A place to sleep

A place to sleep
NILES -- A family that lost its first home and all its possessions to toxic mold has a benefactor.
Tammy Pavolillo said in a story Tuesday that she would sleep on the floor of her new home, which arrived Monday, if she could just afford to get beds for her daughters, Krista, 8, and Ashley, 7. She e-mailed The Vindicator this morning to say that an anonymous donor bought beds for the girls.
The new house was delivered and will be anchored to a foundation. Pavolillo said that there is some damage that the manufacturer will repair but that the girls will have their own beds when the family moves into the house in a few weeks.
Tree lighting
CHAMPION -- Santa will arrive by firetruck at 5:15 p.m. Saturday at township offices, 149 Center St. E.
The Rotary Club and the police auxiliary will again sponsor the annual community tree-lighting event from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Children may bring a weather-resistant ornament to hang on the tree and can visit with Santa in the historical schoolhouse. Photos will be available at $2 each.
Trustee Jeff Hovanic is the speaker, and there will be entertainment by the Vocal Alliance Barbershop Quartet.
Con men scam woman
NILES -- Two con artists have scammed an 82-year-old woman out of $121.
The woman, who is confined to a wheelchair, reported to police that a man came to her home about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday asking for directions.
About 90 minutes later, another man showed up, telling her that an electrical problem in her neighborhood had been traced to her home.
The man said her telephone wasn't working because it didn't have a dial tone. She let him in.
Later, it was discovered that the phone had been unplugged.
The con artist charged the woman $40 for unneeded repairs. She checked her wallet after the man left and found that another $81 was missing from it.
Basement windows and doors also were found unlocked.
Citizens group
McDONALD -- The Weathersfield Township Responsible Citizens Association meets Thursday at 7 p.m. in Summit Assembly of God, 2615 Salt Springs Road.
Guest speakers are James G. Tsagaris, a Trumbull County commissioner, and county Engineer John Latell. The public is welcome; the group meets the last Thursday of the month.
Embezzling case
WARREN -- The estranged husband of Patricia Lesho, who was convicted of embezzling more than $215,000 from a local law firm in 1995, will have to make up the balance of restitution, authorities say.
Lesho, 62, was released from probation Tuesday after paying back about $7,000 of the money she stole from Atty. Jack Alpern.
She had been making payments of $100 a month, said her probation officer, Jack Evans.
The rest of the money, more than $208,000, will be due from William Lesho, her estranged husband and formerly a lieutenant in the Trumbull County Sheriff's Department, under terms worked out in a pending divorce settlement, Evans said.
William Lesho, 62, resigned from the sheriff's department in 1997 after he was convicted for domestic violence against Patricia.
Girard dam funding
GIRARD -- Mayor James Melfi wants to meet in December with U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. of Poland, D-17th, to discuss added funding for Girard Lower Lake Dam.
The congressman has secured a $1 million federal grant to rehabilitate the structure, but a complete overhaul is estimated at $10.2 million.
Melfi said Tuesday he wants to stress to Traficant that Girard doesn't have any money because it's under a state-imposed fiscal emergency and it needs more federal funding for the project.
Audit findings
WARREN -- An audit by state Auditor Jim Petro's office of a South Street company has identified more than $11,000 in findings which the company must repay to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
The audit of L.J. Lewis Enterprises Inc. covered January 1996 through March 31, 2001, and dealt with the company's claims to Medicaid for reimbursement of transportation services.
The audit released Tuesday found $11,942 in duplicate payments to the company through submission of two claims for the same recipient on the same date of service.
Waterline grant
WARREN -- Trumbull County is getting a $600,000 state grant to install 22,250 feet of waterline and connect residents in the Meadowbrook area of Warren Township to city waterlines.
The estimated total project cost is $1.37 million.
The Ohio Department of Development runs the grant program to help small cities with water and sanitary sewer projects.