Butler buses seek Hamilton funding

        HAMILTON — The city's proposed 2002 budget — to get its first hearing Wednesday — includes $85,000 to keep Butler County's bus system running through April.

        The county Transit Authority is seeking temporary funding from several communities after its levy failed earlier this month.

        Council members are receptive to the request, Councilman Richard Holzberger said Saturday. That's because the levy had 61 percent support from Hamilton voters on Nov. 6. Voters in West Chester and Liberty townships sunk it, however.

        “The biggest gripe is the empty-bus syndrome,” said Mr. Holzberger, who also sits on the transit board.

        Transit is going to reorganize and consolidate routes to be more efficient, he said.
       

Bond to speak at Chamber dinner

       Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP, will be keynote speaker at the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce annual awards banquet and dance Friday.

        Mr. Bond, 61, is a civil rights pioneer who served in the Georgia legislature for more than 20 years.

        He also hosted America's Black Forum, a syndicated television show, and served in the Georgia legislature for more than 20 years.

        Mr. Bond, 57, a student of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Morehouse College in 1961, has served as a distinguished scholar-in-residence at American University in Washington, D.C., and a faculty member at the University of Virginia.

        Cost: $60-$75 for an individual ticket; $600-$750 for a table of 10. Information: 579-3104.
       

County gets $141K recycling grant

        Hamilton County's Solid Waste Management District received a Recycle, Ohio! grant of $141,500 to develop and strengthen recycling efforts.

        The grants are used to support recycling collection, education and awareness campaigns, as well as litter prevention and “buy recycled” activities.

        The Ohio Department of Natural Resources awards the grants through its Division of Recycling and Litter Prevention. Nearly $7 million in grants have been awarded to 97 communities statewide.
       

Commission hosts seminar for homeless

        Homeless people can get food, shelter and some free advice on their civil rights Monday.

        More than a dozen employees of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission's Cincinnati Regional Office will be working at the Cincinnati Drop-Inn Shelter House, 217 W. 12th St., from 10:30 a.m. until 1 p.m.

        The workers also will educate the shelter residents about housing, public accommodation and employment rights, said Frank Masterson, regional director of the commission.

        “We want to reach out and make ourselves available to answer any questions pertaining to civil and legal protection laws,” he said.
       

Jack-knifed truck shuts down I-71/75

       COVINGTON — A semi-tractor trailer jack-knifed in the northbound lanes of Interstate 75 Saturday evening about 6 p.m.

        The vehicle overturned, causing Covington Police to close the lanes to traffic. Emergency medical crews were not dispatched to the scene. But the accident forced travelers to find an alternative means to navigate toward downtown Cincinnati.
       

AIDS service planned for Friday

        Area religious leaders will hold an interfaith healing service Friday at Christ Church Cathedral for those living with AIDS, as well as their family, friends and caregivers.

        The Cincinnati Men's Chorus will sing, and the Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas will deliver the message. The Rev. Dr. Douglas was the first African-American woman ordained in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio.

        The service is 7 p.m. at the cathedral, 318 East Fourth St.
       

Dog's phone call tips cops to drug stash

       COLUMBUS — A whimpering dog appears to have turned his owner in to police.

        Authorities got a 911 phone call Thursday morning that sounded like a woman in trouble. They traced the call to a cellular phone and sent Clinton Township police to the phone owner's house.

        Officers found no emergency but did discover 150 marijuana plants in the basement.

        Police now think they were accidentally tipped off by the homeowner's dog.

        When Nandor C. Santho, 46, arrived home after hunting with his dog, he found his house surrounded by police. In his truck was a cellular phone and a whimpering dog. Police think the dog stepped on the phone, pressing a speed-dial button set for 911.
       

MainStrasse tying holiday events

       COVINGTON — Santa is going to be a regular visitor to MainStrasse Village for the next month.

        He will stop in at the Tolle Haus Antique Market, 607 Main St., 6-8 p.m. Saturdays. Children can see St. Nick and get a chocolate-chip cookie and a gift.

        Shops in historic MainStrasse will stay open until 8 p.m. on Saturdays, according to spokeswoman Alliea Phipps.

        It's the first time MainStrasse merchants have coordinated special events for the holidays, she said.

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