CAN members urge change in drug law

        A proposal in the Ohio House that would equalize powder and crack cocaine penalties is receiving strong support from members of Cincinnati Community Action Now.

        Cincinnati CAN co-chairmen Ross Love and Tom Cody have sent letters to Ohio Senate President Richard Finan and other legislators urging passage of House Bill 133. The measure would eliminate the distinction between crack and powder cocaine and establish one range of penalties for the use or sale of all cocaine.

TELLING SECRETS TO SANTA: Naomi Hairfield, 3, of Lebanon tells Santa what she wants for Christmas at the annual United Way Christmas present distribution at the Warren County Community Services building Tuesday in Lebanon. The United Way collected presents donated at businesses and schools. (Michael Snyder photo) | ZOOM |

        Under current law, selling 100 grams of crack cocaine results in the same 10-year mandatory minimum prison term as selling 1,000 grams of powder cocaine.

Fugitive ordered returned to Illinois

        One week after he was spotted inside a Springdale Kinko's, Clayton Lee Waagner was ordered returned to Illinois for sentencing on a federal gun charge, along with prosecution on an additional charge of escape.

        Mr. Waagner, 45, was among the FBI's 10 Most Wanted. He fled from the Dewitt County Jail in Clinton, Ill., in February while awaiting sentencing on the initial gun charge.

        On Wednesday, U.S. Magistrate Timothy Hogan approved the extradition.

        Mr. Waagner, dressed in a blue jumpsuit with his hands cuffed in front of him, said he did not object to the extradition.

        “No reason to fight this. After all, I did escape from there. I'm anxious to see how it proceeds, that's all,” he told reporters.

        Mr. Waagner is wanted in multiple states, charged with bank robbery in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and possession of explosives in Tennessee.

        He is also suspected of sending more than 500 fake anthrax letters to abortion clinics.

        His federal public defender, Kelly Johnson, said Mr. Waagner has already been indicted for escape in Illinois.

Car may be clue to bank robber

        Police are looking for a man they say wore a fishing hat and fake facial hair to rob a Key Bank in Anderson Township.

        The man robbed the Beechmont Avenue branch shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office. He showed a silver-colored gun, pushed a customer aside and demanded money. The cashier gave him an undisclosed amount.

        Police were looking for the silver Chrysler they think he used as a getaway car.

        Witnesses described the robber as white, about 5-foot-10, 150 pounds, and about 30-35 years old. He was wearing a beige hat with a tan coat and pants and brown shoes.

        Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 352-3040.

Ex-Monroe clerk makes guilty plea

        HAMILTON — A former Monroe finance clerk on Tuesday pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of theft after authorities say she gave herself an unauthorized pay raise of about $1,200.

        Donna F. Oakley, 41, could receive up to a $1,000 fine and a maximum six months in jail when Butler County Common Pleas Judge Keith Spaeth sentences her Jan. 17. Ms. Oakley has made restitution.

        Felony charges of theft in office and tampering with records were folded into the theft charge, Butler County Assistant Prosecutor Lee Oldendick said.

        “She basically got a step increase she was not entitled to,” Mr. Oldendick said. “She was an employee and she had worked there for 17 years.”

County prosecutor gets peer award

        Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor Jerry Krumpelbeck has been named 2001 Assistant Prosecutor of the Year.

        The 22-year veteran shared the award with Butler County Assistant Prosecutor Steve Tolbert.

        Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen called Mr. Krumpelbeck “an assistant that can be counted on to take difficult cases and get the right result.”

        Mr. Krumpelbeck, 51, joined the prosecutor's office in 1979, working in the Juvenile Division.

        He quickly moved up to the Municipal Division, and then went on to the Felony Trial Division. In 1994, he was named one of five team leaders in the prosecutor's office.

        One of the cases he prosecuted attracted national attention, one of the first in which a person was charged with the death of an unborn fetus. The 1997 case involved a road rage incident in which a woman was hurt and her unborn child was killed.

        The award was given by the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association.

Four face charges in lottery ticket sales

        HAMILTON — A four-month police investigation here has led to the arrests of four people on gambling and corruption charges.

        Ruth and Rondall Messer, managers of Life Rekindled Instant Ticket Booth on South Erie Boulevard, were charged with gambling, operating a gambling house, and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, said Sgt. Carl Sigmon, vice section supervisor. The latter charge is a second-degree felony with a maximum sentence of eight years in prison.

        Sgt. Sigmon said it was the first time in Butler County that an operator of an instant lottery operation has been charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. Ruth Messer was convicted of gambling in 1995 in Fairfield for participating in an instant lottery booth there, he said.

        Bank accounts involving the Life Rekindled Organization — of which the Messers are board members — and the Messers' personal banks accounts have been frozen, Sgt. Sigmon said.

        Two other employees who worked at the ticket booth — Thomas Reynolds and Cheryl Ison — also were arrested and charged with gambling and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, police said.

NAACP forum today on city schools

        The Cincinnati branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will hold a forum on education from 7-8 p.m. today at the Bond Hill Recreation Center.

        The forum is designed to give residents a chance to express their feelings about Cincinnati Public Schools. Among the issues to be discussed are academic achievement, disciplinary removal, the dropout rate, pay incentives and school safety.

        Information: 281-1900.

Store permanently loses liquor license

        OXFORD — State authorities have permanently revoked the liquor license for the Dairy Mart at 327 W. Spring St.

        The Ohio Liquor Commission reported that a clerk sold beer to a 19-year-old after being shown a college ID. Ohio requires that a state ID or driver's license be shown for proof of legal age (21) to buy alcohol.

        The commission said the store had underage violations in 1995, 1996, two in 2000 and two in February 2001. In the past year, the store was fined $1,600 and had a 35-day license suspension.

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