Niles OKs transit money

Niles OKs transit money
NILES -- City council members have approved legislation contributing $20,932 annually for a countywide public transit system.
The amount is based on $1 per person who lives in the city. Mayor Ralph A. Infante Jr. is spearheading a plan to develop the system for the county. Trumbull County commissioners have committed up to $120,000 annually for the program. The local money will be used as a match to get state and federal dollars.
Letters were sent to all of the communities in the county asking them to contribute $1 per resident. Infante told council members Wednesday that Vienna Township approved contributing $4,000 and Howland, Liberty, Warren and Cortland are expected to vote on participating later this month.
Grant sought for sewers
WARREN -- Trumbull County commissioners have signed application forms for a grant for the Golden Triangle Sewer Project in Howland Township.
If the $564,000 federal grant from the Economic Development Administration is approved, work on the project could begin next year, said Alan J. Knapp, assistant director of the county planning commission.
The grant would cover 60 percent of the cost of bringing sewer lines to six businesses on Phoenix Road. Community Development Block Grants would pay an additional 20 percent, 10 percent would come from the county's revolving loan fund, and 10 percent would come from the six businesses served by the sewer line, Knapp said.
Sobriety checkpoint
NILES -- The Ohio State Highway Patrol and Girard, Niles and Weathersfield police departments will conduct a sobriety checkpoint on U.S. Route 422 after 10 p.m. Friday.
Paving contract awarded
MECCA -- Township trustees awarded Gennaro Pavers of Warren a $26,629 contract to repave 1.5 miles of Edgewater Drive off state Route 46 at a special meeting Wednesday. Work on the road should finish in August, said Diane Drawl, the township clerk.
Request on sentence
YOUNGSTOWN -- An attorney for William Darkadakis, a former part-time Campbell policeman, has asked a judge of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to reduce his sentence for felonious assault.
Two weeks ago, Judge Maureen A. Cronin sentenced Darkadakis to four years in the county jail, with all but 90 days suspended. Atty. Samuel Amendolara said the sentence was too harsh for a first-time offender who is unlikely to commit another offense. A hearing on the sentence reduction has not been set.
Darkadakis, 21, of Canfield, fired gunshots at 22-year-old Christopher Roscoe and then struck him with the gun during an altercation on a Youngstown street in December.
Campbell charter
CAMPBELL -- City council gave a second reading Wednesday to a proposed charter amendment stating that the city police department must have no fewer than 16 and no more than 18 full-time officers, excluding the chief of police.
The amendment is scheduled for final passage by council at its 7:30 p.m. June 20 meeting, after which it will go before the voters Nov. 6. The city charter ties police department staffing to the city's population, which has fallen by about 600 to about 9,400 between the 1990 and 2000 Census tallies.
The amendment is supported by Police Chief Gus Sarigianopoulos, who says he needs a minimum of 16 full-time officers besides himself to give the city proper 24-hour coverage. Crime has risen in the city while the population has declined, he said. Based on charter language, the city's population today would call for only 15 full-time officers, besides the chief, which is the current number. One full-time police officer position is vacant.
Car, cruiser crash
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Lori A. Hunt, 39, of Ridge Avenue, Sharpsville, suffered minor injuries when her car collided with a city police cruiser that was going through a red light at Highland Road and Buhl Farm Drive.
Police said Officer Brian McBride, 45, was westbound on Highland with his red lights and siren activated en route to an emergency call at the time of the accident, about 1:50 p.m. Tuesday. Hunt had the green light, police said. Hunt was treated at UPMC Horizon in Farrell. No disciplinary action is planned against McBride, police said.