East Palestine cancels cleanup

East Palestinecancels cleanup
EAST PALESTINE -- City officials have canceled citywide cleanup for 2003 as a cost-saving measure. City council discussed offering the service to residents at a nominal fee but opted instead to have the cleanup every other year. City Manager Gary Clark said disposing of residents' unwanted household items at no cost to residents costs the city about $6,000 annually. Some council members said some residents abuse the service by charging others to pick up the unwanted items and then leaving them for the city to haul away. City Finance Director Connie Robinson said the city will have about a $300,000 shortfall at the end of 2002, mostly because of decreased income tax collections.
Loan refinancing
EAST PALESTINE -- City officials will refinance the remainder of a 40-year U.S. Department of Agriculture loan taken in 1991 for sewer renovation work, saving about $16,000 annually. Council members said City Manager Gary Clark and City Finance Director Connie Robinson will process the paperwork. Robinson said the city has about $2.6 million remaining on the loan to be paid over 29 years. The city pays about $168,000 per year on the loan at 7 percent interest. Representatives of Crews & amp; Associates Inc., a Maryland-based banking and investments firm, has proposed to refinance the loan through the sale of bonds at interest rates likely to range from 2 percent to 5 percent through 2031. If interest rates remain favorable, the firm will begin selling bonds in about 30 days.
Bridge to be closed
PULASKI, Pa. -- Nashua Bridge on Nashua Road will be closed from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday for repairs.
Woman burned
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Ethel Johnson of 810 McGrath Ave. suffered burns on her face and hands about 4:30 a.m. today after the oxygen tank she uses to help her breathe caught fire as she was lighting a cigarette. Fire Chief James Donston said it appeared that the tubing on the oxygen tank flashed from the cigarette lighter flame, he said. There was no damage to the house, Donston said. Johnson was transported to Jameson Hospital. Her condition and age were not available this morning.
Westminster speaker
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- Werner Fornos, CEO of the Population Institute and an internationally recognized authority on issues of world population growth, will speak at 7 p.m. Nov. 19 at the Hoyt Science Resources Center at Westminster College. His speech, "Population and the Next Generation: Youth and Adolescence," will cover a range of issues, including: environmental degradation and global climate change; maternal and child health care; socio-economic underdevelopment; global security and terrorism; hunger, poverty, and literacy; and women's empowerment. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (724) 946-7123 or e-mail mannjt@westminster.edu.
Fire guts garage
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Fire of undetermined origin gutted a garage attached to a home at 1989 Highland Road. Firefighters got the call at 3:40 p.m. Monday and were able to confine most of the damage to the garage at the home of Benjamin Blaire. There was fire damage to the wall between the house and the garage and the house suffered smoke damage, firefighters said. There were no injuries.
Lost loved ones
YOUNGSTOWN -- People who have lost loved ones to homicide are invited to a session focusing on overcoming the loss.
Yvonne Pointer-Triplett of Cleveland will speak from 3 to 6 p.m. Nov. 23 at Oak Hill Renaissance Place on "Pain to Power." Comfort Ministry of Youngstown is sponsoring the event. Tickets are $5 and are available at L.E. Black, Phillips & amp; Holden Funeral Home.
Pointer-Triplett's 14-year-old daughter, Gloria, was killed in 1984. Pointer-Triplett is the author of "Beyond the Death of a Child."