Compiled from staff and wire reports

Colerain trustee for 'scenic' status

COLERAIN TWP. - Obtaining state scenic river status for the Great Miami River would benefit nearby residents - and it's Colerain Township's responsibility, as the largest township in the state, to lead the movement, a trustee said Wednesday.

"There's a lot more to having the state scenic river status than just having the words 'state scenic river,'" said Trustee Bernie Fiedeldey. "Scenic river status for the Great Miami would bring tax dollars back to Colerain Township from the state and federal level."

Fiedeldey said the Little Miami River has received about $8 million in state and federal grants because of its scenic river status. He wants a study on the Great Miami to see if scenic river status is possible.

Uptown Towers shooter eludes police

Cincinnati police were still looking Wednesday night for a person who apparently fired shots from inside a West End apartment building near City Hall.

Officers responded about 5 a.m. to Uptown Towers on West Ninth Street after calls from people who said they heard shots. The officers then radioed that they heard eight more shots. They called for the SWAT team, which searched the building and found no shooter and no one hurt.

The shooter was not a sniper, District 1 Capt. James Whalen said. Investigators found damage on two buildings to the west of Uptown Towers, he said.

Police said they do have a lead on a suspect.

Streets around the building were shut down for several hours, but were reopened by 8 a.m.

Loveland park press box delayed

LOVELAND - Plans to build a press box at Boike Park for youth football were put on hold Tuesday while city officials decide if they should regulate noise from the public address system.

Council tabled a resolution that would allow Loveland Youth Football Inc. to construct and maintain the press box at a field the association developed in the city park along Tiger Trail.

Assistant City Manager Tom Carroll said city officials expressed concern that announcements from early and late games might bother nearby neighborhoods such as Chatham Woods.

He said it was unclear whether the issue required public input at the city level because the property is in Symmes Township.

Township Administrator Gerald Beckman said conditions could be placed on the public address system as part of the zoning process.

Firefighter accused of shoving fire chief

TRENTON - After a kitchen fire, an argument involving Trenton's volunteer fire department flared into an alleged assault on the fire chief by one of his men, police said.

Jeff Hobbs, a 39-year-old member of the department, was charged with misdemeanor assault after shoving Trenton Fire Chief Thomas Puckett , police said.

Hobbs made "derogatory remarks" at the scene of the residential fire, police said, which led to Puckett later confronting the firefighter at the fire station.

Puckett wasn't hurt in the incident, though his glasses were broken.

Barn burns, but woods are spared

AURORA - The fire department here prevented a barn fire late Tuesday from spreading into woods.

At 11:19 p.m. the Aurora Fire Department responded to a barn fire on Huseman Road in Washington Township, across from the old Rumpke facility.

The 60-by-30-foot barn, owned by Nick Hartman of West Harrison, collapsed moments after firefighters arrived.

Firefighters spent 31/2 hours fighting the blaze and containing it to the barn. No injuries were reported in the fire that caused $15,000 in damage.

Investigators don't know the cause and ask anyone with information to contact Lt. Kevin Turner at the Aurora Fire Department, (812) 926-1225.

Casino patron sent to prison for drugs, guns

LAWRENCEBURG - An Illinois man was sentenced to eight years in prison Tuesday after his arrest more than a year ago at the Argosy Casino when police found methamphetamine, several handguns and an assault rifle in his vehicle and his hotel room.

Michael David Sheridan, 44, of West Salem, Ill., was given the maximum sentence after his conviction on the class C felony of possession of methamphetamine while armed with a firearm, according to Dearborn and Ohio counties prosecuting attorney Sally Blankenship.

When he was arrested in April 2002, Sheridan had an active Illinois arrest warrant for escape and criminal drug conspiracy for manufacture of methamphetamines.