State News

Ohio Marine killed RICHFIELD, Ohio (AP) — A U.S. Marine from Ohio has died from injuries suffered in combat in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced Thursday. Gunnery Sgt. Robert Gilbert II of Richfield died Tuesday, his 28th birthday. Officials said he was wounded March 8 while supporting combat operations in Badghis province. Gilbert was assigned to the 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Special Operations Regiment at the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command in Camp Lejeune, N.C. Gilbert was on his fifth tour of duty in the Middle East and his second in Afghanistan, said family friend Anthony Maroon. Maroon said Gilbert’s platoon was ambushed and his helmet was pierced by a shot from a high-powered rifle. He said Gilbert had been shot a couple weeks earlier, but a bullet-proof vest had stopped the bullet. Gilbert “thought the Taliban was after him and his days were numbered,” Maroon said. Gilbert was a 2000 graduate of Revere High School. Maroon said Gilbert joined the Marines when he was 18 and that he always wanted to fight for his country. Revere High art teacher Bob Pierson said Gilbert was friendly and likable and always wanted to be a Marine. “When you looked at him, you could see him as one. He was a tall, lean muscular kid. He also stood really proud,” Pierson said. Gilbert’s father, a Richfield police officer, was with him at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., when he died.

THURSDAY MARCH 18, 2010

Passenger rail plan defended COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A plan to restore passenger train service in Ohio is economically sound and has such strong ridership potential that an early estimate of 478,000 is probably low, the state’s top transportation official said Wednesday in defending the project to a key Republican skeptic. Jolene Molitoris, director of the state Transportation Department, met with Senate President Bill Harris, who last month issued a list of questions he had about the project. Republican support will be critical to the project’s success, and debate over the issue at times has seemed more about partisan politics than policy. Molitoris said the train project, funded with $400 million in federal stimulus money, is a historic opportunity that will create at least 225 immediate construction jobs and make up for years of not investing in passenger trains. The plan calls for a startup, 79-mph service connecting Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati. It would lay the foundation for a faster, higher-speed service with branches connecting to Chicago and the East Coast. About 6 million people live along the Cleveland to Cincinnati corridor, making it one of the most heavily populated corridors without rail service in the Midwest. Fifteen states already have contracts with Amtrak to support the kind of conventional-speed service that Ohio is after. Early estimates, based on an Amtrak study last fall, predict 478,000 riders in the first year of operations, which Molitoris said is conservative and will only grow as more stations are added. The trains will attract thousands of Ohioans who don’t have cars, including college students, she said.

WEDNESDAY MARCH 17, 2010

Woman championed by Obama eligible for aid CLEVELAND (AP) — A woman championed as the Obama administration’s emblem for health care reform does not have to choose between her home and her health, according to officials at the Ohio hospital where she is being treated. With a self-reported annual income of about $6,000, Natoma Canfield is a prime candidate for financial aid in the form of Medicaid — the federal health care program for low-income and disabled people — or charitable assistance. And the Cleveland Clinic said it has no intention of putting out a lien on Canfield’s house — or letting the billing process interfere with her treatment. “It appears that I think she’ll be fine,” said Lyman Sornberger, the hospital’s executive director of patient financial services. “By nature of the fact that she was not early on rejected by either program, that’s a key indicator that she will most likely be eligible.”

TUESDAY MARCH 16, 2010

Patrolman fatally shot ELYRIA, Ohio (AP) — A police officer in northeast Ohio has been fatally shot after responding to a 911 call from a woman who said a neighbor exposed himself to her child and kicked in a window. Elyria patrolman James Kerstetter was killed Monday night. The suspect has also been fatally shot. His name has not been released. Police Chief Duane Whitely says gunfire was exchanged inside the man’s home, and more shots were fired outside. Neighbor Milton Wilson tells The Morning Journal that he saw more than one officer shooting at the man. It was not immediately clear whether the other officers were injured.

MONDAY MARCH 15, 2010

Tugboat sinks in Ohio River CINCINNATI (AP) — Authorities say a towboat sank in the rain-swollen Ohio River and one crewman is missing. Hebron Fire Protection District spokesman Michael Fronimos says two crewmen safely swam to shore after the boat sank Sunday afternoon between Anderson Ferry and Taylorsport. He says crews were searching for the missing man as darkness fell. Recent rainfall and melting snow have increased river levels and led to swift-moving currents. The two crewmen have been taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Florence for treatment of hypothermia. Fronimos says the water temperature was about 45 degrees. Lt. Tom Scheben of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office says it wasn’t immediately clear what caused the boat to sink. The crew members’ names have not been released.