Body found in river

Body found in river
STRUTHERS -- The Mahoning County coroner is expected to perform an autopsy Monday on the body of a white male found floating in the Mahoning River.
Struthers police would not identify the deceased man until his family was notified. Police also said the man's body was unmarked and that they couldn't determine the cause of death.
A Struthers resident called police about 2:30 p.m. Saturday and said the man's body was in a shallow area of the river about 200 yards west of the South Bridge Street bridge. The body had become grounded on the bottom of the river, and a portion was visible.
The dead man was wearing only shoes.
The sheriff's department dive team and the Struthers fire department helped recover the body about 4:40 p.m.
Nature photography
YOUNGSTOWN -- Photographers may submit photos for display in Mill Creek MetroParks' Nature Photography Exhibit. Entries will be accepted until Feb. 17 at the Ford Nature Center, and a $2 fee is required for each entry.
Plaques will be awarded to the first three places in each of nine categories: wild animals, wild plants, wild scenes, cultivated plants, people in parks, Mill Creek MetroParks scenes, black and white, computer/digital images and young photographers.
The exhibit will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 1 through April 7 and will be closed Mondays. For entry forms, call the Ford center at (330) 740-7107 or Fellows Riverside Gardens at (330) 740-7116.
Teachers contract talks
LOWELLVILLE -- Contract negotiations between the Lowellville teachers union and the board of education ended Saturday afternoon without a resolution. No dates for future negotiations have been set.
Federal Mediator Conrad Bowling ended the negotiations after six hours of discussion. The two parties also met for 12 hours Friday.
Teachers have been working without a contract since Aug. 31. A strike is set for Jan. 22 if a tentative agreement is not reached.
Lowellville Superintendent Richard Buchenic said in a written statement that the board has been taking precautions to make sure the schools will be open during a strike. The board has spoken with substitute teachers, he said, and a security firm has been hired.
Beaver Twp. trustees
NORTH LIMA -- Beaver Township trustees will meet in special session at 6:15 p.m. Monday, when they are expected to pass a resolution to advertise for bids for new rescue squad equipment. The meeting will be in the township room in the South Range Plaza.
Veterans' diplomas
McDONALD -- The board of education has approved high school diplomas for three World War II veterans whose military duty prevented them from finishing high school.
Two of the recipients are Albert F. Wilkes Jr., 208 S. Roanoke Avenue, Austintown, who has requested that his diploma be awarded for the year 1944, and Michael Joseph Rosemont, 2239 Renwick Drive, Poland, who would have graduated in 1946. The wife of the third recipient, the late William H. Flickinger Jr., will be awarded his diploma. A presentation ceremony is being planned.