Lightning causes fire

Lightning causes fire
SHARON, Pa. -- An early morning thunderstorm delivered a lightning strike to a North Oakland Avenue home and started a fire.
Firefighters were called to the house at 586 N. Oakland at 7:30 a.m. today and found a second floor bedroom ablaze. They said it appeared that a lightning strike blew out a television set and the entire electrical system.
The house is for sale and no one was at home at the time, authorities said. Police were trying to determine who lives at the house.
Flames were confined to the bedroom, but the entire house suffered smoke damage, firefighters said.
Child endangering
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Police have charged a Hassel Road woman with endangering the welfare of a child for failing to get medical care for her son after he wounded himself with a handgun. Police said the 11-year-old son of Betty Jo Savada shot himself in the finger May 26. He didn't get medical treatment for the injury until a heath nurse from Mercer County Children & amp; Youth Services got involved in the case and took him to a hospital May 30, police said. Hassel was arraigned before District Justice Henry Russo on the endangering charge Wednesday and freed on her own recognizance.
Local teens win award
CANFIELD -- A club sponsored by the Mahoning Valley Northeast Ohio Camp Fire Council won a national award as one of the country's best community projects.
The Teens In Action club won a fourth-place award and $100 prize for making 50 ABC books and collecting $1,000 worth of supplies for local day-care centers.
The Teens In Action club is a group of teen-agers from Mahoning and Trumbull counties interested in raising awareness of teen issues and helping the community. The club has won 10 awards in the last 12 years.
Cash prizes are awarded to the top entries from clubs and troops of the Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, Camp Fire Boys and Girls, Girls Incorporated, National 4-H Council and Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Colgate Palmolive created the awards in 1973 to encourage community involvement by youth groups.
Shed, pool damaged
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Police said someone set fire to a shed and damaged a backyard, above-ground swimming pool at a home in the 5000 block of Schwartz Lane. Authorities were called to the scene around 4:35 a.m. Sunday, and firefighters found a storage shed fully engulfed in flames. The shed and its contents were destroyed, police said. Authorities also discovered water leaking from the pool and found that the liner had been punctured by a sharp object.
Man reports assault
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Police say they don't know whether a 40-year-old man's injuries to his face and arms are the result of an assault or a tree he ran into as he tried to escape three men who threatened him. He was treated at Jameson Hospital.
Police said he was walking on West Washington Street at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday when he was threatened by three men in an older blue Camaro. One of the men punched him in the face before the 40-year-old ran into a wooded area and crashed into the tree. He suspects he was unconscious for a few hours before waking up and walking home.
One of the attackers is described as a white man with short black hair, about 6 feet tall, weighing 160 pounds and wearing blue jeans. He could not describe the other two men.
Battling barn fire
WEST MIDDLESEX, Pa. -- Shenango Township firefighters were called to a barn fire at 284 Fetsko Road at 7:37 a.m. today. A police officer was the first to reach the scene and reported the barn was fully engulfed in flames. Firefighters from West Middlesex were called in to assist, and crews from Hermitage and Pulaski were asked to bring additional water to the scene. Firefighters were still fighting the blaze at press time today.