Two of the three lanes on northbound and southbound Interstate 71 in the Montgomery and Silverton areas will be closed from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. over the coming week, beginning Tuesday. Construction crews will be repairing roadway joints.
Southbound lanes will be closed overnight:
- Between Interstate 275 and Pfeiffer Road Tuesday.
- Between Pfeiffer and Montgomery roads Wednesday.
- Between Montgomery and Stewart roads Thursday.
- Northbound lanes will be closed:
- Between Kenwood and Montgomery roads Saturday.
- Between Montgomery and Pfeiffer roads Sunday.
- Between Pfeiffer Road and I-275 Monday, Sept. 14.
Pedestrian killed on Harrison road
COLERAIN TOWNSHIP -- Police continued Sunday to look for the driver of a Ford Bronco II that struck and killed a Cheviot man early Sunday while he walked along Harrison Road.
Aaron L. Morrison, 20, of the 3900 block of Smith Road was walking east in the westbound lanes at 2:06 a.m., about a quarter-mile east of Ohio 128, when he was hit by a red Bronco, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department said Sunday.
The Bronco was driven away, continuing west on Harrison Road. Anyone with information is asked to notify the sheriff's traffic safety section at 825-1500.
Westwood man accused of strong-arm robbery
A Westwood man was charged early Sunday with aggravated robbery, accused of threatening his victim and stealing money, District 3 police said.
Ronald Fuller, 25, of the 2800 block of Harrison Avenue allegedly approached the victim on the street, held a shiny object thought to be a knife to the victim's neck, and said, "Give me the money or I'll cut you."
Police say Mr. Fuller stole $15 and fled the scene through woods near the 2500 block of Sarvis Court. He was apprehended 10 minutes later, at 1:25 a.m., in the 2100 block of Harrison Avenue, about three blocks from the scene, according to the report.
3 charged with arson at Mount Airy house
Three juveniles were charged Saturday with arson in connection with a fire earlier in the day at a vacant Mount Airy house, District 5 police said.
No one was injured in the fire in the 5700 block of Colerain Avenue. Damage was estimated at $15,000. Firefighters arrived shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday to find heavy smoke.
The identities and ages of the suspects were not released.
4 killed in rural car-pickup crash
LOGAN, Ohio -- A car and pickup collided on a rural state highway in southeastern Ohio early Sunday, killing four people, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said.
Killed were the car's driver, Joseph Curtis, 38, and his passenger, Chester King, 36, the pickup driver, Joseph Borgheese, 22, all of the New Straitsville area, and a 21-year-old Vero Beach, Fla., passenger in the pickup. His name has not been released, the patrol said.
The accident occurred about 2:20 a.m. on a curve on Ohio 93 about three miles north of this city and about 40 miles southeast of Columbus. No other details were available.
Ob-gyn groups reduce rates for C-section
Five Tristate obstetrics and gynecology groups report they have significantly reduced their C-section rates during the past year; nearly meeting a national goal two years ahead of schedule.
For several years, critics have contended that many physicians are too quick to order C-sections, which cost much more than standard vaginal deliveries and require longer recovery times for patients. According to a report from Paragon Health Systems, the five practices reduced their overall C-section rate from 20 percent during the first half of 1997 to 15.2 percent during the first half of 1998. The national goal, set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is to reduce C-sections to 15 percent of all births by 2000.
The practices involved were: Greater Cincinnati Ob - Gyn Associates, Mount Auburn Ob - Gyn Associates, Seven Hills Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ob - Gyn Associates of Eastern Cincinnati, and Katz, Tetirick, Stein and Associates.
Judge who led reform at state prison retires
AKRON, Ohio -- The federal judge who oversaw reforms at the Mansfield state prison after inmates sued the state has retired.
U.S. District Judge Sam H. Bell, 72, retired Friday. He served on the federal bench 15 years and previously was a judge in Cuyahoga Falls Municipal Court, Summit County Common Pleas Court and Ohio's 9th District Court of Appeals.
He has offered to come back to the federal bench occasionally to handle a case if the court needs help, but he is giving up his Akron office and staff, and hopes soon to begin teaching and writing. Cases pending on his docket will be taken over by newly appointed Judge Dan Aaron Polster.
In 1996, Judge Bell blocked the Akron schools from enforcing a policy that prevented white students from transferring to suburban districts under an open enrollment program.
He struck down Akron's anti-nudity ordinance in 1993 and the same year presided over the racketeering and money-laundering trial of Cleveland mob figure Anthony D. Liberatore Sr.
In the 1980s, Judge Bell oversaw reforms at the Mansfield State Reformatory through a lawsuit filed by prisoners.
Ohioan held after body found in makeshift grave
MASSILLON, Ohio -- A Stark County man has been charged with killing a man whose body was found in a shallow grave.
Ricky L. Amstutz, 44, of Lawrence Township, was arrested at a Guernsey County campground Saturday. He was being held in the Massillon City Jail without bond and is to be arraigned Tuesday on charges of murder and having weapons in violation of a court order prohibiting that, police said.
Mr. Amstutz is accused of killing Paul E. Pflug, 44, of Massillon, in June. Mr. Pflug's badly decomposed body was found Wednesday about 3 feet deep in a wooded area off Ohio 172 in Osnaburg Township. Mr. Amstutz lived in a nearby trailer park, police said.
Mr. Pflug was identified Friday by dental records, Coroner James R. Pritchard said. He had been shot once in the chest with shotgun. Stark County Sheriff W. Bruce Umpleby would not give a motive for the slaying. He said the men had known each other for several years.
