News-Journal from Mansfield, Ohio • 7

Is all-day kindergarten In the area's future? Gov. BobTaft says It could be. Obituaries 8A Region news 9A SATURDAY NEWS JOURNAL Friday, February 16, 2001 PAGE 7A am indicted in theft cases Charges include stealing identities of 6 For complete listing of those indicted, see page HA. By Russ Kent and Jennifer Kowalewski News Journal MANSFIELD A Mansfield man was indicted on 26 counts involving illegal financial activity, including forgery and taking the identity of another person. Bruce M.

Gierhart, 38, of 198 S. Main Apt. 3, was indicted by a Richland County grand jury earlier this month on 11 counts of forgery, five counts of misuse of a credit card, seven counts of taking the identity of another person and three counts of tampering with records. Richland County Assistant Prosecutor Sheryl Grof said all counts are either fourth- matter involving a minor and a single count of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or a performance. The offenses are said to have taken place between Sept.

26 and Nov. 22, 1999. Williams was indicted following an investigation by the Ontario Police Department and the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. He faces 25 years in prison and fines of $75,000 if convicted on all charges. Also indicted was Toni M.

Wyatt, 45, of 215 Spring St. The former Mansfield Correctional Institution guard is charge that can pertain to getting credit or credit cards in someone else's name, Groff said. The tampering with record offenses pertain to alleged falsification of information on credit card and loan applications, she added. In other indictments, a Mansfield man was indicted on charges surrounding child pornography stored on a home computer. David L.

Williams, 44, of 118 Rustic Lane, Mansfield, was indicted on 10 counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor, nine counts of pandering sexually oriented or fifth-degree felonies, and Gierhart could face 33 years in prison if convicted. "It seems, to me, he had credit cards (allegedly) obtained in other person's names, as well as certified loans and other financial activities," she said. Authorities allege Gierhart committed these acts between Nov. 1, 1998, and April 11, 2000, she said. There are six victims, and the investigation involved the Richland County Sheriff's Department and Mansfield Police Department.

Taking someone else's identity is a relatively new charged with three counts of illegal conveyance of drugs of abuse into a detention facility. She faces up to 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine if convicted. Wyatt was arrested at 1:25 p.m. Jan. 10 after authorities found 55 doses of Lodine and 63 doses of Cyclobenzaprine in her possession.

She claimed the drugs are for her back pain. Reporter Russ Kent can be reached at 521-7274. Reporter Jennifer Kowalewski can be reached at Hi. 1- Airlift Wing: Rules strict Vi, ill By Dan Kopp News Journal MANSFIELD The U.S. Air Force has strict rules about civilians and aircraft in flight, according to Lt.

Phil Brown, executive officer of the 179th Airlift Wing of the Air National Guard at Mansfield Lahm Airport. The rules are for safety so nothing happens like the Feb. 9 accident between a U.S. submarine Police 200 block of Mathewf Avenue, Ashland A 19-year-old woman reported Wednesday at 12:48 p.m. the theft of a box containing 40 videocassettes and $30 in change.

The woman was preparing to move. KEM Hall, Ashland University An 18-year-old woman called police Wednesday at 2:37 p.m. to say she has been getting sexually suggestive e-mails. Ashland A 44-year-old man reported Wednesday at 8:52 a.m. the theft of a circular saw from the bed of his pickup.

It was valued at $127. The man said he last saw the saw Feb. 9. 800 block of Ashland Road, Mansfield An employee of Dairy Mart reported that four cartons of cigarettes had been stolen around noon Tuesday. The store manager said the suspect was videotaped taking the cigarettes but could not be identified.

600 block of Ashland Road, Mansfield A teacher at Madison Junior High School reported finding a Galorade bottle filled with vodka and water. Two students were arrested for underage consumption of alcohol at 2:12 p.m. Wednesday. 900 block of Piper Road, Mansfield A 34-year-old Mansfield resident reported that between 10 and 10:15 p.m. Tuesday, someone broke a window on his Ford Ranger pickup.

2000 block of Ashland Road, Mansfield A trailer park resident reported to police at 6:15 a.m. Wednesday that someone was pounding on his trailer and yelling. When police arrived, the suspect, a 23-year-old resident of the park, was observed lying down in a front yard across the street. He was arrested for being intoxicated. Sturges Avenue and Park Avenue West, Mansfield A Loudonville resident was charged with obstruction and drug abuse following an incident early Thursday morning.

Police report the man was pulled over for failure to signal. An officer observed the man making "furtive" movements in the car. A subsequent search of the suspect resulted in some bullets being felt in a pat-down. When asked if he had a gun, the suspect fled. A short foot pursuit ensued with the suspect soon being captured and placed in the back of a cruiser.

Once again, an officer noticed the man making suspicious movements and a subsequent search of the cruiser turned up a package containing a single rock of crack cocaine. 200 block of Park Avenue East, Mansfield Police observed a man walking around cars in a parking lot and upon questioning discovered him to be intoxicated. The 19-year-old resident of Leigh Avenue admitted to drinking some Bud Ice and was arrested at 1 :06 a.m. Thursday for underage consumption of alcohol. 200 block of Lexington Avenue, Mansfield An employee of Hairdos reported that between 3 and 3:15 a.m.

Thursday, someone kicked in a neon sign in the parking lot. No damage estimate was available. 200 block of South Mulberry Street, Mansfield An 1 8-year-old woman said she was contacted Tuesday by her credit union, staling a check of hers had come back with insufficient funds. She reported it to police at 10:55 a.m. Thursday, that someone had attempted to cash a check for $300 from her account, police reported.

Empress Express, 861 Park Avenue West, Mansfield An employee told officers Thursday that a woman ordered food at 6 p.m. Jan. 27 and three hours later said she wouldn't pay for it because it was cold. She stopped payment on her $20 check, police said. Fire 395 Reed Mansfield Firefighters extinguished a small fire in ductwork ot Bay World Manufacturing around 1 1 f.m.

Thursday. A foremen told irefighters that a drill had overheated and sent a spark into an air handling system. The spark ignited some sawdust in the ductwork. Firefighters and employees removed and cleared additional debris out of the ductwork. Charles Hrbek stands on an empty lot that used to be the location of a home he bought in January at a foreclosure auction.

The house was demolished without his approval. (Gannett News Service photo) Home demolished. House purchased through foreclosure razed before renovations and a Japanese fishing boat. Thursday, a civilian who was on board the sub described how he pulled the levers to start the craft's ascent, then felt the shudder of impact. Such a scenario wouldn't happen with the Air "We are really strict about who gets in the seat." Lt.

Phil Brown 179th Airlift Wing Force, Brown By Peggy Matthews Gannett News Service remodeling it into an office for his business, Home Management and adding an apartment upstairs. Hrbek is concerned about getting approval to rebuild consistent with the dimensions of the original structure. Zoning laws would push the project further back from the street, alley and neighboring buildings. Embree thinks the party responsible for Hrbek's troubles is the bank, not the city. "The mortgage company sold it without telling the buyer there was action against it so lo and behold, there's no building on it," Embree said.

However, it is not clear if the bank ever knew there was pending action. Ray Lynn said he had no contact with the bank and did not even know the property had been sold. Bank One spokesman Jeff Lyttle refused to comment, saying the issue was complex. Hrbek thinks he can work something out in the end. "Hopefully, the bank will make this right," he said.

"I don't want to go to court on anybody or anything like that." City officials said they didn't realize the house had been sold. The Zanesville Code Enforcement Department sent three certified letters to Ray Lynn, notifying him of their intention to condemn and demolish the 916 Sharon Ave. structure if it was not repaired. The property belonged to his mother, Esther Lynn, and he is the executor of her estate. The bank Esther Lynn had her mortgage with filed for foreclosure and Jan.

12, Muskingum County Common Pleas Court approved an order selling the property to Hrbek. The city demolished the house citing safety concerns. "Children were running in and out of it We felt we had to do something quick to eliminate a public hazard and nuisance. So we had it torn down," code enforcement officer Larry Embree said. Ordinarily, the city bills the property owner for the cost of demolition in this case, $4,200.

Embree assured Hrbek the city would make an exception this time and not add insult to injury. Hrbek bought the property with the intention of sinking $15,000 into ZANESVILLE House? What house? Charles Hrbek bought one on Sharon Avenue in Zanesville in January as part of a court foreclosure. Three weeks later when he and his buddy went to work on it, the house was gone. "My partner asked me what did I do with the house?" Hrbek said. "I looked around and thought, 'What the hell happened to The city demolished it last week.

Officials condemned the property a year ago under a different owner but had finally gotten around to demolishing it about the same time an unsuspecting Hrbek purchased it and two other nearby properties. "It took me about 15 minutes to even realize it was not there, they did such a nice job. It was a huge, two-story building with a big basement. They leveled the whole thing out, filled it in and put hay down. You can't even tell there was a house there," Hrbek said.

said. "We are really strict about who gets in the (pilot's or copilot's) seat," Brown said. "Only military trained persons can be in the seat while flying. "Even I can't sit in the pilot's seat when flying," Brown said. Civilians are permitted on the flight deck (cockpit) during certain times, at the main pilot's discretion, Brown said.

If the weather is calm and the pilot says OK, a civilian can stand in the cockpit while in flight. However, a civilian can never sit in a seat and never touch any controls while in flight, Brown said. "It's a safety measure," he said. Crestline chief retiring By Russ Kent News Journal seven are recent hires still on probation and the Crestline police dispatcher with the most experience has been on the job just five months. "Fortunately I have three lieutenants who are very capable of running their shifts," he said.

"They're the ones who keep this place going." In the past couple of years, Smith has had a heart attack and triple bypass surgery. He says the medical factors, coupled with his ongoing fight for pay raises, are the reasons he's leaving. Despite the pay issues, Smith said Crestline officials have been great to him. "I don't want to give the ment was ready to take over upon my retirement, and to get the pay scale up," he said. "The equipment was in pretty bad shape when I took over.

Now it's as good as any in the area. Council's given me almost everything I've asked for." Unfortunately, he says that's the only goal that has been reached. "I've fought with council about the pay scale. I've fought with the mayor. I've explained that it would be cheaper to give my men a raise than to keep training them to work someplace else," he said.

Smith says he has 14 officers working for him Crestline Police Chief Dave Smith is retiring after eight years on the job. (Jason J. MolyeVNews Journal) CRESTLINE Crestline Police Chief Dave Smith insists he's leaving a better department than the one he inherited, but he's not going to quit working to improve it. After eight years in office, Smith has decided to hang up his holster and hat. His final day on the job is March 15.

But he plans to keep working on the three goals he established when he left the Crawford County Sheriff's Department to become police chief Feb. 1, 1994. "My goals were to upgrade our equipment, make sure someone within the depart wrong impression. They've been wonderful. But they seem to be hung up on the pay issue." He said when he's not chief, he'll continue to fight for better benefits and attend council meetings.

Upon retirement, Smith will spend a lot of time in his garage and on the golf course. He's been restoring a 1973 Corvette for about 10 years and just purchased a '57 Chevrolet Bel Air to fix up. More emergencies, page 8A. i a 1 1.