STATE DIGEST || Multiple-car crash

Multiple-car crash

AUSTINTOWN

Four cars were involved in a 1:20 p.m. crash Friday on state Route 46 just north of Kirk Road.

Another two cars were involved in a secondary crash into the back of the other crash.

Only minor injuries were reported, and no one was transported to the hospital, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said.

Ohio boy, 2, who got early Christmas dies

CINCINNATI

A 2-year-old boy with brain cancer who had an early Christmas celebration planned for him by his friends and family has died.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports Brody Anderson’s father says the boy died Friday morning surrounded by his family.

Todd Allen wrote last week that Brody’s body was failing and that he didn’t have much time left.

Efforts to provide Brody an early Christmas drew national attention last month when two teenagers slashed inflatable yard decorations in the front yard of his family’s Colerain Township home outside Cincinatti.

A few days later, Brody served as grand marshal for a neighborhood Christmas parade.

Brody is survived by his father and mother, Shilo, and siblings Corey, McKenzie, Andrew and Alex.

Ohio tests idea to sell off unwanted liquor

COLUMBUS

Ohio’s Division of Liquor Control is testing a new clearance-store idea meant to offload unwanted liquor at a premium price.

The state opened its first Last Call store in Columbus on Thursday for a test run through this weekend and next. The Columbus Dispatch reports the clearance sale is meant to get rid of liquor that has been discontinued, isn’t moving quickly in regular stores or liquor that is simply overstocked by the state.

Liquor Control Superintendent Jim Canepa says there are a variety of products available, “sort of a treasure hunt.” He says he was inspired to have the state hold a warehouse sale for liquor while shopping for clearance shoes.

The Last Call store is currently a short-term test, but officials say it could be permanent if successful.

Rescued beagles begin finding new homes

ALLENTOWN, Pa.

Dozens of beagles rescued from a home in rural Pennsylvania are finding new owners and new homes.

The Lehigh County Humane Society received thousands of inquiries and began accepting adoption applications Thursday.

The dogs were rescued this month from a home outside Allentown where a woman had been breeding them without a license before she died last month.

Adoptions were to continue Friday.

The Allentown Morning Call reports the man who owned the house where the dogs were kept has received three citations for animal neglect.

It also reports he was cited Tuesday by the state agriculture department for operating an unlicensed kennel and failing to show proof the dogs were immunized against rabies.

Ohio: State employment numbers at all-time high in September

COLUMBUS

State officials say the number of people working nonfarm jobs in Ohio hit an all-time high in September with more than 5.6 million people employed.

Ohio Department of Job and Family Services spokesman Bret Crow says Ohio added jobs at a 1.9 percent rate from September 2017 to September 2018, higher than the U.S. rate of 1.7 percent for that period.

Ohio’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in September was 4.6 percent, unchanged from August. It stood at 5 percent in September 2017.

The national rate fell to 3.7 percent last month from 3.9 percent in August.

Crow says Ohio gained 3,400 manufacturing jobs last month and the same number of jobs in the other services sector.

There were job losses in several sectors, including construction and leisure and hospitality.

Cleveland announces gun buyback program

CLEVELAND

Cleveland officials have announced a gun buyback program that will offer residents a gas or food gift card in exchange for operable handguns or semi-automatic weapons.

Democratic Mayor Frank Jackson and Police Chief Calvin Williams said in a release that the gun buyback will begin at 9 a.m. today at the police department’s Third District headquarters. Gift cards valued at $100 will be given for handguns and $200 cards for semi-automatic weapons.

Jackson said the program is an important step to “getting guns off of our streets.”

The weapon must be unloaded, in a clear plastic bag, and inside a second container such as a gym bag or backpack. Weapons should be transported in the locked trunks of vehicles.

Police will inspect the weapons to be sure they are operable.