Ticking turtle

Ticking turtle
SALEM -- Call it the case of the ticking turtle.
Police were contacted about 2:43 p.m. Monday by a man visiting the area from Portugal.
He said he was in a bar on East State Street when a peddler came in, selling toy turtles.
The peddler demonstrated the battery-operated devices, which moved about when activated.
One of the turtles, however, didn't move. It just ticked, which alarmed the Portuguese man, who feared it might be a bomb.
He left the business and called police, who investigated and learned that the ticking turtle wasn't a bomb. Its battery was low, which caused it to emit the bomblike noise.
Police ordered the peddler to get a soliciting permit and thanked the foreigner for his "attention to detail in a terrorist-filled world."
$2,000 missing
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Police say about $2,000 is still missing from two money bags taken from a food delivery truck. It is believed the money was scattered along the city's south side during a police chase and picked up by bystanders.
Shawn Book, 26, of Rose Avenue faces charges of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property. Police said Thomas Morgan of Ellwood City had parked his Beatrice Foods truck at Cascade Express on Moravia Street, when he saw a man running off with two money bags from his vehicle at 2 p.m. Friday. Morgan chased the man, whom police caught later in the Reynolds Street and Long Avenue area. Police recovered only about $118.
Apartment burglary
SALEM -- An apartment in the 170 block of Jennings Avenue was burglarized, police said.
Stolen were a bicycle, knickknacks and a video game. The break-in occurred sometime Sunday.
Car vandalized
SALEM -- Someone shattered the driver's side window of a car parked in the 400 block of East School Avenue, police said. The crime was reported about 4:41 a.m. today.
Fire hydrant flushing
SALEM -- The city utilities department is flushing fire hydrants, a task that will continue periodically for the next few weeks.
During the flushing, city water customers may notice discolored water coming from their faucets.
The discoloration should last only a short time. But while it is present, people are advised not to wash clothes.
Salem road closing
SALEM -- The city is closing a section of Cunningham Road from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Wednesday to allow for tree removal. Cunningham will be blocked off from Butcher Road to the city limits.
Man charged again
YOUNGSTOWN -- Donald E. White, 46, of South Lundy Lane, Salem, who police said has 11 convictions for driving under suspension, was charged again with DUS on Saturday afternoon. Officers checking the Ohio Department of Natural Resources parking lot and woods east of West Avenue spotted feet hanging out of a 1994 Chevrolet Blazer as they approached. White told police that he has no valid license and acknowledged that he drove his wife's Blazer from Salem to Youngstown. White and his female passenger told police they bought crack and went into the park area to smoke it, reports show.
Accident at WTI
EAST LIVERPOOL -- A Waste Technologies Industries spokesman said the company is reviewing safety procedures after an employee working for a subcontractor was burned.
Raymond Wayne of WTI said officials are investigating the accident.
The injured worker, who remains unidentified, was taken by helicopter to West Penn Burn Unit in Pittsburgh after the accident, which occurred about 7 p.m. Sunday.
Wayne said WTI has been on a routine maintenance shutdown.
He said the subcontractor's employee was working on a boiler and fell into a hopper that contained ash.
An East Liverpool Fire Department spokesman said the man burned his hands and feet after falling from scaffolding.