WEST CHESTER TOWNSHIP — An armed pair of youthful-looking robbers struck the Waffle House restaurant here early Friday.

        The bandits got away with an undisclosed amount of money from the restaurant in the 7300 block of Kingsgate Way around 1:45 a.m.

        One suspect brandished both a gun and a large knife, witnesses said. The other was armed with a handgun only, police said. Both wore bandannas on their faces.

        Police dogs tracked the suspects to an area on Monarch Drive east of the restaurant and found tire tracks that seemed to indicate a getaway car had been waiting for them, said West Chester Township Detective Sgt. David Tivin.

        Anyone with information is asked to call the police department's tip line: 759-7272.
       

Lebanon group gives preservation awards

               LEBANON — Preservation efforts here will be rewarded in a meeting Sunday of the Lebanon Conservancy Foundation.

        The recipients of the nonprofit group's annual awards:

        • St. Patrick's Church.

        • The Warren County commissioners.

        • Marty Kohler.

        • Michael and Janice Willis.

        • John Zimkus.

        • Coyne Insurance Agency.

        The meeting begins at 3 p.m. and the awards will be presented in Gazebo Park, next to the Golden Lamb.

        Sunday also is the beginning of National Historic Preservation Week.
       

Program to help cut teen pregnancy

               The Cincinnati graduate chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. and the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati's chapter of the National Urban League Incentive to Excel and Succeed youth program (NULITES) are sponsoring a program on teen pregnancy prevention 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. today at the United Way & Community Chest, 2400 Reading Road, Walnut Hills.

        The program, the first of a two-part series, is designed to educate male teen-agers about the myths of teen sexuality, preventing sexually transmitted diseases, respecting females and abstinence. The second session will take place this summer. The city of Cincinnati funds the NULITES youth program.
       

Online charter school loses three from board

               TOLEDO, Ohio — Three board members of an online charter school have resigned, saying they disagree with the school's management and spend too much time trying to solve the school's problems.

        Board members Douglas Lumpkin, Harry Beale and Clyde Card resigned Wednesday from the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, or eCOT.

        The school is based in Columbus and sponsored by the Lucas County Educational Service Center near Toledo. It has enrolled more than 2,000 students in its first year, quickly becoming the state's largest charter school and one of the biggest of the dozens of new online schools around the country.

        Donald Wihl, the board's chairman, said the members resigned because the board meetings took too much of their time.
       

Coal executive charged with assault

               COLUMBUS — A coal executive who wants to mine coal under a 400-year-old forest in eastern Ohio is accused of assaulting an environmental activist opposed to his plan.

        Robert Murray, 61, will be arraigned May 24 in Franklin County Municipal Court on charges of assault and disorderly conduct.

        He is accused of holding Athens environmentalist Chad Kister in a bear hug and slamming Mr. Kister's head against a wall Dec. 13 outside a hearing room at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in Columbus.

        The charges weren't filed until this week because city prosecutors were investigating whether there was probable cause to act on Mr. Kister's complaint, said Scott Varner, spokesman for City Attorney Janet E. Jackson.

        Mr. Murray and Mr. Kister allegedly scuffled during a break at a hearing on a petition to declare Dysart Woods in southern Belmont County unsuitable for mining.

        Ohio University owns the forest, but Mr. Murray's Ohio Valley Coal owns the mineral rights underneath the trees.

        Rick Sahli, an environmental lawyer who represents a group that opposes the mining proposal, said Mr. Murray charged at Mr. Kister.
       

Ditch-diggers uncover three old graves

               COLUMBUS — Work on a sewer line near the North Market was halted Thursday after ditch-diggers uncovered three graves.

        Archaeologists will excavate the rest of the area, where as many as 20 sets of remains could be buried, said Mary Webster, assistant city public service director.

        Officials knew the site had once been a cemetery but the graves were supposed to have been moved when the area was developed around 1870.

        “The question is whether they just removed the headstones,” Ms. Webster said.

        The skeletons could provide anthropologists with information about such things as the health of people in the 1800s, said Ryan Weller, an archaeologist who is excavating the remains.
       

Two juveniles charged with sex offenses

               FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP — Two juveniles have been charged this week with sex offenses involving other minors.

        A 14-year-old boy was being held Friday in the Butler County Juvenile Detention Center on charges of burglary, unlawful restraint and gross sexual imposition. The charges stem from a reported May 3 attack on a 13-year-old girl who lived near the boy, says Police Chief Richard St. John.

        The boy and girl were acquainted, Chief St. John said, but she told a counselor that the boy entered her home without permission, forced her into a bedroom, exposed himself and forced her to touch his genitals.

        The boy, on probation for a sex-related offense and drug charges, is set for a hearing next week, the chief said.

        In another case, a 16-year-old boy is accused of engaging in mock sexual activity with three 6-year-old girls who lived near him.

Officer's family under strain
Arrests down since shooting
Race panel seeks mix of candidates
Police officer guards Luken
OxyContin maker curbs shipments
Reds' seats will be green
War veterans become graduates
Hospital diversions continue at high rate
Killer gets closer to execution
Grad overcame brain trauma
Graduation is end of long journey
Other Tristate commencements
HOWARD: Madeira targets sex offenders
McNUTT: Tour peeks at restored homes
Norwood opposes light rail
School boundaries redrawn
School planners regroup
Taft asks for support of quarter design
Traficant pleads not guilty
County considers tax levy for health care for poor
Kentucky Digest
Lebanon band units seek funds
Local Digest
Search continues today for man in Licking River
Suit threatened over new peaking station
Teacher union sues over charter schools
Two critically hurt in robbery, shootings
Bill appears too late to help
Bill gets bureaucracy out of alimony pacts
Congrats
Court says coalition can get school records
EPA chief praises cleanup effort
Fiscal court seat filled
GOP primary looms for 4th District seat
Henry wedding costs reviewed
Invisible fence defended