Road-work alert

Road-work alert
RAVENNA -- The Ohio Department of Transportation is advising motorists of ongoing projects this weekend in Trumbull and Mahoning counties. Interstate 80 over the Meander Reservoir will have lane closures in both directions today from 8 a.m. to noon. Also, beginning Monday, traffic signal work will be done on state Route 7 and Warren-Sharon Road in Brookfield, starting at 8 a.m. When necessary, traffic will be maintained by flaggers.
Grant for security
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County has received a $167,905 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice and Ohio Emergency Management Agency for homeland security programs. The money is for equipment for responding to cases involving weapons of mass destruction. It's part of $1.5 million the federal government allocated to Ohio for homeland security.
Water advisory lifted
MINERAL RIDGE -- A boil-water alert for residents on Winslow Drive and Cedarwood Drive has been lifted.
The water department has announced that the water is not contaminated and is safe to consume. The advisory was issued Wednesday because the line in the area had to be shut done to make a connection.
Fricano gets OK
LISBON -- The Ohio Secretary of State's office recently approved the appointment of Alfred Fricano to the Columbiana County Board of Elections.
Fricano was nominated in September by the county Republican Party.
The party made the nomination because Fricano is replacing Republican election board member G. Allen Dickey, 72, who died in August.
Fricano, 65, a certified public accountant from East Liverpool, will finish the remainder of Dickey's four-year term, which was to expire in February 2004.
The owner of A.S. Fricano & amp; Co., an accounting firm, Fricano has served nearly a decade as the county party's treasurer.
Window damaged
CAMPBELL -- A 33-year-old Bright Avenue woman reported to city police that her front window was damaged by a BB gunshot between 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
Overpayment found
HARRISBURG -- An audit revealed that the Laurel School District received $3,200 more than it was due in state funds for the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 school years, according to Pennsylvania Auditor General Robert P. Casey Jr. Errors in pupil reports resulted in the reimbursement overpayment, Casey said.
The reports overstated the number of nonresidents, understated residents and incorrectly reported a foreign exchange student, he said. The overpayment should be corrected in future allocations, Casey said. An audit of the Neshannock School District found accurate records for the same time period.
Clothing drive
CORTLAND -- The Rotary Club of Cortland will sponsor its annual Poorest of the Poor clothing drive from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 2 in the Lakeview High School parking lot. All new and used clothing will be accepted, and contributors are asked to bring clothing in boxes or bags.
Kmart Corp. has donated the use of a tractor-trailer and driver to haul the clothing to impoverished areas of the United States and South America. For each box or bag of clothing donated that day, a door prize ticket will be issued.
The more boxes or bags of clothing donated, the more door prize tickets issued. A weekend trip for two, valued at more than $300, will be given away at the end of the day.
Call Tom Stith at (330) 637-5614 or e-mail him at tstith853@aol.com for more information about how to help.
Penn State land deal
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Penn State University would take ownership of 950 acres of state game land near State College in exchange for a parcel to be named later under a deal with the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
The commission approved the swap Tuesday, turning over title of State Game Lands 176 to the university. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which helped the state buy the property, also must sign off on the deal.
Penn State has leased the property, in Patton Township near the Toftrees community, since 1971 for use in recycling university waste. The deal calls for Penn State to keep the land open for hunting, trapping and recreation for at least 25 years and gives the game commission the right of first refusal should Penn State decide to sell the land.
In exchange, Penn State has agreed to buy $8.2 million worth of land that it will deed to the game commission.