Governor supports levy for city schools

        Gov. Bob Taft is the latest leader to support Cincinnati Public Schools' 6-mill levy.

        The governor, who grew up in Cincinnati, said he wants to encourage voters to support the levy, which will be on the November ballot.

        Mr. Taft plans to attend an Oct. 18 news conference that will showcase community support for the levy.

        He contacted the school district and asked whether there was a way he could show his support, spokeswoman Laura Jones said.

        “The governor is going around the state supporting local bond issues,” Ms. Jones said. “He really wants to encourage voter support.”

        The levy, which would generate $35.8 million a year, has nods of support from more than a dozen political, religious and business groups. For the owner of a house with a market value of $100,000, it would mean $184 in new taxes a year.

        All three political parties — the Charter Committee, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party — are supporting the measure.
       

Ex-magnate freed after serving 3 years

        Former Cincinnati retail magnate Barry Miller was freed from prison Tuesday after serving half of his six-year sentence for bank robbery.

Barry Miller

        Mr. Miller, 63, was arrested in 1996 in the robbery of an Amerifirst Bank branch in Montgomery. Police said he wore a ski mask, carried a loaded gun and was armed with 50 rounds of ammunition. He ran out of the bank with thousands of dollars but was arrested minutes later.

        Mr. Miller is the former owner of the old Gidding-Jenny store downtown.

        At his sentencing in 1997, Judge John O'Connor described Mr. Miller as a “broken person” who had fallen into debt and depression. The judge sentenced Mr. Miller to six years, about 30 years less than the maximum possible sentence.

        Judge O'Connor granted Mr. Miller an early release Tuesday after a hearing in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.
       

250 teachers picket at Princeton

        About 250 teachers formed a picket line outside Princeton High School in Sharonville, Tuesday evening to protest a contract proposal from the school district.

        The Princeton School District and its 550 teachers have been in contract negotiations since January 1999. The teachers' previous contract ran out in May 1999 and teachers have been working without a contract since, said Ken Ferris, spokesman for the Princeton Association of Classroom Educators. Mr. Ferris said the district proposed a three-year contract that would provide teachers with “similar pay scales” to those that already exist for the first two years, while the third year would be decided at a later time.

        District officials could not be reached Tuesday evening for comment.

        Mr. Ferris said negotiations between the district and the teachers' union broke down and contract talks are now being conducted through a mediator.

        If neither side approves a mediator-proposed agreement, a strike could be called. Teachers will know whether they intend to strike by the end of November.
       

Reward is doubled in hit-skip case

        FAIRFIELD — The reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a driver who struck a Fairfield police officer last month has more than doubled to about $6,600.

        The Fairfield Fraternal Order of Police, local businesses and concerned citizens are contributors to the reward fund.

        “We need the public's help at this point,” said Lt. Ken Colburn.

        “And there are people out there who know something about this.”

        Officer Craig Singleton was directing traffic around an accident Sept. 16 at 2:44 a.m. on Dixie Highway near Lighthouse Drive when he was struck by a southbound vehicle. He was directing traffic because a police cruiser, driven by Officer Tom Wolf, was struck during a traffic stop.

        The suspect that hit Officer Singleton was driving a red car that might have damage to the front, hood and windshield.

        Officer Singleton, who suffered minor internal injuries, bruised kidneys and cuts and bruises, is expected to return to work soon, said Lt. Colburn.

        Anyone with information about the hit-and-run should call Fairfield Police at 639-7820.
       

Civil rights panel backs school on bias

        The Ohio Civil Rights Commission ruled Oct. 5 that evidence does not show Wayne Local Schools discriminated against a high school teacher on the bassis of age by assigning him to study hall.

        Donald L. Tharr had filed an affidavit with the Civil Rights Commission on Jan. 12.

        According to the commission's ruling, Mr. Tharr had received numerous complaints regarding his teaching methods. The complaints alleged Mr. Tharr did little teaching but would assign students to read while he worked on the Internet. He was subsequently asked to submit lesson plans regarding his duties.

        Mr. Tharr has also sued Wayne Local Schools to get his teaching job back after he was reassigned to study hall and a position as a tutor. That suit is pending.

        The reassignment occurred after Mr. Tharr was reprimanded for trading stock commodities on the school computer and began calling in sick, court records showed.
       

Installing culvert to close Mason Road

        DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP — Mason Road will be closed todayfrom 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. for the installation of a culvert. The road will be closed about 2,200 feet east of Butler-Warren Road. Detour signs will be posted. Township officials recommend motorists use Snider, Tylersville and Butler-Warren roads as alternate routes. For more information contact projects manager Doug Larrick: 513-697-2749.
       

New stent better at unblocking clogs

        Don't blink or you might miss another advance in stent technology to prop open clogged blood vessels.

        Doctors at Christ Hospital report they have begun installing the third generation of stents produced by Guidant Corp. The new “Multi-Link Tetra Coronary Stent System” has been improved to be even more flexible that the previous two products, making it easier for doctors to push through tight, curving vessels.

        On Oct. 4, Dr. Thomas Broderick, of the Ohio Heart Health Center, became the first at Christ Hospital to successfully install the latest new stent.
       

Three dogs attack boy, 10

        McARTHUR, Ohio — Three dogs attacked and critically injured a 10-year-boy Tuesday.

        The boy, whom authorities wouldn't identify, was taken to Children's Hospital in Columbus where he was treated for injuries, including several bites to his scalp, a hospital spokeswoman said.

        Sheriff's Cpl. Charles Boyer said the dogs were euthanized.

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