Arraigned in stabbing

Arraigned in stabbing
YOUNGSTOWN -- Thomas Gross, 21, of Audubon Street has been charged in the stabbing of Jim Smith, former bailiff to Municipal Judge Robert P. Milich and ex-Municipal Judge Patrick V. Kerrigan.
Smith, 41, told police that Gross, an acquaintance, stabbed him about 11:15 p.m. Saturday in Smith's Hollywood Avenue home.
At Gross' arraignment Tuesday in municipal court, Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly set bond at $20,000 cash or surety on the felonious assault charge and $2,500 on a charge that Gross failed to appear for sentencing last October on a conviction for resisting arrest. His preliminary hearing is May 1.
Smith told police he was stabbed in the back, head and hands after declining Gross' request for money.
Truck driver rescued
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Struthers dump truck driver was trapped for about 30 minutes late Wednesday morning after his truck flipped on Interstate 680 near the Vestal Road overpass, just south of the Martin Luther King Drive exit.
Ambulance paramedics and city firefighters used power tools to cut away the roof and free James R. Shaffer, 45, of 6th Street.
Shaffer was able to stand up and was taken for hospital treatment. Paramedics said he appeared to have a shoulder injury.
Witnesses told police the truck was traveling about 55 mph in the right lane of I-680 when its brakes appeared to lock up.
The truck's load of stone shifted, causing Shaffer to lose control, cross the median and slam into the guardrail, reports show. The truck skidded around 180 degrees until it was facing traffic.
Fire damages garage
AUSTINTOWN -- A fire caused $22,000 in damage to a Burkey Road home's garage. The fire, which was reported at 10:14 a.m. Tuesday, damaged the garage and two cars at 4502 Burkey.
Austintown firefighters, who extinguished the blaze in about 30 minutes, said the fire's cause was electrical.
Mayor isn't quitting
STRUTHERS -- Mayor Dan Mamula said he's not going anywhere.
He said he heard rumors a few weeks ago that he had planned to resign. People were asking him when his last day will be, he added.
"I tried to reassure people that I wouldn't be leaving before the end of my term," he said. "I think it was having an effect on the election."
The mayor was elected to his third term in 1999 and hasn't ruled out running again when it ends Dec. 31, 2003.
Man shot in calf
YOUNGSTOWN -- Gunfire rang out in the parking lot of the New Affair Lounge on East Midlothian Boulevard at 1:30 a.m. today.
One shot hit Marquee Blackmon, 21, in the left calf. He was in stable condition today at St. Elizabeth Health Center.
The victim and two witnesses said they didn't know the suspect but had seen him earlier in the bar. They described the man as white with brown hair, in his 30s, 6 feet 1 inch tall and 180 pounds.
Overdue library items
GIRARD -- The Girard Free Library is using a collection agency to help encourage patrons to return overdue materials.
Library director Rose Ann Lubert said materials not returned have to be replaced at the library's expense in most cases. The money could better be used to buy new items, she said.
Unique Management Services of Jefferson, Ind., has been hired to retrieve the materials or money.
Patrons still will be notified by the library that their materials are overdue and will have ample time to respond before being turned over for collection, Lubert said.
Humane Society dinner
WHEATLAND, Pa. -- The Humane Society of Mercer County will have a chicken dinner from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday at Wheatland American Legion, 432 Council Ave. Tickets will be available at the door at $5 for adults and $3 for children 12 and under. Carry-outs will also be available.