Mr. Gordon was to have been the keynote speaker at the 7 p.m. event at the Albert B. Sabin Cincinnati Convention Center downtown.

        Boycott organizers contacted representatives of Mr. Gordon, who earlier this year did an hourlong show about the boycott, and asked that he not come to Cincinnati. Mr. Gordon said he felt “it would be a little hypocritical to report on events of the like and tell people the importance of events like this and then go against a boycott held by African-American leadership there in Cincinnati.”

        The conference, titled the National Political Agenda and Community of Color, is sponsored by UC's College of Evening and Continuing Education.
       

Stadium sod damage still being assessed

        Grounds crews at Paul Brown Stadium still don't know for certain how much turf will need to be replaced as a result of the Billy Graham mission two weeks ago.

        Stadium Director Eric Brown said turf that was in front of the large stage will need to be replaced, as does the turf underneath the plywood “road” that was built on the stadium's field.

        Mr. Brown, who is no relation to Bengals owner Mike Brown, said his crews should know by Friday how much new turf needs to be shipped in from the New Jersey sod farm the county uses. The Graham mission will pay for the cost of replacing the grass.

        The new sod will be cut Monday and shipped to the stadium in a refrigerated truck Tuesday.

        “By Friday we should have a better handle on it,” Mr. Brown said. “We're still in the process of assessing everything we need.

        “Some areas in front of the stage, we'll probably have to cut out because it was just trampled to death. Under stage and on either side of road seem to be coming back.”

        The Graham mission also will pay for fertilizer that has been used trying to nurse the grass back to health, and for equipment used in cutting the dead sod out.
       

Ex-Middie educator hired as Monroe coach

        MONROE — A former Middletown Middie will lead this Butler County city's prep football team this fall after the Monroe Board of Education unanimously voted Monday to hire John Singleton as football coach.

        Mr. Singleton, who was an assistant principal at Middletown High School last school year, will work primarily as Monroe's activities director at an annual salary of $73,221. A graduate of Lemon Monroe High School, Mr. Singleton also will earn $5,502 as football coach.

        The Army veteran replaces Monroe football coach Barry Pettyjohn, who resigned after one season of leading the football Hornets.
       

Crash kills resident of Brookville, Ohio

       MIDDLETOWN — A 38-year-old woman was killed in a traffic crash Tuesday morning.

        Lisa Birt of Brookville, Ohio, was pronounced dead at the scene, at Carmody Boulevard and North Verity Parkway. At around 8 a.m., Ms. Birt's vehicle was struck when it pulled into the path of a vehicle driven by Stacy Meloun, 27, of Fairborn, police said.

        Middletown police and the Butler County Coroner's Office are investigating.
       

Police look for pair in N. Fairmount killing

       Cincinnati police are looking for two men wanted in connection with a homicide in North Fairmount.

        Investigators released pictures Tuesday of Roderick “Little Rog” Reeves and Demecus “Meecie” Hughes, both 18. Mr. Reeves is accused of shooting to death Thomas Maddox on the afternoon of June 28 outside 1999 Sutter Ave. Mr. Hughes is accused of aggravated robbery.

        Capt. Vince Demasi, commander of the Cincinnati Police Department's Criminal Investigations Section, said detectives think Mr. Maddox was shot as he stood on the street corner with several other people. He said some of Mr. Maddox's belongings were taken.

        Mr. Hughes may be driving a Chevrolet Cavalier with the Ohio license plate CB49CF.

        Police ask anyone with information about these two men to call Crime Stoppers, 352-3040.
       

Deputies shoot, man dies after confrontation

       WEST UNION — A 37-year-old Scott Township man was shot and killed by four unidentified Adams County sheriff's deputies Tuesday afternoon after he allegedly pointed a rifle at them and failed to comply with their order to drop it.

        The man, Everett Lewis, was pronounced dead at about 2 p.m. at Highland District Hospital in Dillsboro, County Prosecutor David Kelley said.

        Deputies responding to a 911 call from a neighbor saw a truck matching the neighbor's description driving away, Mr. Kelley said. The truck stopped and Mr. Everett got out and pointed the rifle at the deputies. He then got back in his truck and quickly backed the vehicle to near his house.

        Then, the prosecutor said, Mr. Lewis got out of the pickup again and walked toward the house carrying the rifle.

        “He stopped and again pointed the weapon at the deputies,” Mr. Kelley said. “Deputies continually repeated their commands to drop the gun. Lewis failed to do so and continued to point the gun at the deputies. The officers then fired their service pistols at Lewis.”

        Mr. Kelley said a preliminary investigation indicates the deputies involved in the shooting acted properly. The body has been taken to the Montgomery County coroner's office for an autopsy.

        The shooting was the first fatal shooting involving the sheriff's department since 1953, Mr. Kelley said. “It just doesn't happen,” he said.

N. College Hill officer accused of misconduct

        NORTH COLLEGE HILL — Police Chief Paul R. Toth said allegations by parents and the Black United Front against a North College Hill officer will be investigated.

        About 50 protesters from the BUF showed up at the police station Tuesday night to protest an incident there the day before after a fight was broken up in a city park.

        Five youths were arrested and a warrant was issued for a sixth after the fight was stopped. All were charged with aggravated rioting.

        The parents of some of the youths, all of whom are black, said a white desk officer at the police station refused to allow them to file a complaint and used racial epithets.

        “This will be followed up, there's no two ways about it,” Chief Toth said. “If what these people say is true, then I have an officer that needs to be dealt with.”

        The officer was not identified.
       

Woman hospitalized after escaping fire

       GOLF MANOR — A 69-year-old woman was hospitalized after she collapsed following her escape from her burning apartment building Tuesday afternoon.

        Betty Durham was in good condition Tuesday night at Jewish Hospital, a hospital spokesman said.

        Four other people were in the four-unit building in the 2600 block of Vera Avenue when the fire broke out. No one else was injured.

        The building was ruled uninhabitable.

        Thick smoke was billowing from the building when firefighters arrived at 12:47 p.m., Golf Manor Fire Chief Gregory Ballman said. The fire appeared to have started in a closet in a ground-floor apartment, he said. He said the cause remains under investigation.

        Mrs. Durham's husband, Robert, said they were in their upper floor apartment when the smoke detectors went off and they saw smoke coming from a lower apartment. They had to feel their way through thick smoketo get down the stairs and outside.

        “You couldn't see inside whatsoever,” Mr. Durham said. “When we came down it was all engulfed in smoke.”

        Mrs. Durham collapsed on the sidewalk outside.

        “It appears to have started in a first floor closet in the apartment of origin,” the chief said. ”We were told initially that we had oxygen tanks in the in the apartment immediately above the fire.”

        Firefighters were concerned that the tanks could rupture and fuel the blaze, but crews moved them away safely, the chief said. The tanks were in Mrs. Durham's upper floor apartment. She is on oxygen for chronic breathing problems, her husband said.

        Damage was estimated at $25,000, Chief Ballman said. One apartment received heavy smoke and fire damage, and the rest of the building had smoke damage.Fire crews from the Deer Park-Silverton Joint Fire District and paramedics from Reading assisted Golf Manor crews.
       

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