Cincinnati Mayor Roxanne Qualls will present Rosa Parks with a key to the city when the civil rights leader visits later this month. Mrs. Parks will be here to receive the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center's International Freedom Conductor Award. Mrs. Parks will be presented with the key during a ceremony at noon on Sept. 25 at the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Airport. On Dec. 1, 1955, Mrs. Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus to a white man, defying the laws that gave whites more rights than blacks.
Her arrest sparked the Montgomery bus boycott, in which blacks refused to ride public buses for 381 days until the U.S. Supreme Court declared segregation on public transportation unconstitutional.
Robber sought in pizza shop holdup
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP -- Police are searching for an armed robber who hit a Winton Road pizza shop Friday night.
About 5:50 p.m. Friday, a man walked into the Papa John's Pizza at 9190 Winton Road, displayed a handgun and demanded money, police said. After taking an undetermined amount of cash, the robber ran from the store and eluded police.
The robber is described as a black man, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing about 150 pounds. He is thought to be between the ages of 28 and 35.
The robbery remains under investigation, police said. No one was injured.
Suspected robber arrested at motel
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP -- A suspected thief who had eluded police since July was arrested Friday morning at a Springfield Township motel.
Joseph Brian Huffman, 29, of Independence, Ky., was arrested about 9:10 a.m. at the Cross Roads Motel, 11784 Hamilton Ave. Police said they got an anonymous tip he was there.
Mr. Huffman was wanted on several outstanding felony warrants, including armed robbery, by police in Ohio and Kentucky, police said. He also faces a charge of felony drug abuse.
Township police also accused Peggy Marshbank, 26, of Cincinnati, as being an accomplice. She too faces a charge of felony drug abuse. Local police agencies have investigated about 50 automobile break-ins possibly linked to Mr. Huffman and have been led on three chases since July. Springfield Township police said they are assisting other agencies with their investigations.
Mini gran prix to close streets
The 1998 Comair Mini Gran Prix will close some downtown streets from 9 p.m. today until 10 p.m. Sunday.
Anyone headed downtown should be prepared for closures at:
Fifth Street between Main and Pike streets.
Sycamore Street between Fourth and Sixth streets.
Broadway between Fourth and Sixth streets.
Sixth Street between Broadway and Sycamore streets.
Metro service will be rerouted around the closed streets.
Retired officer indicted on charges
A retired Cincinnati police officer was indicted Friday on charges of raping three girls.
Richard Schweitzer, 71, faces six counts of rape. He is accused of raping two 3-year-old girls and a 6-year-old at his home in Upper Price Hill.
Police say he was arrested last week for fondling the girls sometime between Aug. 30 and Sept. 4.
Man shot in chest in Over-the-Rhine
A gunshot early Friday in Over-the-Rhine left one man in critical condition.
Michael Beamon, 44, of Over-the-Rhine was shot in the chest about 12:30 a.m. on the 2000 block of Vine Street. He was in critical but stable condition Friday at University Hospital.
Police say he had exchanged shots with another man, but that suspect has not been arrested. Police were looking for a gray conversion van with a maroon stripe. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 352-3040.
Officials look into restaurant fires
SYCAMORE TOWNSHIP -- Three separate fires were started in storage areas at the Bob Evans Restaurant at Montgomery Road and Interstate 71 early Friday, police said.
The restaurant's sprinkler system activated and doused the fires, limiting damage to $2,000, Sycamore Township Fire Chief B.J. Jetter said.
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Criminal Investigation Section is investigating the arson case, officials said. At 2:48 a.m., a sheriff's deputy on patrol discovered water flowing from under restaurant doors at the rear of the building and the fire alarm ringing and called for the fire department, officials said. There were no signs of forced entry.
The restaurant was to reopen Friday afternoon, restaurant officials said.
Purdue may fire
acquitted instructor
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue University is seeking to dismiss an assistant industrial engineering professor who was acquitted of charges he stalked a student.
Testimony during Dong X. Shaw's three-day trial helped Purdue build its case against Mr. Shaw, said Joseph Bennett, Purdue's vice president for university relations.
"He admitted that he visited the woman's residence hall unannounced, uninvited and unescorted, on two occasions," said Mr. Bennett. "Each of these actions is inappropriate for a Purdue faculty member."
