Compiled from staff and wire reports

Four cases of anti-war graffiti investigated

HAMILTON - Someone spray-painted an anti-war message on at least four sites, including the Government Services Center, Hamilton police said Tuesday.

Someone used what appeared to be a homemade stencil to emblazon the phrase, "no war" on the side of a traffic signal control box at B Street and Park Avenue and on the sides of a Great Miami and Western Railroad locomotive and a boxcar at B and Black streets, reports say.

Hamilton police were also investigating a third incident, though Officer Dave Crawford, police spokesman, said he didn't have details. All three messages were discovered Tuesday morning.

The Butler County Sheriff's Office is investigating a fourth message on the government building, Crawford said. That building houses, among other agencies, the office of the county commissioners, who passed a resolution last month supporting whatever decision Bush makes about Iraq.

EPA advising against eating river's catfish

So you caught a big channel catfish from the Ohio River. Congratulations, just don't eat it.

Channel catfish more than 17 inches long are among the sport fish at a dozen locations statewide that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency advises people not to eat. Consumption of fish at another 51 locations should be limited to no more than once a month.

For details, call the Ohio EPA Public Interest Center at (614) 644-2160 or go to www.epa.state.-oh.us/dsw/fishadvisory/index.-html.

One dead in early morning house fire

LAWRENCEBURG - One person died after a home at 31 W. Tate St. went up in flames early Tuesday.

Firefighters were called to the home about 1:30 a.m. and found heavy fire coming from the single-family home, Lawrenceburg Fire Chief Johnnie Tremain said.

"There was fire in the front living room of the three-room house," he said.

Firefighters searching the house found the victim still in bed, but the person was pronounced dead at Dearborn County Hospital, officials said.

Smoke detectors in the home were operating, Tremain said.

No one else was in the house when the fire broke out. The fire appeared to have started in the living room, and the cause remains under investigation, Tremain said.

The living room suffered fire damage and the rest of the home was damaged by smoke. The fire caused about $75,000 in damage.

P&G's heat wraps get good results in studies

The ThermaCare heat wrap made by Procter & Gamble fared well in two clinical studies published in today's edition of Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

A study involving more than 200 people who wore the heat wrap during daytime to control lower back pain reported that some pain relief was felt as long as two days after taking off the wrap.

Another study of 76 people who wore the wraps overnight reported similar benefits.

Both studies were conducted by Research Testing Laboratories, a contract lab based in Great Neck, N.Y.

Woman charged with child endangerment

A 20-year-old Price Hill woman was arrested Tuesday after police discovered her two young children in what they reported as unsanitary and unsafe living conditions.

Police charged Shevaun Fox, of the 2200 block of Schoedinger Avenue, with child endangerment. During an unrelated investigation Tuesday afternoon an officer observed Fox's two children, ages 4 months and 3 years, in deplorable living conditions in the apartment, police said.

The 3-year-old was nude, unsupervised and covered in dirt and makeup, police said. Broken glass was scattered on the floor, feces was smeared all over the bathroom floor, and dirty diapers were scattered throughout the apartment, police said.

There was no food in the apartment, police said.

Man indicted after cousin dies in crash

An 18-year-old man was indicted Tuesday by a Hamilton County grand jury in the March death of his cousin in a Springdale car crash.

Alejandro Olvera was behind the wheel March 8 when his car hit a tree on Northland Boulevard, killing Adam Martin Olvera, who was in the back seat, said Prosecutor Mike Allen. He was indicted on one count of aggravated vehicular homicide.

Alejandro Olvera had been drinking and initially gave authorities a false identity, Allen said.

If convicted, Olvera could face up to eight years in prison.

First social workers graduate academy

A group of social workers graduates tonight from the first Cincinnati citizens police academy to target the mental-health field.

Thirty-five social workers finished the eight-week course aimed at showing them police work.

A second class of social workers will start soon.

Fatal accident at rush hour: Robert C. Junker, 42, of Finneytown died Tuesday morning after he crashed his van into a concrete median on Interstate 71 at Dana Avenue. Police said he drove off the right side, then crossed all southbound traffic lanes to the left and hit the median. The accident backed up morning rush-hour traffic all over Cincinnati's east side. MICHAEL SNYDER