Chillicothe Gazette from Chillicothe, Ohio • 3

Local and state news Lori McNelly, City Editor lmcnellynncogannett.com Monday, October 3, 2005 Chillicothe Gazette 3A Girt By john McCarthy "Those agreements would have Environmentalists share those concerns, said Jack Shaner, a lobbyist for the Ohio Environmental Council. "When Ohioans think of a to be renegotiated or we would have to. give back the money for the purchase," Speck said. There are environmental concerns as well. Drilling removes kn it in great amounts of UU IRS ItSl groundwater than Ohio Department of Natural gas consumption in Gltio Breakdown of natural gas consumption and types of customers in Ohio in 2003, the last year for which statistics were available: CONSUMPTION (in cubic feet) Residential: 343 billion Commercial: 180 billion Industrial: 290 billion CUSTOMER TYPE Residential: 3.2 million Commercial: 271 ,203 Industrial: 8,098 Source: American Gas Association all experience they don't think of oil and gas drilling in state parks," Shaner said.

"We're not going to be able to drill our way out of this winter's gas shortage by drilling in state parks." Stewart said can contain salt or other minerals that can harm the environment and the wells. The construction of access roads could interfere with recreational Natural Resources: www.dnr.state.oh.us Ohio Environmental Council: www.theoec.org House Public Utilities Commission: www.house.state.oh.us jspsCommittee.jsp?ID24 Sam Speck, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which oversees the parks, grew up on a tree farm in southeast Ohio that had a working well. He said he is not opposed to the idea of drilling on state lands but said there are roadblocks. The state prohibits drilling on state land, including parks, and federal law prevents drilling under Lake Erie. The obstacles don't end there, Speck said.

The state does not own all of all of its parks. Thirty percent of all acreage is on land leased from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It also has parks on land acquired through the federal Bureau of Land Management and Ohio would need the bureau's permission and cut them in for any money the state makes from the deal. It also has land it obtained through grants from the National Park Service.

price stability and availability that have nothing to do with the hurricane, Stewart said. "There would have been a crisis anyway. We as Americans and we as Ohioans cannot say we will bring our energy from one spot," Stewart said. Gov. Bob Taft has asked Speck's department to research the idea and report what he finds, Taft spokesman Mark Rickel said.

Public utilities committee chairman Rep. John Hagan, an Alliance Republican, said he hopes to have legislation that would expand drilling in two to three weeks, but he said he realized it would not be a quick fix. "There is something that will be able to help people with their gas bills this and in ensuing winters," Hagan said. "It also would be unrealistic to expect that after this winter, we would be over the hump," Hagan said. Associated Press Writer COLUMBUS Energy companies hoping to tap Ohio's state parks for natural gas that's been selling at record prices face several hurdles, starting with an Ohio law that says it's illegal.

Interest in drilling has been kindled by a spike in prices owing to Hurricane Katrina's damage to gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. Natural gas hit a record high $14.19 per million British thermal units last week but fell to $13.95 on Friday. Ohio is a more of a consumer of natural gas than a producer. Although the state ranks 17th nationally in marketed production, it still gets most of its gas from the Gulf region. With heating bills expected to shoot up during the winter, there's been a renewed focus on drilling in Ohio.

Tom Stewart, a activities. "We have to consider it on a case-by-case basis so we are protecting recreational values and the environment," Speck said. "This is precisely why you have to be careful about where you do the drilling. You certainly would not want to damage wetlands." wells can be built outside the parks and the gas can be removed by drilling diagonally to its source. Water can be returned to the ground the same way, he said.

It's important for Ohio to use more locally produced natural gas because of concerns about lobbyist for the Ohio Oil Gas Association, told the House Public Utilities Energy Committee last week there is a wealth of natural gas under state parks and beneath Lake Erie. Briefs KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOR 1 1 Li-J 4 1- 1 i j.J: 'X I Wrr: Poll: Taft approval rating reaches historic low COLUMBUS (AP) Gov. Bob Taft's already-feeble approval rating among Ohioans has fallen to 15 percent, a new poll indicates. The poll, conducted by The Columbus Dispatch, finds support for Taft lower than the three most unpopular U.S. presidents in the history of polling and possibly the lowest of any Ohio governor.

The Republican governor's approval rating is worse than that of President Truman after he fired Gen. Douglas MacArthur, President Carter during the Iran hostage crisis or President Nixon during Watergate. Taft was convicted in August of four misdemeanor ethics convictions for failing to report gifts and golf outings and has presided over the state's wide-ranging investment scandal. Three-fourths of the respondents who identified themselves as Republicans disapproved of Taft's performance. Frank Newport, editor in chief of the Gallup Poll in Princeton, N.J., said he's surprised that an approval rating could dip so low for anyone who has won a major office.

"Almost any figure who's elected in a partisan election usually has at least some support from his party," he said. "Usually there's a party base. It's hard mathematically to get that low." The poll, conducted by mail Sept. 22-29, is based on responses from 1,325 registered voters from across the state who say they intend to vote in the Nov. 8 election.

The margin of error is 2.6 percent. Generally accepted political polling began in the mid-1900s. Truman set the Gallup low for presidents, dropping to 23 percent in 1951 and early 1952. Carter slumped to 28 percent in 1978, and Nixon was at 24 percent when he quit in 1974. "The governor doesn't govern by polls, he governs by good public policy and making a difference for Ohioans," Taft spokesman Mark Rickel told The Associated Press on Sunday.

A database maintained by the University of Rochester, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and George Washington University lists 3,261 gubernatorial polls since 1958. Only three governors had an approval rating below 15 percent none in the past 15 years. fail 'A I Janelle RuckerGazette Sharon Wills holds the Award of Excellence she recently was given during the Ohio Council of Home Care and Hospice annual meeting. Wills is nurse supervisor and manager for the Hospice Program at Adena Regional Medical Center. Hospice nurse says it's a privilege helping others Former convict seeks pardon to hold office CHAUNCEY A man convicted almost 40 years ago on burglary and forgery charges is seeking a pardon from Gov.

Bob Taft that would allow him to serve as a village councilman. Danny Lyons, 59, is one of four candidates on the ballot in the Nov. 8 election. Lyons served three years in prison in the late 1960s but has since married, raised four children and become involved in civic groups. State law allows felons who serve their time to regain the right to vote but bars them from holding office.

Lyons said he will apply for clemency this week. If voters in this small village of 1,067 people, about 70 miles southeast of Columbus, elect Lyons in November, his term would begin in January. Gap in law frees young offenders CINCINNATI A committee of lawyers and judges is studying ways to close a gap in state law that allows juvenile offenders who are declared incompetent for trial to avoid punishment altogether. Existing law bars children found incompetent from being tried but doesn't define competency and forces judges to release them or refer them to social service organizations, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Authorities say the flaw in the system came about when Ohio, like other states, moved toward prosecuting more violent minors as adults without adjusting the competency law accordingly.

"The problem you have now is you can try a juvenile as an adult, but there's no way to determine whether they are competent or not. There is a serious gap," said Ohio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Lundberg Strat-ton, who heads the committee. The problem is particularly severe in Hamilton County, the newspaper reported. Of the 28 juveniles evaluated there last year, more than half were ruled incompetent. Some schools plan mental health screens CLEVELAND (AP) Some northeast Ohio schools will start a mental health program next year to help identify students with suicidal tendencies, such as depression, anxiety disorders and substance abuse.

TeenScreen will be launched in a few Cleveland high schools next school year, officials said. Other schools will use a $100,000 federal grant to start similar programs. "We think the program is very structured to include parents and make schools comfortable," said Joelle Reizes, spokeswoman for the Massachusetts-based Screening for Mental Health which created a program called "SOS" that will be used in suburban Chagrin Falls. 'This is not a threatening program." SOS uses an optional, anonymous survey. Parents can decide whether their children will participate in the program.

Schools also send home a version of the survey for parents, which asks questions about their child's behavior as a tool to raise awareness. More than 1,000 students at Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School will participate in an SOS program this month during English classes. Compiled from staff, wire reports The job of the hospice staff is to go to the homes sick patients and "create an environment to help the patients and family through a difficult time with dignity, in comfort and meeting. "I didn't even know I was nominated," she said. "I was nominated while I was on vacation." To Wills, all accolades should highlight the project peace," Wills said.

"People think the hospice is about dying, but it's about living," she said. Wills has gone from being a staff nurse to the nurse supervisor and manager, but misses the connection she's had with her patients and their families. She still is friends Know your Name: Sharon Wills Address: 640 Cherokee Road Occupation: Nurse supervisor and manager for the Hospice Program at Adena Family: Husband, Lawrence and two daughters, Laura and Tara and not the person behind the project. "I just like to organize things and make it happen," she said. 'Then I step back and let the project shine.

I want the hospice to shine." The hospice at Adena was created 21 years ago and Wills was a member of the original staff. She was the only to go on a call to a patients house and is always available for patients. Wills isn't the only person in her family involved in the hospice. "I make my family volunteer," she said. From her daughter Laura who's in medical school in Toledo to her father who's handy with tools, her family makes time to help, she said.

When she's not working Wills enjoys spending time with her three cocker spaniels, reading and traveling, she said. "But work and my dogs keep me pretty busy," she said. Retirement is nowhere in sight for Wills. Teople always ask me 'Why do you do she said. "And I tell them, Why shouldn't I do this? And if I don't do it, who (Rucker can be reached at 772-9372 or via e-mail at jruckernncogannett.com) Sharon Wills receives Award of Excellence By JANELLE RUCKER Gazette Staff Writer When Chillicothe resident Sharon Wills was little she used to get toy nurse kits and play the role.

Decades later she graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in nursing and decades after that she is being honored for all her work with the Hospice Program at Adena Healthcare System. "It has been very self-rewarding," Wills said. "I feel very honored." Wills was presented with the Award of Excellence Sept. 21 from the Ohio Council of Home Care and Hospice at the annual with the wife of one of her first patients, she said. "I feel very privileged that I have been able to help so many people." Wills never misses an opportunity staff nurse accompanied by the director, a secretary and one volunteer, Wills said, but as the program grew and took on more patients the staff has grown as well.

Great Lakes states battle southern fish farms on Asian carp On the Net Fish and Wildlife Service: www.fws.gov Fishermen Orion Briney, left, and Jeremy Fisher use trammel nets to haul in black Asian bighead carp from the Illinois River near Peoria, in this May 2004 file photo. Great Lakes lawmakers are pushing legislation that would ban the importation of Asian carp because of concern the exotic species could make its way into the Great lakes, wreaking havoc with the ecosystem. AP of the Catfish Farmers of America, said black carp are the only way to control parasites. Jay Rendall, invasive species program coordinator at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, said the Asian carp species are voracious eaters of mollusks, plankton and vegetation. The Great Lakes region, the world's largest surface freshwater system, is already battling other exotic species, such as zebra mussels.

In August, Fish and Wildlife asked for comments on an alternative rule that would ban only fertile black carp, which would allow fish farmers to import and transport sterile versions. WASHINGTON (AP) A North-South fish fight is erupting in Congress over legislation to ban imports of Asian carp, a creature southern fish farmers depend on to control parasites, but which Great Lakes officials fear will wreak havoc on the lakes' ecosystems. Fish farmers in states like Arkansas and Mississippi imported the Asian carp from China to help them control parasites by eating snails. The carp, which often leap out of the water, can grow to more than 100 pounds. Some carp have escaped the farms and made their way north along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, and could soon be i.u nw- TV.

5 pushing into the Great Lakes. An electric barrier south of Chicago, which gives the fish a non-lethal jolt, is designed to prevent them from entering Lake Michigan. Three years ago, the U.S. Fish and. Wildlife Service proposed banning the importation of black carp, a species of Asian carp favored by southern fish farmers, but the agency has not yet acted on its proposal.

Hugh Warren, executive director.