Driver loses control, hits 3 cars downtown

A bystander holds the head of Katrina Clay, Forest Park, immobile while Cincinnati Fire Lt. Martin Walsh checks the condition of a baby after the car in which they were riding hit a stop sign at Second and Walnut streets. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        A motorist lost control of his vehicle Friday afternoon in downtown Cincinnati, running two red lights and hitting three cars before stopping when he knocked over a sign post.

        Police say Steven Dumas of Colerain Township was driving south on Walnut Street at 12:20 p.m. when he went through lights at Third and Second streets.

        Three people were taken to University Hospital — including a baby who was riding in a car seat in back of Mr. Dumas' vehicle — where they were treated and released.

        Fire officials said two adults suffered minor injuries and the baby was not harmed.

        “The baby slept through the whole thing,” said Howard Reed, District Chief, Cincinnati FireDivision. “There was a lot of damage.”

        The baby's mother, Katrina Clay of Forest Park, was also a passenger in Mr. Dumas' vehicle. While firefighters worked to extract her from the car, they placed the infant in her lap to help calm her.

        Mr. Dumas was charged with reckless operation.
       

Officer fined in case of intercepted fax

        NORWOOD — A veteran Norwood police officer Friday received the maximum $750 fine and a suspended 15-day jail sentence for a misdemeanor charge of obstructing official business.

        Lt. Steve Daniels, 44, a 22-year veteran of the Norwood force, was convicted of the charge in August and could have received 90 days in jail . The sentence was handed out by Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge William S. Mathews.

        Prosecutors said Lt. Daniels intercepted a fax transmission that contained sensitive information intended for the Norwood Drug Task Force.

        They said he then copied and shared the fax with others, ruining several months of work and halting a major drug investigation involving Fairfield Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration and several suspects and informants.

        Peter Rosenwald, Lt. Daniels' attorney, told Judge Mathews that the lieutenant inadvertently received the fax, which indicated that his daughter was living with a potential drug dealer.

        Judge Mathews took that into consideration during sentencing.

        Lt. Daniels also faces 13 Norwood Police Department administrative charges, which could cost him his job after a Sept. 13 hearing.
       

Girl, 15, charged in flight with baby

        HAMILTON — A Hamilton teen accused of taking off with a cousin's 6-week-old baby and running from police for more than 30 hours is facing a long list of felony and misdemeanor charges.

        Hamilton police have charged the 15-year-old Fairfield girl with felony counts of kidnapping and burglary. Misdemeanor charges are child endangering, interfering with custody and theft.

        Fairfield police are also expected to charge her with auto theft, a felony, and being a runaway.

        Jennifer Fugate of Hamilton gave her 6-week-old baby, Madison Lynn Bryant, to the teen Wednesday morning. The teen, who baby-sat for the family in the past, told the mother she wanted to take the baby to school for extra credit on a school project.

        But the girl and the baby never showed up at school, and it wasn't until Thursday evening that police arrested the teen at a home in Woodlawn.

        The baby was unhurt.
       

Newtown man, 43, indicted on sex charges
A 43-year-old Newtown man was indicted Friday by a Hamilton County grand jury on three counts of rape and six counts of gross sexual imposition.
        Darryl Holmes is accused of raping a 20-year-old woman on multiple occasions during a three-year period beginning in October 1996.

        The woman reported the alleged attacks to police in August, authorities said.

        If convicted, Mr. Holmes could be sentenced to more than 35 years in prison.
Proposals weighed in high school redesign

        UNION TOWNSHIP — Residents of West Clermont Local School District on Monday will get their first look at the polished version of the district's high school redesign project.

        The West Clermont Board of Education will review 10 proposals for small schools of choice to be established at Glen Este and Amelia high schools. The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. in Room 117 of Glen Este High School, 4342 Gleneste-Withamsville Road.

        The final versions of the proposals are expected to be approved at a Sept. 24 board meeting. The district is still on track to implement the redesign in the fall of 2002.
       

P&G employees pitch in at center

        About 40 Procter & Gamble employees will spend today (Saturday) in Mount Auburn from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., refinishing classroom doors, landscaping and working on other projects at the Memorial Community Center, 1607 Mansfield St.

        The project is part of United Way Community Care Week which pairs volunteers from companies with agencies to work on hands-on projects.

        “It is great for us,” said Sonya Dreves, executive director of Memorial Community Center. “It gives us the opportunity to complete projects we don't have the money for and it helps to connect our agency with the community.”

        Darlene Murphy, Procter & Gamble's volunteer coordinator, said Memorial Community Center was chosen because of the types of projects offered and because it serves children and families in the Lower Mount Auburn, Over-the-Rhine and Corryville areas.

        The P&G volunteers will also upgrade computers in the children's classrooms. Some volunteers will also be at the Memorial administrative office at 3000 Vernon Place, Mount Auburn, working on landscaping and decorating.

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