ERLANGER — A Cincinnati police motorcycle officer was injured Sunday night on westbound Interstate 275 while he and a colleague were escorting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team bus convoy to the airport.

        The 8:15 p.m. collision occurred when Officer Chris Thomas attempted to pass the buses on the left and misjudged the clearance between his motorcycle and another cycle operated by Officer William Fagin, police said.

        The motorcycles collided, and both officers lost control and crashed, police said. Officer Thomas' unmanned motorcycle then slid into the path of a Boone County Sheriff's Office cruiser.

        Officer Thomas was transported to University Hospital in Cincinnati for treatment of minor injuries. Officer Fagin was not injured.

        Budget shift reduces highway inspectors

        COLUMBUS — As highway construction spending soared over the past seven years, the Ohio Department of Transportation reduced the number of inspectors checking that contractors meet standards and install safeguards, a newspaper reported Sunday.

        The Columbus Dispatch said its eight-month investigation of ODOT policies found that the department has shifted toward greater self-regulation by contractors. The state also relies more on manufacturers to test their own products at asphalt and concrete plants, the newspaper said.

        Ohio heeded Federal Highway Administration guidelines to adopt the same quality assurance methods used in building construction, ODOT spokesman Brian Cunningham said Sunday.

        Since 1995, the number of full-time state inspectors who go to construction sites has been reduced 43 percent, to 325. The work force at the department's main materials testing center fell from about 150 a decade ago to 50 today.

        The department has shifted inspections to items it considers critical, such as compacting the gravel and stones underlying a road and installation of bridge supports, ODOT Director Gordon Proctor said.

        Other ODOT employees, such as snow plow drivers, are being trained as part-time inspectors.

        Missing $1.4M from parish being tracked

        SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio — A priest said he's sure $1.4 million missing from his parish was not used for personal profit by his predecessor — although an official of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland questioned that belief.

        Results of an internal audit the diocese released Saturday trace a sketchy paper trail of real estate and business dealings to the late Monsignor William Novicky, pastor of St. Gregory the Great Church for 25 years.

        The diocese started the routine audit after Msgr. Novicky died in October. Church officials went to the FBI when they realized more than $1 million was missing.

        The Rev. Mark Peyton, St. Gregory's pastor since June, shared audit findings with parishioners on Saturday. He pledged that he and church officials would seek reimbursement but acknowledged some of the money may never be recovered.

        Most of the parish's financial records were controlled by Msgr. Novicky, with little or no documentation, the audit found.

        Reading expert to speak in Finneytown

        FINNEYTOWN — Internationally known reading expert Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook, will speak Thursday

        at Finneytown High School Performing Arts Center, 8916 Fontainebleau Terrace.

        His free talk starts at 7 p.m.

        Mr. Trelease will discuss the best books to read aloud and what parents can do to get children to read in a TV age. The National Commission on Reading has called reading to children the single most important factor in reading success.He has been profiled in Smithsonian and Reader's Digest.

        Police look for home invasion suspects

        WINTON HILLS — Cincinnati police are searching for two suspects in a home invasion late Friday in which two people were tied up with duct tape, held at gunpoint, then robbed of cash, jewelry and three guns.

        The incident occurred at 11:45 p.m. Friday in the 4900 block of Winton Ridge Lane.

        Two robbers entered the home after throwing an iron object through a glass patio door. The victims were uninjured.

        The invaders were wearing ski masks and dark clothing, and may have fled in a truck, police said.

        Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 352-3040.

        Candidates in dead heat, poll shows

        SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A poll released Sunday showed Democrat Jill Long Thompson and Republican Chris Chocola in a dead heat as they entered the final weeks of one of the nation's most closely watched congressional campaigns.

        The survey, conducted for the South Bend Tribune and television station WSBT, showed 47 percent of likely voters saying they supported Ms. Thompson, with 43 percent supporting Mr. Chocola and 10 percent undecided. The poll had a margin of error of five points.

        A similar survey released Sept. 8 showed Ms. Thompson with 43 percent to Mr. Chocola's 40 percent in the race for northern Indiana's 2nd congressional district.

        “Basically, it's a dead heat,” said pollster Del Ali, whose firm conducted the survey. “This goes right down to the wire.”

        Suspect fatally shot in Columbus traffic stop

        COLUMBUS — Suburban Clinton Township police shot and killed a man who they say showed a gun during a traffic stop. A second person in the car was critically injured.

        Three officers fired on Christopher Lee, 33, as he showed a weapon about 2:20 a.m. Saturday, according to Columbus police, who are investigating the shooting. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

        Police say the driver had been removed from the car and the officers were returning to obtain additional information from the passengers when they saw Mr. Lee with the gun. Manuel Ramat Jr., 19, also a passenger, was shot and was in critical condition Sunday.

        The driver was not identified. It was not clear whether there were other passengers in the car.

        Louisville principal sues over suspension

        LOUISVILLE — A high school principal is suing Jefferson County Public Schools after he received a five-day suspension in July for alleged mismanagement.

        Harold E. Fenderson, principal of Central High Magnet Career Academy, filed suit in Jefferson Circuit Court last week, claiming the district discriminated against him because of a review that reported several problems — from poor fiscal oversight to awarding credit for unapproved courses.

        Mr. Fenderson was suspended without pay two months ago and told that further violations could result in his dismissal.

        Now Mr. Fenderson is facing a new district review that questions whether some students graduated in the last two years without the required credits, according to Teddy Gordon, a lawyer representing Mr. Fenderson.

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