911 cell-phone calls

911 cell-phone calls
WARREN -- The Ohio State Highway Patrol has agreed to continue handling cellular 911 phone calls in Trumbull County, at least for now.
The patrol will answer 911 calls picked up by several cell phone towers under construction. Where to route these calls had been a matter of dispute between Trumbull County 911 and the patrol.
The two agencies have agreed that the issue should be discussed again if 911 is able to recall employees in the future, said 911 director Tim Gladis.
OSHP answers more than 20,000 emergency cell phone calls from Trumbull County each year, only a few of which are for the traffic and accident investigation services the agency provides. Most callers are transferred to Trumbull County 911.
Warren fire probed
WARREN -- City firefighters are investigating a blaze that broke out at a home at 240 Charles St. S.E. this morning.
Firefighters said the fire started around 5:43 a.m. on the front porch of the two-story wooden-frame home.
The home, which was vacant, is owned by Scott Nevel of Youngstown. Firefighters Randy Stelk injured his back while fighting the fire. The estimated loss to the house is $25,000, firefighters said.
Road closing
HOWLAND -- Lanes will be closed on state Route 82 between Howland-Wilson Road and East Market Street from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday as Ohio Department of Maintenance crews repair the pavement. The road also was closed today.
Traffic will be maintained in both directions during repairs.
Donation to agency
LIBERTY -- Liberty High School's Student Government Association and its adviser, Louise Mason, have donated $2,500 to Northeast Ohio Adoption Services of Warren. The students raised the money through a variety of events.
They voted to donate the money to support NOAS, an agency that finds adoptive homes for school-aged kids. There are more than 6,000 children waiting for homes in Ohio, the NOAS says.
Niles mayor selectssafety-service director
NILES -- Mayor Ralph A. Infante named Maurice Guarino as the city's new safety director.
Guarino began his new job duties Wednesday, but his pay -- $1,255 a month -- will not take effect until Monday. As safety director, Guarino will primarily oversee operations for the police and fire departments.
Guarino takes over for Donald Allen, who has served as both safety and service director for Niles since the death last February of Samuel Natoli. Allen was the safety director, but then assumed duties of both jobs, receiving $3,508 per month.
Allen will continue his city employment as service director, in which he helps manage operations in almost all city departments, excluding safety forces.
Last year, Infante had pledged to pick a new service director by the end of the year, but he decided later to keep the posts combined, because the city was saving more than $15,000 in salaries.
FTA will decidefate of transit system
NILES -- The fate of a countywide demand-response busing system is back in the hands of a federal organization.
The Federal Transit Authority will hear both sides of the argument over the proposed Niles-Trumbull Transit System and render a decision.
The FTA ruled earlier that local officials were responsible for ruling on a bid protest from the Western Reserve Transit Authority in Youngstown. After denying the protest last week, WRTA filed an appeal this week, which sends the case back to the FTA.
The NTTS has yet to begin operations, though Niles and other communities in Trumbull County have secured funding and federal approval for a one-year pilot program.
WRTA, which operates a fixed-route busing system in Mahoning and portions of Trumbull counties, filed the complaint, saying NTTS has a conflict of interest with Community Busing Service, the lowest bidder on the project, and failed to provide WRTA with enough information to provide a competitive bid.
There is no timetable for when the FTA will rule on the issue.