Man with baseball bat attempts to rob women

Man with baseball batattempts to rob women
SHARON, Pa. -- Police in Sharon and Farrell are investigating a pair of attempted robberies by a young man wielding a baseball bat.
At 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, police said an 81-year-old Farrell woman arriving at her home in the 100 block of Shenango Boulevard was confronted by a man wielding a baseball bat. She managed to get into her house and slam the door. The man swore at her and hit the door with his bat before running to a waiting car containing three other men and fled the area, police said.
Fifteen minutes later, a 44-year-old George Street, Sharon, woman was walking to work on Woodland Place when a small silver car began circling around her.
A young man carrying a baseball bat got out and approached her, striking her in the chest with the bat and demanding her purse. She managed to avoid him and he then got back into the car containing three people and fled the scene, police said.
Levy to be on ballot
LEETONIA -- Leetonia school district voters will see a 9-mill operating levy on the November ballot. The board of education approved the renewal Wednesday.
Treasurer Larry Syverson stressed, however, that the levy is a renewal. The levy generates about $345,000 annually, about 25 percent of the district's operating budget, he said.
The board also voted 5-0 to hire Richard Selby, a retired administrator from Boardman, as acting superintendent because of the extended illness of superintendent Lynn King. Syverson said King is hospitalized and his recovery could take several months.
Selby will work on an as-needed basis at $35 per hour, and the district will pay retirement benefits, Syverson said.
Hospital releasessuspect in burglary
SHARON, Pa. -- A McClure Avenue man accused of burglarizing a corner market Aug. 15 is out of the hospital and in Mercer County Jail.
Gary E. Morton, 28, was attacked by the owner of Mike's Corner Market on North Oakland Avenue as he tried to remove the cash register from the store around 12:45 a.m., police said.
The owner struck Morton in the head with a hammer several times but Morton was able to flee and drive away from the scene, police said. He was found later at his home and was admitted to St. Elizabeth Health Center in critical condition.
Police said he was released from the hospital and held in Trumbull County Jail awaiting extradition to Pennsylvania.
He waived extradition Wednesday and was arraigned before District Justice James McMahon, who ordered him held on $25,000 bond pending a preliminary hearing on charges of burglary, criminal trespass, criminal mischief, and loitering and prowling at night.
Agency receives grant
LISBON -- The Community Action Agency of Columbiana County has received a $226,497 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Head Start Program.
The agency will use the funds to support full-year, part-day, handicapped training and technical assistance in the county.