KSU classes resume

KSU classes resume
SALEM -- Classes are to resume today at Kent State University's Salem campus after a power outage prompted the campus's closing Monday. Power was interrupted when a transformer within the university's electrical system malfunctioned, a KSU spokesman said this morning. It's unclear what caused the transformer to fail.
Salem power outage
SALEM -- Police reported that power was knocked out on the city's north side. The outage occurred about 1:44 p.m. Monday. Power was restored about 3 p.m. The interruption affected traffic lights and necessitated putting flares on roads to guide motorists, police said. The outage was caused when a storm moved through the area and brought a line down, affecting about 800 customers, an Ohio Edison spokeswoman said this morning.
Items stolen from van
SALEM -- A woman told police that someone stole her purse, briefcase and a diaper bag from her van while it was parked in her driveway on the 200 block of West 16th Street. The theft occurred around 11 p.m. Saturday. It was reported around 2:15 p.m. Monday.
Hired to maintain buses
SALEM -- The city school board hired a person to maintain its bus fleet. Thomas Mather will do the job for an annual salary of $39,900, the school board decided Monday. Mather, who will start later this month, now works as a mechanic for a transportation company in Mahoning County. He was hired as part of a cost-saving plan to bring bus maintenance and storage in-house.
Buses previously were stored and maintained by a private company. They are now parked at the high school. The district is scouting for a place to house its buses permanently, Superintendent Dr. David Brobeck said.
Child car seat checks
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Child car seat checks will be done from noon to 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Pennsylvania State Police New Castle barracks on Pa. Route 18. People are asked to bring the vehicle's owner's manual, child car seat and instructions, some towels and child. State police say that 80 percent of all child car seats are improperly installed.
Preserving farmland
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- Three Pennsylvania counties have nationally ranked farm preservation programs based on the total number of acres they preserve, according to a new report.
The Farmland Preservation Report, a national newsletter published in Maryland, ranks Lancaster County as second in the nation, with 56,708 acres preserved. Chester County is in third place, with 46,416 acres preserved, and Berks County has preserved 35,792 acres to earn a seventh-place ranking, according to the report.
The report ranks Montgomery County, Md., in first place, with 59,415 preserved acres.
The Farmland Preservation Report, which monitors preservation initiatives, is published by Bowers Publishing Inc. of Street, Md.
Increased traffic patrols
NILES -- During August, police will increase the number of patrols to target drunken and impaired drivers. Using state funds from the Trumbull County DUI Task Force, officers will focus their efforts on various roads in the city. Officers also will conduct extra traffic enforcement patrols each weekend, citing all violations, but specifically speeding, seat-belt and child-restraint violations. That program is funded by the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, Governor's Highway Safety Office.
Islam is program topic
YOUNGSTOWN -- Islam will be discussed during a Creative Retirement Opportunities that Work program at Youngstown State University 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 13. The seminar in Kilcawley Center on campus will focus on history, art, architecture, religion and practices of Islam. Lecturers include Mustansir Mir, YSU professor of Islamic Studies; Stephanie Smith, YSU assistant professor of art; and Imam Dawud Abdullah from the Youngstown Islamic Center.
Cost is $67 per person and includes lunch.
The CROW program began in 1999 and is part of YSU's Center for Creative Retirement. Call (330) 965-5800.