The Ohio Department of Family Services is seeking entries for the Women Making History Essay Contest 2001.

        The contest, open to all Ohio eighth-graders, requires a student to write a 400- to 500-word essay about a woman who is making or has made history in one of five fields: athletics, business, communications, government, or math and science.

        The contests' goals are to increase students' and educators' awareness of women's contributions, to recognize March as Women's History Month and to highlight nontraditional career opportunities for women.

        Essays may be submitted to the Women's Section, ODJFS, 145 S. Front St., 6th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215. They must be postmarked by Dec. 1.

        Four winners will be selected in each of the five categories. First-, second- and third-place winners will receive cash awards, and honorable mention winners will receive prizes.

        Winners will be honored at an awards ceremony March 14 at the Vern Riffe Center in Columbus.

        For more information, the Web address is www.state.oh.us/odjfs/women/essaycontest.
       

Hazardous waste
to be collected

               The Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services will sponsor household hazardous materials collection this weekend:

        • 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at Coney Island, 6201 Kellogg Ave., Anderson Township.

        • 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday at Winton Woods High School, 1231 W. Kemper Road, Forest Park.

        Officials will collect common household liquids, allowing citizens to dispose of chemicals legally and safely. Collection is open to Hamilton County residents only.

        For information, call 946-7700.
       

Alcohol, speed
blamed in crash

               CLEARCREEK TOWNSHIP — Alcohol and speed played a role in a single-car crash that killed a 23-year-old Waynesville driver and injured his passenger early Monday, state patrol officials said.

        Mark Davison, of New Burlington Road, was pronounced dead at the scene about 2:40 a.m. after his car went out of control, striking two utility poles and a fence, then overturned, patrol officials at the Lebanon post reported.

        Passenger Darrell E. Henry, of Sabina, was taken by helicopter to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. He was listed in fair condition Monday.
       

West Chester man
dies in crash

               SHARONVILLE — A 31-year-old West Chester man was killed in a single-car crash on McCauley Road near Moubray Drive early Monday.

        Sharonville police said the victim, Kendall Lewis, of Brownstone Drive, was driving his Ford Mustang north on McCauley Road about 2:25 a.m. when he apparently lost control of the vehicle. The car went off the east side of the road and struck a street sign and several mailboxes before hitting a telephone pole.

        Mr. Lewis was alone in the vehicle. The accident remains under investigation.
       

City officials study
window-guard policy

               Cincinnati health and safety officials are moving forward with plans for a citywide window-guard policy to prevent children from falling from poorly protected upper-floor windows.

        Building inspectors and fire officials have agreed on a prototype window-guard device designed by staff of the University of Cincinnati College of Design Architecture Art and Planning. A full-scale prototype is expected to be ready for demonstration in December, according to Cincinnati Health Commissioner Malcolm Adcock.

        New York has had a mandatory window-guard law for years, while a few other large cities have promoted voluntary programs. Local interest re-emerged in April after Children's Hospital Medical Center published a report on the issue.

        From 1991 through 1997, at least 86 Tristate children were injured falling out of windows, including four who died, according to the study.
       

Event to honor
late Miami president

               A memorial ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday for Paul Pearson, president of Miami University from 1981 to 1992. The gathering will be in 12 Pearson Hall on the Oxford campus. Dr. Pearson died Aug. 12 of cancer.
       

Teachers approve
notice of strike

               WAPAKONETA, Ohio — Public school teachers in this western Ohio city have voted to strike, but may be in no hurry to hit the picket lines.

        According to a statement issued by the teachers' union, members voted Sunday to send a 10-day strike notice to the State Employment Relations Board.

        But Ann Field, labor relations consultant in the Ohio Education Association's Lima office, said the strike notice may not go to the board for some time.

        “There is no definite strike date set at this time,” Ms. Field said. “SERB has not yet been notified.”

        The union represents 180 teachers in the school district. On Wednesday, the teachers rejected the recommendations of a fact-finder's report aimed at resolving the dispute in contract negotiations, which began in May.

        Fact-finder Ann DuVal Smith of the American Arbitration Association issued a report Sept. 29 that sided with the school district's position on two of three issues: wages and insurance. A third sticking point — workday/workweek issues — could be resolved by compromise, Ms. Smith wrote.

        School negotiators have offered teachers a 3.5 percent wage increase over each of the three years of the proposed contract.

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