A Detroit man pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that he raped a 10-year-old girl in a Sharonville hotel.

        Erik J. Earhart, 36, a tour group bus driver, was arraigned in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court on Monday on charges that he assaulted the girl Friday evening in a hot tub in the Preston Hotel in the 2200 block of Sharon Road, according to Sharonville police.

        Mr. Earhart remains in custody at the Hamilton County Justice Center. Bond is set at $75,000.
       

Information available
on ballpark bidding

               Construction managers at Great American Ball Park will hold a series of programs to help guide potential contractors through the Hamilton County bidding process.

        The programs are designed to encourage small firms, and those owned by minorities and women, to become involved with the project.

        The first session will be 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. May 24 at the Greater Cincinnati Urban League, 3458 Reading Road. This is a general information program that will provide an overview of the next phase of construction work at the ballpark.

        Times and locations of the other sessions — June 28 to give small businesses an opportunity to talk with construction managers and a third session later this summer at the ballpark site — will be determined later.
       

Car accident injures Loveland couple

               BUTLERVILLE — A Loveland couple were injured Monday when their car went off Ohio 132, struck a culvert and overturned.

        Ralph Gentry, 76, was in critical condition late Monday in University Hospital in Cincinnati, and his wife, Belle, 74, was listed in fair condition there.

        The Ohio State Highway Patrol said Ms. Gentry was driving the car west on Ohio 132 when it went off the right side of the road.
       

Man pronounced dead at Indiana crash site

               AURORA, Ind. — A 52-year-old Aurora man was found dead Monday after his 1990 Jeep Cherokee struck a utility pole on Wilson Creek Road in Dearborn County, north of Aurora.

        Indiana State Police said William Keith Richards was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash occurred about 10 a.m. EDT. A preliminary investigation found that the victim was southbound on Wilson Creek Road near Scenic Drive when he lost control and his vehicle slid off the west side of the road and struck a utility pole.

        The driver was not wearing a seat belt, state police said. Wilson Creek Road was closed for two hours following the crash.
       

Obscenity trial to begin today

               Opening arguments will begin today in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court in the pandering-obscenity trial of Elyse Metcalf, owner and operator of Elyse's Passion in Over-the-Rhine.

        Ms. Metcalf is accused of selling three sexually oriented videos on separate occasions last year to plainclothes police officers.

        She faces six counts of pandering obscenity, but prosecutors intend to try Ms. Metcalf on only three of them.

        The other three counts, which relate to Ms. Metcalf's business, will be dismissed, officials said.

        As part of its case, the prosecution intends to show jurors the three videos, which run more than four hours total.

        The trial will begin at 10:30 a.m.
       

Summerfair 2001 seeks volunteers

               Volunteers are needed to work at Summerfair 2001 at Coney Island, June 1-3. To volunteer: send an e-mail to summerfair@fuse.net, call Kevin Reynolds at the Summerfair office at (513) 531-0050, or visit the Web site at http://www.summerfair.org.

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