October news began with fatal domestic dispute

October began with a domestic dispute that ended in tragedy in Dillonvale.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department investigated a murder-suicide on Oct. 3.

The sheriff's department reported witnesses saw and heard the gunshots fired by Donald Christopher Harris, 44, of Adena, at his girlfriend, Denise Kennedy, 45, of Dillonvale. The sheriff's department reported the two had been dating for a period and Kennedy was ending the relationship.

Harris went to Kennedy's home later that evening and began beating on the door, according to reports.

When she would not let him into the home, Kennedy saw Harris begin slashing the tires on her car from outside her window, the sheriff's department reported.

Kennedy then told her 12-year-old daughter, who was at home at the time of the incident, to call 911. But Harris had cut the phone lines, the sheriff's department reported.

Harris had gained entry into the home and Kennedy told her daughter to "run to a neighbor's house," saying she would come with her, the sheriff's department reported.

The sheriff's department reported that is when Harris grabbed Kennedy and told her "she wasn't going anywhere."

As Kennedy broke free and was running barefoot down her driveway, she was shot. Harris then turned the gun on himself.

Another domestic dispute in Dillonvale resulted in an indictment.

A man charged with setting his girlfriend's house on fire in Dillonvale in August was indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury in October.

Demetrius T. Harper, 27, of Cleveland was indicted on one count of arson.

Harper and Amanda Adams were living at a house at 98 township Road 1099, Dillonvale, on Aug. 24.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department reported the couple had a fight and Adams' father told Harper to leave and not come back. Harper then allegedly made the statement that if he was forced to leave without his child, he would burn down the house.

Adams was not at the home at the time of the fire.

In other October news:

County water customers saw relief approved by the Jefferson County commissioners.

The commissioners on Oct. 15 voted to reduce water rates for non-bulk county water customers by 10 percent for the next year. The reduction, which began on December's billing cycle for the county's 7,500 water customers, wouldn't include residents in municipalities that purchase water wholesale from the county.

The decision by commissioners came after weeks of discussion on how to best manage a more than $2 million surplus in the county's water department. The county water and sewer department advisory committee previously recommended changing the base rate from 3,000 gallons of water a month down to 2,000 gallons of water and to charge customers accordingly to help cut the surplus down to $850,000, or approximately 15 percent of the department's annual operating budget.

Franciscan University of Steubenville marked the Rev. Michael Scanlan's 50th anniversary as a professed Franciscan with a special recognition dinner on Oct. 17.

The school's board of trustees had scheduled interviews with three candidates in 1974 but the Franciscan provincial at Loretto, Pa., asked Scanlan to join the list of presidential candidates to replace the Rev. Kevin R. Keelan.

"My provincial told me he had no plans to move me but he just needed someone for the interview. And I had served as chief academic officer at the college from 1964 until 1969 and was familiar with the campus, faculty and community," recalled Scanlan.

Of the four candidates, Scanlan was the only candidate who talked about ideas for keeping the college open.

If selected as the school's fourth president, Scanlan told the trustees he would "bring major changes to the campus."

And the changes he brought to the college resulted in growing enrollment figures, a growing campus and a reputation as a religious and faith-based Catholic university.

Officials with the Fourth Street Health Center announced plans on Oct. 12 to expand into the southern part of Jefferson County with a monthly free clinic set to open in November in Mount Pleasant.

Ann Quillen, executive director of the center said the outreach clinic would open starting Nov. 3 at the Mount Pleasant Friends Church.

Quillen said the clinic will be staffed by Kathi Connor, a certified registered nurse practitioner, and Lynn Barron, a volunteer.

"This outreach clinic is our kickoff as we evaluate the need and response in the southern end of Jefferson County. We are also considering additional outreach clinics in other areas of the county in the future," said Quillen.

Jerome "The Bus" Bettis stopped at Wal-mart Distribution Center 7017 on Oct. 1 and left with a little more gas in its tank.

Bettis, the former all-pro running back with the Pittsburgh Steelers, addressed the associates of Center 7017 and received a donation of $3,000 for his charity, The Bus Stops Here, a foundation founded to help underprivileged children in inner city environments.

The Bus Stops Here was founded in 1997 after Bettis attended a football camp in his hometown of Detroit. The Foundation believes that the first step toward self-sufficiency must consist of a strong moral foundation. On this foundation, self-esteem, responsibility, education and, ultimately, employability are built.

Bettis also was the keynote speaker at the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce's annual banquet, held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Honorees included Choice Brands of Ohio and parent, KMC Corp., business of the year; Tony Mougianis of Apollo Professional Cleaning Services, business person of the year; Capital Recovery Systems, new business of the year; Louis Berkman of the Berkman Cos., lifetime achievement; Melissa Greco, Carriage Inn of Steubenville, ambassador of the year; and Gary Folden, special recognition award for service to the chamber.

Wintersville Police responded to a call in October when a young boy was attacked by a deer after going into the woods to fetch a football at his home on Springdale Drive.

According to Police Chief Ed Laman, the young boy and his friends were playing catch when the ball flew into the woods. After going to retrieve the ball, the boy was attacked by a buck.

The boy's friend started hitting the buck with a stick, distracting the deer enough for the victim to get away, Laman noted.

The buck then crossed the road and started fighting with another buck.

The boy was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for a puncture wound on his leg.

Special recognition was earned by seven individuals during the 21st-annual Alumni Awards Dinner held at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, as part of this year's Franciscan Homecoming Weekend.

Held inside the Tony and Nina Gentile Gallery of the J.C. Williams Center, those being honored at the alumni awards dinner included: Terrie Suica-Reed, Peter Radakovich, Robert Lesnefsky, Nancy Kenny, James Snyder, Dr. Garth McCaffrey and Curtis Martin.

The weekend celebration entailed a student talent show, an all-alumni reception, a prayer service and the St. Francis Festival, which provided food, entertainment, vendors, a medieval costume competition and a living chess match for those in attendance.

The Carriage Inn of Steubenville unveiled its new Cancer Recovery Center in October.

The center includes semi-private rooms in a wing of the third floor of the Carriage Inn.

It is the only free-standing cancer recovery center, not affiliated with a hospital, in the Tri-State Area. The center offers cancer patients symptom and pain management and is directed toward patients who are in treatment but who aren't being kept as inpatients in a hospital and still require more care than they could receive at home. Nurses at the Carriage Inn who work in the center have undergone training at the Hillman Cancer Center at UPMC Pittsburgh on individualized therapy regimens, including a measure of how many calories the patient requires to maintain strength and weight during cancer treatment.

A documentary about the fight to integrate the construction trades in the late 1960s in Pittsburgh, produced by Steubenville's Rex Crawley, assistant dean of the school of communications and information systems at Robert Morris University, debuted in the August Wilson Center for African-American Culture Oct. 3.

The 56-minute film details how, during the boom time of the late 1960s in Pittsburgh for construction, which included the U.S. Steel Tower and Three Rivers Stadium, only 2 percent of the city's building trade union members were black. Crane operator Nate Smith led the effort to integrate the trades, including leading the federally funded Operation Dig, which paid to train blacks to become heavy equipment operators.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported toxic substances in the air outside Follansbee Middle School and two other West Virginia schools are not sufficient to create short-term health concerns.

Officials with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection installed two air quality monitors on the school's roof in August as well as monitors at schools in Huntington and Vienna following a USA Today story on schools where high levels of pollutants were reported

Brooke County voters approved the continuation of two levies for the county's fire departments, the Brooke County Ambulance Service and other county departments and agencies in the Oct. 17 special election.

Turnout was light, with 888 casting ballots, but the levies received at least 60 percent votes of support needed for their passage.

The fire levy will generate $335,995 per year for five years for the county's 11 fire departments.

The ambulance excess levy will raise $718,553 per year for five years for the ambulance service and several other county departments and agencies as well as a new allocation of $50,000 for improvements to the county courthouse.

Officials with C.H.A.N.G.E. Inc. and the Weirton Area Chamber of Commerce and community members gathered for the Oct. 23 opening of the agency's Women's Health Center at the Weirton Medical Center Annex on Colliers Way.

C.H.A.N.G.E. Inc. officials said funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided for new medical equipment and supplies and 14 new staff members at the center, which is an extension of the agency's Family Medical Care clinic.

The clinic offers medical services on a discount fee scale for uninsured and low-income patients.