Wrong-way driver charged in I-275 wreck

ERLANGER - A Dry Ridge man was charged with driving under the influence and second-degree assault after a two-car accident on Interstate 275 Friday.

Michael Smith, 60, was traveling east in the westbound lanes about 9:20 a.m. when his 1990 GMC pickup collided head-on with a Saturn.

Both drivers were taken to St. Luke West Hospital.

Smith was later taken to the Kenton County Detention Center.

The name and condition of the other driver were not available late Friday.

Boone Co. crash kills driver from Cleves

HEBRON - An Ohio man died Friday morning in a single-car wreck on Interstate 275.

Bruce J. Kirby, 49, of Cleves, was pronounced dead at St. Luke Hospital in Florence.

Kirby was driving his 1999 Ford Explorer west on I-275 at 6 a.m. when he lost control of the vehicle between the Hebron exit and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, said Detective Tom Scheben, spokesman for the Boone County Sheriff's Department.

Kirby's vehicle started sliding on the rain-soaked roadway before flipping several times. Kirby, who police say was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the vehicle.

Scheben said the crash remains under investigation, but speed appeared to be a factor.

Tax form allows donation to abuse fund

FLORENCE - Northern Kentucky residents can help local victims of child abuse by checking the Child Victims' Trust Fund box on their Kentucky income tax return.

The fund is administered through the State Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Prevention Board. It provides partial support for a child abuse education and prevention program offered by the Family Nurturing Center. The program is free to Northern Kentucky schools.

The program also receives support from the sale of the "I Care About Kids'' license plate.

For information on the Family Nurturing Center or the Child Victims' Trust Fund, contact Patricia Nagelkirk, associate executive director, at (859) 525-3200.

Class for gardeners on cicada effect

EDGEWOOD - Northern Kentucky residents can learn how the 17-year cicada will affect the local landscape and garden plants at a class offered 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. April 21.

Call (859) 356-3155 to pre-register for the free class.

The class will be at the Durr Annex, 3099 Dixie Highway, Edgewood.

County officials at Fort Wright meeting

FORT WRIGHT - Residents can discuss countywide issues of interest to Fort Wright at a Kenton County Fiscal Court town meeting March 16.

The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at the city building, 409 Kyles Lane.

Residents can question county officials and express any concerns.

No-call list has 1 million names

FRANKFORT - More than 1 million residents have now signed up for Kentucky's Telemarketing No Call list.

Attorney General Grady Stumbo said this follows the Federal Trade Commission's recent report announcing that Kentucky leads the nation with the fewest number of telemarketing complaints being filed against telemarketers.

Stumbo also announced that a Florida telemarketing company, JJJ Marketing Inc., has agreed to pay $15,000 in penalties for calls to numbers on the Kentucky No Call list. The Fort Lauderdale-based company uses automated calling equipment to deliver recorded messages to Kentucky homes about Florida vacation packages.

Since the Kentucky Telemarketing "No Call'' program began on July 15, 2002, the number of telemarketing complaints filed with the Kentucky attorney general's office has been reduced more than 92 percent. The attorney general's office has filed more than 100 enforcement actions and recovered more than $550,000 in civil penalties since the law took effect.

Builder wins award for Hofbrauhaus

NEWPORT - Century Construction Inc. in Erlanger has received a national award for its restoration of the historic Hofbrauhaus building. At the national convention of the Associated Builders and Contractors, the Hofbrauhaus was recognized as the best historical restoration in the nation in the under $2 million category. The Hofbrauhaus opened at the end of April 2003 in the former Dennert Beer Distributing Co. building on Newport's Third Street. Bill Riester, associate general manager at the Hofbrauhaus, said the building captured the authentic look of a German beer hall, just like the original Hofbrauhaus in Munich, which opened in 1887.