Mail collection boxes set on fire

        NORWOOD — Three mailboxes in the 45212 delivery area have been set on fire since Tuesday, ruining about 150 pieces of mail and obliterating return addresses on five of them.

        The blue collection box at 4600 Smith Road was set on fire Wednesday. Boxes at Floral and Jefferson and at Forest and Adams were set on fire Thursday.

        Customers who think they had outgoing mail in those boxes should contact the Norwood branch of the Postal Service at 731-4777.

Naturalist Bonny Seegmueller shows Sam the salamander to a group of children 3-5 years old at Metropark's Crawford Home on Hancock Avenue in Hamilton. After story time and show-and-tell, the children made frog crafts and walked a short trail. (Dick Swaim photo) | ZOOM |

        If anyone has witnessed the fire or has any information about the vandals, contact the Postal Inspection Service at 684-8000.
       

Poll: Most against easier gun permits

        COLUMBUS — A poll released Thursday found that most of the Ohioans it surveyed were opposed to making it easier to get permits to carry concealed weapons.

        The Ohio Poll found that 69 percent of those surveyed opposed the idea, while 27 percent favored it. Four percent said they didn't know if they favored or opposed the idea. The University of Cincinnati's Institute for Policy Research sponsored the poll.

        Polling director Eric Rademacher said the poll numbers are consistent with polls the institute conducted in 1995 and 1999. Those polls found that 69 percent and 72 percent, respectively, opposed making it easier to obtain such permits.

        Some lawmakers say adopting a concealed-carry law in the current legislative session is a priority for them.

        The telephone poll conducted March 26-April 5 surveyed 804 adults across Ohio. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Woman charged in crash with police car

        HAMILTON — A 33-year-old Hamilton woman was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after a traffic crash that caused minor injuries to a Hamilton police officer.

Cheek

        Angela F. Cheek is scheduled to appear today in Hamilton Municipal Court on charges of drunken driving and failure to yield.

        It is her second drunken-driving charge and crash in Hamilton this year, reports showed.

        On Thursday, Ms. Cheek was arrested after her 1984 Pontiac Grand Prix crashed into a police cruiser at Greenwood Avenue and North Eighth Street.

        Around 12:40 a.m., Ms. Cheek's vehicle was northbound on Greenwood, police said, and turned left onto Eighth into the path of a police cruiser driven by Officer Mike Coleman, 30.

        Officer Coleman was treated at Fort Hamilton Hospital and released. His passenger, Officer Tom Lampl, 31, was uninjured.

        In a case that is still pending in the municipal court, Hamilton police had arrested Ms. Cheek on Feb. 11 on charges of drunken driving and child endangering.
       

Father accused of beating daughter

        A Lower Price Hill man remains in custody after being charged Thursday with assaulting his 5-month-old daughter.

        Johnny Taylor, 24, of the 2100 block of St. Michael St., was arrested at his home and charged with felonious assault and domestic violence in connection with the beating of his daughter Monday, Cincinnati police said.

        Mr. Taylor was baby-sitting when he allegedly shook the baby because she was crying, injuring the child, police said.

        The baby was later taken to University Hospital, where she was found to have bruises on her face, arms, legs and back, police said. She was treated and released to her mother.

        Mr. Taylor is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court today.
       

Sands students stay inside after gunfire

        Students at Sands Montessori School have been kept inside during the school day after a gunshot was heard in the West End neighborhood.

        Reports of a shot fired Wednesday at a residence near the school was too close for comfort, said officials at the Cincinnati magnet school.

GRASS FIRE: Cincinnati Police Officer Jeremy Howard walks past a fire hose during a grass fire in St. Bernard on Thursday afternoon. The fire, near the 4600 block of Reading Road just south of the Norwood Lateral might have been set by sparks from a passing train, fire officials said. (Brandi Stafford photo) | ZOOM |

        To keep students safe, they have not been allowed outside for recess, district spokeswoman Jan Leslie said. The school will decide this morning whether outdoor recess will resume today.

        A single shot was reported fired on Findlay Street about noon Wednesday and was heard by students and teachers on the playground next to the 940 Poplar St. school.

        The shot was not directed toward the school and there were no reports of injuries, Cincinnati police said. There was no indication that the gunfire was related to last week's riots, police added.

        A letter notifying Sands parents about the gunfire was sent home with students Wednesday.

Village claims state's best water

        NEW WASHINGTON, Ohio — Where's the best tasting water in Ohio?

        A village in northern Ohio is laying claim to the title this year.

        New Washington's water department has won the Best Tasting Water in Ohio Award from the Ohio Rural Water Association.

        The secret is in the system, said water department Superintendent Chris Sallee.

        Mr. Sallee said he thinks the village won because of its treatment techniques and the fact it has three reservoirs to tap.

        He said that if one reservoir gets too much algae, the system draws from another until the problem is cleared up.

        The system has 475 customers. New Washington is about 70 miles north of Columbus.
       

Thunderbirds top Dayton Air Show

        DAYTON — The Thunderbirds, the Air Force's premier flight demonstration team, will headline the Vectren Dayton Air Show this year, organizers announced Thursday.

        The military precision flight team last appeared at the show in 1999.

        Organizers also announced that Vectren Corp. will sponsor the show through 2003.

        This year's show will be held at Dayton International Airport on July 21-22.
       

Jewish group plans big Bible reading

        As one approach to the healing that Cincinnatians are seeking in the wake of last week's rioting, the Hillel Jewish Student Center is bringing back its “Back to the Bible” program.

        Students and others will read from Genesis through II Chronicles around the clock starting at 9:30 a.m. May 2 at Hillel, 2615 Clifton Ave., across from the University of Cincinnati.

        “During these chaotic times, this is a chance for people from a variety of religious and cultural backgrounds to come together, share a common heritage, and recognize the biblical and spiritual echoes we overlook in our daily lives,” Hillel Executive Director Rabbi Abie Ingber said.
       
       

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