Chalk-on-the-Walk to begin in Warren

Chalk-on-the-Walk to begin in Warren
WARREN -- Get that big bucket of sidewalk chalk ready.
The 22nd Chalk-on-the-Walk contest is Friday from 11 a.m. until noon at Courthouse Park.
Everyone is invited to create works of art on the sidewalk for prizes, compliments of local McDonald's restaurant operators.
Registration is from 11 to 11:45 a.m. and judging takes place at 12:15, based on originality, creativity, expression, full potential of space and special techniques, such as shading or perspective.
Ronald McDonald will perform at the gazebo beginning at 12:30.
Leaky roof closes store
NILES -- The Sears store at Eastwood Mall closed about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday because of a leaking roof.
Firefighters said water was getting into light fixtures so they turned off the power as a safety precaution and the store closed.
Workers have been working to repair the roof. The store was expected to reopen today.
Golf course gets bid
WARREN -- Yankee Run Golf Course was the successful bidder for a Trumbull County-owned property on Warren-Sharon Road, which had housed eastern district court.
County commissioners accepted the golf course's bid of $50,001 on Wednesday. The next-highest bidder offered $15,001.
Contract awarded
MINERAL RIDGE -- Mahoning Valley Sanitary District directors have awarded a $860,126 contract for lime sludge removal to a Fredericktown company.
Under the two-year contract, Burch Hydro must remove the sludge from one lagoon by the end of this year. Removal from another lagoon must start by April 1 and be completed by Oct. 1, 2002.
The district has four, seven-acre lagoons. Sludge was last removed in 1990.
"The longer we wait, the more we'll have to pay for it," said David G. Tabak, chief engineer.
Tabak said he got good reports from several of the company's references, which include General Electric in Cincinnati, Rickenbacker Air Base near Dayton and the city of Newark, Ohio.
Fire hits restaurant
WARREN -- Firefighters are investigating the cause of a blaze that caused $35,000 worth of damage to a city restaurant.
The fire started around 11:10 p.m. Wednesday at Corner Kitchen, 1105 North Park. Firefighters said the blaze caused damage to the two-story wood-frame building and the contents inside the restaurant. No injuries were reported.
Tire collection nets 615
SOUTHINGTON -- Trustees reported Wednesday the township's annual tire collection had netted 615 old tires. The township received a $1,169 state grant to cover the cost of the collection and disposal.
Trustees approved travel expenses for three township zoning board members to attend a workshop Oct. 5, in Quaker Square, Crown Plaza, Akron.
Trustees also said they are looking for someone with an accounting background to fill an unpaid position on the township auditing committee. Anyone interested should call the clerk's office at (330) 889-2551.
Woman arraigned
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- A Farrell woman authorities said stole a credit card from a 74-year-old Jamestown woman and used it to buy more than $800 in shoes and jewelry at the Shenango Valley Mall was to be arraigned today before District Justice Henry Russo.
Police said that the elderly victim gave Marlena Monnett Benson, 45, of Hamilton Avenue, a ride July 17 from Farrell to the mall. Police said Benson took the woman's wallet, which contained the credit card.
Southwest Mercer County Regional police arrested her around 7 p.m. Wednesday. She was charged with access device fraud and identity theft.