Police seek man who robbed Firstar

        NORWOOD — Police are investigating Hamilton County's latest bank robbery after a man held up the Firstar at 4525 Montgomery Road about 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

        There were no injuries. The man got away with an undisclosed amount of cash.

        Police say the robber handed a teller a note, took the cash and left with an accomplice in a waiting car. The car was last seen on Lawrence Avenue.

        Police are seeking a white man in his early 30s, 5-foot-5 and about 145 pounds, wearing a blue-and-white plaid shirt and a baseball cap.

        No description of the accomplice was given.

        The car is an older model, white, with a spotlight on the driver's side. It may also have front-end damage.
       

Absent juror located in Mexico

        Court officials now know the whereabouts of a missing Hamilton County juror who failed to return for jury deliberations this week.

        Christine Fiorini, 33, is in Cozumel, Mexico, on vacation, officials said.

        Exactly when she is coming back was unclear, but Common Pleas Judge Robert Ruehlman could resume jury deliberations Monday.

        Ms. Fiorini, who was in her second week of jury service, failed to return to court Tuesday to participate in deliberations in the trial of Dorie Terrell, who is accused of helping to kill a man.

        Authorities said the Colerain Township woman told other jurors she was going on vacation but failed to alert the judge or other court officials.

        Once she returns, she could face contempt of court charges, which could send her to jail for up to six months.
       

Report gives Ohio F in tracking birth defects

        Only eight states earned A's in a report card issued Wednesday that compares efforts to track birth defects.

        Kentucky got a B, Indiana got a D and Ohio got an F in the report issued by the Trust for America's Health, a Washington-based nonprofit organization.

        The report shows “we lack the most basic tool for preventing birth defects — information,” said Shelley Hearne, the trust's executive director. “Without knowing the causes of birth defects, we are helpless to prevent them.”

        According to the March of Dimes, 150,000 babies are born in the United States each year with birth defects — one out of every 28 infants.

Two babies' deaths ruled homicides

        The Hamilton County Coroner's Office has ruled the deaths of two infant half-sisters who died months apart homicides.

        Destiny Jones, 1 month, died in December. Her older half-sister, Chelsea Hall, died months earlier, officials said.

        The two girls lived in Cheviot. They had the same mother.

        Their deaths had initially been considered accidental, but this week the coroner changed those findings to homicide.

        The Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office is investigating the deaths, but there have been no arrests or charges filed.
       

Miami Twp. residents advised to boil water

        MIAMI TOWNSHIP — A boil water advisory was issued Thursday for Clermont County Water Department customers in northern Miami Township.

        The advisory, necessitated by a water main break, affects 550 customers west of Interstate 275 and north of Price Road. The area includes portions of Branch Hill-Miamiville Road, Loveland-Miamiville Road, Wards Corner Road and the community of Miamiville.

        Customers will be notified when the boil advisory is lifted.
       

Traficant ex-staffers testify they did chores

        CLEVELAND — Former staff members for U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. testified in the congressman's corruption trial Thursday that they did chores at Mr. Traficant's horse farm while on the congressional payroll.

        Richard Rovnak said he was hired in 1990 as a part-time staff member and made $750 a month to help constituents at the district office in Youngstown. But Mr. Rovnak said he spent most of his time at the farm, at times working 16-hour days doing plumbing, carpentry and electrical work.

Three inmates escape from Adams Co. jail

        WEST UNION — Three inmates escaped from the Adams County Jail Thursday night after overpowering a corrections officer.

        One inmate was captured just outside the jail immediately after the escape. The two others remained at large late Thursday, the sheriff's office said.

        The two inmates at large were identified as Justin Lynn Conn, who was convicted of illegal manufacture of drugs and was awaiting transportation to the Orient Correctional Institution, and Brett Matthew Burns, who was awaiting trial on a charge of illegal manufacture of drugs.

        Both escapees were last seen wearing their jail uniforms — blue jumps suits.

        The captured inmate was identified as Robert Moman, who was awaiting trial on a rape charge.

        Inmates had attacked Corrections Officer Edwin Phillips while he was placing an inmate in his cell, and the three inmates escaped from the end of an eight-cell block on the third floor, the sheriff's office said.

        Mr. Burns is white, 5-foot-10, 160 pounds, with a medium short brown hair, blue eyes and a mustache. Mr. Conn is white, 5-foot-10, 170 pounds with a slim build, short brown hair and brown eyes.

Basketball brawls bring cries of foul
Union Institute may shift staff
Boycott leaders stand by demands
GameWorks promises fun
Hospital still plans on moving
Lights still up for landmarks
Democrats vie for 33rd District seat
Luken seeks to use new power
Marge Schott offers stable home for wayward cow
Rare birth raises possibilities
Tristate A.M. Report
Women celebrate their faith at weekend events
BRONSON: Me, too
HOWARD: Some Good News
SMITH AMOS: Second thoughts
WELLS: Executions
Council approves further studies
Girls, 8 and 6, charged in fight
Hiking trails OK'd near firing range
New judge seats, levies on ballots
Southeastern Butler Chamber still growing
Turf war pits neighbors in assault case
Ohio National Guard seeks new armory site
Child-porn trial opens on April 1
Health agency to build $1 million care center
Ky. to cut school funding $14 million
Sewage dispute delaying museum
Shooting case back in court