COMING MONDAY American Profile • Wet ’n’ Wild: Since the first American waterparks opened in the late 1970s, the wet ’n’ wild attractions with drenching rides and soaking slides have made a splash all across the nation. Inside Monday
June 22, 2013
Vol. 123 No. 124
TODAY’S
NEWS
TODAY’S WEATHER
88° 67° For a full weather report, turn to Page 10.
INSIDE TODAY
. Insideb.i.g e sav
Sidney, Ohio
www.sidneydailynews.com
Jobless rate holds at 7% COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio’s unemployment rate was stuck at 7 percent last month, according to state numbers released Friday, but it’s still well below the national average. The seasonally adjusted rate hasn’t moved much since the beginning of the year. Starting the year at 7 percent, it briefly rose to 7.1 percent for February and March, then dropped to 7 percent again for
April. There it stayed last month, according to the data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Ohio leaders have said repeatedly that the state’s economy and its job market are getting stronger, but the process will be slow. The state’s unemployment rate peaked at 10.6 percent during the last half of 2009 and early 2010 before beginning its trek downward. Jan-
uary marked the first time the rate failed to decline or at least remain steady since July 2011. But the Ohio rate has consistently remained below the national level. The U.S. unemployment rate for May was 7.6 percent. State officials reported that the number of nonagricultural jobs in Ohio increased 32,100 in May, to 5,213,900. The number of unemployed
$$$$ elivery Home D
DEATHS Obituaries and/or death notices for the following people appear on Page 3 today: • Cheryl Anderson Longbrake • Vicki Sue Cruea • Esther J. Wical • Anne Amos Brown • Roger L. Metz • Reginale Woolley • Rosalie “Rosie” Coburn
BY SCOTT MAYEROWITZ Associated Press
INDEX
TODAY’S THOUGHT “To understand is hard. Once one understands, action is easy.” — Sun Yat-sen, Chinese statesman (1866-1925). For more on today in history, turn to Page 5.
NEWS NUMBERS News tips, call 498-5962. Home delivery, call 4985939. Classified advertising, call 498-5925. Retail advertising, call 4985980 Visit the Sidney Daily News on the Web at www.sidneydailynews.com
workers in Ohio in May was 405,000, up from 400,000 in April. The number of unemployed in the state has decreased by 15,000 in the past year. Goods-producing industries gained 4,700 jobs in May. Increases were recorded in construction and manufacturing, while employment in mining and logging was unchanged. Private service-providing industries gained 20,200 jobs.
FAA may ease up on gadget users
ons! in coup
Auglaize Neighbors ...............8 Business .............................18 City record...........................20 County record .....................15 Classified .......................15-17 Comics..................................9 Hints from Heloise.................6 Horoscope ........................8, 9 Localife ..............................6-7 Municipal court....................19 Nation/World.........................5 Obituaries..............................3 Sports............................11-13 State news ............................4 ’Tween 12 and 20 .................8 Weather/Sudoku/Abby/Out of the Past/Dr. Roach ........10
$1.25
SDN Photo/Luke Gronneberg
A GROUP of GOBA bikers heads north on Kuther Road toward Sidney Friday morning. They were some of the more than 2,300 riders who participated in the week-long, 50-miles-per-day ride through west central Ohio. These bikers took a circuitous route from New Bremen to Sidney, which was the last overnight stop before their return to the starting point in Urbana today.
GOBA nears finish line BY AVERIE BORNHORST This year’s bicyclists began AND KYLE HAYDEN in Urbana — where they also end today — and made stops After six days of biking, in Troy, Greenville and New more than 2,300 bicyclists Bremen before arriving in reached Sidney Friday, their Sidney. The first stop here for final stop on the 2013 Great these visitors was Sidney Ohio Bicycle Adventure Middle School, where most of (GOBA). them spent last night. The cyThis year marks the 25th clists either camped outside GOBA Reunion Tour. The tour in hundreds of tents pitched takes place each June and across the school’s campus, or travels through a different inside the middle school gym. part of Ohio every year. Par- Some also camped out in the ticipants of all ages bike Sidney Masonic Lodge. The roughly 50 miles each day of riders have camped in tents, the week-long tour. on school gymnasium floors,
in lodges and hotels in between days of riding. According to Deb Barga, of the Sidney Rotary Club, GOBA has not made a stop in Sidney for 15 years. The crowd began to trickle in at 9 a.m. Donning jerseys in colors of every kind, cyclists began to move at their leisure to other landmarks, locations and attractions around Sidney. Most remained in the camp to socialize and relax. The pop-up city was officially and affectionately called See GOBA/Page 13
Sidney police officers promoted Two Sidney Police officers will be promoted June 30, Police Chief William Balling has announced. Sgt. William Shoemaker will be promoted to captain and will be placed in charge of the Operations Section. Detective Warren Melerine will be promoted to sergeant and will be assigned to the third shift. “I am very confident that both individuals will make successful transitions to their new assignments while continuing to provide the community with a high level of service,” Balling said. Shoemaker started his ca-
Shoemaker
Melerine
reer with the Sidney Police Department in July 1997. He has served in many areas of the department, including patrol officer, detective, bike officer, tactical response team and evidence technician. He and his wife, Sherry, have two daughters, Rachel and Han-
nah. In his free time, he enjoys working out and spending time with his family. Melerine started with the Sidney Police Department in July 2001 as a part-time dispatcher. In 2003, he was named dispatcher of the year. That year, he applied to be a police officer and was quickly hired, Balling said. He has served as a patrol officer, detective, range officer, bike patrol officer and evidence technician. He lives with his longtime girlfriend, Rachel. They have a dog named Max. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government is moving toward easing restrictions on airline passengers using electronic devices to listen to music, play games, read books, watch movies and work during takeoffs and landings, but it could take a few months. An industry-labor advisory committee was supposed to make recommendations next month to the Federal Aviation Administration on easing the restrictions. But the agency said in a statement Friday the deadline has been extended to September because committee members asked for extra time to finish assessing whether it’s safe to lift restrictions. “The FAA recognizes consumers are intensely interested in the use of personal electronics aboard aircraft; that is why we tasked a government-industry group to examine the safety issues and the feasibility of changing the current restrictions,” the statement said. The agency is under public and political pressure to ease the restrictions as more people bring their e-book readers, music and video players, smartphones and laptops with them when they fly. Technically, the FAA doesn’t bar use of electronic devices when aircraft are below 10,000 feet. But under FAA rules, airlines that want to let passengers use the devices are faced with a practical impossibility — they would have to show that they’ve tested every type and make of device passengers would use to ensure there is no electromagnetic interference with aircraft radios and electrical and electronic systems. As a result, U.S. airlines simply bar all electric device use below 10,000 feet. Airline accidents are most likely to occur during takeoffs, landSee GADGETS/Page 5
153rd Annual
Shelby County Fair July 25 • 8:00 P.M.
WWW.SHELBYCOUNTYFAIR.COM
July 24 8:00 P.M.
Ju y July 21-27
To purchase photographs appearing in the Sidney Daily News, go to www.sidneydailynews.com