Murderer given death penalty

HAMILTON - A panel of three judges sentenced convicted murderer Donald Ketterer to death Wednesday in Butler County Court for killing an elderly man. Last week Ketterer, 54, of Hamilton pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and other charges in the February 2003 slaying of 85-year-old Lawrence Sanders. Sanders, a 5-foot-5-inch, 140-pound bachelor who lived alone, was beaten with a skillet and tortured with scissors and a knife, officials said. The judges also had the option of sentencing Ketterer to life without parole.

NDA student going to defense forum

TAYLOR MILL - A high school student from Taylor Mill will spend a week in Washington, D.C., this month learning what it takes to get involved in a career in national security. Bridget Grothaus, 17, a junior at Notre Dame Academy in Park Hills, was selected to join almost 400 high school juniors and seniors from across the nation to attend the National Youth Leadership Forum on Defense, Intelligence and Diplomacy Feb. 24-29. She'll meet with leaders from key government agencies, and in a simulation will help build a strategy with the other students to uphold national security. Next up, Grothaus, says: College and a career in foreign affairs.

TRAFFIC

Washington Street in Hamilton will be closed and parking will be prohibited from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. daily through Feb. 23.

CORRECTION

Barbara Wiedenbein, a Republican, and Chris King, a Democrat, are running unopposed for Clermont County Common Pleas Court Clerk in the March 2 primary. They will face off in the Nov. 2 general election. The term of the current clerk, David Caudill, ends in January 2005. A story in Monday's Local News section contained incorrect information.