Lane reduction on I-80
Lane reduction on I-80
LIBERTY -- Interstate 80, between state Route 193 here and state Route 62 in Hubbard, will be reduced to one lane in each direction from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. beginning Wednesday. Two lanes of traffic in each direction will be maintained all other times. The $6.6 million project is expected to last through August and calls for the resurfacing of I-80 and six bridges in the section.
Patrolman promoted
AUSTINTOWN -- Trustees promoted township patrolman Douglas Scharsu to detective Monday night. Scharsu, who has served as a patrolman for 14 years, will fill the vacancy created when Detective Tom Baker recently retired.
Police Chief Gordon Ellis also announced that Nico, a canine officer that has been with the department for seven years, will be retiring. Nico's replacement should be ready to go on duty in about a month, Ellis said.
Woman arraigned
YOUNGSTOWN -- Bernadette K. Hunter, 38, of Parkwood Avenue, was arraigned Monday in Youngstown Municipal Court on charges of felonious assault and domestic violence.
Hunter is accused of slashing her live-in boyfriend's face with a serrated knife and hitting him with her car.
Police reports say the matter occurred during an argument over money around 3 a.m. Saturday in the 600 block of Griffith Street. The report states the two were riding in a car when Hunter cut her boyfriend. After he left the car, she reportedly turned the vehicle around and chased him, striking him in the right leg.
Hunter later filed two police reports alleging that her boyfriend struck her over the head with a glass as she sat in her car earlier in the day and that he cut her. She received stitches for a cut on her wrist after being arrested around 9:15 a.m. Saturday. Her hearing is set for April 16.
Trafficking charge
YOUNGSTOWN -- Tommy Jones, 25, of East Delason Avenue, was charged with trafficking in cocaine during an arraignment Monday in Youngstown Municipal Court.
Jones was arrested around 11:35 p.m. Saturday on an outstanding warrant for not wearing a seat belt after police conducted a traffic stop on the car in which he was riding.
He was charged with trafficking in cocaine after police found two clear plastic bags containing several smaller bags with suspected crack cocaine hidden under the rear seat of the cruiser in which he was transported.
Patrol cars are searched each time someone is placed in the rear seat. A hearing is set for April 22.
Economic seminar set
HOWLAND -- "Financial Responsibility in an Age of Easy Credit" is the topic of discussion for area high school students participating in the Economic Education Seminar sponsored by the Industrial Information Institute for Education.
Dr. Phillip Saunders, professor emeritus of economics at Indiana University, will present the seminar April 17 at the Avalon Inn.
Students and teachers from Columbiana, Mahoning, Mercer and Trumbull counties participate in the seminar. Business, industry and education representatives from Institute member companies also will attend the event and contribute to the discussion that follows Saunders' presentation.
The seminar is planned by the Institute's economic education committee. Dr. Teresa M. Riley, professor of economics, Youngstown State University, is committee chairwoman. Registration deadline is Thursday. Call the institute for additional information at (330) 742-2314.
Man injured in crash
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 27-year-old South Side man was in critical condition late this morning at St. Elizabeth Health Center after a motorcycle crash on U.S. Route 62, says information from police and hospital personnel.
John Horkey, of Powers Way, crashed his motorcycle into a guardrail near the Himrod Avenue overpass about 6 p.m. Monday, police reports show. Witnesses told police he was traveling at a high rate of speed before losing control on a curve. He came to rest on the east side of the road while the motorcycle landed on the west side.