Man killed in East End crash

        One man was killed and another critically injured Saturday when their car crashed into a brick building on Eastern Avenue in the East End.

        A passenger, Joseph Spencer, 20, of Green Township, was trapped in the car and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The driver, Joseph Johnson, 22, of Price Hill, is in serious condition at University Hospital.

        Police said they don't know exactly when the accident occurred. A passerby discovered the wrecked car at 7:15 a.m. Saturday.

        Mr. Johnson was driving east when he lost control of his car and it went off the left side of the road, striking a brick building at 1598 Eastern Ave., police said. The accident is still being investigated.

Landscape contract awarded for park land

       SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP — Township trustees have awarded the Cincinnati landscape design firm Human Nature Inc. the contract to develop a master plan for 42 acres of park land on Winton Road.

        The property was formerly home to Warder Nursery, a 50-acre site that once belonged to the City of Cincinnati. The township purchased the bulk of the property for $750,000 in December 1999.

        “What we do is take a very place specific design strategy; so that when we're finished you couldn't imagine the park being anywhere else,” said Chris Manning of Human Nature Inc.

        The firm, he said, has developed master plans for park projects such as the Voice of America Park in West Chester and French Park in Amberly Village. It also was involved in the landscape design for the riverfront's International Friendship Park, soon to dedicated.

        Developing the Springfield Township plan will take place over six to nine months, but township officials say that public meetings to discuss the project could begin as early as November.

New traffic lights for Harrison streets

        HARRISON — By the end of the month, two new traffic lights — one at Harrison Avenue and State Street and one at Harrison Avenue and Walnut Street — are expected to be operational.

        The installation of the traffic lights will complete the Harrison Avenue MainstreetProject, a $1.3 million construction project that included street widening, underground utilities, decorative sidewalk pavers and brick paver crosswalks.

        It began in December 2000.

        “The poles for the stoplights were the only thing that didn't come in on time; other than that, the project really finished ahead of schedule,” said City Councilman Walter Powers, who chairs the street committee.

        The project, he said, was funded by a combination of state and county grants and $600,000 in city funds.

Woman injured in Deerfield Road crash

        MIAMI TOWNSHIP — A Loveland woman was hospitalized after a crash Sunday in which she ran a stop sign and struck another vehicle, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said.

        Betty Demasters, 66, was driving a 2000 Buick LeSabre northbound on Deerfield Road at 8:30 a.m. when she failed to stop at the intersection of Deerfield and Ohio 28 in this Clermont County community, police said.

        Ms. Demasters was transported by helicopter to University Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition Sunday evening and was expected to be released, a nursing supervisor said.

        The driver of the other car, Susan M. Wabnitz, 45, of Loveland, was not injured. The crash remains under investigation.
       

7-year-old adjusting to life with new family

        COLUMBUS — A 7-year-old boy placed in foster care after his parents sent him to school dressed as a girl last year is doing well with his new family, officials said.

        He has chosen to go by his given name, rather than the girl's name he had been called at his parents' home.

        “He's making friends; he's running, playing, hopping, skipping, jumping, doing the normal kid things,” Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Terry Julian said. “He's being a kid.”

        Spending a year away from his parents has helped the boy make progress emotionally. It also has helped his parents, who are divorcing, learn about themselves and be better parents, court officials told a Columbus newspaper.

        Officials would not reveal where in Ohio the boy is living and would not permit an interview.

        The boy was removed from the home of Sherry and Paul Lipscomb of suburban Westerville in August 2000 after they informed school officials the child would wear girl's clothes and have a girl's name when he entered first grade for the 2000-2001 school year. The child attended kindergarten as a boy. His parents said he had been diagnosed by a doctor with a gender-identity disorder.

Funeral held for terrorism victim

        MOREHEAD, Ky. — Some 1,200 people attended the funeral Sunday of a Navy weather expert killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon.

        Far more than that paid their final respects to Petty Officer Edward Thomas Earhart along the five-mile route to the cemetery where he was buried.

        Some stood on their lawns, heads bowed, as the hearse made its way along the winding roads. Others displayed flags. Yet others stood outside their cars, holding hats over their hearts, as the mile-long procession passed by.

        Mr. Earhart, 26, an aerographer's mate first class, was killed in his office when a hijacked commercial airliner crashed into the Pentagon, part of a terrorist assault that also destroyed the World Trade Center in New York. He had worked for the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon since Dec. 31.

Morehead State enrollment is up

        MOREHEAD, Ky. — Fall enrollment at Morehead State University is nearly 5 percent higher than a year ago, according to preliminary figures.

        Enrollment is at 8,693 students, up 4.4 percent from the final enrollment of 8,327 in the fall semester of 2000, the school said.

        Undergraduate enrollment this fall is up 3.6 percent and graduate student enrollment is 15.4 percent higher, the school said.

        The preliminary figures were presented at the quarterly meeting of the university's Board of Regents on Saturday.

        Final fall enrollment will be announced later.
       

Illnesses may have been acquired at fair

        UPPER SANDUSKY, Ohio — Health officials are trying to determine whether a cluster of E. coli cases can be linked to the Wyandot County Fair.

        At least 20 people have reported diarrhea and severe abdominal cramps, symptoms of infection with the bacterium. Twelve of those people have been interviewed, and all attended the county fair, which lasted from Sept. 11 to 16.

        Health investigators, awaiting test results, said seven cases of E. coli have been confirmed.

        “What the vehicle is, we don't know yet,” said Jeffrey Ritchey of the county Health Department in this city about 60 miles north of Columbus. “Right now, we're just trying to gather information so that we can investigate, and we want to educate people so that we can prevent secondary cases.”

        Mr. Ritchey said the size of the outbreak appears significant, but he was unsure how severe the cases are.

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