Officials probe spill of unknown substance into Lake Erie

Officials probe spill of unknown substance into Lake Erie

CLEVELAND

U.S. Coast Guard crews investigating the spill of an unknown substance into Lake Erie believe it came from an outflow pipe at a Cleveland public power plant.

Coast Guard officials say the spill in a yacht club basin appeared to stop Saturday.

Cleanup continued Sunday and barriers remained to prevent the substance from spreading. Vacuum trucks worked on about 20 feet of shoreline and recovered about 1,500 gallons of contaminated water. Samples are being tested to identify the substance.

Cleveland Public Power accepted the cleanup responsibility.

Problems plague women’s prison

DAYTON

A state women’s prison in Dayton has numerous problems, including inappropriate relationships between staff and inmates, the availability of prohibited substances and problems with mental health services, according to a new report.

Several staff members at the Dayton Correctional Institution have been fired or forced to resign, including the man in charge of investigating inappropriate staff/inmate relationships, according to the report by the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee, a bipartisan legislative committee. The departures stemmed from allegations of inappropriate contact with inmates, including sexual contact in some cases.

The rate of positive drug tests at Dayton Correctional — 1.5 percent of inmates tested — was higher than other two women’s prisons but below the average for all prisons, the report found.

Body of missing boy found in Ohio pond

WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE

The body of a missing 2-year-old boy has been found in a pond near the child’s southwest Ohio home.

Fayette County Sheriff Vernon Stanforth says LeRoy Toppins’ body was found in the pond around 7 p.m. Saturday. A searcher combing the pond’s banks spotted the child’s body beneath the surface of the water. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene.

Stanforth’s statement says the child’s parents reported him missing about 6 p.m. Friday. The sheriff says the parents reported that he had been playing in the yard of his Fayette County home before he went missing.

Numerous fire and police agencies and volunteers searched for the boy. Stanforth says divers checked waterways while others searched on foot, horseback and all-terrain vehicles. A State Highway Patrol helicopter also assisted.

Woman struck, killed by train in W. Pa.

PITTSBURGH

Authorities in western Pennsylvania say a woman died after she was struck by a train near Pittsburgh.

Officials said the woman was hit by the train shortly before 1:30 a.m. Sunday near Tomson Scrap Metal in Brackenridge.

She was taken to Allegheny General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead just before 3 a.m. Sunday.

The Allegheny County medical examiner’s office identified the woman as 40-year-old Rachel Vulgris of Natrona Heights.

ASSOCIATED PRESS