ERLANGER — A retail store sting Thursday afternoon led to charges against four people for selling beer to minors.

        A teen-ager under 18, accompanied by plainclothes officers, went without a driver's license or any other identification to 12 convenience stores in Erlanger and tried to buy alcohol as part of a sting. Clerks at four of the stores sold beer to the minor.

        “Four is the least number of citations we have ever issued during this annual sting,” said Police Chief Greg Sandel. “I would like to have no one sell alcohol to a minor, but we are making progress.”

        All four cases will be heard next month in Kenton District Court.

        The four stores where the minor was sold beer are:

        • CVS Pharmacy, 3141 Dixie Hwy.

        • JD's Food Mart 648 Donaldson Road.

        • Speedway West, 631 Donaldson Road.

        • Tobacco Road, 508 Commonwealth Ave.
       

High court suspends lawyer for 60 days

               FRANKFORT — The Supreme Court Thursday suspended Covington lawyer Bridget Hofler Saunders for 60 days from the bar for failing to refund a retainer in a divorce case that was never filed.

        The court decision said Ms. Saunders had also been disciplined earlier, given a public reprimand in 1994 and a private admonition. It is only in recent years that lawyer discipline cases have been made public.
       

Christmas trees mulched for free

               CRESCENT SPRINGS — After the holidays, residents of this city can have their Christmas trees mulched for free by the Kenton County Public Works Department.

        Residents can take their Christmas trees to the Park-n-Ride lot on Anderson Road or to the gravel lot at the end of Rip's Road in Crescent Springs Community Park. Trees also can be placed curbside for pickup by Crescent Springs Public Works between Jan. 1 and 7. On Jan. 7, Kenton County crews will be at the site to do the mulching.
       

Wounded suspect flees in hospital gown

               LOUISVILLE — Police didn't think a suspected shoplifter with a gunshot wound to the abdomen would be going anywhere soon. So no guard was posted outside her hospital room.

        As it turns out, police underestimated Jeannie Longwell Richardson.

        She sneaked away from University of Louisville Hospital on Dec. 10 and has been at large since, said Kentucky State Police Det. Rick Melton.

        Ms. Richardson, 27, of Louisville, was shot by a Bullitt County deputy sheriff after a high-speed chase and had spent at least two days in intensive care, Det. Melton said. Ms. Richardson apparently pulled out her intravenous tubes and slipped away while still wearing her hospital gown, he said.
       

IU branch ordered to clear illegal dump

               NEW ALBANY, Ind. — Indiana University Southeast has been ordered to clean up an illegal campus dump littered with discarded office, classroom and laboratory equipment.

        The Floyd County Health Department ordered the regional IU campus this week to clean up the dump within 30 days.

        The 12-foot-deep trench is located in a wooded area and is filled with a variety of equipment, some with IU property tags clearly visible.
       

KSU president seeks $15M in suit

               FRANKFORT — The president of Kentucky State University is seeking $15 million from The State Journal in a libel suit over allegedly “racist and hateful” coverage, the newspaper reported Thursday.

        George Reid said his reputation was damaged. He wants compensation of $5 million, plus $10 million for punitive damages, according to Mr. Reid's responses to written questions by the newspaper's attorneys.

        In addition, Mr. Reid and his family “have been subjected to ridicule and hatred as a result of the racist and hateful tone of State Journal articles and cartoons,” Mr. Reid's response said.

        At issue is the newspaper's reporting that professors at the University of Cincinnati, where Mr. Reid once was a dean, suggested in a report that Mr. Reid had padded his record.

        A consultant hired by KSU's board of regents examined Mr. Reid's resume and declared it accurate. One of the professors, L.J. Andrew Villalon, said Mr. Reid corrected the resume after it was challenged. Mr. Reid also is suing Mr. Villalon.
       

Ky. superintendent of year picked by peers

               LOUISVILLE — Blake Haselton has been named Superintendent of the Year by the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents.

        During Mr. Haselton's tenure, Oldham County Public Schools have been among the state's best in academic performance.
       

Four artists' works on White House tree

               FRANKFORT — Four Kentuckians were among artists across the country chosen to display hand-crafted ornaments on the White House Christmas tree.

        White House officials asked four artists from each state to submit an ornament that represented a historic home in their state.

        The artists and their ornaments include:

        • ,Debbie Klempner of New Castle, Lincoln's birthplace in Hodgenville;

        • Debby Meyer of Louisville, Centre Family Dwelling, Shaker Village in Pleasant Hill;

        • Judy Geagley of Tollesboro, My Old Kentucky Home in Bardstown; and

        • Nell Dieterle of Hawesville, Lt. Governor's Mansion in Frankfort.
       

Raped worker sues UK hospital, assailant

               LEXINGTON — A mentally handicapped custodian who was sexually assaulted by a co-worker at the University of Kentucky Medical Center has sued both the hospital and his assailant.

        The plaintiff was forcibly sodomized while at work in 1997, according to court records. Danny Estus, 27, pleaded guilty to the assault and is serving a 10-year prison sentence.

        The suit filed this week alleges that the victim, a 24-year-old male, and his mother had both warned UK that Mr. Estus had made persistent overtures but that the hospital did nothing.

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