A 47-year-old Springfield Township man was sentenced to 11 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to charges that he raped several children and had improper contact with another.

        Edward Duskin had been accused of assaulting five girls between the ages of 5 and 13. He lived in the same apartment complex as the girls.

        Investigators said he befriended the girls or their parents, sometimes buying gifts and pets for the girls.

        In a deal with prosecutors Monday, Mr. Duskin admitted to five counts of rape and a separate count of unlawful sexual conduct involving a 13-year-old girl. He was sentenced by Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Thomas Crush.

        Mr. Duskin, who at one time worked as a nurse's aide, could have been sentenced to 70 years in prison if convicted as he was originally charged.

        He'd previously served three years in prison in Maine, where he'd been convicted of a sex offense about 10 years ago.

        During Monday's hearing, he was designated a sexual predator.

Work to repair phone outage finished

        Cincinnati Bell completed restoration of phone service early Sunday to the last customers affected by a major phone cable cut Wednesday night.

        At its peak, the cable cut, caused by a road crew working at Beechmont and Corbly roads, affected an estimated 10,000 phone customers in Mount Washington and Anderson Township. Most service was restored by mid-afternoon Saturday.

        Dennis Hinkel, network vice president for the Broadwing Inc. unit, said the cable break was one of the worst the company has experienced. A spokeswoman said the company had no estimate of the cost to restore service.

Half of uranium plant buildings razed

        CROSBY TWP. — Workers are about half done tearing down the buildings at the former Fernald uranium processing plant.

        Since 1994, workers with the cleanup contractor Fluor Fernald and the U.S. Department of Energy have demolished 107 structures, large and small, at the 1,050-acre site near Ross, about 17 miles northwest of Cincinnati.

        The latest to be demolished have been the Safety and Health Building and the Industrial Relations/Security Building, which put the demolition efforts at 48 percent complete. Next to go: the five-story Pilot Plant and the 73,876-square-foot Analytical Laboratory.

        The entire cleanup project is scheduled to be complete in 2006.

Judge denies call for special election

        COLUMBUS — A federal judge Monday denied the request by a civil liberties group for a special election to replace ousted U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr.

        U.S. District Judge Edmund Sargus noted that with Congress scheduled to recess Oct. 3, there was a strong likelihood that an individual selected by voters in a special election would never cast a vote.

        Judge Sargus also said the state, and particularly Gov. Bob Taft, did not abuse its discretion in deciding not to hold a special election.

        The American Civil Liberties Union, which sued to force Mr. Taft to hold the election, planned to appeal to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals immediately, said Raymond Vasvari, the ACLU's legal director.

        The state had argued that holding a special election could jeopardize the election process itself as officials rushed to hold the vote.

        Attorney General Betty Montgomery also pointed out that Mr. Taft consulted elections officials in the three counties and state Democratic and GOP party officials, all of whom agreed they did not want a special election.

        “The governor made a thoughtful, careful and deliberate decision,” Arthur Marziale, Ms. Montgomery's deputy chief counsel, said after the ruling.

Charlie Daniels Band to play here Oct. 27

        The Charlie Daniels Band is scheduled to perform in Cincinnati as part of an Oct. 27 charity concert to promote organ donation.

        The Procter & Gamble Concert Celebration for Organ Donation presented by Fifth Third Bank also will include Taylor Farley and Blue Rock.

        The concert begins at 7 p.m. Oct. 27 at Music Hall. Proceeds will benefit LifeCenter, the agency that coordinates Tristate organ donations.

        Tickets, which range from $15 to $45, are available at TicketMaster locations. Call 241-SHOW or check www.ticketmaster.com.

Nurses, N.Ky. to distribute medical IDs

        The Visiting Nurse Association of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky plans to distribute 50,000 emergency information ID cards over the next three years.

        The cards were developed this year after a volunteer suffered a medical emergency at the VNA offices in Walnut Hills. The woman had no emergency information in her wallet or purse.

        The new cards, already distributed to all VNA volunteers and about 2,500 others, include space for emergency contacts, allergies, medications and other items.

        To get a free card, call the VNA at 345-8061.

Mayor keeps promise with technology hire

        CLEVELAND - Mayor Jane Campbell kept a campaign promise by hiring the city's first chief technology officer to manage city hall computer programs and systems.

        Mayor Campbell selected Melodie Mayberry-Stewart, who has more than 20 years of experience overseeing computer and information departments, including work at several Fortune 500 companies. She will be paid $124,000 a year.

        Mayor Campbell introduced Ms. Mayberry-Stewart at a news conference Monday.

        Ms. Mayberry-Stewart will report to the finance director, Robert Baker, who said she would begin by reviewing and upgrading financial programs, including the payroll system.

        A Cleveland native, Ms. Mayberry-Stewart lives in Brentwood, Tenn., and has been chief executive of a technology consulting company she founded in 1999.

Coal train derails; no injuries reported

        CROOKSVILLE, Ohio - An Ohio Central Railroad train carrying coal derailed Monday near this eastern Ohio town.

        Patrol Sgt. Vicki Caldwell of the Perry County Sheriff's Department said no one was injured in the derailment that happened around 9:25 a.m.

        Sgt. Caldwell said a county road was closed due to the derailment of around a dozen cars, and crews from the railroad were cleaning up the spill.

        The train was en route to the American Electric Plant in Conesville. Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the derailment.

— Compiled from staff and wire reports

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