WILMINGTON, Ohio — A man who was cleaning motorcycle parts with gasoline may have accidentally started a house fire that killed him and a friend early Sunday, the fire chief said.

        Firefighters found Kyle Curran, 31, and Tara Drake, 29, near the bottom of a staircase about 3:15 a.m., Chief Phillip Brewer said. Chief Brewer said it appears gasoline fumes may be to blame.

        “It looks like he had been cleaning motorcycle parts with gasoline,” Chief Brewer said. “And an electric space heater was nearby. Those two don't mix.”

        Firefighters were hampered by low temperatures, which froze water spray from hoses onto their clothing, Chief Brewer said.
       

Burst pipe damages Findlay Market

               A water pipe burst inside Findlay Market in Over-the-Rhine on Monday night, causing several hundred dollars in damage, Cincinnati District Fire Chief Fredrick Prather said.

        The fire division was called about 8 p.m. by a passer-by, who saw the water leaking into the alley near the market, Chief Prather said. No one was injured.
       

West End shooting leaves man injured

               Cincinnati police are looking for three men believed to be involved in the shooting of a man in the West End on Monday night.

        The victim was taken to University Hospital, where he was treated for injuries police called non-life threatening. His identity and condition were not immediately available.

        The man was shot in the 1500 block of John Street about 8:30 p.m., Cincinnati police said.

        Two men wearing black skimasks and carrying handguns ran south on John to a gray full-size van with tinted windows and left the scene, police said. A third man also is wanted by police.
       

Farmland considered for two new schools

               MARION, Ohio — An Army Corps of Engineers report says the River Valley school district is considering two farm properties for its new middle school and high school.

        The two schools are being relocated because of environmental contamination discovered by state and federal investigators after a high rate of leukemia was found among River Valley graduates in 1997.

        District voters last month approved a $19.6 million bond issue to relocate the schools and build two bigger elementary schools.

        The Army engineers said there would be no significant environmental impact if the mid dle and high schools were built at either of the proposed locations, the Columbus Dispatch reported Sunday.
       

Tenn. vets eligible for burial in Kentucky

               FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Tennessee veterans will be eligible for burial at the new Kentucky State Veterans Cemetery under an agreement reached by the departments of veterans affairs in the two states last week.

        About 60 people, many representing various veterans organizations, attended the Memorandum of Agreement signing at Fort Campbell, which straddles the states.

        The agreement also means Kentucky veterans may be buried in Tennessee cemeteries in Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville.

        Construction has started on the cemetery south of Hopkinsville. Kentucky's first state cemetery is slated for completion in May 2002.
       

Police shoot, kill man after store robbery
COLUMBUS — A SWAT officer shot and killed a man who they say pointed his sawed-off shotgun at police after he robbed a tobacco shop.
               Michael Burgett, 37, held the employees and customers of Smokers Value at gunpoint while he robbed the store Sunday afternoon, police said. He died at Mount Carmel West Hospital at 6:57 p.m.

        Police arrested a man who they say was driving Mr. Burgett and charged him with one count of robbery. Donald Orris, 49, surrendered in the parking lot after officers surrounded the car during the robbery, Sgt. Earl Smith said.

        SWAT officers had been following the men for the past week because they were suspects in a series of recent armed robberies on the city's west side, Sgt. Smith said.
       

Georgetown offering college prep mentoring
Georgetown College is extending its college preparatory mentoring into the Cincinnati area with the help of the Urban League.
               Participants will be drawn from local high schools, and $1,000 annual scholarships to the Kentucky school will be available to those who complete the program.

        It begins next month. Details, Jane Higgins (502) 863-7077.
       

Cincinnati State gives help in learning English
Cincinnati State will offer a free beginning-level class in English as a Second Language starting Feb. 7.
               The class will be Wednesdays from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. through April 4. For more information, call 569-4848.

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