Credit union, bank held up within 4 hours

        Two Greater Cincinnati financial institutions were robbed Wednesday, making three such holdups in two days.

        • About 10:15 a.m., a man entered the New Horizons Credit Union on Vine Street downtown and implied he had a gun, but did not show one.

        He escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash. Police signed a warrant alleging aggravated robbery against Gerald Francis Duggan, 31.

NO FEAR ... MAYBE: Michael Novak, a Cincinnati Fire Department recruit, climbed a 100-foot aerial ladder Wednesday at the fire departmentıs drill yard in the West End. The 22 members of the 106th recruit class climbed the ladder on their first day of physical training. All 22 recruits made the climb successfully. The recruit class will graduate May 24. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        Police ask that anyone with information about Mr. Duggan's whereabouts call Crime Stoppers at 352-3040.

        • Just after 2 p.m., a man held up the Provident Bank on Colerain Avenue in Colerain Township. No one was injured.

        Hamilton County sheriff's deputies say a man entered the bank, handed a teller a note indicating he had a gun and demanded money. No gun was shown. A teller gave the man an undisclosed amount of cash and he fled.

        The robber is a black man in his mid-20s to early 30s, about 5 feet 4 inches tall. He was wearing a denim jacket with a hooded sweat shirt and a knit cap.

        He fled out a rear door of the bank and entered a small green vehicle driven by another man. The vehicle was last seen heading east on Banning Road.

        • On Tuesday, a man held up the Firstar Bank on Old Ohio 74 in Clermont County.

        The man is white in his mid-20s with a medium build. The robber fled in a gray Pontiac Grand Am with a Kentucky license plate.
       

Meeting tonight on trash transfer station

        After more than three years of debate, a decision appears weeks away on whether to allow a garbage transfer station to start doing business at the former ELDA landfill in Winton Hills.

        The Cincinnati Board of Health will hold a committee meeting tonight to discuss several questions about the proposed transfer station, which would be used to repack trash collected by regular garbage trucks into larger trucks that would haul the waste to distant landfills.

        The Board of Health could vote on the proposal at its next full meeting, to be held Jan. 22.

        Waste Management of Ohio Inc. proposed the transfer station in May 1998. It has since won approvals from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the Metropolitan Sewer District, and the Cincinnati zoning and building departments.

        The final decision on issuing a permit to operate rests with the city Board of Health, which has been divided in previous discussions of the project.

        The committee meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the Health Department headquarters in Corryville, 3101 Burnet Ave.
       

Council surprises Nuxhall with honor

       HAMILTON — Joe Nuxhall thought he had been invited to the Hamilton City Council meeting Wednesday night to present an honor.

        But City Council threw a curve ball at the Old Lefthander and honored him instead.

        Councilman Richard Holzberger, a good friend of Mr. Nuxhall, surprised him by reading a mayor's proclamation praising the Hamilton native for his major-league pitching exploits, his broadcasting career for the Reds and, most of all, for his extensive work for local charities.

        Mayor Donald Ryan then presented him with a key to the city.

        Mr. Nuxhall, who acquired the nickname “Hamilton Joe” when he was a player, became teary-eyed during the proclamation reading.

        “This is very special to me,” he said after he regained his composure.

        Mr. Holzberger said council wanted to show its appreciation for all Mr. Nuxhall has given to Hamilton over the years.

GOOD DAY FOR A WALK: A pedestrian walks Wednesday toward Kentucky through the wire mesh enclosure on the Cincinnati side of the Taylor-Southgate Bridge. Temperatures reached 48 degrees Wednesday at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and the warm trend was expected to continue today. (Dick Swaim photo) | ZOOM |

        “Joe boasts and talks Hamilton wherever he goes,” he said. “He's our foremost ambassador.”
       

Graham crusade chief to preach in Newport

        NEWPORT — The Rev. Rick Marshall, director of Crusades of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, will preach at an ecumenical service Jan. 20 at St. John's United Church of Christ, 415 Park Ave. in Newport.

        The Northern Kentucky Interfaith Commission is celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and representatives from different Christian traditions will participate in the service, along with two choirs and soloists.

        The Rev. Mr. Marshall, a minister with the North American Baptist denomination, is involved in the planning for the appearance of the Billy Graham Crusade at Paul Brown Stadium June 27-30.
       

Council reverses renaming of street

        Cincinnati City Council voted 8-0 Wednesday to reverse a previous ordinance renaming Glenwood Avenue in Avondale after a councilman's father.

        In November, City Council voted 6-2 to rename the street in honor of the Rev. L. Venchael Booth, father of Councilman Paul Booth. Members Pat DeWine and Alicia Reece voted no; Mr. Booth abstained.

        Councilmen David Crowley and David Pepper, who sponsored the motion reversing the decision, acknowledged the objections of residents who said their input was ignored.
       

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