South Sider robbed

South Sider robbed
YOUNGSTOWN -- A South Side woman gave $80 to a man who held a gun to her back as she took out the trash, she told city police.
The woman, 47, said she was taking out trash on Almyra Avenue about 7:30 p.m. Saturday when she heard five or six gunshots before someone came up to her from behind and demanded money. She reported the robbery Sunday .
Man reports abduction
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Niles man making a pay telephone call on the city's South Side was ordered at knifepoint to give up his car keys and get into his car, beginning an eight-hour abduction during which he was held in a home while his kidnappers smoked crack cocaine, according to reports.
The 27-year-old man told city police he was using a phone at Woodland Avenue and Hillman Street about 6:15 p.m. Friday when he was approached by two men in their mid- to late-20s, police reports show. He said they asked for a ride and, when he refused, they forced him into the back seat of the car, telling him to cover his eyes before they took his glasses. He said he was told he would be fine if he behaved.
After the ordeal, he said, the men took him in a different car to drop him off in an unidentified location. Police said the man's story changed often and that he told them he was driving from Austintown to Niles but had no explanation for how he came to stop at the phone.
Restaurant fire
AUSTINTOWN -- Fire officials believe an electrical problem in a neon sign sparked a fire at Antonio's restaurant Sunday afternoon. The front facade of the business at Raccoon and Pembrook roads was damaged, but there was minimal damage to the interior of the building, fire officials said. There were no injuries.
Springfield trustees
NEW SPRINGFIELD -- Springfield Township trustees will have a special meeting at 8 p.m. Thursday at the township building to discuss, among other issues, rescue truck bids and office equipment purchases for the township building.
Burglary charge
BOARDMAN -- A 35-year-old Youngstown man accused of forcibly entering a home here Sunday has been charged with felony burglary and misdemeanor failure to comply.
Police reports say Robert L. Scott of Clarencedale Avenue, Youngstown, threatened a 55-year-old Westview Drive woman, then entered her home through a window. Reports say Scott then left the house and was picked up by police down the street. Reports say Scott was not armed.
Bids for prison work
YOUNGSTOWN -- State officials are seeking bids for construction of new outdoor recreation facilities at the Ohio State Penitentiary on Coitsville-Hubbard Road.
The facilities are being upgraded because of a lawsuit filed last year by the American Civil Liberties Union, which said conditions of the recreation facilities at the supermaximum-security prison violate inmates' constitutional rights. Bids are being sought by the Ohio Department of Administrative Services through Oct. 9.
Woman sues company
YOUNGSTOWN -- A city woman has sued a Canton company that she says made her sick when it sprayed pesticide at the building where she once worked.
Pennie Klein of North Kimberly Avenue filed the suit in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court against Aid Pest Control of Canton and several chemical companies.
The suit says Klein became seriously ill and had to be hospitalized after pesticide was sprayed at the FedEx Express office in Akron, where she worked in September 2000. She is seeking at least $25,000 in damages.