Sports collectibles among auction items

        LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. — An auction to help the family of a 9-year-old Dillsboro girl who needs a brain operation will start at 6 p.m. today at the Dearborn County Fairgrounds on U.S. 50.

        Meaghann Muncy, daughter of Sandy Muncy, suffers from a rare birth defect that causes frequent seizures.

        Her medication makes her sleep most of the day.

        An operation that could help her would cost about $150,000.

        The auction will feature numerous autographs of movie and sports stars as well as sports memorabilia donated by Michael Jordan, Johnny Bench, Pete Rose and others. A baseball signed by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig is on the block.

        Donations can be sent directly to Meaghann's Fund, P.O. Box 298, Dillsboro, Ind. 47018.
       

St. Patrick's Day parade closings

        The following downtown streets will close at 11 a.m. Sunday for the St. Patrick's Day parade:

        • Eggleston Avenue between Third Street and Broadway; Reedy Street between Court Street and Eggleston Avenue; and Sentinel, Butler and Culvert streets.

        When the parade starts at 1 p.m., the following streets will be closed until the parade is over:

        • Reedy Street between Eggleston Avenue and Broadway

        • Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth streets between Broadway and Race Street

        • Vine, Walnut, Main, Sycamore and Broadway streets between Fourth and Ninth streets

        • Sentinel Street between Fifth Street and Eggleston Avenue

        • Northbound Interstate 471 ramp to Sixth Street

        • Columbia Parkway ramp to Sixth Street

        Parking along the parade route is prohibited and Metro bus service will be rerouted. Hotels in the closed area will be accessible.
       

Indictments accuse man of holdups

        A 21-year-old Highland Heights, Ky. man was indicted in Hamilton County Friday on two counts of robbery and one count of aggravated robbery for allegedly robbing a grocery store and attempting to rob a plainclothes police officer.

        Prosecutors say David Moore is responsible for the Feb. 25 robbery of Prospect Hill Market in Liberty Hill.

        They say he is also responsible for a March 5 robbery attempt of Cincinnati Police Specialist Dennis Ficker.

        Spc. Ficker, dressed in a suit and tie, was investigating an unrelated case in Mount Auburn when he was held at knifepoint by a man who demanded money.

        Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen said Spc. Ficker reached for his gun instead of his wallet and chased the man, who was captured a short distance away.

        If convicted Mr. Moore could be sentenced to a maximum 23 years in prison.
       

2 Warren deputies involved in collision

        LEBANON — Two Warren County deputies suffered minor injuries early Friday when their cruisers collided at Interstate 75 and Ohio 48 during a high-speed pursuit.

        Deputies Brian Houndshell and Scott Williams were treated at Bethesda North Hospital and released.

        Sheriff's officials said the chase began at 2:58 a.m. after Deputy Houndshell clocked Clinton R. Benson's car traveling at 102 mph on I-75. The cruisers crashed after Mr. Benson, who was driving with no headlights, pulled over abruptly, Capt. John Newsom said.

        Mr. Benson, 23, of Cox Smith Road in Warren County, is charged with felony fleeing and eluding, speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol.
       

City investigation agency under review

       Cincinnati City Council will discuss reforming the Office of Municipal Investigation at a Law and Public Safety Committee meeting Tuesday.

        Chairman Pat DeWine has asked the acting director of OMI, Mark Gissiner, to discuss “situations where the city manager has exercised direction and control over ongoing OMI investigations.”

        Specifically, he wants to know why former city manager John Shirey closed the investigations of two high-level employees accused of violating the policy on computer pornography.

        The settlement of a federal lawsuit on alleged racial profiling by Cincinnati police will also likely include reform of the city investigatory agency.
       

Downtown Firstar branch is robbed

       Cincinnati's latest bank robbery happened about 4:10 p.m. Friday downtown.

        A robber walked into the Firstar branch at Court and Main streets and passed a teller a note demanding money, police said. He did not show a weapon.

        It was the 12th bank robbery so far this year in the city. Police have made arrests in at least eight.
       

Road widening to begin in Blue Ash

       BLUE ASH — Council members have awarded Cincinnati-based Shelly Co. a $1.5 million contract to improve Plainfield Road between Reed Hartman Highway and Cooper Road.

        Work begins within a month. The project will accommodate the fall opening of the new Blue Ash Elementary School on the Raymond Walters College campus.

        The one-mile stretch will become three lanes in each direction, with turn lanes. The road now has one lane in each direction.

        A signal light will be installed at Cooper and Plainfield roads.

        Completion is scheduled for the end of August.
       

Lake Erie fish advisory altered

       COLUMBUS — There's just one change on the list of Lake Erie fish that are safe to eat, according to the state's annual consumption advisory.

        Lake Erie walleye longer than 25 inches should be consumed just once a month, the report released Friday said. Those trophy-size walleye, which account for about 5 percent of the walleye in Lake Erie, had been safe to eat once a week.

        Walleye under 25 inches remains safe to be eaten once a week.

        The state warns that because of possible mercury contamination, women of childbearing age and children under age 7 should not eat more than one meal of Ohio sport fish each week.

        The contaminated fish are mainly bottom-feeding fish such as carp and catfish.

        Included on the list of fish that should not be eaten are large channel catfish in the Ohio River and Lake Erie; and carp in the Ohio River.
       

Ohio pilot killed in Wisconsin crash

       ALMA, Wis. — A single-engine cargo plane crashed in a hilly area Friday, killing an Ohio pilot who had reported icing problems.

        The pilot, who was not immediately identified, had reported icing problems on a flight to Detroit during a storm that dumped more than a foot of snow in places in northern Wisconsin.

        The wreckage was found about 15 miles east of Alma, said Beatrice Gleiter, a dispatcher with the Buffalo County Sheriff's Department.

        There were no passengers in the plane, she said.

        The pilot was flying for Priority Air Charter of Kidron, Ohio, on a trip that originated in the Twin Cities, authorities said.

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