Trade toys for pizza

Trade toys for pizza
SALEM -- The Salem Area Browns Backers is teaming with Domino's Pizza to aid Tod Children's Hospital in Youngstown.
Participants are asked to bring a boxed toy -- no stuffed animals -- to the Salem Domino's, 200 E. Second St., between noon and 3 p.m. Saturday.
Those who do will receive a coupon for a free pizza with the purchase of a regularly priced pizza.
Grave wreath stolen
SALEM -- A Boardman resident told city police that someone took a wreath from her father's grave, which she visits weekly.
The grave is in Hope Cemetery off North Lincoln Avenue. The theft was reported at 5:49 p.m. Tuesday.
Man crawls from wreck
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A city man escaped serious injury after his car flipped and caught fire. Pennsylvania State Police said Ralph A. Dovidio, 46, of Buena Vista Way, was traveling north on River Road, Taylor Township, at 3:30 p.m. Monday when his car went off the road and crashed into a boulder. Police said Dovidio crawled from the overturned wreckage, which had caught fire. He suffered cuts and bruises to his head and was wearing a seat belt, police said. Taylor Township Volunteer Fire Department put out the blaze.
Bridge to be replaced
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Lawrence County commissioners have hired a Tarentum, Pa., company to replace the Covert's Crossing Bridge, which sits on the border of Union and North Beaver townships.
Commissioners awarded the contract Tuesday for the work to Joseph B. Fay Co. on a bid of $2,498,944. County engineer Bill Humphrey said work will begin Dec.16 and take about nine months. The current wooden-deck bridge will be razed and a new steel structure built. Detours will be in place during construction, he said.
10 holiday fatalities
HARRISBURG -- Pennsylvania State Police reported that 10 people were killed and 521 others were injured in 1,375 crashes they investigated over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday.
State Police Commissioner Paul J. Evanko said two of those killed were not wearing seat belts and three fatalities were alcohol related. Of the total number of crashes, 78 were alcohol related. State police also issued 4,568 speeding citations, arrested 255 motorists for driving under the influence, cited 175 for not wearing seat belts and issued 13 citations for failing to secure children in safety seats. State police said the Thanksgiving holiday ran from Wednesday, Nov. 27, to Sunday, Dec. 1.
Board reorganizes
FARRELL, Pa. -- Lester Robinson Jr. was elected president of the Farrell Board of Education at its annual reorganization meeting. Past president Michael Wright will serve as vice president in the coming year. Board members agreed their meeting times and days would not change.
The school board meets at 7 p.m. the first Monday of each month for a work session. The regular meeting is held the second Monday of each month after an administrative meeting that begins at 7 p.m.
Center's name updated
YOUNGSTOWN -- The name of a Youngstown State University center has been changed to reflect the regional nature of its work. The Center for Urban Studies is now the Center for Urban and Regional Studies.
The center's director, Hunter Morrison, told university officials the center has served the Mahoning Valley region as a whole, and its mission has not been limited to providing assistance to only urban centers such as Youngstown and Warren.
He also said recent research suggests that developmental issues in the Valley are regional in nature, pointing out sprawl, tax-base sharing and equity of investment.
Recycling-litter grant
WARREN -- The Geauga-Trumbull Solid Waste Management District has received a $162,725 grant to develop or strengthen local recycling and litter prevention programs.
The grant is part of $6.9 million distributed to 96 communities statewide by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. This is the seventh year the grant has been awarded to the local agency.