Pipe bomb blast shakes neighborhood

        MIAMI TOWNSHIP — A homemade pipe bomb exploded in the 5400 block of Cowell Avenue around 2:45 p.m. Friday, causing damage to a tree and two houses.

        Four suspects have been detained for questioning, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office said. The device exploded on the property of Paul Ingersoll.

Hamilton county detective Bill Rarrick (left) discusses the pipe bomb with Sgt. Mike Horton (center) and Patrolman Jeff Sabers. (Joe Wessels photo) | ZOOM |

        Lying on her couch, neighbor Sherry Rohrer, 49, was startled by the burst.

        “Everything shook,” she said. “Then (people) ran out of the house ... and said, "Let's get out of here.'”

        Witnesses reported seeing a large plume of smoke after the bomb exploded.

        Fifteen minutes after the explosion, children started to walk down the road after school. At least 16 children live on the street or nearby, Ms. Rohrer said.

        No charges had been filed as of Friday night. The incident remains under investigation.
       

Sitter admits guilt in Ritalin case

        LEBANON — A 38-year-old South Lebanon baby sitter pleaded guilty Friday to a charge of attempted child endangering for allowing two children in her care to ingest Ritalin.

        Rebecca Gammon of the 400 block of Morrow Road did not force the children to take the drug, commonly used to treat attention deficit disorder.

        However, Ms. Gammon, who has three children of her own, did nothing to stop her neighbor's 7-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter from taking the pills, Warren County Assistant Prosecutor Ken Ewing said.

        Ms. Gammon apparently was driving when the children found the prescription bottle in the car and each swallowed one tablet. She later told the children's mother that they had each taken a “chill pill.”

        Blood tests determined that both children had consumed Ritalin, Mr. Ewing said. The 10-year-old girl experienced stomach pains.

        Ms. Gammon faces up to 18 months in prison when she is sentenced on the felony charge in about a month.
       

Xavier honors priest in Honduras

        The Rev. Robert F. Coyne, a 1960 graduate, is this year's winner of Xavier University's St. Francis Xavier Medal for his action, courage, daring and imagination.

        Father Coyne is a Maryknoll priest serving a parish in Honduras while directing CARITAS, a Catholic social relief organization, and coordinating the diocesan commission of social concerns.

        His parish, Sacred Heart of Jesus in San Pedro Sula, is noteworthy in part for its many people with AIDS.
       

Butler trolley runs free route

        HAMILTON — The Butler County Regional Transit Authority offers free lunch-time service through Dec. 29 along Main Street and downtown. The trolley will circulate every 10 minutes between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. weekdays, taking pas sengers to lunch and shopping spots.

        For information about the Holiday Trolley Loop or other routes, call (888) 450-0287.
       

UD man helps found human rights group

        The University of Dayton's Mark Ensalaco is an organizer of the new International Human Rights Education Consortium.

        The consortium focuses on undergraduate human rights classes, where UD was a pioneer.

        Bert Lockwood, director of the Urban Morgan Institute of Human Rights at the University of Cincinnati College of Law and editor of Human Rights Quarterly, said the new group's “unique and unifying core is the focus on teachers.”

        The University of Cincinnati law school is a founding institutional member of the consortium, which also has individual memberships for educators.
       

Jogger drowned, examiner rules

        AKRON — A jogger who was struck by a hit-and-run driver was moved into woods where she drowned in a deep puddle, a medical examiner ruled.

        Summit County Medical Examiner Marvin Platt ruled Thursday that Tracy Tomko, 22, died of drowning and suffered “blunt force injury to the chest and abdomen” after she was hit while jogging Aug. 11.

        Ralph Blackwood, 38, is awaiting trial for allegedly hitting Tomko, who was wearing dark clothes and jogging in the early morning. He is charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, aggravated vehicular homicide, obstructing official business, hit-and-run driving and three counts of tampering with evidence.

        Police said Mr. Blackwood dragged Ms. Tomko into the woods and never called for an ambulance. Ms. Tomko was found face-down in a deep puddle several hours after the accident.

        Mr. Platt declined to say whether Ms. Tomko was conscious after she was hit and whether the chest and abdominal injuries would have killed her if she had received immediate medical attention.

        “I cannot believe that someone could be so cruel and go out of their way to kill an innocent human being in such a manner,” said Ms. Tomko's father, Jerry.
       

Teachers cancel threatened walkout

        LORDSTOWN, Ohio — Teachers called off a threatened walkout over contract negotiations just before the state auditor declared Friday that the school district was under fiscal emergency.

        Members of the Lordstown Teachers Association decided late Thursday night to continue working under their current contract, which expired Aug. 1. They had planned to walk off the job Friday after the school board refused to change its proposal for a one-year pay freeze.

        Patrick Pollifrone, president of the 75-member teachers union, said neither side could be expected to negotiate properly without a clearer understanding of the district's fiscal situation. He said the union plans no further action for now.

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