Compiled from staff and wire reports

Reds back-rent suit moot, court rules

A taxpayer struck out Friday in his attempt to force the Cincinnati Reds to pay $6.5 million in back rent on the soon-to-be-blown up ballpark formerly known as Riverfront Stadium.

The First District Court of Appeals ruled that Hamilton County waived the claim of back rent when it reached an agreement with the Reds on construction of Great American Ball Park.

In doing so, the court reversed Common Pleas Court Robert Kraft, who ruled in favor of a South Fairmount man who brought the taxpayer lawsuit in 1996. Steven W. Ritter claimed that city and county officials failed to collect money owed to the taxpayers.

"There is no joy in Mudville, and there shouldn't be in Cincinnati," said Mr. Ritter's attorney, Ronald L. Burdge of Dayton, Ohio. "Big business wins, taxpayers lose."

In a 21-page opinion peppered with baseball metaphors, Appeals Judge Mark P. Painter said the case had become so convoluted that "It is difficult to determine who, if anyone is on first."

James E. Burke, a lawyer for the Reds, said the appeals court made the right decision.

Student found dead; diabetes suspected

OXFORD - A 21-year-old Miami University student was found dead in his West Vine Street apartment Thursday.

Butler County Coroner Richard P. Burkhardt said Jason A. Dennany, likely died of a diabetes-related cause on Wednesday.

Dr. Burkhardt said there was evidence that Mr. Dennany had used a blood-sugar measuring device on Tuesday. That clue and others led investigators to think Mr. Dennany died sometime Wednesday.

Mr. Dennany's father, Greg, of Kentwood, Mich., asked police to check on his son Thursday following repeated unsuccessful attempts to contact him.

An officer found the student dead on the bathroom floor, Dr. Burkhardt said.

There was no sign of foul play.

Lebanon to focus on speeding, DUI

LEBANON - The city police force will beef up speed and drunken driving enforcement beginning Sunday, thanks to a $19,427 grant from the Governor's Highway Safety Office.

An additional officer will be placed on overtime for up to four hours each day during the holiday season to focus on state routes, Assistant Chief Bob Hawley said.

The department also plans to buy a cruiser video camera with some of the grant money, he said.

UC names liver transplant director

The University of Cincinnati has named a new director of liver transplant services.

Dr. Steven Rudich, formerly director of organ perfusion services at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor, will oversee all liver transplant activities, including cadaver and living-donor transplants.

He also plans to introduce new techniques for preparing organs prior to transplantation, said Dr. Jeffrey Matthews, chairman of the UC Department of Surgery.

Ex-publisher to be councilman

SHARONVILLE - Jim Dygert, a former publisher of the Suburban Press, will fill the latest vacancy on City Council and most likely run for a full two-year term in November.

This Hamilton County city's Republican Party chose him to fill a vacancy left by Kevin Hardman, who replaced Council President Eugene Martin upon Mr. Martin's retirement earlier this year.

Mr. Dygert has lived in Sharonville since 1984 and was the Suburban Press' publisher from 1979 to 2001.

He served in the city's Republican Club for several years, as president of the Sharonville Chamber of Commerce and as chairman of its annual Antique & Classic Car Show.

Four-car crash kills one, traps several

WHITEWATER TWP. - A four-car pileup at Lawrenceburg Road and U.S. 50 left one person dead and several others trapped in their vehicles Friday afternoon.

The accident happened at 5:22 p.m.. and left U.S. 50 closed to traffic until about 7:30 p.m.

Hamilton County deputies who responded to the accident did not release the name of the person killed, pending notification of family. It was unclear how the accident happened, how many others were hurt or how seriously they were injured.

Court rules city must reinstate worker

A senior engineer for the city of Cincinnati who was fired for repeatedly drinking during working hours should be reinstated because the city failed to respond to his appeal within 30 days, an appeals court ruled Friday.

Richard Schupp, a 28-year veteran of the Department of Transportation and Engineering, was fired in July 2001 after supervisors smelled alcohol on his breath. It was his third offense.

The Cincinnati Civil Service Commission unanimously upheld the firing. Mr. Schupp appealed to the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.

But the city did not provide the court with a transcript of the commission's action until 44 days after the appeal was filed. State law requires a response within 30 days.

Cause of New Year's Day fire not found

BREWSTER, Ohio - State fire officials said they have been unable to pinpoint the cause of a New Year's Day fire that killed a woman and five of her children last holiday season.

"The fire originated in the living room, in the area of the Christmas tree," state Fire Marshal Robert Rielage said Friday, but "the fire did not originate within the Christmas tree itself."

A yearlong investigation could not identify any electrical failure that could have caused the fire either, Mr. Rielage said.

Volunteer firefighter Chris Kahrig lost his wife and five of his six children in the blaze.

Dixie Kahrig, 28, who was seven months pregnant, died Jan. 1 along with Alyssa, 7; and Zachery, 5. Keyawnu, 3; and Dawson, 2, died the next day and 18-month-old Bryce two days later.

The Kahrigs' 12-year-old son, Corey, was not home at the time of the fire.

Chris Kahrig, 32, was awakened by a smoke alarm around 11 a.m. that day and told his wife to take the children into a room and wait for help.

He struggled through smoke and heat and reached the two-story house's only phone.

Mrs. Kahrig gathered the children and huddled in a bathroom upstairs, plugging wet towels under the door.

Intense smoke and heat kept her husband and neighbors from getting upstairs to reach them.

Brewster is 15 miles southwest of Canton.