Compiled from staff and wire reports

County's income will be less than expected

Hamilton County is on track to collect $1.2 million less in sales taxes and other revenue than it expected to in 2003, according to Assistant County Administrator Eric Stuckey.

On the other hand, the county is also on track to spend $4.2 million less than the $258 million budgeted for the general fund in 2003, he said.

Sales tax revenue, which accounts for 26 percent of the general fund, is up only 1.6 percent from 2002, Stuckey said - less than the 2 percent increase the county expected. Income from interest and fines is also down.

Monday's budget planning meeting is the first step toward building the county's 2004 budget.

Ohio man killed in fatal crash

OLDENBURG, Ind. - A 23-year-old Harrison, Ohio man was killed Tuesday afternoon in one-car crash on St. Mary's Road in rural Franklin County.

Indiana State Police identified the victim as James B. Moore, who was passenger in the vehicle that left the south side of the roadway and struck a tree, 1 1/2 mile west of Loop Road near Oldenburg. The victim, who was a rear seat passenger, was not wearing a seat belt.

According to state police, Joann Carr, 20, of Brookville, was driving in excess of the speed limit when the crash occurred about 3:30 p.m. She was in stable condition at University Hospital in Cincinnati late Tuesday.

Another passenger, Michael L. Schwegman, 21, Batesville, was treated for minor injuries at Margaret Mary Hospital in Batesville.

The crash remains under investigation by the state police Versailles post.

'Jam the Vote' to get young people involved

Vice Mayor Alicia Reece announced the "Jam the Vote Campaign" Tuesday, which seeks to register 10,000 young voters.

Reece said the program targets 18- to 25-year-olds and uses a different approach to getting them registered and to the polls.

Youth volunteers will be registering their peers to vote at bus stops, barbershops, beauty salons, nightclubs, churches and on neighborhood playgrounds and basketball courts. There will also be volunteers at high schools and on local college campuses, she said.

After the voters are registered, volunteers will follow up with them to identify their polling locations and address transportation issues. "That's where we lose a lot of people when it's time to vote," Reece said.

Man gets four years for botched break-in

Marcus Harris was sentenced to four years in prison Tuesday for his role in a robbery in which the homeowner shot and killed his cohort.

Harris, 21, of Golf Manor, pleaded guilty last month in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court to a charge of aggravated robbery in which he and another man helped a third break into a Walnut Hills town house in January. That man was shot and killed by the homeowner.

Kenneth Sims, 28, of Price Hill, was sentenced to spend four years in prison for involuntary manslaughter, a charge stemming from the same robbery.

Corey Simley, the 29-year-old owner of the town house at 955 Auburn View Drive, shot Michael Harris to death minutes after the break-in. Simley was not charged.

Body found in burning car had been shot

A body found inside a burning car on Laidlaw Avenue in Bond Hill the night of Aug. 21 had been shot, Cincinnati police said Tuesday.

Investigators have still not been able to identify the body, but police said the owner of the burning car, Rodney Harris, 43, is missing and has not been seen since that day.

Harris was last seen in the Roselawn area about two hours before the burning car was found behind a building at 1055 Laidlaw.

The Homicide Unit and the Cincinnati Fire Department's Arson Squad have classified the incident as a homicide.

Anyone with information can call the Criminal Investigations Section at 352-3542 or Crime Stoppers at 352-3040. Callers may remain anonymous and may receive compensation.

Bike-truck collision puts boy in hospital

FAIRFIELD TWP. - A 12-year-old boy who was riding a bike near his home was clinging to life after he was struck by a vehicle late Monday and thrown against a tree.

The child is listed in "very critical condition" at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Fairfield Township Police Chief Richard St. John said.

The boy was hit by a white 1997 Ford pickup truck around the corner from his house about 8 p.m. on Headgates Road near Gateway Drive.

He was thrown from the bike, tumbled several times on the pavement and struck a tree in a ditch along the roadway, suffering a head injury.

A preliminary investigation shows the primary cause of the accident was the boy crossing Headgates as the truck headed southbound, St. John said.

Authorities don't yet know how fast the truck was traveling when the boy was hit.

The investigation still is under way, St. John said.

Child solicitation case ends in guilty plea

A Corryville man admitted Tuesday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court that he called two children and solicited them for sex after seeing their pictures on the "happy birthday" segment of a local television station's morning program.

James Madison, 43, pleaded guilty to four charges of importuning in exchange for the prosecutor dropping six other charges.

The plea agreement calls for Madison to: complete five years probation; be designated as a sexually oriented offender, meaning he'll have to register with the sheriff's office in the county where he lives for the next 10 years; have no contact with the victims; and get counseling. Sentencing is scheduled for October.

Hamilton County prosecutors say Madison videotaped the birthday announcements on television, then called the girls, ages 10 and 14.