The Hamilton County Board of Elections Tuesday rejected Marilyn Hyland's request that the board count hundreds of signatures it had disallowed on her petition to be included as an independent candidate in November's race for county commissioner.

        Many of the signatures were rejected because the names were printed, rather than written in cursive. Ms. Hyland, the Democratic candidate in 1998, told the board that decision is unfair, especially since it has accepted printed signatures on other ballots.

        “I believe any mark somebody puts on a petition should be honored,” said Ms. Hyland, who is considering her option to run as a write-in candidate. “It's time to get on with the campaign. I'm going to tell voters they can write me onto the commission, by either printing my name or writing it.”

        The Board of Elections requires that independent candidates get more than 2,800 signatures of registered voters to be included on the county commission ballot, which will feature Republican Phil Heimlich and Democrat Jean Siebenaler this fall. Ms. Hyland had 2,583 signatures accepted by the board and more than 818 rejected.

        The candidates are vying for the commission seat being vacated by Republican Tom Neyer.

Ohio State gets arthritis grant

        COLUMBUS - Ohio State University Medical Center has received a $9.1 million grant to study the degenerative joint disease osteoarthritis, the university said Tuesday.

        The grant is part of the Osteoarthritis Initiative, a national, seven-year study to track the factors that contribute to the disease, the way it progresses and possible treatments, said Rebecca Jackson, an endocrinologist and Ohio State's principal researcher on the project.

        Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis, especially among the elderly. It breaks down the body's cartilage, causing pain, swelling and loss of motion in the joints.

        Ohio State's study will focus on osteoarthritis in the knee and hip.

Hospital adds horse parking for Amish

        LODI, Ohio - Most hospitals build garages when they need more parking. Lodi Community Hospital built a horse shelter.

        The hospital, Ohio's smallest with just 25 beds, has had hitching posts for years so Amish patients had a place to tie up their horses. For religious reasons, the Amish shun modern conveniences such as electricity and cars.

        The posts were removed when the parking lot was repaved and a helicopter pad was added during the hospital's renovation. That left only light poles as a place to tether horses.

        The hospital paid Amish workers $500 to build a 12-by-14-foot horse shelter. It can hold three horses or a horse and buggy.

Bond is set in river drowning

        DAYTON, Ohio — Bond has been set at $250,000 for a man accused of killing his wife by holding her underwater in the Great Miami River.

        David Setser, 53, of West Carrollton, is charged with murder in the death of Judy Setser, 51. He was arraigned Tuesday and ordered to return to Montgomery County Common Pleas Court on Aug. 28.

        If he has not entered a plea by then, a trial date will be set, said Jim Knight, a spokesman for the Montgomery County prosecutor's office.

        David Setser initially was charged with reckless homicide, but a grand jury upgraded the charge to murder last week. If convicted, he could be sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, Mr. Knight said.

Madeira kicks up its heels Saturday

        MADEIRA — The 18th annual Street Dance & Family Fest,

        featuring music by the Modulators, will run from 6 to 11 p.m. Saturday on Miami Avenue, between Euclid and Laurel avenues.

        A disc jockey also will play hits for those eager to dance. Booths will offer beer, snow cones, bratwurst, pizza, pork sandwiches and much more.

        For more information, call Madeira's city offices, 272-4210.

Symmesfest runs Friday to Sunday

        SYMMES TWP. — Friday kicks off Symmesfest, an annual festival featuring music, food and entertainment at Symmes Park, 11600 Lebanon Road.

        Running from 4 to 11 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the fun will be hosted by the township and the Loveland-Symmes Community Firefighters Association.

        Musical performances will begin at 8 p.m. each night. Saturday will feature a 6 p.m. car show, 7 p.m. parade and 10 p.m. fireworks display. Friday will also feature 10 p.m. fireworks.

        For more information, call 683-6644 or visit www.symmestownship.org.

Former agent gets 6 months for stealing

        CLEVELAND - A former federal agent got six months in prison for stealing nearly $50,000 in evidence used in undercover investigations that targeted grocery stores for food-stamp fraud.

        Anthony Punka, 46, of suburban Brunswick, was the senior agent for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's office in Cleveland.

        He told U.S. District Judge Lesley Wells on Monday that he stole federal money designated for investigations to cover years of binge credit-card spending.

        “I know I've done wrong,” he said. “My wrong is certainly more serious because of the position that I had, and I did abuse that.”

        Judge Wells sentenced Mr. Punka to six months in prison and six months in home detention with electronic monitoring. She ordered him to pay back the money that he stole and more than $11,000 for the cost of housing him in prison.

Officer accused of fraud resigns

        HEATH, Ohio — A police officer indicted on charges of insurance fraud and obstructing justice in an arson investigation has resigned.

        David Kendall, 34, had been on unpaid leave of absence from the police department since his indictments in two counties in three separate cases.

        On July 5, a Licking County grand jury indicted Mr. Kendall, a seven-year officer, on charges of insurance fraud, tampering with records and making false statements.

        The charges involve the reported theft of Mr. Kendall's pickup truck last July from a Columbus restaurant. The truck was found the next day burned, stripped and abandoned in rural southeastern Knox County.

        In a separate case, Mr. Kendall was accused of using the police department's confidential computer to help a Newark man get insurance on his motorcycle. Mr. Kendall was charged July 5 with theft in office, tampering with records, complicity to falsification, insurance fraud and unauthorized use of property.

Compiled from staff and wire reports

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