A final public hearing on the proposed juvenile jail in Cincinnati's Bond Hill neighborhood has been set for 7 p.m. Oct. 20 at the Bond Hill Recreation Center, 1501 Elizabeth Place.
The Cincinnati City Planning Commission has voted against a zoning request from Hamilton County. City council voted in May 1996, and again a year later, to oppose converting the now-closed Millcreek Psychiatric Center for Children into a jail.
Neighbors have expressed concerns about what the jail could do to their real estate values. Attorneys for the county argue the site is perfect for rehabilitating youths and for using some of the grounds for county offices.
Council is expected to take a final vote later this month.
Flight to Cincinnati grounded by smoke
ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- A Comair jet carrying 28 passengers to Cincinnati was forced to make an emergency landing Monday after the pilots reported smoke in the cockpit. No injuries were reported.
The plane, a Canadair regional jet, landed safely at the Lehigh Valley International Airport shortly after 2 p.m., said Merry Meyer, spokeswoman for the Cincinnati-based regional airline. Flight 3936 had taken off from Islip, N.Y. Passengers were directed to other flights.
Ms. Meyer could not provide the age of the plane, which was being evaluated, but she said Comair planes are typically 3 to 4 years old.
Comair's main hub is at Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky International Airport.
Party-goer killed in Evanston fight
A 39-year-old man was killed Monday night after he was thrown or fell from a third-floor apartment balcony in the St. Ledger apartments near Gilbert and Woodburn avenues in Evanston, neighbors said. The incident apparently happened at a late-night party, a neighbor said, when a fight broke out.
Police were looking for a suspect late Monday, but no description was available.
Pilot, passenger still in serious condition
WAYNE TOWNSHIP -- A pilot and passenger who crashed while apparently dropping candy from a plane to party-goers remained in serious condition Monday at University Hospital.
Investigators with the Federal Aviation Administration continued to investigate the cause of the Saturday evening crash at a farm on Township Line Road.
The pilot was Jim Zappe, 59, of Centerville, Ohio, and the passenger David Gerspacher, 30, of Wayne Township.
A witness said Mr. Zappe was flying the two-seater Piper Cub J-3 below 1,000 feet.
Yellow Springs seeks inspection of wells
YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio -- The village council wants the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) to investigate chemical contamination of two private wells near Vernay Laboratories Inc.
"If my soil is contaminated and if the underground water is contaminated, I want it cleaned up," nearby resident Suzanne Patterson said Monday.
In a letter sent to the OEPA last week, council President Joseph Lewis said OEPA testing last month showed that levels of volatile organic compounds in the wells exceeded drinking-water standards. Neither well is used for drinking.
He asked the agency to find the source of the contamination, order cleanup if necessary and tell residents of the potential for contamination.
Vernay makes molded rubber parts for the auto, appliance and medical industries.
John Martin, the company's chief chemist, said it uses volatile organic compounds and has some contamination on its property. But he said it is not known whether the contamination has spread to the two wells.
Vernay is testing its soil and ground water, but welcomes any OEPA investigation, Mr. Martin said.
Yellow Springs is about 15 miles east of Dayton.
Man leaps into river; police nab him anyway
CLEVELAND -- A man trying to escape police survived a 110-foot plunge off a bridge into the Cuyahoga River but was caught when authorities followed his wet footprints, police said.
The man, whose identity was not released, was being chased after his former girlfriend and her new boyfriend were attacked with a baseball bat at the woman's apartment early Sunday in the suburb of Euclid, police said.
When police responded, the man fled in a station wagon through downtown Cleveland, and one of his tires blew out. He parked on a bridge and leapt into the Cuyahoga River, Euclid police Detective Mike Grida said.
The river at that spot is about 25 to 30 feet deep. The man crawled out and Cleveland police tracked him to a phone booth.
The man was treated for minor injuries and taken to Euclid City Jail, police said.
His former girlfriend and her boyfriend also sustained minor injuries.
Nine groups get drug-fighting grants
The Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services and Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati have awarded nine groups funds to fight substance abuse.
The groups received $1,000 grants for intervention, prevention and educational projects: Community Partnership for Awareness, Substance Awareness of Greater Anderson Coalition, Northeast Community Challenge, Parents and Community Together, the Caring Place, III Square Music Foundation, KRBC Coalition, Brown County Substance Abuse Project and Clermont County Drug-Free Coalition.
Massillon man killed in Fla. plane crash
APOPKA, Fla. -- An Ohio man on a sightseeing tour was one of two people killed in a small-plane crash in Florida, authorities said.
Eric M. Zupp, 37, of Massillon, was a passenger in a single-engine plane that crashed nose-first into the ground Saturday.
Mr. Zupp coordinated a children's sprint-car racing league in Ohio, relatives told the Orlando Sentinel.
