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Blaze guts South Toledo apartment buildings
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As the number of Catholic priests in the United States declines and the ranks of Catholics increase, dioceses across the country are trying to do more with less. Many times that leads to the closing of parishes. But some Catholic groups are making a push to find alternatives so that church doors will remain open. "Closing the parish community should be the absolutely last resort," said Sister Christine Schenk, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph religious order and the executive director of the Catholic reform group FutureChurch.

Nine buildings in a South Toledo apartment complex were destroyed early yesterday by a rapid, three-alarm fire that displaced about 200 people and left ruins smoldering into the afternoon. Authorities said no one was hurt in the blaze at the Hunters Ridge complex on Gibraltar Heights near Byrne Road and Airport Highway.

IT'S A good thing many of Barack Obama's supporters don't care much about issues, because their candidate has been changing his position on them with dizzying speed. "Barack Obama aligned himself with welfare reform on Monday, launching a television ad which touts the way the overhaul 'slashed rolls by 80 percent,' " ABC News reported July 1. "Obama leaves out, however, that he was against the 1996 federal legislation which precipitated the case-load reduction."

A 16-year-old boy was in police custody yesterday, a day after he tried to assault a police officer with a baseball bat in South Toledo, authorities said. Cristopher Beane, whose address was withheld by police, was arrested on charges of juvenile delinquency related to felonious assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, aggravated menacing, obstructing official business, and underage consumption of alcohol, according to the police report.

Sometimes, Dale Miller just has to have some ice cream. Two pounds of it. It doesn t matter that the 59-year-old man says he s a little bit lactose intolerant or that he knows there will be a healthy penalty to pay in terms of calories and fat. Mr. Miller still likes to chow down every once in a while on a 32-ounce strawberry shortcake sundae at Cindee Shivers on Airport Highway in South Toledo.

PELEE ISLAND, Ont. More than ever, North Americans are being lured outdoors by nature s super achievers of the sky. Ones that scientists believe have flown above our heads for oh maybe 10,000 years or more. We re talking, simply, about birds. Tiny birds.

One of the LPGA's versions of Tiger Woods is calling it quits after this season. Most of the tour's best players are not from the United States, and the time and money of the league's fans are becoming even more precious in some tough economic times. With the aggressive way the LPGA is approaching its challenges, the sport is trying to ensure it will be just fine. Top officials for the LPGA, which makes its annual stop in northwest Ohio this week for the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, are keeping the tour ahead of the pack. The players are responding by being largely supportive of the changes.