With commission candidates Catherine Stoker and J. Michael Best in the audience Monday, Commissioner Chuck Furmon suddenly recessed the meeting without allowing any public comment. He said the three incumbents were late for a staff meeting with their community development staff.

The next day, commissioners canceled Thursday's meeting, their only scheduled session for three weeks. Commissioners - who usually meet every Monday and Thursday - won't gather again until Nov. 4, two days after the election.

Best and Stoker, who are running against Commissioner Michael A. Fox, had grilled commissioners at previous meetings about county spending.

"I've never heard of a work session being so important that they had to cut off a public meeting without any public comment," said Best, a former Fairfield City Council member.

"They obviously didn't want to take any questions," said Stoker, the West Chester Township trustee.

John Kiesewetter

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Leaders in suburban Clermont County's Miami Township are telling voters what they'll get if they pass the parks and recreation renewal levy Nov. 2.

The proposed improvements include a new $350,000 amphitheatre at Community Park; a new picnic shelter and restroom at Miami Meadows Park for $200,000; a new walking trail at Riverview Park for $100,000; a new $100,000 water playground at Miami Meadows Park; a new picnic shelter at Community Park for $50,000; expansion of the trail at Miami Meadows Park for $50,000, and a new dog park at Miami Meadows Park for $15,000.

The original 1.5-mill levy was approved by township residents in 1995 and renewed in 1999. The levy would not raise taxes.

The township owns more than 300 acres of land used for parks and recreation, including Community Park, Paxton Ramsey Park, Miami Riverview Park, Longfield Acres, Miami Meadows Park and Miami Glen.Reid Forgrave

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HUDSON, Ohio - The right of a Republican activist and his wife to put a big campaign sign for Bush-Cheney outside of their home will be debated in court.

The American Civil Liberties Union is taking up the case for Summit County GOP Chairman Alex Arshinkoff and his wife Karen, who want the 4-by-8-foot sign to remain, even though this northeast Ohio town has an ordinance that limits any resident's political signs to a total of eight square feet. The Arshinkoffs' sign is 32 square feet.

The city, about 20 miles southeast of Cleveland, has fined Arshinkoff's wife, who is the owner of the property, $75 per day since Oct. 1, and the city filed a minor misdemeanor charge against her, alleging a zoning violation.

A political conservative, Alex Arshinkoff acknowledged that he doesn't usually agree with the ACLU.

"They're very liberal. I only agree with them 5 percent of the time," he said.

Associated Press

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SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Undecided voters in Clark County are about to be deluged with letters from overseas, part of a campaign by a British newspaper to urge people around the world to try to influence the presidential election.

The Guardian of London is offering a three-day trip to the western Ohio county for the four best letters.

The paper published a multipage section Wednesday urging non-Americans to speak up about who should be elected.

The paper calls it a significant swing county in a significant swing state. It notes that in 2000, Democrat Al Gore won the county by 324 votes.

By logging onto the paper's Web site, www.guardian.co.uk, anyone can put in an e-mail address and receive the name and address of a registered Clark County voter not affiliated with a political party.

Associated Press