The Cincinnati Youth Collaborative on Monday announced the appointment of Gary Lacy as its executive director, effective Jan. 7.

        He succeeds Miriam West and Cheri Westmoreland, who were interim co-directors.

        “Dr. Lacy is highly respected and admired in the fields of education and youth development,” said Judge Nathaniel Jones, chairman of the board.

        Dr. Lacy has spent the last four years as director of graduate studies in counseling at Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio.

        The collaborative was formed in 1987 in response to skyrocketing dropout rates in the Cincinnati Public Schools. It brings together community leaders to work on behalf of Cincinnati's youths.
       

"Average Joe' pleads guilty to robbery

               The serial bank robber authorities dubbed “Average Joe” pleaded guilty Monday to one count of robbery for a 1999 heist at a Springdale Key Bank.

        Daniel T. Schwarberg, whose ordinary looks earned him the tag, will be sentenced Dec. 13 by Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Robert Kraft.

        Mr. Schwarberg, 44, was believed to have committed 17 bank robberies between 1998 and 2000 along Interstate 75 from Kentucky to Ohio.

        Besides Monday's plea, the Verona, Ky., man has pleaded guilty to at least 11 other robberies and been sentenced to 63 months in federal prison.

        In the Springdale robbery committed July 28, 1999, authorities say Mr. Schwarberg used a handgun to threaten a bank employee and then fled the bank with an undisclosed amount of money.
       

Gunman gets cash from motel office

               GREEN TWP. — Hamilton County Sheriff's deputies are searching for an armed man who robbed the Mount Airy Motel at 3294 North Bend Road around 8:20 a.m. Monday.

        There were no injuries. The robber escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash.

        The man entered the motel office with a handgun and demanded money from the lone desk clerk, Hamilton County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Barnett said. After obtaining the cash, the man told the clerk to wait inside the business or he would shoot her. He fled on foot.

        The robber is black, in his 20s, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs about 200 pounds. He was wearing a black nylon jacket, black jeans, black-and-white gym shoes, a black ski mask and gloves.

        Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call the sheriff's office at 946-6400 or Crime Stoppers at 352-3040.
       

Airport board to provide update

               The Lunken Airport Advisory Board will hold a meeting tonight to inform residents about the status of the city owned airport.

        The meeting is scheduled for 7-9 p.m. at 3738 Eastern Ave. For more information, call the Lunken Airport office at 352-6340.
       

Jury selection begins in strangling

               LEBANON — Prospective jurors were asked their opinions about the death penalty as jury selection began Monday in the capital murder trial of a convicted killer accused of strangling his cellmate at Warren Correctional Institution last year.

        Timothy Hancock, 31, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the killing of convicted child molester Jason Wagner, 25, found dead Nov. 13, 2000, in the cell the two men shared.

        Authorities said Mr. Wagner was tied to a cot with strips of bedsheet and had another strip of cloth around his neck.

        Mr. Wagner was in prison for the 1999 kidnapping and attempted murder of 3-year-old Ashley Taggart of Lancaster, Ohio.

        Mr. Wagner was serving a sentence of 44 years to life after being convicted in that case.

        Mr. Hancock is serving 24 years to life for the 1989 killing of a female family friend in Allen County. Mr. Hancock claimed that guards forced the two men to share a cell despite threats from Mr. Hancock that he would harm Mr. Wagner.
       

Damage closes part of Kyles Station Rd.

               LIBERTY TWP. — Chipping concrete on a railroad overpass has shut down Kyles Station Road near Mauds Hughes Road until at least Wednesday. The emergency road closing was issued late Sunday after a Butler County Sheriff's deputy discovered the crumbling concrete while on patrol.

        County engineers are to meet todaywith officials from the Norfolk Southern Corp., which maintains the overpass, to assess the damage, said Chris Petrocy, spokesman for the Butler County Engineer's Office.

        Motorists can check the Butler County Engineer's Office Web site for updates at www.bceo.org.
       

Lebanon meeting to discuss buyouts

               LEBANON — Last-minute legislation to buy out the contracts of two top city officials has been added to tonight's City Council meeting agenda, City Auditor Greg Dixon said Monday.

        Council members had not yet seen the legislation, but according to Mr. Dixon, it sets Friday as his and City Manager James Patrick's last day of work.

        Under the legislation, Mr. Patrick and Mr. Dixon would continue to receive paychecks and benefits for six months, Mr. Dixon said.

        Three of Mr. Patrick's supporters on the seven-member council lost re-election bids earlier this month, and the legislation is a pre-emptive move to allow the two men to leave without being fired.

        Council members James Reinhard and Amy Brewer, whose faction will hold a majority on the new council, said they would support letting Mr. Patrick and Mr. Dixon resign with six months' pay.

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