Deerfield helps pay for YMCA study

        DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP — The township and Lebanon's Countryside YMCA are looking into putting a YMCA in the township.

        The trustees voted Tuesday night to pay half the $25,000 cost of a feasibility study. The other half will come from Countryside YMCA.

        “Deerfield is in the business of community service and providing for residents,” Trustee Bill Morand said Wednesday. “In order to compete, we have to market ourselves to families and children.”

        Trustees expressed interest in luring a Y after plans to put one in Loveland were scrapped in January.

        A Deerfield YMCA would serve the Loveland and Kings school districts, Mr. Morand said.

        Also Tuesday, the trustees authorized a $25,000 master plan for the township's parks system.
       

Ex-teacher indicted on sex charges

        BATAVIA — A former Amelia High School teacher was indicted on four counts of sexual battery Wednesday by a Clermont County grand jury.

DAMAGING BOLT: Lightning struck a vacant church at Ninth and Russell streets in Covington Wednesday, knocking a large hole in the wall and causing a section of the brick facade to collapse, damaging a car. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

        The charges against Jeffrey Sears, 41, of Amelia, involve three female high school students, ages 17 and 18, in incidents that occurred during the 1997 and 1998 school years, said Don White, Clermont County prosecutor.

        Mr. Sears had been suspended by the school last year after his arrest on a similar charge. But that sexual battery charge was later dismissed by the prosecutor's office because of a technical problem with the indictment, Mr. White said.

        The new indictments involve different students.

        Sexual battery is a third-degree felony that carries a penalty of five years in prison.
       

NKU has another opening for regent

        Northern Kentucky University on Wednesday announced a second Board of Regents member to resign in as many days.

        Kathryn Browning Hendrickson, a Maysville, Ky. native, resigned for personal reasons. Her term expires June 30, 2003.

        On Tuesday, schools officials announced the resignation ofhome builder A. William “Bill” Erpenbeck, who is under investigation by the FBI for possible bank fraud. Lenders, subcontractors and home buyers in Ohio and Kentucky have been affected.

        NKU officials said the resignations are not related.
       

Racism is topic at church tonight

        Cornel West will speak at 7 p.m. today at Christ Church Cathedral. Author of Race Matters, Dr. West will lecture as part of the Cathedral's “Racism: Violence to the Human Spirit” conference.

        The Rev. Susan Smith, pastor of Advent United Church of Christ in Columbus, will deliver an address, “Why Racism Won't Go Away: How Religion Has Nurtured the Disease.”

        The program begins at 7 p.m. at the church, 318 E. Fourth St., downtown. Tickets are sold out but seating is available in the undercroft, where a large-screen TV will show Dr. West's lecture. Information: 621-1817.

Settlement signed in medical case

        U.S. District Judge Kate O'Malley signed an order late Wednesday in Cleveland solidifying a $1.1 billion settlement in a case against Texas-based Sulzer Orthopedics that alleged faulty hip and knee replacements.

        About 30,000 patients got defective hip or knee implants that led to a recall by the manufacturer and lawsuits.

        The order came after a two-day hearing on the class-action case.

        Cincinnati attorney Stan Chesley was the national co-chairman in the case. He said he hopes those represented will receive compensation in three to five months.
       

Favorite of robbers, bank branch closing

        HAMILTON — After being robbed three times in less than two years, the First National Bank of Southwestern Ohio branch at 2299 Peck Blvd. is closing.

        The University Retail Banking Center will shut July 17 after about 30 years at the location.

        “I guess First National made a decision to close that branch,” Hamilton Police Sgt. Tom Kilgour said. “That's pretty rare. I've never known of a bank to do that.”

        The latest robbery, April 24, left a father-son team facing charges. Walter Pugh Jr., 44, and his son, Tyreese Pugh, 22, both of Hamilton, have been charged with aggravated robbery, Sgt. Kilgour said.

        “Given the frequency of the armed robberies at University, we do not feel we can jeopardize the safety of our customers and employees by continuing to operate a banking center at this location,” said Mark W. Immelt, president and chief executive officer of First National Bank of Southwestern Ohio. “Other factors involved in the decision are transaction counts, cost of operating the facility and growth.”

        Bank officials say they have a branch less than a mile away from the University location and two others within a five-minute drive.

        The four employees at the branch will be transferred.
       

Crash on I-275 kills woman, 22

        HIGHLAND HEIGHTS — A 22-year-old Cincinnati woman was killed Wednesday afternoon in two-vehicle crash on eastbound Interstate 275. The 3:25 p.m. crash stalled eastbound traffic for nearly two hours.

        Highland Heights police identified the victim as Page Ann Hayden. Police said Ms. Hayden's car crossed eastbound traffic, struck a guard rail, re-entered the interstate and was struck by an eastbound Dodge Ram that was pulling an RV.

        The driver of the truck, Louis Runnels, 65, and his passenger, Peggy Runnels, 64, were not injured.

Mount Airy man hurt in collision

       A 24-year-old Mount Airy man was seriously injured in a head-on collision Wednesday morning on Colerain Avenue in Mount Airy.

        Shawn Byrne of Colerain Avenue was transported to University Hospital, where he was in critical condition late Wednesday, police said.

        According to police, Mr. Byrne was driving north in the 5200 block of Colerain Avenue about 10:38 a.m. when he was struck by a southbound vehicle that crossed the double-yellow center line. The two occupants of the southbound vehicle fled on foot.

        A 17-year-old was taken into custody following a lengthy foot chase.

        The teen was wanted on open warrants from Juvenile Court, police said.

        Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to call the Cincinnati Police Department's traffic unit at 352-2514 or Crime Stoppers at 352-3040.
       

Lemmie: Minorities underrepresented

        A 159-page report by Cincinnati City Manager Valerie Lemmie has found that the city is making progress in increasing the number of female employees.

        But the report also expressed mild concern that women and minorities remain underrepresented among the city's 5,795 employees.

        The report, which will be sent to City Council today, finds that African-Americans are most underrepresented among the city's technical and skilled labor positions.

        Ms. Lemmie also said the city hopes to increase the amount of training offered to women and minorities, noting that 57.5 percent of training for city employees was attended by white men.
       

Forest Park officer who died given honor

        When Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery today honors police officers who died in the line of duty, she'll talk about Forest Park's Charles McDonald.

        Officer McDonald, 35, died last June, hours after he completed a fitness test to join the Hamilton County Police Association's Special Weapons and Tactics team. He had been a Forest Park officer six years.

        He will be among five officers honored today at the annual Peace Officers' Memorial Ceremony at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy in London, Ohio.

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