Family Blames UA for Grad Student's Death

The University of Akron released a statement Monday in response to the series of articles published in the Akron Beacon Journal since Sunday about a graduate student who committed suicide in December.

Charles Plinton, a 25-year-old from New Jersey, was finishing his second semester of graduate school in 2004 when he was arrested while walking to class in Polsky's. A joint effort by the university police department and the Summit County Drug Unit accused Plinton of trafficking marijuana to a confidential informant on March 3 and 11 in 2004.

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For the first time, the kangaroo is a shameful symbol to the university landscape.

Kangaroos show up at basketball games, football games and many events the university sponsors. Now, the kangaroo court is Akron's shame.

Indulge a recap of current events: In 2004, Charles Plinton, a promising young graduate student, was falsely accused by a police informant - a 35-year-old ex-convict codenamed "Hulk" - of selling marijuana. The student was exonerated and cleared of the charges by a jury of his peers.

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GRANVILLE -- Marijuana is about as harmless as a cup of coffee but far less dangerous than alcohol and tobacco, an advocate for changes in marijuana laws told a Denison University audience of about 200 Tuesday night.

Allen F. St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, often used the alcohol analogy to make his points favoring general decriminalization of marijuana.

St. Pierre, 40, drew a curious contrast between the friendly neighborhood bartender pouring a beer and "pushers" who sell marijuana. "There is no functional difference between a bartender and a drug dealer," he contended.

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I don't know what's more surprising - that UC spent time and money "discovering" the traits of "open air" drug sales or that The Enquirer found the details so astonishing that it made the front page of the Local News section ("UC study details 'open-air' drug sales," March 1). Most people already know that drug dealers use communication networks are very territorial and sell in their own neighborhoods. I can't imagine that this comes as a shock to anyone.

How about a study that shows what leads people to a life of crime and how that can be prevented, or a study showing the most effective ways we can get drug dealers off the street corners?

Jason Prinzo

Downtown

[end]

7 Cincinnati Street Corners in UC Study Generate Crime

Seven street corners known for drug dealing generated more than 3,000 police calls in 2004, according to a University of Cincinnati study that was presented to city council's Law and Public Safety Committee on Tuesday.

The study identified some key similarities in the so-called "open-air drug markets" that were found in four neighborhoods - Avondale, Evanston, Pendleton and West Price Hill.

The eight-month study, released in July 2005, found the markets are a huge source of crime in the neighborhoods.

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The criminal indictments filed as a result of the 2003 investigation into the former Professional Pain Management of Ohio are on the verge of being dismissed for a second time.

But this time it's at the request of Tuscarawas County prosecutors, who have been notified that federal prosecutors have decided to look into the matter.

A succinct request for dismissal was filed by Assistant Prosecutor David C. Hipp in each of the nine cases Thursday. A hearing on the requests is expected to be scheduled before Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court Judge Edward O'Farrell.

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A proposal to toughen the city's penalty for marijuana possession met firm resistance Tuesday from residents and some Council members.

Saying that Ohio has the most lax marijuana laws in the nation and that local police need more tools to combat drugs, Councilman Cecil Thomas proposed stiffer penalties for marijuana possession.

But Councilmen Jim Tarbell and David Crowley said they would not support the measure, echoing a chorus of citizens who attended a meeting of Council's Law and Public Safety Committee.

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CLEVELAND - The rotting, brittle teeth of methamphetamine users are eating away at the budgets of Ohio's prisons and jails, as officials are forced to spend more taxpayer dollars on dental work.

Dentists call the erosion of tooth enamel and blackening of gum lines that come with using the drug "meth mouth."

The condition is mostly responsible for the doubling of dental costs at Ohio's county jails in the past five years, said Robert Cornwell, executive director of the Buckeye State Sheriffs' Association. Since 2001, dental care spending at state prisons has jumped 20 percent to nearly $3.8 million. Prisons officials blame most of the rise on inflation and increases in dentists' salaries, but said meth mouth will continue to hike costs. They estimate that as many as 10 new inmates with meth mouth enter the prison system each week.

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A pain management clinic on U.S. 23 is the focus of a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. 23 Major Crimes Task Force.

Friday afternoon, officers from both agencies served federal search warrants at the clinic at 5565 U.S. 23.

Dr. Paul H. Volkman, a Chicago native, runs the practice. He was not arrested and has not been charged in connection with the investigation.

According to the state medical board, Volkman, 59, has been licensed to practice medicine in Ohio since July 15, 1996, and specializes in emergency medicine, clinical pharmacology and pain medicine. He is a 1974 graduate of the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.

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Reformed Act May Give Students With Past Drug Charges Aid

Thousands of students who are caught possessing or selling drugs have lost their financial aid - but this may all change soon since Congress just recently reformed the law that strips aid to students with drug convictions.

The Higher Education Act Drug Provision allows more students with past offenses to receive aid, which President Bush is expected to sign into law. But, lawbreakers who were enrolled in school and getting taxpayer support at the time when they were convicted can't apply for aid. The change is expected to benefit mostly older students.

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The federal government's Higher Education Act that previously had included a strict denial of federal financial aid to students with past drug convictions is expected to be revamped to provide more leniency to older drug offenders.

Now, prospective students with drug-related criminal backgrounds are being given a second chance to put their lives back together, and with financial aid are more likely to have a chance to further their education. Giving older offenders - who were not on financial aid at the time of their conviction - a chance to leave their troubles in the past is a better direction for legislation and correctly gives reformed criminals a chance to begin anew.

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Cincinnati City Councilman Cecil Thomas plans to propose tougher penalties for marijuana possession - a move that could re-ignite a debate that stalled a similar proposal last summer.

Thomas, the new chairman of Council's Law and Public Safety Committee, said stiffening the punishment would give police more tools to combat the city's drug problem and bring Cincinnati's code in line with neighboring Indiana and Kentucky, where penalties are much more stringent.

"It's another tool to make it much tougher for those who want to open a drug market in Cincinnati," said Thomas, who was a city police officer for 27 years.

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Lack of initial student input, parental notification, choice of counselors and stiffer penalties are concerns that Student Senate has with the Alcohol Response Task Force's proposed changes to Ohio University's alcohol policy.

Student Senate passed a resolution last Wednesday that "condemned" the lack of student input in the task force's recommended changes. The resolution asks for the task force's proposal to be sent back to committee, with the addition of five student representatives.

"Enabling Student Senators to question the policy after its creation is no substitute for inclusion in the initial development of such a plan," the resolution declared.

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For those students with drug-related convictions, getting federal financial aid from the government can be a long shot.

This may not be the case for much longer, as members of the House and Senate prepare to vote on the Higher Education Budget Reconciliation Act of 2005, which contains an amendment that would change the rules.

"Right now, if you have been convicted of selling or possessing drugs, you can be declared ineligible for federal financial aid," said Lisa Hassleschwert, interim director of financial aid for UT. "The new amendment would change the law so that only students who are convicted while receiving the aid money can be penalized."

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Cocaine's Use Has Declined on Campus, Though It's Still Being Used

Editor's note: The stories on this page represent the final installment of a series about drug use on and around the Ohio University campus.

The ancient Inca civilization of Peru considered it a "gift from the gods." Centuries later, it made the list of ingredients in various wines and Coca-Cola. Author Robert Lewis Stevenson wrote "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" on a six-day binge. And even Sigmund Freud, one of its most famous fans, conducted studies on it, declaring it good for fighting depression, asthma and digestive disorders, among other ailments.

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When looking at the illegal drug culture of Athens, one can look deeper at the population to find a subculture of people who look for drugs to possibly do more than make them "high" for a few hours.

Some Ohio University students and community members use drugs that they say expand their consciousness and perception of reality, though they acknowledge the potential for a "bad trip," not to mention the serious legal repercussions of getting caught with these drugs.

The aforementioned illegal drugs include such psychedelics as LSD (acid), MDMA (Ecstasy) and psilocybin mushrooms. While all three of these drugs can have dramatically different effects on the body, users typically use them for similar purposes or desired outcomes.

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Some Students Pop Pills for Studying, Stamina or Recreation

Editor's note: This is the second installment in a three-part series examining the use and sale of illegal drugs on and around the Ohio University campus. The final installment will be published on Monday.

Along with the more well-known drugs of abuse, such as alcohol, marijuana and cocaine, some Ohio University students use an assortment of other illegal drugs. They include prescription and "study" drugs, as well as methamphetamines and "date-rape drugs."

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Most users of illegal drugs know about their dangers hypothetically, but they don't think they themselves will ever get hurt.

The fact is, though, that people do get hurt and some people even die from misusing drugs, including right here in Athens County.

Last year, according to local officials, around 10-12 people died from drug or alcohol overdoses in Athens County, in addition to others who may have died while driving under the influence or who had drugs or alcohol in their system when they officially died from other causes.

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Alexander school board members voted unanimously Thursday to rescind a controversial drug-testing policy until research can be completed for a possible new drug-prevention policy.

Superintendent Robert Bray recommended the school board rescind the policy and conduct a survey of taxpayers in the district to see what they thought would be the best policy for drug prevention in Alexander schools.

The board will seek the advice of Brian Quick, professor of communication studies at Ohio University, during the February board meeting to see what information the board will need to make a good decision on a new policy.

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In the next several issues, The Athens NEWS will delve into the secret life of drugs, drug users and drug dealers on and around the Ohio University campus.

From the legal to the forbidden, from one-time users to hardcore addicts, from all angles of this underground community, we will explore what it means to be a part of the subversive world of drugs in Athens.

Due to the illicit nature of the topic, we have protected the identities of many of our sources by withholding their names from this series. In return, they have given us a candid look at what it's like to be a part of the OU drug culture.

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Ask any "pothead" and he likely will confirm that weed is expensive. Yet the real cost of marijuana is not the price of a bag but the potential cost to students' futures.

While marijuana usually isn't as dangerous as other illegal drugs, and many users are able to use it safely and moderately, its misuse can adversely affect students' educations, their federal financial aid, their health and their freedom.

"I used to go to class high all the time. That was probably not such a good idea," said an Ohio University senior, who requested that his name be withheld for fear of legal repercussions.

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When we were children, television and movies taught us that drug deals typically follow a standard, impersonal formula: an order placed by anonymous phone call, a trip to the bank to withdraw exact cash, and finally, a wordless exchange on some dark corner.

But then we all grew up, came to Athens and realized that obtaining drugs is quite a bit easier than we had ever imagined. Many Ohio University students aren't only using illegal drugs, in this case, predominately marijuana, but are selling them as well.

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Heroin is here.

And New Philadelphia police say they're confiscating more and more of it everyday.

"We have a problem," said K-9 Officer Randy Williamson. "It's starting to become the drug of choice."

In just the first few days of 2006, Williamson said, officers have collected more heroin than they collected in all of 2005 and 2004.

The department collected 19 "folds" of heroin in the past nine days. A "fold" - a square of paper folded to hold a drug - contains less than a gram of heroin. By comparison, 11 folds were confiscated in 2005 and none in 2004.

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The glass doors of Hometown Market seem to be in constant motion. People flow in and out as cars try to maneuver in the crowded lot of this corner store in Lorain. They wait in line to pay for their $4.25 packs of Marlboros, 2-percent milk and lottery tickets.

The red Cherokee is parked in one of the spaces facing West 22nd Street, under the sign that says "American and Spanish Food, Cold Wine and Beer to GO!" A man sits in the driver's seat with the engine running.

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There's good news and bad news from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

It seems teens, specifically those in grades eight, 10 and 12, have cut back on smoking cigarettes, but they're using more prescription painkillers.

The agency's annual study found that 9.5 percent of 12th-graders reported using the painkiller Vicodin and 5.5 percent reported using OxyContin in the past year. Even more frightening is the fact that long-term trends show a significant increase in the abuse of OxyContin from 2002 to 2005 among 12th-graders.

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Winter is here.

Now East 30th Street near Globe Avenue in South Lorain looks much like it did when Brenda first saw her new house that March nearly three years ago.

Harmless enough.

Brenda, who did not want to use her real name for this story, and her family liked the new home enough to leave their 138-acre farm in Kentucky to move north. She got a job at a nearby Wal-Mart. As the city thawed, Brenda and her family were ready to start their new life.

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Joe Chaddock pretends to hike up his slacks as an Edison Junior High student strolls past him in the hallway.

"Need a belt?" he asks the student, whose jeans have sagged below his waistline.

"Nope," replies the grinning student, now twisting his head backward toward Chaddock while pulling his pants up. "I've got one."

Chaddock, the second-year principal of the 775-student school, finds himself roaming the hallways more this year to say hello, ask about homework assignments and, occasionally, play sheriff.

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HAMILTON -- As drug abuse continues to plague the country, the Hamilton Police Department took steps Thursday to arm themselves with additional ammunition to help fight the war on drugs.

The ammunition came in the form of a $44,975 grant, which was awarded to the HPD for the 2005-06 school year from Attorney General Jim Petro - -- as a part of Ohio's Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.

The grant is a portion of the more than $3.5 million being divided amongst 216 law enforcement agencies statewide. The money will be used to pay up to half of the specially trained D.A.R.E. officer's salaries, according to police officials.

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Teens want to fit in with a group of peers somewhere. Sometimes they do things that they think will get them on the inside track, but they don't think about the consequences first.

They just want to fit in so badly somewhere that they jump in with both feet, and later have regrets that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Susan grumbled often when she was younger because her parents didn't like some of her friends. She wasn't allowed to do the things those other kids did. Mom and Dad told her that the wrong friends would lead her down the primrose path. They'd be around until the first sign of trouble, then they'd be gone. Debbie was her best friend for a number of years. Or were they really best friends? They seemed more like competitors to Susan's parents. They seemed to be playing, "Can You Top This?" One would do something, then the other would have to do something bigger, riskier.

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Seven Establishments Breed Crime and Trouble, Residents Tell Officials

Someone was killed there. High-school kids fight there. Drug deals go down there.

Those are some reasons cited by residents who want seven Columbus businesses to lose their liquor licenses. They said the businesses are magnets for crime and other problems.

The city does go after businesses with several liquor violations pending against them, Assistant City Attorney Bridget Carty said.

Owners contacted said they had recently bought the business or have been working with the city to curb problems.

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Responses to Riots, Terrorism, Crime Among Possible Uses

The State Highway Patrol has three helicopters, 12 airplanes, a mobile command post and 1,200 cruisers in its fleet.

But the agency that patrols Ohio roadways lacks a military grade vehicle that can resist a grenade blast, evacuate 25 people at once and detect radiation.

Soon, the patrol might have two.

On Monday, the state Controlling Board will consider an unbid contract with Lenco Industries Inc., of Massachusetts, for a pair of the Ballistic Engineered Armored Response & Rescue vehicles at $341,519 each.

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Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham was more than a criminal. He was a head case. And the astounding thing about the California Republican's career is that federal prosecutors had to take him down. The voters didn't have the selfregard to do it themselves.

Any number of politicians could have this conservative congressional district in and around San Diego. The people didn't have to be represented by a total screwball.

Some might forgive, even enjoy, crusty candor in a decorated Navy pilot, which Cunningham was But the man's outbursts overshot any rough charm and landed in lunatic city. That his constituents now express shock that he could do bad things makes you wonder.

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It is hard to figure out the mindset of many Americans living in the secular-progressive paradise of San Francisco. A couple of weeks ago they voted to oppose military recruiting in the city's public schools including colleges. In the middle of a vicious war on terror, the City by the Bay says no to the people who volunteer to protect us.

When I criticized the vote on radio and television, there was wailing and gnashing of teeth. The basic thrust of the indignation was that San Francisco objects to the methods some military recruiters use. Of course, Proposition One on the ballot said nothing about that. It asked a simple question: Should the city oppose military recruitment in schools? Sixty percent of San Franciscans voted yes.

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The editorial "Make homicides target No. 1" (Nov. 23) for making homicides the number one priority is noteworthy, and even acknowledged that Hamilton County Coroner Dr. O'dell Owens' assessment that it's just drug dealers killing each other was not accurate. There are many other negative impacts related to these drug-trade-related homicides.

The editorial fell short when it called for more of the dug war's "Plan A" tactics. It is time to discuss how to honestly decrease this violence. Plan A is not working, has not worked and will never work, so where is Plan B?

Robert Ryan

Blue Ash

[end]

After advising his board of education Thursday to put a controversial student drug-testing policy into cold storage, Alexander Local School Supt. Bob Bray acknowledged that being more open with the public about the policy's adoption from the outset might have saved the district a lot of grief.

"Sure," Bray admitted. "That's probably the biggest thing we've learned from this."

The school board voted to suspend the drug-testing policy for the rest of 2005, in hopes of avoiding a lawsuit over possible violation of the state's open-meetings law prior to its adoption.

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The Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform (WONPR) has endorsed Ohio Senate Bill 74, which would allow for the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. The bill, in committee since February, would regulate the use of marijuana by requiring a physician to conduct an assessment and provide a statement verifying that a patient would benefit from marijuana therapy (see "Toking the Cure," issue of March 2-8).

"The WONPR, along with our coalition members, represent a total membership in excess of 2.5 million women nationwide," said Jean Marlowe, executive director of the organization. "We believe in drug policies based on compassion, human and civil rights and common sense. We are honored to endorse the humanitarian efforts of the Ohio Legislature to protect their citizens from misguided and cruel government policies where the health and well-being of our citizens are at stake."

In the 1930s the WONPR was instrumental in the movement to dismantle alcohol prohibition. The organization recently re-formed "to return dignity to school children, responsibility to families and credibility to law enforcement" by ending the war on drugs.

[end]

Police: Middletown Ring Plotted To Kill FBI Agent

HAMILTON - A Middletown drug ring that injected Butler and Warren counties with $50 million to $100 million a year in illicit drugs from Mexico was so protective of its trade that members planned to kill a local FBI agent and paid for the killing of an alleged snitch.

That was the story that unraveled Tuesday as local and federal authorities announced the final arrests in a complicated, two-year investigation that started with a small undercover cocaine buy in Springboro and led agents to the Mexican border in Arizona and Texas.

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GENEVA-ON-THE-LAKE - An unidentified village resident found a backpack filled with items used in the illegal manufacture of the drug methamphetamine Sunday morning, police reports show.

The man was searching through the Dumpster behind Lakeview Resorts, located at 5287 Lake Road across the street from The Cove nightclub, when he found a backpack containing precursor materials: chemicals, funnels, meth oil extract and other items used to make methamphetamine, police reports show.

"It was a backpack full of stuff, which can be just as dangerous as a large-scale meth lab. We treat them all with the same caution," village Police Chief Tim Bruckman said.

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Controversy over a student drug-testing policy in the Alexander Local School District probably played a part in the outcome of the Nov. 8 election, in which voters replaced two school-board incumbents who supported the policy, and re-elected a third incumbent who did not.

However, the two new board members both told The Athens NEWS this week that they didn't run on the issue of ditching the drug testing, and probably won't be in a big hurry to address the topic once they take their seats in January.

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LANCASTER - Yvette Worstall and Trisha Sounders want to educate Fairfield County residents on how to prevent drug, alcohol and especially methamphetamine abuse.

The deadline to sign up for their most recent effort - a seminar titled "Drug Prevention: What's Faith Got To Do With It?"is at 5 p.m. today. The seminar is scheduled for 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Thursday.

Much of what's addressed in the program will be prevention associated with methamphetamines. "Meth produced in labs in the community are a hazard to the environment and the people living in that environment," Worstall said. "The chemicals needed to produce the drug can be bought at any store, but they give off toxic fumes and are prone to explosions."

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LORAIN -- The porch light outside of 1857 E. 37th St. is on, but nobody is home. A freshly placed "For Rent" sign is planted on the lawn.

And it's all thanks to several residents, who were not going to allow drugs on their street.

As Kerwin Rios stands in front of his East 37th Street home, he points to several neighboring houses, saying, "We watch out for them, and them and them."

Kerwin, 43, and his wife, Laura, have lived on the street for more than 15 years. They are two of several neighbors who said they were not about to let drugs on their street.

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Pastor Fears Drug Convictions In '70s May Cost Residency

Springdale Valley Vineyard Community Church Pastor Keith Thomas loves this country so much he wants to live here permanently.

But Thomas, 51, of Fairfield, fears two drug convictions in the 1970s in London may prevent him from living in the United States.

Thomas hasn't been told why he was denied in May an interim work visa and travel visa, which he applied to receive with his residency visa in February.

Right now, Thomas' immigration attorney, Matthew Gunn, has requested to know why the visas were "administratively closed" and no notification was sent. Now they are at the mercy of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Gunn said.

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Therapy takes new approach to ridding students of cravings

Students trying to quit drinking, smoking or using other addictive substances, can now kick the habit with a new program at the University.

Cognitive-Behavioral Assessment and Treatment of Substance Abuse is going to be different from other drug programs on campus.

According to Harold Rosenberg, program supervisor, it's going to teach clients how to learn to deal with their cravings for the substance.

"The method we are using is called Cue Exposure Therapy," Rosenberg said. "The idea behind this is people who have cravings for drugs that they are abusing, instead of trying to avoid it -- which is probably impossible -- let's teach students how to cope with those cravings."

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KENNEDY HEIGHTS - Maybe the recipe for winning the war on drugs is a mix of enforcement, education and eggs.

The combination is working in one Cincinnati neighborhood.

Some Kennedy Heights residents, armed with plastic Easter eggs, recently won a turf war against drug dealers who had taken control of a bridge on Kennedy Avenue, next to Kennedy Park.

The dealers used the bridge like an office.

They sat on the concrete ledge. As customers approached and inquired about their products, the dealers walked beneath the bridge - which they used as a storage room of sorts - and returned to the top of the bridge with the goods.

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Woman's Friend Hospitalized

MARION - Two suspected methadone overdoses, one fatal, have the Marion Police Department scrambling to determine how the highly regulated drug may be getting into the community.

Maj. Tom Robbins said Kimberly Hamm, a 19-year-old Marion woman, died early Thursday morning from a drug overdose. A friend, whose name police are not releasing, is being treated at Marion General Hospital after his mom found him unresponsive at his home Thursday afternoon and called 9-1-1.

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MOUNT VERNON -- Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro has announced that his office will fully fund all law enforcement agencies in Ohio that participate in the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program for the 2005-06 school year.

That announcement came as welcome news to Knox County Sheriff David Barber.

"It definitely helps the county out and we rely on it quite a bit," said Barber. "The grant funding pays up to 50 percent of one of our DARE officer's pay and benefits for the nine-month school year. It averages about $20,000 per year for us.

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MEDINA - An agent with the Medina County Drug Task Force last week received a Special Award of Honor for participating in a three-year investigation called "Operation Dark Star."

The award, given by the International Narcotic Enforcement Officers Association, is a result of the 30-count indictment naming 55 suspects in Ohio, Arizona and Florida, a press release stated.

"It was a huge honor for the entire agency to be involved in a case spanning so many states to begin with, let alone to receive an international award," said award recipient Agent Smith, who refused to provide a first name, citing safety reasons. "We wouldn't have gotten this had we not worked together on the case."

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A Youngstown Mayoral Candidate Said the Democratic Nominee Is Paranoid.

YOUNGSTOWN -- Democrat Robert F. Hagan said "right-wing extremists are targeting" him in today's Youngstown mayoral election by supporting one of his opponents.

Jay Williams, the opponent in question, said Hagan is paranoid.

"I don't know if it's pressure or desperation on his part," Williams, an independent candidate, said of Hagan.

Surrounded by fellow Democrats at his campaign headquarters Monday, Hagan displayed a chart that ties Williams to people he described as right-wing extremists. They include Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, a 2006 Republican gubernatorial candidate, and David Zanotti, head of the conservative Ohio Roundtable.

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Committee Will Decide Whether to Bring Program Back to Schools or Have Police Develop Their Own

JACKSON TWP. - Township police are evaluating whether the nationally known DARE program will return to local schools.

A committee of police, teachers, parents and students met last week to discuss whether the crime prevention curriculum is effective for the township.

"Does it meet our community's needs?" Police Chief Harley Neftzer asked.

Police had axed the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program in Jackson Local Schools because of budget cuts. In May, however, voters approved a new 4.5-mill, five-year levy, and police will reassign an officer to crime prevention education in the schools in January.

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The Six Candidates Participated in a Radio Debate Friday.

YOUNGSTOWN -- A newly formed political organization mailed more than 8,000 fliers to city residents opposing the election of Robert F. Hagan as mayor.

The organization, New Vision Youngstown, also is airing television commercials critical of Hagan, a state senator and the Democratic mayoral nominee in Tuesday's election.

The flier includes only the group's name, something Hagan says violates state law.

State law requires organizations, such as New Vision Youngstown, to also include the name of a committee officer and street address on fliers, said James Lee, spokesman for the Ohio Secretary of State's Office.

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