A $600,000 grant from the Ethel Wright Luther, Howard Bourne Luther and Frances Ramsey Luther Charitable Foundation will go toward a $2.4 million fund-raising campaign by the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.

        The grant, delivered Friday by Fifth Third Bank, is the latest in a continuing tradition of zoo gifts from the Luther family.

        The campaign, aimed at Tristate businesses, would finance expansion and improvements to elephant and rhinoceros exhibits, picnic areas, concessions and restrooms.

        Contributions can be made in care of Alicia Bridgeland Lampe, director of development, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Cincinnati 45220. Call 487-3323.

Levy on agenda for Forest Hills

               ANDERSON TOWNSHIP — The Forest Hills School District's Board of Education will discuss at its meeting today the need for an operating levy within 12 to 18 months.

        The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the board office, 7550 Forest Road, Anderson Township.

        Board President Eric C. Okerson said initial discussion will likely cover the need for and size of a funding increase, the timing of the levy and how to gauge the level of support from the community.

        Mr. Okerson said he hopes at the upcoming meeting all five board members can agree on the district's financial needs.

        “Right now we must face the fact that the district is projecting a $2.5 million deficit for the 2002-03 school year,” Mr. Okerson said. “The economic reality is that if there is no levy, the district will have to make cuts.”

        Declining enrollment and state funding have had the greatest negative effect, said Superintendent John B. Patzwald.

Camp Dennison project plan delayed

               SYMMES TOWNSHIP — Three Symmes Township developers who want to build a $200 million residential community on a former gravel pit in Camp Dennison will wait another month before submitting a formal zoning application to Hamilton County.

        Darrell Leibson and Tim and Greg Hensley are conducting traffic and environmental studies that should indicate how their proposed development will impact the 340-acre industrial site and surrounding communities.

        They want results before formally asking for a ""community unit plan” that would allow about three residential units per acre.

        The proposed site along Ohio 126 now is mainly zoned heavy industrial. The men hope to meet the county Regional Planning Commission's next deadline of March 21.

        The developers decided to wait after a Feb. 13 meeting inspired more than 100 people to criticize the developers for not being able to say how their proposed development would affect the groundwater and surrounding roads, schools and sewer utilities.

Safe-driving forum presented at schools

               ANDERSON TOWNSHIP — Michelle Luhn, a teen driver whose hill-hopping accident in Delhi Township caused the deaths of two friends in June 2000, will be among the speakers at a safe-driving forum Tuesday at Nagel Middle School.

        The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, in conjunction with the Forest Hills School District and the Anderson Township Trustees, will preview the “It's Your Choice” safe driving campaign, beginning at 7 p.m. in the middle school cafetorium, 1500 Nagel Road.

        Featured speakers will include members of the Sheriff's Office Traffic Safety Unit, physicians from the University Hospital Trauma Department, and Michelle Luhn, a teen driver in a Delhi Township hill-hopping accident that caused the death of two of her friends in June 2000.

        The program also will be presented at Anderson and Turpin high schools. The preview is intended for parents, teachers, and any other concerned community members.

        The program is designed to send a message to young drivers by vividly describing the tragedies that can occur from reckless or drunken driving.

Arrests made in student's killing

               DELAWARE — Two men have been charged in the shooting death of an Ohio State University student whose body was found last month dumped along a county road.

        Eric R. “Poppie” Spar, 29, of Columbus, and Patrick Brunty, 37, of Orient, were arrested on aggravated murder charges Saturday in the death of Christopher Gerspacher, a 26-year-old history major who had been missing for more than a month.

        Delaware County Prosecutor W. Duncan Whitney said he was told that Mr. Spar and Mr. Gerspacher were once roommates.

        The arrests were made by sheriff detectives along with the Columbus police missing-persons unit after a lead in the case developed about 10 days ago, Whitney said.

        A criminal complaint filed in Delaware County Municipal Court accuses the two men of using a .32-caliber handgun to kill Mr. Gerspacher on or about Dec. 22, the day he disappeared from his Columbus apartment.

Nominate nurses for local awards

               Nominations will be accepted through Friday for the Tristate's highest nursing honor, the Florence Nightingale Awards.

        Six outstanding nurses will receive $1,000 prizes, another 10 will receive $400. To nominate a registered nurse who has gone above the call of duty, call (513) 558-8624 or check the UC College of Nursing Web site for a nomination form, www.nursing.uc.edu.

Meet Hamilton's new football coach

               HAMILTON — Soon-to-be-hired Hamilton High School football coach Eric Gillespie will meet the public at a reception prior toTuesday's meeting of the Hamilton Board of Education.

        The reception begins at 6:45 p.m. at the board's office at 533 Dayton St. The board meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. The school board is expected to vote on Mr. Gillespie's hiring.

        Mr. Gillespie, who is from Dayton, had a 14-16 record in three seasons at Fairborn. In 2000, he was named the Western Ohio League Coach of the Year and the Miami Valley Football Coaches Association Division I Coach of the Year.

        Mr. Gillespie replaces former coach Ed Mignery.

        Hamilton went 77-66 in 14 seasons under Mr. Mignery.

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