“Injuries put early end to Power's IndyCar season - ESPN.com” plus 4 more

Injuries put early end to Power's IndyCar season - ESPN.com
Newstead board considers consolidation of water districts - Buffalo News
Stolen school bus police chase suspect has history of auto theft - WHAS 11
Mechanic guilty of assaulting women in auto pit - Orange County Register
Police Seek Gray Mitsubishi Involved In Deadly Hit-And-Run - WSOC-TV

Injuries put early end to Power's IndyCar season - ESPN.com

Posted: 01 Sep 2009 02:27 PM PDT

INDIANAPOLIS -- IndyCar driver Will Power is expected to miss the rest of this season but will not need surgery to repair the broken bones in his back.

Power will continue wearing a brace during a recovery that is expected to last at least four months. He will begin physical therapy for his injuries later this week.

IndyCar's orthopedic specialist, Dr. Terry Trammell, examined Power on Monday in Indianapolis. He diagnosed fractures in Power's second, third and fourth lumbar vertebrae and his fifth thoracic vertebra. Power also sustained a concussion and a chipped left front tooth in the Aug. 22 crash at Sonoma, Calif.

Power, who drives for Roger Penske's team, is expected to be healthy in time for next year's season opener in Brazil.

This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index

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Newstead board considers consolidation of water districts - Buffalo News

Posted: 01 Sep 2009 02:27 PM PDT

The feasibility of consolidating Newstead's 10 water districts into one, which is being studied by the Town Board, was the subject of a 45-minute presentation at Monday's work session.

Town engineer Scott Rybarczyk of Wendel Duchscherer outlined each district, including information on topics like outstanding debt and operation and maintenance costs. Some districts are debt free, including 2, 3 and 4, which were originally served by the Village of Akron. Other district's have varying debt levels that will be paid off at the earliest in 2018 and at the latest in 2036.

Rybarrczyk's report was preliminary, and Supervisor David Cummings stressed that "consolidation is only under consideration while we figure out whether it's feasibile."

The districts vary in size with the largest -- 5 -- covering a major portion of the town and totaling $158 million in assessed value, including two large mobile home parks and the Leisurewood Recreation Community and the smallest -- 7A -- which comprises just eight residences with a total assessed value of $1 million.

One district -- 8 -- has one user: Adesa, a large auto auction business on Main Road. Rybarczyk said that smaller districts would benefit the most under consolidation in terms of repair costs, generally spread over five years. The average cost to repair a small break in a water line is $3,000, rising to $50,000 for a major break requiring replacement of a line, he said. So spreading those costs over all the units in a consolidated district is obviously less expensive than say eight houses in the smallest district.

Looking over a color-coded map of all 10 districts and some accompaying preliminary bar graphs showing operation and maintenance costs and debt service for various districts, members of the board offered suggestions for changes that they believed would make the pros and cons of consolidation clearer to the public. If the board decides to move forward with consolidation, it would schedule a public information meeting for town residents.

"We need a common-sense document that everyone can understand," said Councilman Thomas George.

Town Attorney Nathan Neill noted that existing debt would continue to be the responsibility of individual districts, but operation and maintenance charges would be the same for all users under a consolidated districts.

"We need a proposal for what the rate would be for operation and maintenance," he said.

Rybarczyk said, "We can give you some ideas."

The board toured the Newstead Fire Hall -- where the Senior Center is located -- before convening its work session in Town Hall. It also discussed several other topics including the status of the joint public works complex and expansion of Town Hall.

The board's next regular business meeting is 8 p.m. Sept. 14.

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Stolen school bus police chase suspect has history of auto theft - WHAS 11

Posted: 01 Sep 2009 02:48 PM PDT

Cambellsville man steals school bus, leads police in chase

(WHAS11) - A Campbellsville man was arrested after allegedly stealing a school bus then leading officers on a chase before crashing into two patrol cars.

Ronald Vanheck

WHAS11's Adam Walser travelled to Taylor County, where the suspect is being held in jail under a $25,000 bond.

The suspect, Ronald Vanheck, is not in jail for the first time on this type of charge.

In fact, since 1995 he's been charged with stealing 2 school buses and a half-dozen other pieces of heavy equipment.

When Taylor County Sheriff's Deputy Ronnie Cox spotted a school bus driving down Roberts Road Saturday, he immediately became suspicious.

"Something just wasn't right when I pulled in I recognized the operator of the bus," said Cox.

It was not a professional school bus driver but someone even more familiar to officers in Taylor County, Ronald Vanheck.

"He's been stealing school buses and stuff for years. He's had a couple of convictions."

Vanheck was arrested August 17th for allegedly stealing a Taylor County Road Department backhoe.

He had been released from jail after posting a $1000 dollar bond.

But that wasn't the only time the sheriff's office has dealt with him.

Since Vanheck turned 18 in 1995, he's been charged 9 times with stealing or attempting to steal heavy equipment, including a front end loader, a Taylor County fire truck and a Kentucky Utilities repair vehicle.

During Saturday's pursuit, Vanheck led Deputy Cox on a chase that lasted more than three minutes along mostly rural roads.

"He was on the wrong side of the road part of the time. In my opinion he went around a couple of curves too fast and ended up on the wrong side of the road," said Cox.

The chase finally ended when Cox and a Campbellsville police officer blocked the bus.

Vanheck hit the brake for the officer in front, probably preventing the patrol car from being totaled.

"It's dangerous to the general public. If he'd hit a smaller vehicle, the smaller vehicle almost always loses," said Cox.

Deputies tell us that the first time Vanheck was arrested for stealing a school bus it was when he allegedly took bus number 14, the same number of the bus taken Saturday.

Authorities aren't sure how he Vanheck was able to start the bus, which was parked near Taylor County High School.

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Mechanic guilty of assaulting women in auto pit - Orange County Register

Posted: 01 Sep 2009 01:30 PM PDT

WESTMINSTER An automobile mechanic has been convicted of sexually assaulting five women in an auto repair service pit in 2007.

Adrian Montano Fuerte, 39, Tustin, was found guilty by a jury on Monday of felony forcible rape and assault with the intent to commit rape, plus two misdemeanor counts of sexual battery and one misdemeanor count of battery.

He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison at his sentencing by Superior Court Judge Lance Jensen on Nov. 6.

Fuerte worked at Econo Lube and Tune at Knott Street and Chapman Avenue in Garden Grove between Oct. 30 and Dec. 15, 2007 when he lured the women, who ranged in age from 18 to 60, into a service bay under the guise of showing them repairs that needed to be performed on their cars.

In the first incident on Oct. 30, Fuerte told a female customer that her car had major damage and she should examine it during an oil change. He then took her into the underground bay, pushed her into an oil pan and forcibly sexually assaulted her, according to Garden Grove police.

The second woman reported that he licked and bit her while holding her waist and refusing to let her go, according to a statement released today by the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

Those women reported the assaults to the Garden Grove Police Department. The three additional victims came forward as result of news coverage of Fuerte's arrest.

One of those victims reported that Fuerte fondled her breasts, another said he pushed her up against a wall, and the last reported that he pressed his entire body against her, prosecutors said.

Fuerte worked for at least two additional Econo Lube and Tune locations, but the five known sexual assaults occurred at the Garden Grove Knott Street and Chapman Avenue location, according to Deputy District Attorney Eric Scarborough.

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Police Seek Gray Mitsubishi Involved In Deadly Hit-And-Run - WSOC-TV

Posted: 01 Sep 2009 01:15 PM PDT

Posted: 10:43 pm EDT August 31, 2009Updated: 5:56 pm EDT September 1, 2009

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Police spent much of Tuesday visiting auto body repair shops, looking for a car that hit and killed a man in southeast Charlotte late Monday.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said Jessie Crouch, 62, was struck by a metallic gray Mitsubishi sedan as he crossed Monroe Road at McAlpine Station Drive shortly before 10 p.m. Crouch was thrown approximately 50 feet and sustained fatal injuries.

Crouchs son, Dajuan Hollingsworth, shared pictures of his dad and memories of good times together on Tuesday.

"That's my dad right there, and he's like the only person I can --.it's just real hard," he said.

Crouch had been walking home from a trip to buy cigarettes at a Circle K convenience store.

"We were waiting for him to come back, and it took so long for him to come back, Hollingsworth said.

He said the family went to look for him, but found the unthinkable instead.

"It was just police cars everywhere, and he was just lying in the middle of the street," Hollingsworth said.

He said it was common for his dad to take a back trail next to the Charleston Place Apartments to the Circle K, even though it required crossing four lanes of traffic. He said he cant believe someone would just hit his father and then leave the scene.

They could've just stopped. And if you see a person rolling in the street after you hit them, you just don't keep on going, he said.

Because of the impact, investigators said they found key pieces of evidence at the scene, including parts of the car that hit Crouch.

Both the family and investigators hope whoever was driving will do the right thing and come forward.

Police said they are looking for a metallic gray Mitsubishi Gallant that is a model from 1999 to 2003. The car should have damage to the front bumper, hood and windshield and its missing the driver's side mirror.

If you have any information that may help police, call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

Meanwhile, the Runaway Bay apartment complex is taking up a collection from residents and the community to help the Crouch family. To donate, call 704-535-0126.