The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page 6

EGION STATE THE BEACON JOURNAL SATURDAY, AUG. 26, 1989 A6 uit tests Ohio guidelines on child support By William Outlaw Beacon Journal start writer tutional, the impact on parents' wallets and pocketbooks could be huge as support payments are re-evaluated across the state, Russell said. The lawsuit, which Russell believes to be the first to challenge the constitutionality of the 2-year-old guidelines, targets Rule 75 of the Ohio Rules Governing the Superintendence for Courts of Common Pleas. Rule 75 provides guidelines for judges to use when determining how much child support a parent should pay, based on the income of both parents and the number of children involved. dered the guidelines, as well as the judg-es, attorneys and child support agencies who followed them, all knew that "wrongs were about to be committed" with the issue of Rule 75.

But no action was taken to rectify the situation, the suit states. Rule 75 was established to provide uniform support orders across the state and to conform with federal welfare rules that require each state to have child support guidelines. Prior to the guidelines, how much child support a parent was required to pay varied from county to county. process," Russell said Friday. "There is something basically wrong here.

People are going bankrupt just to pay child support." According to laywers, some parents have been forced into bankruptcy because of inability to meet increased ment requirements. The suit lists 39 defendants, among them Ohio Supreme Court justices, lower-court judges, attorneys and Stark County officials who oversee child support. If Russell's suit is successful and the guidelines are determined to be unconsti The rule was hotly debated and modified in 1988 to encourage judges to use more discretion when setting child-support payments. And there has been speculation that the Supreme Court will modify Rule 75 even further. But in the meantime, Russell said, parents are paying a lot of money in child support.

In addition to violating the right to due process, the guidelines violate the Fourth Amendment right of protection from seizure of property without due cause, the suit says. The Supreme Court judges who or The constitutionality of child-support guidelines established by the Ohio Supreme Court in 1987 is being challenged in a lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Akron. The guidelines, which doubled or tripled the child-support payments of many Ohio fathers, allow payments to be increased without due process, a right guaranteed by the Constitution, said Ronald L. Russell, attorney for six fathers filing the suit.

"You're talking about an abuse of Murder suspect indicted Models take to the sky Area event lures builders i li lJI I "si mm. By Elizabeth Hallowed Beacon Journal staff writer It was a feeling of satisfaction that Orville and Wilbur Wright would have recognized. "Wild Thing," Clancy Lint-ner's self-designed, twin-engine aircraft, streaked heavenward and arched gracefully, the sun glinting off its wings as it performed loops and snap rolls Friday afternoon. But unlike the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk, the proud pilot of Wild Thing was not in the cockpit during the flight. Nobody was in the cockpit, which was the size of a grapefruit.

Lintner, 60, of Kensington in Columbiana County, watched his plane perform from the ground, where he controlled it By Robert Hoilee Beacon Journal staff writer An 18-year-old Louisville man was indicted Friday by a Stark County grand jury on a charge of aggravated murder in the Aug. 12 shooting death of a Louisville High School cheerleader. Timothy R. Van Zant was being held in the Stark County Jail in lieu of a $500,000 bond. His bond was raised from $150,000 earlier this week because investigators said they were afraid that he would flee if he got out of Jail, court officials said.

Van Zant allegedly shot Melissa Diana Cutshall, 17, outside her home on Ravenna Avenue Northeast in Nimishillen Township. Van Zant, who had met Melissa at a party, was infatuated with her and was jealous that she had gone out with another man, according to a witness in the case, Jina Alaback, 17, of Nimishillen Township. At a court hearing Monday, Jina said Van Zant stopped at her home about an hour before the shooting to talk about his relationship with Melissa. She testified that Van Zant was intoxicated. She said he threatened Melissa after being told that Melissa had dated another man.

She testified that she then went to Melissa's house and witnessed the shooting, which occurred in the driveway. Van Zant shot Melissa after she refused to talk with him and began walking away from him, Jina testified. Melissa, who was shot once in the neck, died at Timken Mercy Medical Center. Beacon Journal photo Susan Kfcfcman See festival, page A7 Bob Campbell (light) and Don Rothermel, both of North Canton, with Campbell's radio-controlled Spitfire Gary Dee suspended over complaint to FCC By Bob Dyer Beacon Journal radio writer Controversial Cleveland talk-show host Gary Dee has been suspended indefinitely by WWWE (1100-AM) because of allegations that he has repeatedly used indecent language on the air. Although publicly the station has maintained that Dee was merely on vacation this week, both he and station co-owner Larry Pollock acknowledged Friday that Dee was ordered by management to stay away.

"There's been a complaint filed (earlier this month) concerning Dee with the FCC (Federal Communications Commission)," Pollock said. Pollock said he could not comment on the nature of the complaint on the advice of station attorneys. But Dee and station sources said the suspension stems from a 27-page report filed with the FCC by a group that tape-recorded three months' worth of Dee's shows. Some of the tapes reportedly contain the F-word, the ultimate broadcasting ta boo. Dee acknowledges that the word was broadcast on his show more than once, but blames it on "malfunctioning equipment" that prevented the station from editing it out.

Ralph Blumberg, supervisor of investigations in the Mass Media Bureau of the FCC, said the commission has not yet charged WWWE with any wrongdoing. But he acknowledged that "numerous" complaints have been filed, "a couple documented by quite a few tapes." On Friday, the FCC announced it was moving against stations in Indianapolis, Chicago and San Jose for allegedly airing indecent programming. The commission gave the stations 30 days to explain their actions or face penalties ranging from a warning to license revocation. When asked whether the allegations against WWWE were comparable to those, the FCC's Blumberg said, "Probably." A source close to WWWE management says station officials are genuinely wor- See TALK-SHOW, page A7 Flu shots offered for area seniors iBIllllplIli By Cherlene Nevada Beacon Journal medical writer 1 A top caddy can get out of bad lies By Eric Sandstrom Beacon Journal staff writer Senior citizens in Summit and Stark counties will be able to get free flu shots this fall as part of a national Medicare demonstration project. The idea is to see whether it is cheaper for Medicare to pay for flu shots and keep seniors well or not pay for the shots and pick up the tab should they get sick and need hospitalization.

Summit and Stark counties are among 10 areas of the country picked for the pilot program. Akron Health Director Dr. C. William Keck said Thursday that the flu vaccine "saves lives" and receiving it free is a "wonderful opportunity" for seniors. The Ohio Department of Health, along with local health departments in the two-county area, are planning a big kickoff for the program in late September.

The flu vaccine should be available beginning in October. Currently, Medicare doesn't pay for preventative flu vaccines, something health officials have complained about for years. For the elderly, flu can lead to pneumonia and have other life-threatening consequences. Responding to these complaints, Congress ordered a demonstration project to determine the cost of providing the shots. John Orris, coordinator for the state health department's immunization program, said Franklin County and the Columbus area will serve as a control.

That is, the hospitalization and costs of treating flu in the elderly in that area will be compared with those in this two-county area. No shots will be offered free in Franklin County. Orris said 300 to 400 doctors in Summit and Stark counties have agreed to participate, as well as public health departments. The Akron-Medina County Labor Council and Youngfellow Pharmacies also will sponsor flu shot clinics in early October. Under the pilot program, the vaccine will be provided free to clinics and doctors.

Private physicians will be reimbursed $8 by Medicare for each shot. Public health departments will be reimbursed $4 a shot. Orris estimates 120,000 seniors will be eligible for the shots in the two-county area. To qualify, people must be 65 or older and subscribe to Medicare Part B. While that is the optional part of Medicare that pays for doctors expenses, Orris said "virtually everyone" on Medicare now buys into Part B.

Keck says the pilot program will last at least two years, and possibly longer. Health officials say that people need to get a shot every year. People get different strains of the flu virus from one winter flu season to the next because the virus changes from year to year, 8e SENIORS, page A7 1 Jf 1 "A t' if' I I ss: tiyf i NUGGETS Michael Carrick was looking to unwind Friday afternoon. He'd just finished lugging around 40 pounds of wood and iron on his skinny shoulders for 3 hours and the 43-year-old soft-spoken Floridian looked a tad bushed. He needed a shower and a drink.

Bad. But first, he parked himself in a golf cart at Firestone Country Club and talked about what life is like for America's most glamorous manual laborers. "It's kind of neat to be on TV," said Carrick, president of the Professional Tour Caddies Association. "It's fame by association." Carrick's boss is Tom Kite, a man who has made $5 million in his career by knocking a little white ball into a tin cup. For nine years, Kite and Carrick have been one of the PGA's most successful teams.

Kite shoots the birdies and gets the applause. Carrick lunges steadfastly onward with the clubs, calculating yardage from ball to pin, replacing divots and a whole lot more. "It's knowing the player's moods," Carrick said. "Knowing when to say something and what to say. The player wants his caddy to be even-keeled.

You've got to be a psychologist, a whipping boy, a confidant." Carrick's association of 145 caddies is no labor union, just a bunch of independent contractors who work out their own deals with the golfers. "If you caddy for a top player, you can See TOP CADDY, page A7 Hometown pride Are Akron, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Lorain, Elyria and Dayton better cities to live in than Columbus? Not in the view of Columbus Mayor Dana Rinehart. When asked about what he intends to do with a Money magazine national survey giving his city low marks as an attractive place to live, he said, "Burn it." Money's 1989 list of the 300 best areas to live in the U.S. placed Columbus 185th, down from 129th in 1988. Beacon Journal photoLaw Sump Michael Carrick uses body English to try to get Tom Kite's shot to fall 4 4.