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Councilman questions reponse to overdoses

MIDDLETOWN (AP) — A city councilman in southwest Ohio has asked if it’s possible for city emergency crews to stop responding to drug overdose calls as costs for those calls mount.

The Hamilton-Middletown Journal News reports Middletown City Council member Dan Picard has asked if there is a law requiring the city to respond to overdose calls.

Picard says arresting people who overdose increases the burden on taxpayers and strains the court system. He suggests issuing a court summons to individuals who overdose and ordering them to do community service.

City Manager Doug Adkins declined to comment on Picard’s suggestions until he gets an opinion from the city’s law department.

Adkins has said Middletown is on pace to spend $100,000 on the opioid-overdose antidote naloxone, while it budgeted $10,000 for the year.

Ex-pill mill doctor shot in home invasion

WESTERVILLE (AP) — Police say a former doctor and Ohio University trustee who pleaded guilty to charges of tax evasion and running a pill mill in Columbus has been shot in an apparent home invasion.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office says 51-year-old Kevin Lake was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

Maj. Steve Tucker says Lake’s son called 911 Thursday morning and reported hearing gunshots after someone tried to break into the home. The officer says the family had recently received a written threat.

Lake pleaded guilty in January to evading $3.5 million in taxes and serving hundreds of patients daily at Columbus Southern Medical Center for prescriptions of oxycodone, hydrocodone and Xanax.

Lake resigned as a university trustee Jan. 21.

The shooting is under investigation.

Ex-deputy gets probation

PORT CLINTON (AP) — A former Ohio sheriff’s deputy has received probation after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges for allegedly threatening to kill a sheriff’s detective who served as his supervisor.

The Port Clinton News-Herald reports 50-year-old John Carpenter, of Port Clinton, pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of persistent disorderly conduct. The former Ottawa County deputy was indicted last year on aggravated menacing by stalking and other charges related to the alleged threats.

Carpenter resigned in April 2016 after his supervisor reported she’d been threatened, prompting an internal investigation. He was hired as a Carroll Township police officer in June 2016 but was suspended after the supervisor filed a civil protection order.

Carpenter’s attorney said Friday that Carpenter denied making threats or stalking the supervisor but is happy the case was resolved.

Thefts lead to fiscal emergency

MOUNT STERLING (AP) — The state auditor has declared a fiscal emergency in a central Ohio village where he says thefts by former officials have taken a “heavy financial blow.”

The Columbus Dispatch reports Mount Sterling’s budget deficit was $270,000 deficit at the end of April. Auditor Dave Yost says financial problems were “inflicted by corrupt former officials and employees.”

The current mayor of this Madison County village 25 miles (40.kilometers) southwest of Columbus says daily operations haven’t been affected.

The former village administrator received 10 years in prison in March for stealing around $725,000 between 2012 and 2016. The former mayor and a former administrative assistant were indicted in April on theft in office charges.

The fiscal emergency means a commission appointed by Yost will oversee financial planning for the village.

Pizza panic in Akron

AKRON (AP) — A misunderstanding on social media caused panic in Ohio when restaurant-goers thought an iconic pizza and spaghetti restaurant was closing.

While it is true that Luigi’s Restaurant is closing, it is not the location in Akron. The Facebook post announcing the closing came from a store in Fife, Scotland.

Facebook users in Ohio quickly shared the post however, commenting with messages of disbelief and sadness.

Jen Mock tells the Akron Beacon Journal the Akron restaurant manager received several calls from customers concerned about the store closing. Mock says she “about died” when she found the original post was from Scotland.

Fans of the unaffiliated restaurant in Scotland were sad about their restaurant closing.

Luigi’s Restaurant has been an Akron staple since 1949.

Cavs donate $875,000 to Habitat for Humanity

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Cavaliers have donated $875,000 in proceeds from NBA Finals watch parties to Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity.

Watch parties were hosted at the Quicken Loans Arena during the NBA Finals this year when the Cavaliers played the Golden State Warriors at Oakland. Fans could buy tickets online for $10.

The watch party program launched during the 2015 NBA Finals, generating more than $260,000.

Cavaliers CEO Len Komoroski says it’s “highly appropriate” that playoff support can be translated into a positive outcome for Cleveland neighborhoods.

The team has donated more than $2 million to nonprofits in the city through team fundraisers, in-game raffles and watch parties during the past three years.

The Warriors won the championship, beating the Cavaliers in four of five games during the Finals.

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