Police play party pooper in Liberty
LIBERTY - A private New Year's Eve party was broken up by police before it started because a liquor license couldn't be produced.
The party's host and promoter booked the Metroplex Hotel and Convention Center about a month ago for a New Year's Eve bash.
"She (host Tammi Shadd) paid me money to get the food together, I got the food together, I got security together, we got everything together which was required of us," Zachary Howell, promoter for Big Boss Events, told WYTV 33 News.
But at 10:45 p.m., with close to 50 people already in the ballroom, Liberty police arrived and asked Metroplex manager Dr. Indira Sammy to show them her liquor license, which she couldn't find.
Sammy said her ownership group has a license to sell liquor on the premises, and a quick check of the Ohio Division of Liquor Control website confirmed that. Police said they needed to see the original document.
Liberty police continue to investigate and more legal action could be pending.
Thirty people plunge into icy Lake Milton
LAKE MILTON - About 30 people dove into the chilly waters of Lake Milton on Tuesday for the ninth annual Polar Bear Plunge.
Men and women were "freezin' for no reason" as they dressed in swimsuits and outlandish outfits and ran from the Craig Beach swimming area into the lake, according to WYTV 33 News. The event is sponsored by the Grandview Tavern.
"There has been so much trauma in the world that it's such a happy event and everybody does something unique with no repercussions. Everybody has a great time," said Polar Bear Plunge organizer Mary Ann Slaven.
Fire officials were on hand to make sure everyone plunged safely. Afterward, everyone was invited back to the Grandview Tavern to warm up with hot drinks.
"I had to do it again because the first time I did not get my hair wet and according to my cousins, that doesn't count, so I had to do it again," said Kim Maurice of Wadsworth.
Thousands without power in Cleveland
CLEVELAND - Thousands of Cleveland residents spent part of New Year's Day without power after a large transformer blew sometime in the morning.
Crews had power restored to most of the 5,300 FirstEnergy customers affected by the outage by Tuesday afternoon.
The outage hit as temperatures hovered in the mid-20s.
City sues to tax base's civilian employees
RIVERSIDE - A city has gone to federal court in its fight to tax civilian employees and contractors who work on part of an Air Force base.
The city of Riverside near Dayton says a provision of Ohio's municipal income tax law that prevents it from collecting taxes from employees at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is unconstitutional.
The Dayton Daily News reported that Riverside claims the law provides an arbitrary and unjustifiable tax exemption to some government employees and contractors.
Ohio argues the state is allowed to pass laws that restrict cities' taxing authority.
The city lost a similar case in state courts.
Riverside has been trying to collect taxes on a portion of the base since 2007.
Staff, wire reports