CANFIELD Council OKs fines, daytime curfew

The ordinance raises the starting point for overweight truck fines from $25 to $80.
CANFIELD -- City council has passed ordinances raising the base fine for overweight trucks and establishing a daytime curfew for school-age children.
The ordinance concerning overweight trucks raises the fine for the first ton of overload from $25 to $80, bringing the city's base fine into conformity with state law.
In a joint venture with Beaver Township and New Middletown, the city recently buy portable scales to weigh trucks, said city Manager Charles Tieche. "We are rotating their use within the communities to make sure that the vehicles going through our communities are in compliance with the weight statute," he explained.
Curfew: The daytime curfew law, which also passed Wednesday, says no minor between the ages of 6 and 17 may be at any place other than school or home during school hours unless the child has been excused from attending school.
The ordinance empowers police or school attendance officers who find children in violation to take them to school or home to their parents, and classifies the youthful violator as an unruly child subject to the jurisdiction of Mahoning County Juvenile Court.
The ordinance, recommended for passage by the police department, also calls for fines up to $100 for parents who fail to ensure their children's compliance with the law, with repeat offenses carrying up to a $250 fine and up to 30 days in jail.
Appropriations: Council also gave first reading to an ordinance setting this year's appropriations (projected spending) at $11,056,743, down $2,026,950 (15.5 percent) from last year. Appropriations were higher last year, largely because of capital projects, such as the widening of East Main Street, improvements around the Village Green and equipment replacements, which were completed last year, Tieche said.
Tieche urged city residents to remove grave decorations they wish to preserve from city cemeteries by March 15, after which cemetery workers will be removing and disposing of them.