Police were investigating a shooting Monday night in Over-the-Rhine that left a man with gunshot wounds.

        The shooting occurred about 8 p.m. near Vine and Findlay Streets. The victim, who suffered about five gunshot wounds, was transported to University Hospital, where he was scheduled to undergo surgery.

        Police at the scene said it appeared someone drove up in a car and shot the man, who was on the sidewalk. They did not have any description of a suspect.
       

UC faculty voting on contract

               The University of Cincinnati's faculty union mailed ballots Monday and expects members to vote by Jan. 25 on whether to accept a three-year contract the university offered.

        “My feeling and hope is that it will pass,” John Brackett, chief negotiator for the campus chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said Monday. Mr. Brackett is an associate professor of history at the school.

        The union represents 1,988 full-time faculty members at the university's five campuses.

        The university, with 34,000 students, is Ohio's second-largest school behind Ohio State University.

        The union and the university agreed on the contract proposal, with a federal mediator's help, in time to avoid a threatened strike. The walkout was to have started on Jan. 3 as winter quarter began.

        A majority vote is required for ratification by faculty members. The university's board of trustees could vote either on Friday or early next week to ratify the contract for the university, spokesman Greg Hand said Monday.

        Under the agreement, pay would increase 10 percent over three years.
       

Murder case ends with dismissal

               A Hamilton County judge Monday dismissed a murder charge against a 24-year-old man accused of an August killing in Over-the-Rhine.

        The prosecution requested the dismissal after a witness failed to identify Dorian Brodnax as the person who killed Ezell Bailey Jackson, 22, of the Millvale area.

        Mr. Jackson was supposed to be in drug and alcohol treatment when he was shot to death Aug. 23 at 14th and Republic streets.

        A witness told investigators she saw Mr. Brodnax approach Mr. Jackson and fire multiple shots, but she later recanted that statement.

        On Monday, it appeared as if that witness, Sherry Erkins, would not show up for the start of Mr. Brodnax's trial. Common Pleas Judge Norbert Nadel issued a contempt of court bond on Ms. Erkins, but she eventually appeared and the bond was nullifed.

        After Ms. Erkins failed to identify the shooter, the prosecution asked the judge to dismiss the charge for lack of evidence.

Used book sale begins this week

               The Friends of the Public Library used book sale is this weekend at the group's new location, 8456 Vine St., Hartwell.

        A members-only preview sale is 6-8 p.m. Thursday.Memberships, starting at $15, are available at the door. The public sale is 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Sunday.

        For information about the event, to donate books or to volunteer, call 369-6035.
       

"Read-in' begins Black History events

               OXFORD — The public is invited to a "read-in” at Miami 0University's King Library, kicking off Black History month events at the college.

        The free event, 1 to 4 p.m. Feb. 4, involves people of various ethnic groups reading parts of works by African-American writers at the same time on the same day across the nation.

        The Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, a civil rights pioneer, will be the featured speaker.

        A reception for him follows. To volunteer to read and to choose a work, complete the form at http://www.lib.muohio.edu/libinfo/new/afam/.

Forums to focus on I-75 corridor

               A team of area transportation officials studying Interstate 75 between north of Dayton, Ohio to southern Boone County is holding two open houses to discuss possible alternatives for the highway and gather feedback.

        The North South Transportation Initiative, a group from the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) and the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission (MVRPC), is overseeing the meetings.

        The first open house is 11:30 a.m. Jan. 29 at the Westin Hotel at 21 East Fifth St., downtown Cincinnati.

        The second is 5-7 p.m. Jan. 31 at the West Chester Public Library, 7900 Cox Road, West Chester.

        For more information, call OKI at 621-6300 or the MVRPC at (937) 223-6323 or visit www.nsinitiative.
       

Township awards Trapp Lane contract

               SPRINGFIELD TWP. — Trustees have awarded the engineering firm JMA Consultants a contract for improvements to Trapp Lane, which intersects with Miles Woods Drive.

        Trapp Lane was formerly a dead-end street, but was opened recently to extend into the Miles Woods Subdivision. About 900 feet of the older portion of the street will be improved, said Michael Hinnenkamp, township administrator.

        Engineering fees are estimated at $40,000 and the total cost of improvements at $409,000, he said.

        Most of the project will be funded by a no-interest, 20-year state loan, the administrator said.

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