Family of five is left homeless after fire

Family of five is lefthomeless after fire
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A weekend fire left a family of five homeless. A blaze started at 1:08 a.m. Saturday in a third-floor closet of 225 E. Boyles Ave., said Fire Chief James Donston. There was smoke and water damage through the entire house, Donston said. Owner Tina Mason and four others got out safely, he said. Donston said they don't believe the fire was suspicious but were still investigating its cause this morning. The chief said the family planned to stay with relatives.
Man arrested followingWest Boston incident
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 30-year-old Youngstown man was to be arraigned today in municipal court on charges of felonious assault, child endangerment and resisting arrest. Police said George E. Wright III of Almyra Avenue shot twice at a Campbell woman outside his home around 9:30 p.m. Friday, then held officers at bay with a rifle on the porch of a West Boston Avenue home with his 2-year-old daughter at his side. Wright surrendered after several minutes, then refused to cooperate with officers as they handcuffed him, police said.
Accidental shootinginjures 15-year-old boy
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 15-year-old Brookline Avenue boy accidentally shot himself in the right ankle on Norwood Avenue, police said. The boy said he found the gun Friday with two friends in a wooded area near Hayes Middle School, police said. But the two friends said the boy brought the gun with him and was showing it off when it fired around 6 p.m. The gun wasn't recovered. The boys said they got rid of it after the accidental shooting, police said.
Fate of plaque
ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) -- The fate of a Ten Commandments plaque that used to hang in Altoona's municipal building remains undecided months after city council created a committee in hopes that it would find an appropriate solution. Members of the city's Heritage Room Committee say they are still looking for a way to rehang the plaque without triggering a lawsuit from groups that consider it an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion.
Last week, the committee was still checking on the possibility of hanging the plaque at a private organization or business. Committee Chairman Ray Voltz, a former mayor, said he thinks the display could be put up as a historical artifact.
The plaque was taken down at the request of the Jewish family that donated it to the city in 1926.
Police raid cockfight
READING, Pa. (AP) -- Dozens of police and other law enforcement officials raided a Berks County chicken farm and arrested 38 people attending a cockfight, authorities said. Two dozen county detectives, 16 deputy sheriffs, 12 state troopers, six liquor control board officers, a state police helicopter and three officials from the Animal Rescue League took part in the raid and arrests.
After receiving a tip, authorities went to Ben M. Reed's farm in Upper Tulpehocken Township around 7 p.m. Saturday and found spectators watching two roosters gouging each other with plastic spurs, authorities said. Police said they paid $15 to get into the event, which offered beer and food for sale and had bleachers set up to watch the fight. People could place bets on the birds, which fought to the death, police said. All those taken into custody were to be charged with cruelty to animals, police said.
The Animal Rescue League seized 20 roosters; two were found dead.