Council to boost control over development

Council to boost controlover development
CANFIELD -- City council is working on regulations that would give it more control over industrial development while also giving developers more leeway.
Mayor Lee Frey said council is revising ordinances that would allow for the creation of industrial planned unit developments in the city. Under the ordinances, developers would have to seek council's approval of industrial facilities that are built in planned unit developments. Zoning only requires developers to meet minimum standards for construction.
Developers constructing industrial facilities in a planned unit development wouldn't have to meet minimum zoning standards as long as the facility is approved by council.
Frey said council voted against the ordinances after some local developers expressed concerns at a meeting Wednesday. He said their concerns will be used to revise the ordinances for future consideration by council.
Garden Party planned
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Garden Party, sponsored by Jubilee Gardens, a community garden program of the Second Harvest Food Bank, is from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday at 150 Lafayette St. (in the city's Brier Hill section) between Wirt Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Visitors will have a chance to not only see the garden, but also talk to gardeners and share gardening tips. Food will be provided by the Ohio State University Extension Office, Jubilee Garden Volunteers and Great Harvest Bread Co.
Boy in critical condition
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Police said a 7-year-old Masury boy was in critical condition this morning at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh with injuries sustained in a one-car accident on Lynnwood Drive.
Aaron Brooks of Columbia Street was a passenger in a car driven by his grandmother, Barbara Swartz, 54, of McConnell Road, New Wilmington, which veered off the roadway and struck a utility pole around 8:45 a.m. Thursday.
Aaron suffered head injuries and was first taken to UPMC Horizon in Farrell before being flown to Pittsburgh.
Police to charge teen
SHARON, Pa. -- Police said they will file charges against a sixth juvenile involved in a fight at Freddie Fresh's, a teen club on West State Street.
The fight started around 10 p.m. Wednesday, prompting police to order the club to be closed for the night. Four girls and a boy between the ages of 13 and 17 were arrested Wednesday night on charges of riot, failure to disperse and disorderly conduct. Police said the sixth juvenile, a 16-year-old Farrell boy, will be charged in juvenile court with simple assault. He is one of the instigators in the fight, police said.
New fire chief
WARREN -- A 14-year member of the fire department has received a letter notifying him he would be named fire chief upon certification by the city's civil service commission.
Capt. Ken Nussle, 37, of Warren, said he received the letter but he declined to comment further until the commission certifies the results.
Firefighters reject report
SALEM -- City firefighters have rejected a fact-finding report stemming from stalled labor negotiations. The contract for 15 firefighters represented by the International Association of Firefighters Local 283 expired June 30.
Thursday's rejection means the issue will move next to binding arbitration unless the two parties can reach an agreement, Lt. Dave Slagle, a union spokesman, said today.
Firefighters rejected the report because of a staffing provision that they believe could leave shifts shorthanded and at risk, Slagle explained.
The fact finder recommended pay increases of 3 percent, 3.5 percent and 4 percent spread over a three-year period, according to the report, which was provided by the city administration through a public records request.
Police retrieve evidencein fatal shooting of dog
GIRARD -- Police have retrieved a bullet from a dog whose teenage owner watched her pet die after being shot.
The 16-year-old told police she was sitting on her front porch Wednesday evening when she heard what sounded like two firecrackers exploding.
She went to the back porch, where the pet was chained. It coughed blood, then died, she said.
Detective John Norman said the bullet is a .22-caliber. He has a suspect.