The Toledo Blade

Adults and children line Jefferson Avenue to watch six Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey elephants walk from the Toledo Amtrak station to the Lucas County Arena. The elephant walk The elephants arrived by train Monday. Full Story »

Wednesday is Veterans Day, a legal holiday honoring all veterans of the U.S. armed forces. All federal and state offices will be closed, as will auto title offices. Some cities’ offices will be open, but City of Toledo offices will be closed. A list of select services and businesses follows: Retail centers Westfield Franklin Park Shopping Mall and Woodville Mall will be open regular hours, 10:30 ... Full Story »

BOWLING GREEN - A Bowling Green man has been charged with robbing the Advance America Cash Advance on Fremont Pike in Perrysburg Township. Matthew A. Nagley, 39, is being held in the Wood County jail on charges of robbery and theft stemming from the Oct. 30 holdup at the check-cashing business. He was arrested last week by Bowling Green police after a resident in the 400 block of South ... Full Story »

By MARK REITER BLADE STAFF WRITER CARLETON, Mich. - Joshua Miracle, a 16-year-old honor student, assured his grandfather that he would return before 10 p.m. When his grandson didn't return home Friday night, John Alley grew worried. He repeatedly called the teenager's cell phone. About 8 a.m. Saturday, Mr. Alley said he finally got through on his grandson's cell phone to hear frantic voices on ... Full Story »

The death of a Toledoan who was dragged by a vehicle and then struck by it has been ruled a homicide. An autopsy conducted Monday determined that Steven Jagodzinski, 25, of 1232 Colburn St., died of complications of blunt force trauma to the head, said Dr. Maneesha Pandey, a Lucas County deputy coroner. Dr. Pandey listed his death as a homicide. Two people have been charged with assault in the ... Full Story »

By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER Sylvania Township's firefighters overwhelmingly rejected a fact finder's recommendations for a two-year labor contract, which probably will send the matter to conciliation. Donato Iorio, a lawyer representing International Association of Fire Fighters Local 2243, said the union voted 50-1 against the recommendations issued last week by Dennis E. Minni, a ... Full Story »

NORWALK REFLECTOR HURON, Ohio - Erie County sheriff's detectives and state crime scene investigators used two search warrants Sunday to examine two homes related to the suspected murder of a Huron woman. Carla Westhofen, 58, "was last seen Thursday at about 9:15 p.m. by some friends in a bar in Perkins Township," Capt. Paul Sigs- worth said. Media reports indicate Ms. Westhofen's body was found ... Full Story »

The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department is holding an H1N1 vaccination clinic Tuesday for people at high risk of suffering from the so-called swine flu, including pregnant women. The walk-in clinic will begin at 8 a.m. Tuesday at the health department, 635 North Erie St. Those aged 6 months to 24 years, people who live with or care for infants younger than 6 months, health-care workers, and ... Full Story »

By JENNIFER FEEHAN BLADE STAFF WRITER A former Perrysburg physician is to be arraigned Friday in Wood County Common Pleas Court on charges she submitted more than $900,000 in fraudulent insurance claims. Dr. Stacey Royal, 44, whose address is listed in court records in McMurray, Pa., was indicted last week by a Wood County grand jury on one count each of telecommunications fraud, insurance fraud ... Full Story »

By IGNAZIO MESSINA BLADE STAFF WRITER Toledo's lingering deficit for 2009 could be reduced by an additional $1.5 million by using grant money, city officials said yesterday. During a news conference yesterday on an unrelated issue, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner incorrectly stated that the city had stumbled across the $1.5 million of general fund money, which he said was mistakenly deposited into the ... Full Story »

By MEGHAN GILBERT-CUNNINGHAM BLADE STAFF WRITER The Lucas County Coroner's Office is scheduled to conduct an autopsy Tuesday on the man shot by police over the weekend outside a central-city bar. Alvin Tate, 28, of 4423 Cape Lane, died at 10:10 a.m. Monday in Toledo Hospital, where he was admitted in critical condition after the shooting at 2:10 a.m. Saturday. Toledo police Chief Mike Navarre ... Full Story »

Charter One Bank volunteers Steve Pancone, a business banking officer in Toledo, and Sara Rogozan of Dearborn, Mich., sort through donated items at the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank. The goods will be distributed to local relief organizations. Michelle Pommeranz, a Toledo Charter One employee, boxes canned goods. Charter One and the food bank have teamed up to provide 500 Thanksgiving meals ... Full Story »

A 20-year-old LaSalle, Mich., man accused of a shooting death in West Toledo was indicted Monday by a Lucas County grand jury for murder with a firearms specification, burglary, and grand theft of a motor vehicle. Robert Pennington was charged Oct. 27 with killing Ysidro Mora, 21, of 310 South Eber Rd. in Spencer Township. Mr. Mora was found fatally shot on Oct. 23 in a pickup truck that was ... Full Story »

Toledo City Council is expected to vote Tuesday on a new contract with American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 2058, which represents the city’s supervisory, professional, and technical employees. The 212-member union ratified the new three-year contract last week by a 151-25 vote, said President Alan Cox. The contract, if approved by council, will freeze wages for ... Full Story »

BOWLING GREEN — Attorneys for four nursing students at Owens Community College who contend the college failed to inform them the program’s accreditation was in danger want the lawsuit to cover all nursing students at Owens. Attorney Charles Boyk has asked Wood County Common Pleas Judge Reeve Kelsey to certify the case as a class-action suit that would include all Owens students enrolled in the ... Full Story »

BOWLING GREEN — A Wood County grand jury has indicted a former Wayne, Ohio, police officer for using a computerized statewide database for nonbusiness inquiries. Ricky Goatee, Jr., 34, of Fremont was indicted on six counts of theft in office stemming from incidents that occurred last April and May. He is to be arraigned Nov. 17 by Wood County Common Pleas Judge Robert Pollex. Wood County ... Full Story »

The owner of two buildings at Front and Main streets in East Toledo is to be awarded $32,500 in federal grant money for each for facade improvements, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner announced Monday. The buildings, at 113 Main and 117 Main, will be restored by Sam Moawad of Freedman Construction Management, Mr. Finkbeiner said. Full Story »

By JC REINDL BLADE STAFF WRITER Lucas County Commissioner Ben Konop intends to urge fellow commissioners today to dismiss Dog Warden Tom Skeldon or initiate a major reorganization at the county dog pound to demote the warden and relieve him of dog adoption responsibilities. "If you're killing innocent dogs, I think that inherently is cause for termination," Mr. Konop said Monday. He said he ... Full Story »

BLADE STAFF A man whom police shot outside of a West Toledo tavern early Saturday has died, Toledo police officials said. Alvin Tate, 28, of 4423 Cape Lane, died at 10:10 a.m. Monday in Toledo Hospital, where he was admitted in critical condition following the shooting at 2:10 a.m. Saturday. He is believed to have discharged as many as 15 bullets from his weapon, a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun ... Full Story »

There were candlelight vigils, calls for resignations, and reports that fewer dogs should be killed by Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon, but the warden says he's doing a fine job and that "criminal elements" are part of the opposition against him. Animal-rights groups say Mr. Skeldon refuses to work with them and is focused on killing dogs. Dog Warden Tom Skeldon talks about his office's ... Full Story »

Toledo police are trying to identify two additional suspects in its investigation into a shooting early Saturday morning at a central- city bar that left one man in critical condition. Alvin Tate, 28, of 4423 Cape Lane, Toledo, is in critical condition at Toledo Hospital, a hospital spokesman said. Several shots were fired outside Big Shots bar, 931 West Central Ave. Two officers who had been ... Full Story »

By TOM HENRY BLADE STAFF WRITER Regardless of whether they believe your community has too many deer, motorists are advised to be on the lookout because it's the time when deer get pretty affectionate toward one another. The annual fall mating season increases the odds for deer-vehicle crashes because those raging hormones prompt the animals to dart across roads more often. "Statistics show that ... Full Story »

The Blade's Road Warrior advises readers each Monday where the biggest driving headaches will be throughout the construction season. He'll tell you the locations to avoid and the detours to take. If you travel to southern Ontario much and have come to enjoy the relatively low toll on the eastbound Blue Water Bridge at Port Huron, Mich., your enjoyment of that bargain appears near its end. The ... Full Story »

By DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER The talking bus, which uses global positioning to tell passengers which street they're passing and which stop will be next, has reached maturity: It's becoming an advertising medium too. With the recent blessing of the Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority's trustees, a Chicago firm soon will solicit audio advertising for Toledo's bus system. The buses' global ... Full Story »

Tojuwuan Riles, right, leaps to catch the football that is just out of reach of Ja'Waun Johnson. The youths tossed the ball Sunday with friends near Nebraska Avenue in central Toledo. Full Story »