Morning headlines

Toledo police re-hired, Hancock Co. rollover crash, H1N1 in schools, budget woes...

Fourteen laid-off Toledo police officers will be back on the streets today after being off the job for nearly six months. Mayor Carty Finkbeiner says money saved from retirements and officers on military leave has given the city the roughly $160,000 needed to re-hire the officers. The mayor says safety complaints were a major reason for the change, specifically complaints from residents in the Rogers High School neighborhood. The city also announced next year's budget will have money for a police class of roughly thirty.

The Hancock County sheriff's office is investigating a rollover crash. It happened after 9:30 last night on County Road 5 between Township Road 117 and 115. Police say Barbara Ault of Deshler was traveling east on County Road 5 when she looked down and felt her vehicle fall off the right side of the roadway. Ault overcorrected and went into the westbound lane of County Road 5 where she struck a bridge before rolling over into a ditch. She was taken to a local hospital for observation.

Hillsdale public schools, New Bedford Academy, and Pittsford Schools will all be closed today due to the high number of student absences. Five football players at Hillsdale College are being treated for what's expected to be the H1N1 flu virus. Hillsdale college leaders say several more students, not just football players, think they have the illness. Affected students are being isolated in their rooms where they are being fed, monitored, and treated with Tamiflu. The college's vice president says the college is keeping everyone informed to avoid a larger outbreak. The college's football game has not been cancelled at this time.

TARTA says tough times may force more cutbacks on bus routes, but they're willing to listen to ideas. About 100 people showed up at two open house hearings yesterday to give some input. TARTA is proposing fewer bus runs on Sundays and off-peak hours and no service on six major holidays. Riders say those changes would leave them stranded without options.

If you have official business in Hancock County today, you'll have to wait. The county is requiring employees at most government offices to take a furlough day. It's part of five unpaid days they have to take off this year. The others still ahead are November 27 and December 24.

Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm is ordering another round of funding cuts for public schools already hit hard by Michigan's state budget problems. School funding will now be slashed by $127 per student. The reduction will take effect in 30 days unless more money is put into an emergency account by the Michigan congress. Republicans say Granholm is creating a school budget crisis to put pressure on them to increase taxes to raise more money for education.

Michigan is the latest state to consider a ban on texting while driving. A state house committee has approved legislation banning texting except to report accidents, crimes or emergencies. In most cases, the fine would be about $100.

A panel of lawmakers searching for ways to boost Ohio's auto industry is recommending the creation of a state auto development director. The state legislative committee also suggests using tax credits to create new uses for closed factories and revamping worker training programs. The list of recommendations will now go to Governor Ted Strickland and leaders in the legislature.

An autopsy shows a body found in a Georgia landfill is that of missing Florida seven-year-old Somer Thompson. Police think someone dumped Thompson's body in a trash bin. A detective got the idea to follow garbage trucks leaving her neighborhood, heading to a landfill. There they picked through the trash, sorting through more than 200,000 tons before the body was found.

Federal officials are investigating if pilot fatigue was a factor in a Northwest Airlines jet overflying its destination by 150 miles. The NTSB says the plane was flying from San Diego to Minneapolis and lost radio contact with controllers Wednesday night. More than an hour later those communications were re-established. Passengers had no idea about the loss of communication. Investigators say they are examining whether the pilots became distracted as they claimed or if they fell asleep.

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