Both incidents happened at the Kroger at 2728 East Main Street, and in both cases the thief targeted elderly women.

The suspect in question has been identified as 23-year-old Michael Nichols, according to police.

On Monday, June 29, the suspect approached the elderly woman and asked for help finding his vehicle.  He helped her with her groceries before grabbing her purse and fleeing, according to the police report.

Police say a similar theft took place three days prior at the same place.

Nichols is described as a white male in his early 20s, around 6'3" with brown hair.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Springfield police at 324-7680.

Wildlife officials say the animal may be moving away from developed areas.

Just last Wednesday, June 24, the bear was seen walking through the parking lot of a Warren County's dialysis center. 

The bear has been spotted upwards of a dozen times in the last month, mainly in Warren County.

It's believed the animal originally traveled north from Kentucky.

Area residents are advised to leave the bear alone if it is spotted and not to leave out food or garbage that could attract it.

The district lost $729,000 in funding, which means the 400 or so people who use the service will have to search for help elsewhere.  The program focused on teaching adults things like life skills, English as a second language, and preparing for a GED exam.

Officials say there are still similar programs at Kettering schools, Sinclair Community College, Miami Valley Career Technology Center, and Miami Valley Literacy Council -- It's not clear why DPS was cut from the list of programs the state funds.

Jerry Welch, 64, and Charmion Burton, 35, were arrested Wednesday, July 1, after police found four dogs and 12 cats, one of which was dead, in their filthy Terry Street house.  Another search Thursday turned up more dead animals.

The conditions were discovered after Montgomery County Children Services sent someone to check on the couple's young son.  The 2-month-old was taken into the custody of child services.

Police say the couple denied actually living at the home -- they reportedly said they reside at a motel 90 minutes away.

Welch and Burton were previously convicted with felony animal cruelty after police found a dog belonging to the couple partially frozen to the ground in December 2005.  The pair was barred from owning pets for four years after that case.

Dunbar High School teacher James Lacking is accused of shoving a student for the second time in three months.

The district issued the suspension with a letter addressing an alleged incident on May 22 between Lacking and a 15-year-old student. 

The teen said Lacking threw him against a white board, shoved him, and tried to provoke him into striking the teacher.  Witnesses said Lacking yelled and shoved the boy.

Lacking, who has been employed with the school since 1997, was reprimanded in March for an incident in which he shoved a student for being disrespectful.

School officials will hold a hearing Monday, June 4, where Lacking said his fate in the Dayton Public School district will likely be decided.

(Information from the Dayton Daily News was used in this report.)

The latest version of the slots proposal requires the state to give racetrack owners their money back if a plan to legalize casinos in five cities succeeds on the fall ballot.

A Senate committee studying the slots plan is expected to debate the issue at a Friday hearing.

Each license placing slots at one of Ohio's seven tracks is projected to raise $65 million under Gov. Ted Strickland's plan, half of that during the next two-year budget.

The Democratic governor and Republican-led Senate are at an impasse over the slots plan.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Police used chains to lock the doors of the Dayton Motor Motel yesterday, July 2, after the owner failed to show up in court over complaints about the business.  The motel at 1639 North Keowee Street has had numerous arrests over the last few years related to drugs and prostitution.

There was a SWAT standoff at the motel June 12 when an aggravated robbery suspect holed up in a room.

Police said the business will remain closed for at least one year.

The office got a tip about illegally stored fireworks for the displays and investigators say they discovered the explosives packed into two cars and a garage in Darke County.  The owners didn't have the proper, so the fireworks were taken and destroyed, as required by Ohio law.

Shane Cartmill with the State Fire Marshal's office said it was disappointing task, but safety supersedes entertainment.

Investigators are still looking into where the fireworks came from, and said the people storing them could face charges if they were transported across state lines.

BROOKVILLE, Ohio - Residents of the Miami Valley will once again have an opportunity to let the American government know how they feel about the state of the country at the second area tea party, to be held today.

After the massive turnout for the Dayton Tea Party in April, the organizers are holding a similar event in Brookville today, Friday, July 3, in conjunction with a Fourth of July celebration.

The rally is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Golden Gate Park in Brookville located at 750 Arlington Road.

Speakers for the event include Rep. Jarrod Martin, R-Beavercreek and University of Dayton History Professor Larry Schweikart.  The event will end with a fireworks display.

The Tea Party movement originated as a way to protest government spending and the growing size of the federal government. Rallies were held on April 15 across the country, and many areas - like the Miami Valley - have decided to hold a second one as well.

The city estimated a cost of $3,500 to $4,000 to pay for extra police patrols, but the organizers of the event signed an agreement to cover the costs.

Police surrounded the house on the 2000 block of Smithville Road in search of 31-year-old Pedro Guindin. They began the search around 7:30 p.m. Thursday night on East Third Street, but were directed to the Smithville address when he could not be located.

Police called in the local SWAT team to assist in apprehending Guindin, who finally surrendered around 3:50 a.m., but only after police used pepper spray to force him out. The investigation is being conducted by the Dayton police department.

Investigators said that dispatchers received a call saying that Guindin allegedly beat his girlfriend and threatened to kill her. They then received a second domestic violence call around 2 a.m. from the girlfriend, who said she was afraid Guindin might hurt her.

Police had to close Smithville Road between Bellaire Road and Kemper Avenue for nearly three hours, finally opening the roadway just before 5 a.m.

According to police, Guindin is facing charges of aggravated menacing and inducing panic.

The state has now gone a full week without solving its budget problem, even though both the Republican-controlled Senate and the Democratically-controlled House each convened a budget panel on Thursday. Both rooms were packed as the Senate panel questioned the specifics of Governor Ted Strickland's proposed slots-at-racetracks plan, while the House committee heard bad news from state agency directors about cuts that may be inevitable without slots.

The state legislature has a week and a half to figure out a way to overcome a nearly $1.2 billion deficit for the mid-year budget.

Strickland said in a news conference that progress was being made toward a compromise on the slots plan. The proposal would place video lottery terminals at seven racetracks throughout the state, leading to an estimated $933 million in additional revenue for the state.

The slots committee is scheduled to meet again Friday despite the holiday.

It was the first litter of Malayan tigers born at the zoo in eight years. The zoo is accepting names for the cubs in a contest running through July 17. Names can be submitted to the zoo's Web site, with winners receiving a basic family zoo membership.

Zoo officials say they prefer names reflecting the Southeast Asian heritage of the cubs who went on display this week for the first time since their March 21 birth.

Malayan tigers are found in Malaysia and the southern tip of Thailand. Fewer than 1,000 of the endangered species are estimated to remain in the wild, while only 54 of the tigers live in North American zoos.

Article courtesy The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

One day after posting a 1-0 win, the Reds took the rubber match of the three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 3-2 win in 10 innings. They won on a bases loaded single from Joey Votto, surprising because the Reds left 16 runners on base during the afternoon.

Aaron Harang pitching 7 innings and struck out eight while allowing only two runs, but was on the hook for the loss until the Reds tied the game at 2 with a run in the bottom of the ninth to force extras. After Jay Bruce threw out Alex Romero at home trying to score on a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded to end the top of the tenth, the Reds then loaded the bases themselves with no one out in the bottom half. But Laynce Nix and Jerry Hairston Jr. continued the trend of failing to get runners home, before Votto finally came through.

The Reds now turn their attention to a weekend series with the Cardinals, beginning tonight with a 7:10 start at Great American Ballpark. Fireworks will follow both Friday and Saturday's games, before Sunday's matinee at 1:10.

The average for the Dayton area is currently at $2.59 per gallon for regular unleaded, which is just slightly below the $2.63 per gallon national average. Prices have been slowly rising since early spring after bottoming out in December of 2008, when some stations had prices as low at $1.33 per gallon.

While the price jump is nothing new, it is significantly lower than a year ago. The price on July 3, 2008 for a gallon of regular unleaded was at an average of $4.09, a dollar and a half less than the price this year.

Police and medics were first called to Shroyer and Patterson roads at 3:43 p.m. today, July 2.  The driver of a Mustang was taken to Miami Valley Hospital after crews removed her -- a passenger was also hospitalized.

The driver of the dump truck was not injured.

The conditions of the injured parties is unknown and police are still investigating the cause of the crash.