Thursday, October 24, 2002
Robbery case
NILES -- A Warren couple charged in an Oct. 11 convenience store robbery have been bound over to the Trumbull County grand jury.
Billy Z. Tayara, 23, of Porter Street waived his preliminary hearing Wednesday in municipal court on a charge of robbery.
His wife, Robin Wheeler, 21, waived her hearing to conspiracy to robbery.
Police said the couple robbed Dairy Mart, 419 S. Main St.
Accused in assault
NILES -- A Youngstown man accused of hitting a woman on the head with a rock has been bound over to the Trumbull County grand jury.
Terrence E. Barnett, 32, of Republic Way was arrested on a felonious assault charge earlier this month after a woman told police he hit her and dragged her in Weathersfield Township.
Barnett is free on $7,500 bond.
Cortland man remainsjailed in assault
NILES -- A Cortland man remains in the Trumbull County jail after a felonious assault charge was reduced to a misdemeanor assault charge.
Terrence A. Blackshere, 24, of Durst Clagg Road pleaded no contest to the reduced charge Wednesday in Niles Municipal Court and was found guilty, fined $500 and costs and sentenced to 180 days in jail.
The fine was suspended after he was deemed indigent and 90 days of the jail term was suspended. Fifteen days he has already served were credited to his sentence.
Blackshere was accused of throwing a bottle at a car on U.S. Route 422 , which broke a window and injured a baby with flying glass.
Girl reports assault
NILES -- A 12-year-old South Main Street girl told police she was assaulted by two teen-age girls while walking home from school on West Park Avenue Wednesday afternoon.
She said the girls said if she told anyone, they would beat her worse or kill her.
Plant site cleanup
WARREN -- City council approved legislation Wednesday for the administration to submit a grant application to the Ohio Department of Development to help with cleanup of the closed Mahoningside plant site.
The grant money from the Clean Ohio Fund approved by Ohio voters in 2000 would be used to remove contaminated soil at the Summit Street site and bring in clean soil to fill a hole left when a building was demolished.
Campaign signs
WARREN -- Law Director Greg Hicks is reminding political candidates and their workers of the city's restrictions on campaign signs.
There are restrictions on the size of signs and where they may be posted, he said at a city council meeting Wednesday.
Putting signs in the curb lawn, for example, isn't permitted, he said.
Milk contract awardedfor jail, justice center
WARREN -- A $18,000 contract to provide milk for inmates at the Trumbull County jail and the juvenile justice center was awarded by county commissioners Wednesday to Austintown Dairy.
This is the first time a formal contract for milk has been awarded by competitive bidding. Austintown Dairy already was selling milk to the jails, but at slightly higher prices, said Tony Carson Jr., county purchasing director.
The six-month contract will save the county about $500 over the price they are paying today, figures provided by Carson show.
Competitive bidding is generally required when the bill with a particular vendor or particular type of commodity is above $15,000.
J.L.Distributing of Wheatland, Pa., was the only other bidder.
Eat your veggies
GIRARD -- The board of education accepted an $80,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant Wednesday to promote healthful eating of fresh fruits and vegetables among pupils at Prospect Elementary School and the adjoining Girard Intermediate School.
The board also hired Rebecca Lester, a retired high school English teacher, as a part-time instructor of gifted pupils in grades six through eight at an annual salary of $26,200.