BBUUSSIINNEESSSS............B5

CCLLAASSSSIIFFIIEEDD......C5-8

CCOOMMIICCSS ..............C3

CCOOMMMMEENNTTAARRYY .....A6

LLIIFFEESSTTYYLLEE ........C1-2

OOBBIITTUUAARRIIEESS .........B2

PPEEOOPPLLEE ..............A2

RREEGGIIOONN//SSTTAATTEE ..B1-4

SSPPOORRTTSS ...........D1-5

PPUUZZZZLLEESS//TTVV.........C4

FREEDOM COMMUNICATIONS INC.© 2006 • Published at Lima, Ohio

Officials in Aspen, Colo., votedto hire a security firm to patrol

late-night weekend bus service,which is known as the “VomitComet” because of the number ofdrunken passengers.

1 Ron Zaleski is hiking theAppalachian Trail, which

runs from Maine to Georgia,barefoot to bring attention tothe need for combat veteransto receive counseling.

2 Residents of crime-plaguedRio de Janeiro, Brazil, have a

new kind of predator to worryabout — hawks. A pair of hawkshave attacked dozens of resi-dents during the past year.

3 A 26-year-old German manmade a dusty brown suit of

armor and attempted to blend inwith the ancient warriors of EmperorQin Shihuangdi’s (221-210 B.C.)terra cotta army in Hong Kong.

4 A Maine couple upset thattheir 19-year-old daughter

was pregnant tied her up, loadedher in their car and began drivingto New York to force her to getan abortion, police said. /A5

5

2288 ppaaggeess

44 sseeccttiioonnss

CLASSIFIEDS ...........866-546-2237DELIVERY .................800-686-9914NEWS ......................800-686-9924

5onthego

5500 CCEENNTTSS DDAAIILLYY •• $$11..5500 SSUUNNDDAAYY SSeepptt.. 1199,, 22000066 8877,,550000 ddaaiillyy//110077,,000000 SSuunnddaayy rreeaaddeerrss

High 60 Low 49PPaaggee AA77

Clarett admitsguilt; jailed

SSPPOORRTTSS DD11

TUESDAY

Source: www.gasbuddy.com

Dayton

$1.98

Columbus

$1.96

Toledo

$2.05

Lima

$2.10

Cle

veland

$1.99

Akron$1.99

prices from around the

state

PilotBeaverdam ........ $2.09

Flying JBeaverdam ........ $2.10

SwiftyLima.................. $2.10

ShellLima.................. $2.24

BPLima.................. $2.24

MeijerLima.................. $2.24

Speedway Elida.................. $2.24

Prices are current as of Monday Sept. 18 at 5p.m.

By TIM RAUSCHttrraauusscchh@@lliimmaanneewwss..ccoomm

441199--999933--22009977

LIMA — Don’t expect gasstation managers to startpulling down the twos next tothe dollar signs just yet.Though the price of gas locallyhovered close to the $2 per gal-lon mark, Monday’s adjust-ment pushed it back above$2.20 in many parts of Lima.

Pilot Travel Center inBeaverdam was advertising$2.09 gasoline. Swifty on ElidaRoad kept its price at $2.10.Most chains increased theirprice to $2.24.

Even so, Spencerville’s MarkYoungpeter looked upon theprice favorably.

“I saw it $2.06 over the week-end and it looked even better,”Youngpeter said. “Any time youcan get a little more money inyour wallet, that’s always agood thing.”

Youngpeter couldn’t remem-ber the last time prices werethat low.

In May 2004, The Lima Newswas writing about local gaso-line prices reaching a high of$2.01 per gallon. It hasn’t beenthat low since December 2004.

“It is pretty bad when theygot you feeling good about$2.25, as opposed to $3.10,doesn’t it?” Youngpeter said.

By DAVID N. GOODMANTThhee AAssssoocciiaatteedd PPrreessss

DETROIT — General Mo-tors’ talks with Renault andNissan on a possible alliance —and reports Ford may be pur-suing a megadeal, too — showhow automakers constantlyturn to each other even amidfierce industry competition.

GM and Ford declined tocomment Monday on an Auto-motive News story that theirhigh-level executives discusseda merger or alliance. FordMotor Co. also declined com-ment on last month’s WallStreet Journal report that Fordproposed its own deal with Re-nault and Nissan.

In July, General MotorsCorp., Renault SA of Franceand Nissan Motor Co. ofJapan announced a 90-day re-view of a possible allianceamong them.

Auto executives talk fre-quently about “what-if scenar-ios” and possible deals large andsmall, said David Cole, chair-man of the Center for Automo-tive Research in Ann Arbor.

“These kind of discussions goon all the time,” Cole said. “Col-laborating ... is part of howthey’re doing things.”

Ford, GMtalking

mergers

By HEATHER RUTZhhrruuttzz@@lliimmaanneewwss..ccoomm

441199--999933--22009944

LIMA — One black man afteranother detailed their experiences.Of the four who talked, one wascited, the others were not. Most

weren’t sure why they were pulledover and three were stopped twicein the same weekend.

At a City Council Safety ServicesCommittee meeting Monday calledby 5th Ward Councilman TommyPitts over concerns about racialprofiling, police and officials cau-

tioned that only one side of thestory was being heard.

Police said they respond to re-ports of officers’ improper behav-ior and were already working onseveral of the cases detailed.

Pitts called the meeting afterhearing complaints of profiling fol-lowing a community law enforce-ment blitz that ran from Sept. 7-9and involved 22 agencies.

Love in the fast lane

SSPPOORRTTSS DD11

By LEE KEATHTThhee AAssssoocciiaatteedd PPrreessss

CAIRO, Egypt — Al-Qaida in Iraq warnedPope Benedict XVI on Monday that its waragainst Christianity and the West will go onuntil Islam takes over the world, and Iran’ssupreme leader called for more protests over thepontiff’s remarks on Islam.

Protests broke out in South Asia and In-donesia, with angry Muslims saying Benedict’sstatement of regret a day earlier did not go farenough. In southern Iraq, demonstrators car-rying black flags burned an effigy of the pope.

Islamic leaders around the world issued morecondemnations of the pope’s comments, but

Al-Qaida in Iraqwarns pope thatIslam will prevail

By JIM ABRAMSTThhee AAssssoocciiaatteedd PPrreessss

WASHINGTON — Anarmed man ran through thehallways of the Capitol aftercrashing his SUV through abarricade Monday in the worstbreach of security on CapitolHill since a gunman killed twopolice officers eight years ago.

The man who led police on achase through the buildingwas Carlos Greene, 20, of Sil-ver Spring, Md., said ActingCapitol Police Chief Christo-pher McGaffin. Greene had a

loaded gun and crack cocaine,McGaffin said.

Police charged Greene withfederal felony possession andassault of a police officer.

McGaffin said there wouldbe a review of Capitol secu-

rity measures. Police officials and congres-

sional aides said the man wastackled outside a basement of-fice. They said he was carrying

• Associated Press

Iraqis burn an effigy of Pope Benedict XVI dur-ing a demonstration Monday in Basra, Iraq’ssecond-largest city.

Buildinglocked down

“It is pretty bad when they got you feeling good about $2.25, as opposed to $3.10, doesn’t it?”

— Mark Youngpeter, Spencerville

Former Lima resident on sceneMonday’s lockdown at the U.S. Capitol affected at least one

former Lima resident.Erik Johnson, an Ohio State University graduate and son of The

Lima News Publisher Stephen Johnson, was at work in the Capi-tol when a man crashed his vehicle into a security barricade

“I was already in the office. I came in at 8 a.m. and it hap-pened not long after,” said Johnson, a staff assistant to U.S.Sen. George Voinovich. “The Capitol police were keeping usinformed. We were notified the building was closed. But by 9 o’clock, everything was back to normal.”

Armed man crashes barricade at Capitol, taken into custody

Gas priceshover near $2 gallon

See AL-QAIDA • A7

See GAS PRICES • A7

See PROFILING • A7

See MERGERS • A7

Just how low will it go?

See ON SCENE • A7

See CAPITOL • A7

Discussionsmay be a signof the times

REPORT

TThhee eellddeerrllyy ddeeaall wwiitthh nniigghhttttiimmee ffeeaarrss.. HHEEAALLTTHH CC11

JENICA MILLER • The Lima News

Lima City Councilman Tommy Pitts listens as LimaPolice Chief Greg Garlock speaks Monday regard-ing racial profiling in area law enforcement.

“When I was pulledover, before I was

asked for my license,they asked where my drugs were.”

— DeMond Lilespulled over for loud music

Racial profiling concerns addressedMeeting called by Councilman Pittsover complaints during ticket push

SECOND BASEBriefs and opinions /D2

SCOREBOARDStandings and stats /D5

KID NEWSEverything about hurricanes /D6

Sports DTTuueessddaayy,, SSeepptt.. 1199,, 22000066TThhee LLiimmaa NNeewwss TTOO RREEPPOORRTT GGAAMMEE RREESSUULLTTSS:: 419-993-2085 or 800-686-9924

BBAASSEEBBAALLLLAstros beat the

slumping Reds, 5-3.D3

Jaguars blankSteelers, 9-0

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP)— Big Ben was back. Hewasn’t back to form.

Wearing protectivepadding around his midsec-tion, Ben Roethlisberger re-turned to Pittsburgh’s lineupagainst the JacksonvilleJaguars, barely two weeksafter having an emergencyappendectomy. The Jaguarsharassed Roethlisbergerand ended the defendingSuper Bowl champions’nine-game winning streakwith a 9-0 win — the low-est-scoring game in Mon-day Night Football history.

Clippersbigger

than lifeSometimes sports are

more than just sports.Mention a particular

game or a certain playerand the memories comeflooding back.

Sports can help us re-member where we were,when.

Some people rememberwhere they were whenJames “Buster” Douglasknocked out Mike Tyson, orwhen Barry Bonds hit No.72, or when Emmitt Smithbroke Walter Payton’s rush-ing record.

But for me, the ColumbusClippers and their home,Cooper Stadium, are one ofthose teams and places thathave special meaning for meoutside of bats, base pathsand gloves. My history andthat of the Clippers are in-tertwined, even if none ofthe players or managementrealize it.

The news that the NewYork Yankees ended theiraffiliation with the Colum-bus Clippers probably didn’taffect too many people inWest Central Ohio. It proba-bly didn’t concern too manyin central Ohio either, judg-ing by the poor attendancefigures.

Clippers general managerKen Schnake said therewould be baseball in Colum-bus next year. And I believehim, but it just won’t be thesame.

My grandfather, MarvinYoung, worked as a carpen-ter at Cooper Stadium, andI spent many afternoons ofmy youth driving to thewest side of Columbus tovisit my grandfather and

TY WRIGHT • The Lima News

Kevin Fisher, of Lima, celebrates with wife Kathy after a race at the Milan Dragway in Milan, Mich.

Couple finds love in the fast laneBy JOHN S. HULLINGER

and TY WRIGHTlliimmaanneewwss@@lliimmaanneewwss..ccoomm

441199--999933--22008855

Kevin Fisher remembers the firsttime he saw her.

As he sat strapped into his dragster,getting ready to make a run, it hap-pened.

“Then I have this beautiful blondewalk up to me,” Fisher said. “Shecomes up and introduces herself to meand we shake hands and everything.She says, ‘I see you’re getting ready to

go out and make a pass. Maybe we cantalk later. I just wanted to introducemyself.’ All my crew was like ‘Whowasthat?’”

That was July 1999. A friendshipgrew out of that meeting and Kevinand Kathy Fisher were married onSeptember 2000.

On Saturday, the couple will cele-

brate their sixth anniversary.The Lima couple has shared every-

thing since then — a love for drag rac-ing and a love for each other.

They compete together in Interna-tional Hot Rod Association Division IIIQuick Rods.

They even work together runningPerformance by Fisher on North WestStreet. Kevin builds and repairs theengines and Kathy does the books.

The Fishers actually had their firstintroduction over the phone.

Kathy, who doubles as MIX 103.3 on-air personality Kathy Hague, was sell-

ing advertising for the station. One dayshe opened the Yellow Pages looking forleads and stumbled across a full-pagead for Performance by Fisher that fea-tured a picture of Kevin.

She had been around drag racing herwhole life. Her dad raced and she hadstarted racing a Camaro Z28 herself.

“I helped him work on the cars whenI was growing up,” Kathy said. “I wasdefinitely tom-boy material. I had thefarmers tan from wearing the hats andT-shirts at the track.”

See FAST LANE • D4

Clarett pleads guiltyCOLUMBUS (AP) — When

the day comes that MauriceClarett can be released fromprison 3 1/2 years from now,the former Ohio State footballstar’s life story will hardlyhave been told in full.

If his lockup ends on the ear-liest possible date, Clarett,who struck an unexpectedplea deal Monday for robbery

and concealed weaponscharges, will be all of 26 yearsold. His 8-week-old daughter,who was present for his sen-tencing, will not yet haveturned 4.

“It’s in a range that willallow him to get his life backtogether after his release,”Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said.

Judge David Fais announced

the agreement on the dayClarett’s aggravated robberytrial was to begin. He was sen-tenced to 7 1/2 years with re-lease possible after 3 1/2 years,and five years of probation.

A bearded Clarett, wearinghandcuffs and jail-issue cloth-ing, remained expressionlessthroughout Monday’s hearing.

“I’d like to apologize for my

behavior, and I accept the timethat was given to me,” Clarettsaid when asked if he wishedto address the court.

After the judge accepted thedeal, Clarett looked over at hismother in the first row of thegallery. She was sobbing andholding his infant daughterwhile sitting next to his girl-friend.

Former football star sentenced to prison

• Associated Press

Maurice Clarett listens to ajudge after pleading guilty Mon-day in Columbus.

See SCHNEIDER • D3

Pollack out for seasonwith neck injury

By JOE KAYAAPP SSppoorrttss WWrriitteerr

CINCINNATI — LinebackerDavid Pollack is out for the sea-son with a neck injury, the mostserious setback for the banged-up Cincinnati Bengals headinginto a highly anticipated game.

Pollack is one of three startershurt during a 34-17 victory Sun-day over the Cleveland Browns.The former first-round draftpick was injured tacklingReuben Droughns on Cleve-land’s second play.

He was taken to a local hospi-tal and place in a halo brace thatimmobilizes the neck. CoachMarvin Lewis said Monday thatPollack has full feeling in hisarms and legs and is expected tomake a full recovery withoutsurgery.

“At this point, it’s not career-threatening,” Lewis said.“There is no damage to thespinal cord at all.”

The Bengals placed Pollackon injured reserve Monday,

making him ineligible to playthis season.

The Bengals also lost safetyDexter Jackson and center RichBraham during the first half,forcing them to shuffle their lineand secondary. Jackson limpedoff with a severely sprainedright ankle, and Braham wastaken off on a cart with a deepbruise on his left knee.

Neither is expected to beavailable Sunday.

Receiver T.J. Housh-mandzadeh sat out the first twogames with a bruised heel, andleft tackle Levi Jones was inac-tive for the Cleveland game witha lingering ankle sprain. Bothcould play against Pittsburgh.

Chad Johnson should be fineas well. The Pro Bowl receiverwas groggy after Brian Russell’shigh hit knocked off his helmetand gashed his chin on Cincin-nati’s last pass. Johnson gotstitches in his chin, but wasn’tcoherent enough to dopostgame interviews.

Ordonez lifts Tigerspast White Sox

TThhee AAssssoocciiaatteedd PPrreessss

CHICAGO — KennyRogers pitched six shutout in-nings for his 16th win, Mag-glio Ordonez homered twiceagainst his former team andthe Detroit Tigers increased

their AL Cen-tral leadM o n d a ynight by beat-ing theC h i c a g oWhite Sox 8-2.

The Tigers lead Minnesota,which was idle Monday night,by 1½ games in the divisionand are six games ahead of thedefending World Series cham-pion White Sox, whose returnto the playoffs is in deep jeop-ardy after a sixth loss in eightgames.

Rogers (16-6) allowed justfour hits, escaped several jamsand is 5-1 over his last nine

starts. He improved to 3-1against the White Sox thisseason and has allowed threeearned runs in 33 inningsagainst Chicago.

Jim Thome’s 40th homer, asolo shot off Fernando Rod-ney in the eighth, ended theTigers’ shutout bid. Pinch-hit-ter Josh Fields homered in theninth in his first big league at-bat for the White Sox.

This time it was Ordonez’sturn to put a big hurt on hisformer team with a pair of solohomers. On Saturday andSunday in Oakland, ex-WhiteSox star Frank Thomas hithomers to help the A’s sweepChicago.

Craig Monroe also con-nected off Mark Buehrle (12-13), who was bailed out of abig first inning by the WhiteSox’s second triple play of theseason. Buehrle, just 3-7 inthe second half, gave up 10

See TIGERS • D3

TIGERS8

WHITE SOX2

• Associated Press

Cincinnati linebacker David Pollack (99) is attended to bytrainers after he sustained a season-ending neck injury dur-ing its 34-17 win over the Browns on Sunday in Cincinnati. Pol-lack was placed on the injured reserve list Monday with a neckinjury, but the Cincinnati Bengals expect him to be fully re-covered for next season.

JeremySchneider

jschneider@limanews.com 419-993-2088

The Lima News

INSIDE For more photos, see Page D4.

“We love drag racing and we love each other.” — Kevin Fisher

Detroit’s lead moves to 1 1/2 games

So she called the man in thead.

“We just talked about every-thing other than radio adver-tising,” she said. “I told him Iwas going over to Marion(County Raceway) and he said,‘Yeah, that’s where I’m runningtoo.’”

They met and their friend-

ship grew.In May of 2000, Kevin made

his move.He bought her a dozen roses.

Once at the track, he rode hisATV over to her pit and gavethem to her.

“I said, ‘These are for you.’And I swear, to this day, I saw atear come out of the corner of

her eye,” he said.Kathy laughs at that state-

ment. “We’re not even goingthere,” she said.

Now they are business part-ners, teammates, competitorsand best friends.

“Everything we do is to-gether,” Kathy said. “We stillhave couple spats like anybody

else would. … Sometimes weboth have different ideas andwe’re both a little bull-headed.”

One issue they have to bal-ance is when one driver has agood weekend while the otherstruggles.

During a race in Ontario,Canada, earlier this year, Kathyredlighted by 9/1,000s of a sec-

ond in the first round, whileKevin went on to post one ofhis best results of the season.

“I was fine with it. I was like,‘Ok, it was really close. Youcan’t blink in 7/1,000s of a sec-ond. Now we need to concen-trate on him.’ And he went onto do very well that race,” shesaid.

“There have been timesthough, I’ll have to admit, inpast years, I’d get a little jeal-ous. ‘I’m just as good as you are.Why am I not still out there?’But you grow up and get overthat.”

Said Kevin, “We love dragracing and we love each other.”

D4 Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2006 The Lima NewsL O V E I N T H E F A S T L A N E

FFAASSTT LLAANNEE •• from D1 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

TY WRIGHT photos The Lima News

Kathy kissesKevin bytheir trailerand dragsterat the MilanDragway.“We lovedrag racingand we loveeach other,”Kevin said.

Kevin waits in a line of dragsters before racing at the Milan Dragway in Milan, Mich.

Kathy and a crew member watch and cheer for husband Kevin during one of his races at the Milan Dragway.

Kevinlatches hishelmet tothe rollcage of hisdragsterbefore rac-ing at theMilanDragway.

Kathy putson hergloves inher dragsterbefore rac-ing at theMilan Drag-way. In ad-dition toracing andworking withher husbandat Perfor-mance byFisher,Kathy is anon-air radiopersonalityat MIX103.3 inLima.

www.limanews.comVisit The Lima News online

for local news, sports & weather

Let’s reminisceEvery Wednesday is a blast from the past

in The Lima News