Charity care provided by not-for-profit hospitals has been on the increase in some parts of the state, particu-larly in the northeast, but appears to be going slightly down in this area due to an improving economy.

According to the Ohio Hospital Association (OHA), in Ohio by state law, families with incomes at or below the federal pov-erty level receive free, med-ically-necessary care from

hospitals. In 2010, Ohio hos-pitals provided more free care to individuals above the federal poverty line than

those below it. (The federal poverty line is $15,130 for two people and $23,050 for

COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine indicated Wednesday that he is open to local school boards arm-ing trained teachers, prin-cipals and staff as a means of responding quickly to shooting incidents.

“If I was on a school board ... I would seriously

consider having someone in that school who may be an ex-police officer, someone who has significant train-

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MIKE DeWINE

Ohio AG open to arming trained school staff membersBy MARC KOVACC-N Capital Bureau

By DARLENE PRINCEprince@crescent-news.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — One early focus of new gun regulations by President Barack Obama and some lawmakers would reinstate a federal ban on assault weapons, a law widely regarded as imperfect.

The ban, which existed for 10 years until 2004, would have made it ille-gal for the young gunman in Connecticut to use the 30-round magazines that allowed him to shoot so many elementary school students before he reload-ed. But the ban and other U.S. gun laws wouldn’t have prevented his moth-er’s purchase of the pow-erful assault rifle or the especially deadly ammuni-tion that he used to kill 26 people.

A generation of U.S. gun

laws — and the inherent compromises intended to balance constitutional gun rights and public safety — reflects the intricacies of applying government pol-icy to stem acts of mass violence.

Since July, there have been at least four mass shootings that killed 47 people and wounded doz-ens more in Connecticut, Colorado, Oregon and Wisconsin. The killing of 20 children and six adults in a Newtown, Conn., elemen-tary school appears to be a tipping point that pushed Congress and the White House toward tackling new gun laws.

Obama on Wednesday directed Vice President Joe Biden to produce recom-

Holiday lighting contest

Defiance Citizens in Action hosted a holiday lighting contest this month, with top winners chosen in the catego-ries of traditional, contemporary and characters. Winning displays belonged to Bonnie Shock, 800 Wemor Ave., tra-

ditional; Dave and Loretta Schroeder, 721 Emblanche Drive, contemporary; and Robert and Cheryl Yeo, 1064 Valley Forge Drive, characters (pictured). Proceeds from the contest will benefit Relay for Life of Defiance.

Jenny Derringer/C-N Photo

ON THE ROADSPORTS | B1

DHS goes to Rossford, Whitmer

They have endured a plane crash, his 12-month tour of Afghanistan and the death of both their fathers.

And that’s just since 2010.With those onerous days

behind them, Paul Drasutis and Francine Meyer-Drasutis are looking forward to a normal and relaxing Christmas.

“I’m still adapting, it’s only been three months since I’ve been home from Afghanistan,” said Paul, who works at the local GM plant and is a member of the Ohio Army National Guard. “Coming home after being gone a year is a huge readjustment.”

“The two of us have been through a lot the past couple years,” added Francine. “Now it’s time to make lemonade out of all those lemons.”

The Defiance couple’s tumultuous times began on a bright Sunday afternoon in May 2010 when Paul’s Kitfox Speedster fixed-wing aircraft crashed while

making an emergency landing near the intersection of Christy and Nagel roads, about seven miles north of Defiance.

“We had just started dating,” said Francine. “Both of us were lucky to survive.”

Paul spent just one night in the hospital, but Francine wasn’t as fortunate.

“I broke my back and left arm. They took me to Defiance Regional Medical Center and transferred me that same day to Toledo Hospital. I spent three weeks in the hospital and had two surgeries. Doctors put two rods in my back, and 16 screws and a plate in my arm. They said the recovery period would be long and that I would have to learn how to walk all over again.”

With three minor children at home, Francine had other concerns besides her condition.

“The first time Paul visited me in the hospital he told me not to worry. Not only would he take care of me, he offered to move into my house and take care of my three kids (at that time a high school junior, sophomore and fourth-grader). For a man without children to offer to do that, well, that was really spe-

By JACK PALMERpalmer@crescent-news.com

Couple readjusting after plane crash, Afghanistan deploymentlemonade CHRIstmas

Gun law difficultiesPolicies have attempted to stem acts of mass violence

Jack Palmer/C-N Photo

After two years of personal tragedy and chal-lenges, Paul Drasutis and Francine Meyer-Drasutis are eagerly anticipating a normal and relaxing

Christmas. They are pictured with their two chil-dren, Andrew Meyer (left) and Josh Meyer, as well as their English bulldog, Benny.

Charity care goes down a bit

• cHrIstmAs, Page A12

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cial.“I think that’s when I

really fell in love with him,” she added. “By the time I came home from the hospital the kids were in love with him, too.”

Francine’s recovery was slowly progressing and by early December she was mobile with the aid of a walker.

“That’s when I suffered a bleeding ulcer that landed me back in the hospital,” she said. “I needed about 10 units of blood and was hospitalized another 10 days. I was looking for-ward to having a Hallmark home at Christmas, but I ended up wrapping pres-ents in the hospital. They released me Christmas Eve.”

The following spring (2011), tragedy struck her family.

“My dad, Eugene Meyer, died in a fire at their home (near Sherwood). He was a U.S. Army vet-eran and very involved in the AMVETS (past com-mander of Defiance Post 1991 and also 9th District past commander). He was a wonderful man. His was a retired millwright at GM and everybody called him Farmer.”

Paul and Francine, engaged at the time of her father’s death, were married that summer. A few weeks later, he was notified of his upcoming 12-month deployment to

Afghanistan.A native of Florida and

alumnus of Louisiana State University, Paul had been moved to Defiance by GM in 2001 due to his prior foundry experience.

“My military service dates back 29 years,” he said. “I was active in the Marines for nine years, spent four years in the Army Reserves, went to college as member of the Air Force Reserves for nine years and since 2005 have been a member of the Ohio Army National Guard. I was never deployed during a war before 2003, but since that time I’ve served three tours of duty.”

He had previously served seven months in Spain in 2003 and 18 months in Iraq in 2006-07. His new orders were to report for active duty in Afghanistan that September.

“I was gone an entire year except for about 10 days home last Christmas,” he said. “It was nice to see everyone, including my parents, but it was still a really difficult holi-day knowing I had to go back right away. I had to squeeze so much in so little time, we were always in a hurry to go somewhere.”

Francine was encouraged to start a hobby during her husband’s 12-month deployment.

“I took up antique furni-ture restoration and repair and it quickly became my passion,” she said. “The doctors still won’t let me go back to work full-time,

but they let me tinker with my antiques. I made our living room mantle out of old bed footboard and an old church bench, and our bed out of some old chairs. I’ve been able to display my works at Fort Winchester Antiques, Fort Defiance Antiques and From the Heart in Bryan. I think I have as many tools in the garage as Paul.”

When Paul returned this past September, however, he learned his father was diagnosed with cancer. He died in November.

“Like I said, I’m still adapting right now,” said Paul. “I was never a big Christmas shopper but I have always really valued the spirit of Christmas and being able to be together with family. This year I am looking forward to just relaxing, not needing to have a backpack near the door and feeling the obliga-tion to see everyone in two days.”

Two of the children, Josh (a 2012 DHS gradu-ate who works at Cooper Farms) and Andrew (now a seventh-grader), still live at home. The third, Rachael “Rae,” was recently mar-ried and resides in Florida.

“My tradition is hav-ing Christmas Eve dinner with my mother and my brothers and their fami-lies, and that’s what we are planning this year,” said Francine. “Two of my brothers live in this area and the other one will be coming in from Maryland right after Christmas. Then

I always like to spend Christmas Day relaxing with my immediate family. It’s pretty much just a ‘jam-mies’ day, we never get out of our pajamas.”

“It’s going to be great just sitting back and enjoy-

ing family,” added Paul. “I’m off work between Christmas and New Year’s Day, so I might take Andrew bow hunting.”

The couple also plan to spend quality time with the other member of the house-

hold — an English bulldog named Benny.

“Benny loves Christmas,” said Francine. “He just lays there under the tree. He’s there so much we are try-ing to teach him how to turn the lights on and off.”

CHRISTMASFrom Page A1

ing, who had access to a gun in school,” he said. “But you’d have to be very care-ful about it. I’m not saying everyone in school should be armed, but someone who knows exactly what they are doing and who has that gun under lock and key but who can get to it instantly out of their office. That’s something that I think I would at least debate and talk about in a school.”

But, he added, “Each school is differ-ent. Each school has unique needs. And each school has the culture of that com-munity.”

DeWine made the comments during a press conference Wednesday, where he announced plans to develop training for teachers to respond to shooting incidents, like the one that occurred in Newtown, Conn., that left more than two dozen peo-ple, most of them young children, dead.

DeWine called teachers “the real first responders” in such shooting incidents, and “it makes sense to be training them as well as law enforcement officers.”

Michael Sawyers, acting superinten-dent for public instruction for the state, added, “Safety is paramount. Parents and guardians have to believe their children will be safe at school. ... Although we

can’t prevent everything, as illustrated by Connecticut, it’s our responsibility to do all we can on a daily basis to ensure kids come to school and have a safe, produc-tive learning environment.”

Ohio schools already are required under state law to submit safety plans to the attorney general’s office for use by law enforcement and other emergency responders who are dealing with inci-dents.

Earlier this summer, DeWine chastised more than 150 schools that had failed to submit plans. He said Wednesday that he expected most to have plans on file in coming weeks.

However, of the nearly 4,900 plans the office has in hand, most fall short of guidelines released in recent days by DeWine’s office and a task force that studied the issue, meaning the details are inadequate.

DeWine said his office will be working with schools to improve the plans.

“We cannot, unless we barricade every school in this country, assure that there’s never going to be a problem,” he said. “But what we can do and what is our moral obligation to do as citizens and as elected officials, is to minimize the risk, increase our odds of the kids surviving and decrease the odds of something hap-pening.”

DEWINEFrom Page A1

mendations on new gun laws and pledged to push for them without delay.

“This time, the words need to lead to action,” Obama said.

The details of such laws have long stymied law-makers. Gun control advo-cates say this has left sig-nificant gaps in laws that have not had and likely would not have much impact on recent deadly shootings.

The 1994 ban outlawed specific weapons, includ-ing the Colt AR-15, UZI and TEC-9, and high-capacity magazines and clips that held more than 10 bullets. But the law didn’t outlaw the caliber — the approximate inter-nal diameter of the barrel — of any of the high-pow-ered weapons used in the most recent mass killings.

Also, federal law bars someone who “has been adjudicated as a men-

tal defective or has been committed to any mental institution” from buying a gun. Yet Jared Loughner, who has pleaded guilty earlier this year in the deadly 2011 attack on then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Ariz., and has at times been forcefully medi-cated to treat his mental illness, was not ruled by a court to be mentally ill before the attack.

Investigators are still sort-ing out the past of 20-year-old Adam Lanza, the gunman in the Newtown school killings. But since he didn’t buy the guns — his mother owned the firearms and kept them in the fam-ily’s home — federal laws wouldn’t have affected Lanza’s access to them.

Tom Diaz, a senior poli-cy analyst at the Violence Policy Center, said law-makers should focus on a weapon’s firepower. In the Colorado theater shooting and the deadly attack at a suburban Portland mall,

police said the accused shooters used AR-15 assault rifles, versions of which were outlawed under the 1994 ban. Diaz said bullets fired from those types of guns are powerful enough to pierce all but the highest-grade, military-style, bul-let-proof vests.

“It’s designed for battle-field use,” Diaz said.

Gun control long has been a politically difficult subject.

“The fact that this prob-lem is complex can no lon-ger be an excuse for doing nothing,” Obama said. “The fact that we can’t pre-vent every act of violence doesn’t mean we can’t steadily reduce the vio-lence.”

The president, who expended little politi-cal capital on gun control despite a series of mass shootings in his first term, bristled at suggestions that he had been silent on the issue during his first four years in office.

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