New water troubles for some in city

MEDINA: Three unrelated waterline breaks prompted city officials to ask thousands of residents to boil their drinking water throughout the weekend.

About 5,000 residents who were affected by a break in a 12-inch water main on Northland Drive behind the American Automobile Association office Saturday morning were told Sunday they no longer needed to boil their drinking water.

The water main was repaired Saturday morning and tests were completed Sunday on the water.

But that wasn't the end of water problems in Medina.

A 6-inch waterline on the south side of Medina broke at 9:45 p.m. Saturday.

Repairs were completed at 4 a.m. Sunday, but about 90 residents of Oak, Pine and Spruce streets remained on a boil alert for drinking water as of Sunday evening.

Medina Service Director Nino Piccoli said he expects test results to come back negative early this morning and the boil alert to be lifted about 9 a.m.

A 6-inch waterline also broke on State Road on Sunday morning.

A boil alert was issued for what is mostly an industrial area.

Piccoli said he expects the State Road boil alert to last until Christmas Day.

''The third line that broke is an older line,'' Piccoli said. ''But other than that, it's hard to explain what has happened, other than to call it bad luck and coincidence.

''All of the incidents are unrelated.''

Man shot four times
expected to recover

AKRON: A 46-year-old man who was shot four times at his Akron home Sunday afternoon is expected to recover, authorities said.

An Akron police spokesman said Jack Fain of the 1300 block of Seventh Avenue was shot shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday.

He was listed in stable condition at Akron City Hospital on Sunday evening.

Police did not have a suspect as of Sunday evening.

AROUND OHIO

Invasive stink bug
settles into state

COLUMBUS: A thumbnail-size insect that apparently hitched a ride aboard shipping containers to the United States more than a decade ago has become the latest invasive species to arrive in the state.

The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug was officially identified in Allentown, Pa., in 1998, and has since spread through Mid-Atlantic states, from New York to Virginia.

The species could pose a serious problem to agriculture because it has no natural predators, parasites or diseases to help control its population.

But they are harmless to people — except for the unpleasant odor they release when disturbed.

When threatened, they emit a pungent odor from glands in the thorax. The stink seems to discourage some potential predators, such as birds.

They like to gather in large numbers inside attics and walls of peoples' homes once the weather turns cold.

Ohio State entomologist Susan Jones discovered the insect had arrived in Ohio when the stink bugs crawled through cracks around windows and doors into her suburban Columbus home.

The bugs' brown body is similar to other stink bugs, but its white and brown banded antennae set it apart, she said.

It's been blamed for damages to fruits and soybeans in China and Japan.

Entomologists in the United States are looking at how widespread the bug is and how much damage it is capable of causing.

Dead dog prompts neighbor dispute

SPRINGFIELD: A southwestern Ohio community has become embroiled in a dispute between neighbors over a dead dog.

Judy and Jim Henry say their neighbor, Ed Rice, shot and killed their shepherd mix unnecessarily on Dec. 4 while it was on his property.

They've put a giant plywood sign on their yard to tell the neighborhood. It reads: ''Ed Rice, Agent of Davidson Nature Park, Shot and Killed Our Dog Phobee.''

Rice said Phobee attacked his mini dachshund, Peanut, before he shot it twice with a handgun.

Rice said while he has had disagreements with the Henrys in the past, he didn't know it was their dog.

The Henrys disagree.

The Clark County Humane Society has also weighed in on the dispute.

Director Ed Sissler said Rice shot the dog unjustly.

The Henrys said they may pursue the matter in civil court.