Poisonous snake

Poisonous snake
BAZETTA -- No charges are being considered against a 16-year-old who told police he captured a poisonous snake in his grandmother's basement.
Officers discovered Thursday that the rattlesnake was actually bought over the Internet.
Police Chief Bob Jacola said the Ohio Wildlife Division is investigating if the snake is on the endangered species list.
Fire destroys vehicles
GUSTAVUS -- Volunteers from nine township fire departments spent nearly four hours fighting a fire Thursday night that destroyed a large vehicle storage garage near 5540 Davis Peck Road N.E.
Damage was estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, Gustavus Fire Department officials said.
The structure contained a dump truck, two bulldozers, a backhoe, camper and two tractors, all of which were destroyed.
An investigation continues.
Injured in crash
BLOOMFIELD -- Bad weather this morning prevented a helicopter from delivering a woman injured in an accident on state Route 87 to a hospital, officials said.
A utility pole was knocked down in the 7:45 a.m. accident.
Rescue workers found the vehicle overturned, with the woman hanging from her seat belt.
She was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center by ambulance after the Cleveland-based helicopter was forced to turn down the call.
The woman was in guarded condition this morning.
Generosity redefinedfor Salem schoolboy
SALEM -- A West Fifth Street woman asked police to talk with her 8-year-old son about generosity gone awry.
The boy stole $500 from his mother and took most of it to Buckeye Elementary School on Wednesday, where he began to give it away to classmates, police said.
School officials stopped the handouts and recovered $425.
The boy told authorities he spent $75 on gum.
Police talked to the youngster about stealing and even showed him a jail cell.
Downtown discussion
WARREN -- A meeting for downtown business and property owners is set for 8 a.m. Tuesday on the second floor of the Hippodrome, 150 High St.
Mike Keys, director of Warren Redevelopment and Planning Corp., said the meeting will include time for questions and open discussion of concerns. He will give an update of downtown projects, including Riverwalk and Robins Theater.
Refreshments will be served.
Call Keys at (330) 841-2566 or Jim Cicchillo at (330) 219-2577.
Taft in Austintown
AUSTINTOWN -- Gov. Bob Taft is to appear at a ceremony Saturday to recognize members of the Ohio Army National Guard's 838th Military Police Co. for their airport security.
The ceremony will be from 10 a.m. to noon in Austintown Middle School, 5800 Mahoning Ave.
The 838th has been performing airport security since October and has been reassigned to active duty.
Major Gen. Paul Sullivan, assistant adjutant general for air, is also to be at the ceremony.
Exotic pet violation
YOUNGSTOWN -- City police found an 18-foot Burmese python and an 8-foot boa constrictor in a Tod Lane home Thursday morning.
The 48-year-old resident, who told officers he bought the snakes in Trumbull County, was cited for violating a city ordinance prohibiting the keeping of exotic pets.
2 girls face chargesin confrontations
YOUNGSTOWN -- Two girls face charges after confrontations in school Thursday.
A 12-year-old Jackson Elementary School pupil is charged with disorderly conduct. Authorities say the girl swore, spit, scratched, punched and kicked when a teacher tried to escort her out of a classroom, where she was being disciplined for refusing to sit in her seat.
The girl was suspended from school and taken home to her mother.
A 14-year-old was arrested in an assault on a teacher at Choffin Alternative School. She is accused of kicking a teacher in the groin, police reports show.
That struggle began when the girl, the teacher and a deputy sheriff argued over her going into a timeout room. The deputy took her to the juvenile center.