Compiled from staff and wire reports

Stem-cell patient starts chemotherapy

Eric Page, the 15-year-old Whitewater Township boy with a severe case of Crohn's disease, began a course of chemotherapy Thursday in Chicago as part of an experimental stem-cell transplant.

Crohn's disease is an immune disorder that causes the body to attack its own digestive system. The toughest part of the treatment provided at Northwestern Memorial Hospital involves four days of chemotherapy to destroy his malfunctioning immune system, then restarting it with stem cells that were harvested earlier this month.

Eric - the youngest person to attempt the therapy - is expected to stay up to 10 days in an isolation room while his immune system recovers..

To visit a Web site established by the nonprofit group Caring Bridge, go to www.caringbridge.org/oh/eric/.

Monroe city manager agrees to step down

MONROE - City Manager Donald Whitman is leaving his job as this city's top administrator.

Whitman was told this week that city leaders would like him to resign.

Mayor Mike Morris met with Whitman on Wednesday, and said both agreed that the city manager should resign.

"The City Council wanted a change of direction," said Morris, who declined to give specifics. Whitman was in his fifthyear with Monroe.

Whitman's last day on the job was Wednesday.

Whitman, whose contract pays $73,548 annually and runs out in January, said: "Technically I'm still employed by the city until a severance agreement is worked out." He said City Council would have to vote to seek his resignation.

Assistant City Manager Bill Brock will act as interim city manager.

Deerfield Twp. hosts student essay contest

DEERFIELD TWP. - As part of its yearlong bicentennial celebration, this Warren County township is hosting an essay contest for area high school students.

The winner from each grade level receives a $100 gift certificate. The overall winner gets a $250 gift certificate. Winners will be announced June 3.

For information, call 683-5805 ext. 250 or visit www.deerfieldtwp.com.

Union Twp. deaths were murder-suicide

UNION TOWNSHIP - Postmortem results have determined that the deaths of two people found this month in an apartment along Clermont County's Ohio 125 were the result of a murder-suicide, investigators said Thursday.

Michael J. Suttman, 44, shot his girlfriend, Tawnya L. Peters, 29, once in the head, then turned the gun on himself, police determined. Their bodies were discovered Feb. 18 by Suttman's brother. Michael Suttman had lived in the apartment, while Peters lived in Mount Washington.

The gun, a .22-caliber firearm, was found in the apartment, officials said.

It was the second murder in Union Township in 2003.

New Vienna officer's trial put on hold

NEW VIENNA - A judge has put on hold a trial that was supposed to begin today for David Michael Mueller, a village police officer charged with murder and evidence tampering.

Clinton County Common Pleas Judge John W. Rudduck instead set a hearing for today to determine whether Diane M. Menasche, Mueller's lawyer, would be able to continue working on the case.

The judge said he was concerned about issues that arose this week, after Clinton County prosecutors filed complaints accusing Menasche of obstruction of justice and evidence tampering.

Four others were indicted for similar alleged offenses: New Vienna Mayor Timothy W. Bentz, Police Sgt. Jami Powell, Capt. Terry Hardesty and Virgil Lanham.

Butler Co. drug raid nets 22 pounds of pot

ST. CLAIR TWP. - The Butler County Sheriff's Office on Thursday said it had seized more than 22 pounds of marijuana, $10,000 in cash and a sophisticated indoor marijuana-growing system from a Seven Mile residence this week.

The sheriff's office said deputies raided the Ritter Street residence of Rick W. Asher, 47, on Tuesday after a monthlong investigation. Asher was charged with three felonies: trafficking in drugs, possession of drugs and permitting drug abuse. He is free after posting a $15,000 bond.

More arrests could follow, police said, adding that the confiscated marijuana had an estimated street value of $50,000.