a military base and helped build missile sites, but was not involved in combat overseas.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - An Ohio motorist says a water balloon thrown from another car shattered her windshield and sent glass fragments flying into her eyes.

Shannon Minic says her 6-year-old son was riding with her just east of downtown Columbus Saturday afternoon and had to direct her so she could pull over.

The boy also called 911. Medics treated Minic's eyes at the scene.

Police say a water balloon would have been capable of causing damage, given the speeds of the two vehicles.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - State officials and advocates say available funding limits how much testing is done to identify Ohio lake pollution and problems in several areas.

The Columbus Dispatch reports the amount spent on testing is less than $200,000 a year.

The Environmental Protection Agency has about $80,000 for testing annually. Officials at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources say they spent nearly that much last year to test for toxic blue-green algae at 20 areas, including the troubled Grand Lake St. Marys between Dayton and Toledo.

WEST CHESTER, Ohio - Briefcases with handwritten signs attached were left at the front door of U.S. House Speaker John Boehner's Ohio office, bringing out a bomb squad.

Investigators in the Cincinnati suburb of West Chester tell multiple media outlets that the bomb squad blew the cases apart on Sunday and found they contained only papers. No one was hurt.

CINCINNATI, Ohio - The southwest Ohio county that includes Cincinnati had $1.3 million set aside this year for pension costs but has used it up as more workers retire.

County officials tell The Cincinnati Enquirer many recent retirees are worried state lawmakers will try to cut their pension benefits to save money, so they're retiring early. The increase in retirements surprised the county, and it had to cover payouts for vacation and sick time using its general fund.