Butler County has a connection to the WNBA championship. The Las Vegas Aces beat the Connecticut Sun 78-71 Sunday, to win the best of five series 3 games to one. Aces starting Center Kiah Stokes is the daughter of Hamilton High basketball legend Greg Stokes. She scored 2 points and grabbed five rebounds in the winning effort. Stokes has won 3 championships at all levels. A high school state title in Iowa, three (3) NCAA National Championships at UCONN, and now a world championship with the Aces. Kiah wears number 41, the same number worn by her father at Hamilton High School and the University of Iowa.

(Photo Courtesy: Provided by Greg Stokes)

Four children remained in critical condition after an apartment fire in West Chester Saturday afternoon. Police started getting calls from neighbors around 12:17pm at 5259 Aster Park Drive. Firefighters arrived on the scene, and rescued four children, ages 5 months, 1 year, 5 years, and 8 years old. They were taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital's Liberty campus, then transferred to Children's Hospital in Cincinnati. The Ohio Fire Marshal's office is investigating the cause of the blaze.

Sad news out of Richmond, Indiana. Police Officer Seara Burton has passed away from injuries suffered when she was shot during a traffic stop on August 10th. She died at 9:59pm Sunday at Reid Health. She was surrounded by her family when she passed. A procession Monday afternoon brought Officer Burton back home to Richmond. Funeral arrangements are pending.
(Photo: Richmond, Indiana Police Department)

A second suspect has been arrested in connection with the shooting death of a 16 year old Hamilton girl four years ago. 18 year old Jordan Spain was taken into custody by Miami Township police in Clermont County Tuesday night on warrants filed September 2nd, charging him in connection with the murder of 16 year old Sydney Garcia-Tovar. The shooting occured at the Tyler's Creek Townhomes on Wildbranch Road in Fairfield Township on July 23, 2018. Spain was 14 at the time of the homicide, so his case is being heard in Butler County Juvenile Court. 23 year old Markeylnd Townsend is awaiting a September 19th trial on murder and felony assault charges for his role in the killing.

(Photo: Miami Township PD on Twitter)

The Ohio State Highway Patrol continues to investigate a weekend crash that killed a well known home builder from Fairfield. 64 year
old Joseph "Jo Jo" Schwartz was riding in the back seat of an SUV that was one of eight vehicles rear-ended by a tractor trailer in stopped traffic on I-75 near Lima. He was pronounced dead at the scene. 10 people were taken to area hospitals and 11 were treated at the scene. Schwartz and his father Joe owned J-II Homes, and developed Fairfield's Village Green area. The driver of the truck has been identified as 75 year old Dale Anglin of Vermilion, Ohio.

(Photo Courtesy: Lima, Ohio Fire Department on Facebook)

A drug raid in Butler County has recovered a large amount of pressed fentanyl, and a stash of weapons. Sheriff Richard Jones says the BURN Task Force, Cincinnati DEA, and Middletown Police executed a search warrant on the 400 block of Cribbs Avenue Thursday, and found 25,000 pressed fentanyl pills, several loaded firearms, and a digital scale. The value of the pills was estimated at $750,000. Agents arrested Mainer Feliz of Middletown, Reinaldo Gomez-Cruz of New Jersey, and Emanuel Ortega-Moran of Pennsylvania. Jones was quoted as saying "If you bring your poison to Butler County, you're going to jail."

(Photo Courtesy: Butler County Sheriff's Office)

The Ohio State Highway Patrol says their troopers will concentrate on getting impaired drivers off the state's roadways during the four day Labor Day weekend. The reporting period started at 12:00am Friday morning and will end at 11:59pm Monday night. Last year, 17 people were killed in 16 crashes during the Labor Day holiday, with eight of the incidents involving impaired drivers. Troopers arrested 515 drivers for OVI during the 2021 holiday. The Butler County OVI Task Force announced a checkpoint for Friday night from 11:00pm-3:00am on southbound Route 4 near Woodridge Boulevard.  The Hamilton County task force announced an OVI checkpoint on the 6900 block of Wooster Pike (US-50) in Mariemont between 8:00pm and midnight.

A man is recovering from a gunshot wound suffered near Collinsville earlier this week. Aaron Michael Williams told deputies he and a friend had just practiced shooting in the woods near the 5100 block of Hamilton Eaton Road around 12:22pm Wednesday. Williams says he was trying to holster his 9mm pistol when it accidentially discharged, striking him in the stomach. Williams was Care Flighted to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton for treatment of a gunshot wound. Detectives were sent to the scene to interview the two witnesses, and the handgun was recovered.