DARE expanded to more schools

        Cincinnati police officers will return next week to teach an anti-drug program in schools previously left out of the program because of budget cuts.

        The Cincinnati Police Division has taught Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) classes since 1988. But a $250,000 cut last year by city council to the program's $750,000 budget left some schools out. Thirty were cut, most of them Catholic schools.

        Police officials announced Friday that they restructured the DARE program to make more officers available in more schools each semester.

        These six schools will be reinstated: St. Clare in College Hill; Holy Family, Resurrection and St. Lawrence in Price Hill; Martin Luther King Academy in the West End; and St. Mark in Evanston. The others will get classes starting with the next school year in September 2001.

        Fifth-graders get the core classes for 17 weeks. Students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades get refresher courses.

        Hundreds of complaints poured in to city hall after the cuts. Mayor Charlie Luken asked police and school officials to hammer out a better way.

        “The kids spoke,” he said in a statement Friday, “and we listened.”
       

Apartment resident found dead in fire

        An apartment fire in Over-the-Rhine late Thursday left the resident dead.

        Firefighters called to 1316 Race St. a little after 11 p.m. found Donald Hacker dead in the fourth-floor efficiency. The fire was caused by a discarded cigarette, said Capt. Dan Rottmueller, fire investigtor.

        Damage was estimated at $5,000.
       

Woman rescued after fall into pond

        GREEN TOWNSHIP — An attempt to feed swans put a woman in peril Friday afternoon.

        Joan C. Bernard, 52, walked onto the ice on a pond behind her Eagles Nest condominium off Shoreview Run Court about 5:15 p.m. to feed the birds. The ice gave way, tossing her into the cold water, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office said.

        Three deputies, one of them off duty, pulled Ms. Bernard out of the water and up onto an embankment where the Green Township life squad could reach her.

        She was conscious when taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, the sheriff's office said. Her condition was not immediately available.
       

Teen club exceeds goal for helping kids

        MILFORD — The Milford High School chapter of the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) set up a Giving Tree at Christmas to collect toys for needy children of Clermont County.

        The goal was 700 gifts, 200 more than last year. The club surpassed that goal, collecting 801 gifts, and distributed them to 500 children at Christmas.
       

History, genealogy search made easier

        One-hour tours of the History & Genealogy department of the Main Public Library, 800 Vine St., will be held at 10 a.m. every Saturday in January and February. The amateur genealogist or archivist can see how the department is set up, and what material is available for research.

        The section has one of the oldest and largest genealogy collections in the country, a map collection and a travel collection.

        The tours are free and open to the public. Meet at the service desk on the third floor. Information: 369-6905.

Insanity plea made in baby's killing

        YOUNGSTOWN — A 14-year-old girl pleaded innocent by reason of insanity to charges that she threw an infant out a window and then stabbed him to death.

        Jackie Colon appeared Friday in Mahoning County Juvenile Court on an aggravated murder charge. Judge James McNally granted a request for a psychological exam. Miss Colon, who spent time in a psychiatric ward after the Dec. 18 killing, was sent Friday to a juvenile detention center.

        The state has asked that the case be bound over to a Mahoning County grand jury. If tried as an adult and found guilty, Miss Colon faces life in prison. If found guilty as a juvenile, she would remain incarcerated until age 21.

        Police said she threw almost 3-month-old Alex Zalovcik out a second-floor window and then fatally stabbed him when she saw he was still moving. She then got on a bus and went to school.

        Miss Colon's mother told police that her daughter had been under psychiatric care for years.

        The baby was staying at the home along with his 18-year-old mother.
       

State official's son pleads to 2 charges

        ATHENS — A son of Lt. Gov. Maureen O'Connor pleaded no contest to and was found guilty of two misdemeanor charges after a felony possession of cocaine charge against him was dismissed.

        Alex Kipp, 21, of Akron, entered the plea Thursday in Athens County Municipal Court to charges of persistent disorderly conduct and violating a traffic control device.

        He received a suspended 30-day jail sentence and must pay $275 in fines and court costs.

        Police said Mr. Kipp had 0.7 grams of cocaine in his backpack when he was arrested Oct. 27 during a traffic stop.

        Athens County Prosecutor William Biddlestone said a drug task force officer requested the felony charge be dismissed because Mr. Kipp was cooperative and the amount of cocaine in his possession was small.
       

Mayor's accuser OKs settlement

        TOLEDO — A former city employee who accused the mayor of verbally abusing her and making sexist comments has agreed to settle a lawsuit she filed against the city and the mayor.

        The city administration and former Erie Street Market manager Carolyn Smithers tentatively agreed to settle for $35,000, The Blade reported Friday.

        Ms. Smithers alleged that Mayor Carty Finkbeiner threatened to hit her once and also struck her with a coffee mug. Ms. Smithers said Mr. Finkbeiner once told her, “be a man, don't be a girl.”

        Mr. Finkbeiner denied Ms. Smithers' allegations and said the lawsuit was in retaliation for his decision to remove her as the market manager. She had been accused of insubordination, neglect of duty and dishonesty.

        City Council must approve the settlement.
       

Man sentenced for siccing pit bulls

        TIFFIN, Ohio — A man was sentenced to 10 months in prison this week for ordering his pit bulls to attack two men at a party.

        Ryan Williams, 21, of Fostoria, was found guilty of aggravated assault for using the dogs as deadly weapons.

        Mr. Williams had the dogs attack the men at a party in the summer of 1999. The men were taken to Fostoria Community Hospital and treated for bites on the legs, arm, back and groin.

        Seneca County Prosecutor Ken Egbert Jr. said he has noticed an increase in incidents involving vicious dogs.

        “It's more in the area of law enforcement when we execute search warrants, specifically at houses that are suspected of having drugs inside,” he said. “It's becoming more common that a pit bull or Rottweiler is in the residence.”

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