Thursday, June 25, 1998
Ohio River water quality has reached "unhealthful" levels for the second straight week, the Cincinnati Health Department reported Wednesday.
Recent rains have taxed the city's combined stormwater and sanitary sewer system, which results in larger amounts of untreated sewage reaching the river.
The water quality index reached 37.5 this week. Anything over 30 on the zero to 60 scale is considered "unhealthful."
The bacterial contamination has no effect on drinking water, which gets treated before reaching taps. But for recreational users, the contamination increases the risk of intestinal illnesses and other infections.
Two men sought in Burger King robbery
UNION TOWNSHIP -- Police are investigating an aggravated robbery that occurred early Wednesday at a West Chester restaurant.
The robbery at the Burger King, 7782 Dudley Drive, happened just after the night manager locked the store at 1:47 a.m. Two black males forced her to open the business' door, Union Township police said. The men were armed with two handguns.
The men fled on foot. The manager was not injured.
Police are searching for the men, who are in their 20s. One is 6 feet tall, has a muscular build and an Afro hairstyle. The other is 6 feet 2 inches tall and was wearing black pants and white tennis shoes.
$20,000 bond set in child rape case
HAMILTON -- Bond was set Wednesday at $20,000 for a 48-year-old New Miami man who is accused of having oral sex with a 5-year-old Hamilton boy. Norman Jones, of the 1600 block of Wichita Drive, appeared in Hamilton Municipal Court on two counts of rape of a child under 13. He was arrested Tuesday after he voluntarily came to the Butler County sheriff's office for questioning, said sheriff's Sgt. Mike Thacker.
The charges stem from incidents reported to the sheriff's office May 26, Sgt. Thacker said.
The boy told his parents that there had been oral sex between him and Mr. Jones; the parents reported the boy's statements to police.
The incidents allegedly occurred at the boy's home, Sgt. Thacker said.
Mr. Jones' preliminary hearing is set for Monday in Hamilton Municipal Court.
Man gets six years for felonious assault
A Columbia Tusculum man was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison for beating a man into a coma earlier this year.
William Spicer, 32, was sentenced by Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Patrick Dinkelacker. Mr. Spicer had been convicted of felonious assault.
On April 26, Mr. Spicer and two juveniles attacked Kenneth Wayne Parlier in Columbia Tusculum. The juveniles, who are serving one-year sentences with the Ohio Department of Youth Services, struck Mr. Parlier with boards and knocked him to the ground. Then Mr. Spicer punched and kicked him in the head.
Mr. Parlier was in a coma for 2 1/2 weeks and still is undergoing therapy.
Township man pleads guilty to inducing panic
A Green Township man who disrupted a spring variety show at Oak Hills High School pleaded guilty Wednesday to five charges in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.
On July 13, Judge Robert Ruehlman will sentence Christopher Mushrush, 18, on three counts of inducing panic, one count of assault and one count of felonious assault.
During the school's variety show in April, he released a chemical irritant into the auditorium, causing breathing problems and eye irritations for several students. Mr. Mushrush was not a student at the school.
Bond set at $200,000 for man charged in rape
A Price Hill man is being held in the Hamilton County Justice Center on $200,000 bond after a 6-year-old girl told police she was digitally penetrated.
Louis Slovacek, 40, was arrested late Tuesday on a charge of rape. The victim was a neighborhood girl, and Mr. Slovacek was arrested after the girl's mother found him in her bedroom acting suspiciously. He pleaded not guilty in a court hearing Wednesday.
