THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 21, 1997 TAG: 9701210222
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B9 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Briefs
LENGTH: 87 lines
CHARLOTTESVILLE - University of Virginia officials say their efforts to teach crime prevention to students is working, and campus crime has dropped significantly from a year ago.
Campus crime skyrocketed in 1995 for the first time in more than 10 years but dropped to a more reasonable level in 1996, officials said.
The number of larcenies was 164 less than the 753 reported to campus police in 1995. Six robberies, 26 burglaries and three motor vehicle thefts were reported in 1996. The number of aggravated assaults stayed the same at five, with all cases solved.
Wife sues over suicide
CHARLOTTESVILLE - The wife of a former police lieutenant who killed himself in 1995 contends the city and the police department caused his death by refusing to let him work after an illness.
The loss of Milton B. Talbert's job, which he held for 34 years, led to a deep depression that caused him to take his life, his widow, Shirley Talbert, said in a lawsuit filed last week in Circuit Court. The suit seeks $2.85 million in damages.
CENTRAL VIRGINIA
Lorton cleanup plan OK'd
RICHMOND - Gov. George F. Allen on Monday approved an agreement between Virginia and the District of Columbia to address sewage pollution problems at the Lorton Prison in Fairfax County.
The consent decree places environmental compliance at the prison under a judge's supervision and requires the district to pay fines for numerous pollution violations.
Lorton Prison received a state permit to discharge treated sewage into Mills Branch, a tributary of the Occoquan River in 1989. Allen said the prison has frequently violated sewage regulations since that time.
Patients' rights violated?
RICHMOND - The U.S. Justice Department has launched a civil rights inquiry into the deaths of two state mental patients, one of whom may have died while she was strapped down by her legs, arms and waist.
Gloria Huntley, a resident at Central State Hospital in Petersburg, died last June. Derrick Wilson, housed in another building at the hospital, died in November 1993.
The Justice Department is focusing on whether the patients' rights were violated under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act. Such rights include freedom from undue restraint.
Horse rescued from pond
RICHMOND - A 15-year-old Tennessee walker who got stuck in an icy pond was rescued after the family of the mare's owner and firefighters pulled her to safety.
The firefighters, battling temperatures in the 20s and a stiff wind, rigged a winch cable to a tree, and its owner waded chest-deep into the frigid water to wrap tow straps around the animal.
The horse initially couldn't stand after being pulled Sunday from the Hanover County pond. But after a rubdown to stimulate circulation, she trotted back to her barn.
SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA
Changing the holiday
ROANOKE - Virginia is one of a few Southern states that commemorates civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and two Confederate Civil War heroes on the same holiday.
Some are seeking to change that.
The president of the Virginia NAACP said Monday it's time to stop the shared holiday. Paul Gillis said the group plans to have legislation introduced next year that would change the holiday to make it just Martin Luther King Day.
COMING UP
TODAY: Ashland - Randolph-Macon College announces selection of the school's 14th president, 9 a.m., Blackwell Auditorium at Randolph-Macon. Richmond - Gov. Allen attends the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association Government Action Day, 2 p.m., The Jefferson Hotel. Also, Attorney General James Gilmore speaks to annual meeting of the Association of Virginia Colleges and Universities, 3 p.m., Omni Hotel, 100 S. 12th St. MEMO: From The Associated Press