Titanic exhibit held over 2 days

        Titanic: The Artifacts Exhibit will stay an extra two days at the Cincinnati Museum Center after breaking the attendance record for traveling exhibits.

        As of Wednesday, the latest figures available show 131,847 visitors had trekked to the Queensgate landmark to see the display of items recovered from the wreck of the Titanic more than 2 miles below the North Atlantic surface.

        The previous attendance record-holder was Jurassic Park, which ran for 11 weeks in 1997.

SPECIAL DANCE: Cincinnati Ballet dancers Gregory Schoenwolf and Julie Gustafson captivate third-graders from Houston Elementary in Colerain Township with a special performance Thursday as part of the ballet's In-Step In-School Education Program. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

        The Titanic display includes personal items and equipment found where the ship hit an iceberg and sank April 15, 1912.

        The display opened Nov. 24 and was scheduled to close March 9. Now, it will remain open through March 11. Tickets for the extended stay are on sale today; prices are $3.50 to $12.

        Tickets are available at Cincinnati Museum Center, Union Terminal, 1301 Western Ave., or by phone through Ticketmaster, 562-4949; from outside Cincinnati, call (800) 246-2987.

        The Omnimax movie Titanica will close as scheduled after March 9.
       

Evanston blaze chases 18 from homes

        A two-alarm fire early Thursday caused about $25,000 in damage to an Evanston apartment building and left 18 people — including 14 children — seeking temporary shelter.

        There were no injuries. The families temporarily displaced are being assisted by the American Red Cross, Cincinnati District Fire Chief Dallas Kelly said.

        Cincinnati fire officials said the blaze broke out at about 2:30 a.m. in a four-family building in the 3200 block of Fairfield Avenue. The fire was in the building's second-floor ceiling and in enclosed spaces on the third floor, authorities said.

        The cause has not yet been determined, fire officials said.
       

Thanks planned today for freeway support

        Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken and City Manager John Shirey today are scheduled to thank the area's congressional delegation for its support of the Fort Washington Way project.

        The event is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Parking Lot B, just west of Race Street along Pete Rose Way. The public is invited.

THE CLOWNS ARE IN THE TOWN: How many clowns in the clown car? Ask and they'll answer only, “We're still counting.” The clowns appeared on Fountain Square Thursday, promoting the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, at the Firstar Center through Sunday. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        Expected to attend are Sens. George Voinovich and Mike DeWine, and Reps. Rob Portman and Steve Chabot, all Ohio Republicans.
       

Fund-raiser to aid stricken girl's family

        SUNMAN, Ind. — Two fund-raising events this weekend will benefit the family of Natalie Gilday, 7, who has been diagnosed with idiopathic bronchiolitis obliterans, a condition in which the body rejects its own lungs.

        Her parents, Michele and James Gilday of Sunman, are raising funds to defray medical expenses of a double-lung transplant. Natalie is third on the list for donor lungs at St. Louis Children's Hospital.

        A teen dance will be held from 7 p.m. until midnight today at VFW Post 7570 Duwell, 9061 Lawrenceburg Road in Harrison Township. Deejay Terry Beesely will spin discs for anyone 13 to 19. Admission, which includes refreshments, is $8 a person. Information: Liz or Becky at (812) 623-3211.

        There will be a benefit auction for Natalie at 1 p.m. Sunday at Lutz Auction, Auction Lane, 5967 North Dearborn Road in Dover, Ind. Information: (765) 647-3218.

        Visit Natalie's Web site at www.cotafornatalie.org.

Most DNA evidence added to database

        COLUMBUS — All but 400 DNA samples that have the ability to link crime scene evidence to Ohio's violent offenders have been loaded into a national crime-fighting database and are ready to be put to work, state officials said Thursday.

        The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, scurrying to analyze a 4-year-old backlog of about 22,000 blood specimens taken from Ohio inmates, had expected to have the database finished by midweek thanks to a $1.2 million federal grant.

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