Case isn't closed in Northside fire death

        The Cincinnati police homicide unit continued Tuesday to investigate the death of a Northside woman whose body was found during a fire at her Lingo Street home.

        Kathy Phillips, 40, was in the first-floor hallway when firefighters arrived at 3:35 a.m. Sunday to find the first floor engulfed in flames.

        The Hamilton County Coroner's Office said its autopsy indicated Mrs. Phillips death seemed to be consistent with a fire.

        Mrs. Phillips was the mother of Oberen ""Obie” Burgin, 5, who was killed by a dog-wolf hybrid pet in October at his grandmother's home in Miami Township.

        Police said Mrs. Phillips' daughter, Tonya Burgin, 10, was not home when the fire started.

        Chase Intermediate School in Northside has started a trust fund for Tonya, a fifth-grader. Tonya is staying with family, a Chase social worker said.

        Donations can be made to the Tonya Burgin Trust Fund, Northside Bank and Trust, 4125 Hamilton Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45223.
       

'78 slaying case could be back in Boone court

        COVINGTON — Eugene W. Gall Jr., convicted of murdering a 12-year-old girl in 1978 before a federal appeals court overturned that conviction in October, will appear in U.S. District Court on Jan. 24 for a hearing.

        His case could then return to Boone County Circuit Court, where Prosecutor Linda Tally Smith could pursue only a manslaughter charge against Mr. Gall, formerly of Hillsboro, Ohio.

        A Boone County jury convicted Mr. Gall of abducting Lisa Jansen as she walked to her Columbia Township school in April 1978 and then raping and shooting the girl to death in Boone County.

        In November, in a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati said Mr. Gall did not receive a fair trial and belongs in a mental hospital rather than on Kentucky's death row.

        The original Boone County trial never addressed whether Mr. Gall suffered from an "extreme emotional disturbance” before the slaying, the two majority judges said.

        If Mr. Gall had been found to have suffered from such a disturbance, he could have been declared legally insane, they said.

        Meanwhile, the Kentucky Attorney General's Office is asking the appellate court to reconsider its decision.

        Mr. Gall remains on death row, where he has remained longer than any other prisoner.
       

School bus rear-ended in New Richmond

        NEW RICHMOND — A minivan struck the rear of a stopped school bus Tuesday in the 1200 block of Bethel-New Richmond Road, causing what appeared to be minor injuries to a 16-year-old passenger in the van, police said.

        Police Officer Ron Robinson said the bus, loaded with New Richmond junior and senior high students, was stopped while two students got off.

        The van, driven by a 17-year-old girl, came around a curve and struck the bus. The bus had lights flashing and stop signs deployed, Officer Robinson said. The van was heavily damaged.

        The occupants of the van were both New Richmond High School students. The injured girl was taken to Mercy Hospital Anderson following the 2:30 p.m. crash. The van driver declined aid.

        None of the students on the bus nor its driver was hurt. The students were taken back to school, where they were released to parents, police said.

        The identities of the drivers and the injured passenger were not released. The wreck remains under investigation.
       

Alzheimer's group likes federal budget

        The new federal budget offers good news to people concerned about Alzheimer's disease, Tristate advocates say.

        “We believe the budget is a bipartisan recognition of the significant impact Alzheimer's disease has on families,” said Diana Trenkamp, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.

        The final budget bill for 2001, approved Dec. 15:

        • Allows homebound Alzheimer's patients on Medicare to receive home health services even if they use adult day care.

        • Increases federal research spending by 14 percent, to more than $500 million.

        • Provides more money for a “safe return” program for Alzheimer's patients who wander away, and for other demonstration programs.
       

Child mental health conference this month

        UNION TOWNSHIP — Autism, eating disorders, children who risk failure in school and other issues for parents and professionals will be discussed at Clermont County's first Mental Health in Early Childhood Conference.

        The two-day conference, sponsored by the Clermont County Mental Health and Recovery Board, will focus on mental health issues affecting children from infancy to age 5. It will be Jan. 11-12 at the Holiday Inn Eastgate, 4501 Eastgate Boulevard. Registration fees are $225. Information: 752-1555 or www.child-focus.org.
       

Wife sentenced for role in attempted poisoning

        BATAVIA — A grandmother who took part in the attempted poisoning of her husband was sentenced Tuesday to six months in jail.

        Catherine Gregg, who is in her mid-60s, was sentenced by Judge Robert Ringland in Clermont County Common Pleas Court on one count of tampering with evidence.

        Ms. Gregg, of Union Township, disposed of tainted medication in which her grandson, Joe Lee Peters, 21, put weed killer in an attempt to kill 68-year-old John B. Gregg.

        Mr. Peters pleaded guilty in December 1999 to a charge of attempted murder and was sentenced by Judge Ringland to four years in prison.

        Ms. Gregg also was sentenced to five years' probation.
       

Gift means food pantry will get a new home

        FRANKLIN — Franklin Area Community Services has announced the Franklin Food Pantry and those it helps have received a generous gift: a permanent home.

        The pantry, in a leased storeroom on Main Street, will move in March to the former Franklin Post Office at 345 S. Main St.

        The money to buy the building was provided by Jane Bindley Danforth as a memorial to honor her parents, Mary Jane and E.H. Bindley, and her sister, Anne Bindley, who died in 1944 of polio.

Congressman's staff wants to hear from public

        The staff of U.S. Rep. John Boehner, R-West Chester Township, will hold “open door” meetings Thursday at four locations in Butler County.

        The staff wants to listen to the public's concerns and opinions about federal issues and the federal government.

        The meetings will begin at 10 a.m. at 9100 Centre Pointe Drive, Suite 140, in West Chester Township; 11 a.m. at the Fairfield Municipal Building, 5350 Pleasant Ave.; 1 p.m. at chambers of Hamilton City Council, One Renaissance Center; and 3 p.m. at the Oxford Municipal Building's second-floor conference room.

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