Compiled from staff and wire reports

Teen accused of stabbing is indicted

The teenager accused of snatching a 13-year-old girl off an Indian Hill road and repeatedly stabbing her was indicted by a Hamilton County grand jury Friday on charges of kidnapping, attempted murder and felonious assault.

The indictment means the teen, who was 17 at the time but recently turned 18, will face the charges in an adult court. The teen could face more than 20 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

Police say the girl was jogging down the street when she crossed the teen's path. The attacker dragged her into the woods, threw her to the ground and stabbed her three times in the neck and once in the side before slashing the girl's face.

Judge says counselor is a sexual predator

HAMILTON - Leroy Hardeman Jr. used to be a drug counselor. But on Friday a Butler County judge labeled Hardeman a sexual predator and sent him to prison for molesting female clients.

Common Pleas Judge H.J. Bressler said Hardeman abused his authority and violated the trust placed in him as a counselor at Sojourner Recovery Services and, later, at Horizon Services in Middletown.

Hardeman, 49, will be required to register his address with police for the rest of his life.

Despite letters from Middletown clergymen urging leniency, Bressler also sentenced Hardeman to serve 17 months in prison - one month shy of the maximum - for attempted sexual battery, sexual imposition, attempted sexual imposition and public indecency. Hardeman had pleaded guilty to those charges in April; in exchange for his plea, four more charges were dropped.

Batavia veterinarian faces sex charges

BATAVIA - A 65-year-old Batavia veterinarian has been indicted on charges of gross sexual imposition and sexual imposition for allegedly fondling the owner of a dog he was supposed to be examining.

Officials say David L. Fox inappropriately touched the woman during an office visit in June.

Fox appeared Friday in Clermont County Common Pleas Court and was later released on his own recognizance. If he fails to appear for arraignment Aug. 7, he will have to forfeit $25,000, according to court records. If convicted as charged he could face a maximum 20 months in prison.

Cops search for driver who hit 5-year-old girl

LEBANON - Police are searching for a hit-and-run driver after a 5-year-old girl was struck by a stolen pickup truck.

The girl, whose family lives in the 200 block of Miller Road in Lebanon, was hit Thursday by a red pickup truck that minutes before had collided with another vehicle at Miller and Hart roads at approximately 4:50 p.m., according to Lebanon Police. The girl, whose identity was not released by police, was taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and released after treatment for minor injuries.

Lebanon police ask that anyone with information regarding the suspect call 932-2010.

Tristate blood supply up; concerns continue

Thanks to hundreds of volunteers rolling up their sleeves, Tristate blood supplies are nearly back to normal. But concerns about low summertime blood supplies continue, say officials with Hoxworth Blood Center.

Today, Hoxworth's neighborhood centers in Anderson Township, Blue Ash and Western Hills will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. For information about giving blood, call 451-0910.

1 killed when workers touch power line

An employee of American Chimney & Masonry was killed and another injured Thursday morning after scaffolding they were putting up at a job site on Hamilton Avenue touched a power line.

Paul A. Combs, 37, of the 3200 block of Dickinson Road, was shocked and fell about 20 feet to a blacktop driveway, police reports said.

His co-worker, Paul Whitson, age and address not available, was taken to University Hospital Medical Center and was released Friday.

Bar will not appeal liquor license decision

A controversial Avondale bar closed this week rather than appeal a state decision not to renew its liquor license.

Uncle Milt's, where police once arrested a bartender for selling cocaine over-the-counter, did not appeal a Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge's decision to let a state ruling on the license stand. That decision effectively ends a 17-month political and legal battle that began on Burnet Avenue and led to Cincinnati City Hall and the Ohio Liquor Control Commission in Columbus.