Bomb threat at school

Bomb threat at school
EAST PALESTINE -- Students and personnel were evacuated from the high school about 11 a.m. Tuesday after a threatening note was found in the boys bathroom.
The note claimed the school would blow up at 12:45 p.m., police Sgt. Bernard Doran said this morning. Police searched the building but found no explosive device.
Police suspect an unnamed high school boy pulled the prank. No suspect is in custody.
Crime watch meeting
NORTH LIMA -- The next Beaver Township crime watch meeting will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the activity center of Shepherd of the Valley, 9111 Sharrott Road. It is open to the public.
Postmaster Bill Saltsman from the North Lima Post Office will speak on packaging for the holidays, holiday mailing, the overall operations of the post office, including how addresses are established. Local crime statistics and holiday safety tips will also be discussed.
Party to benefit fire crew
HILLSVILLE, Pa. -- A NASCAR party will begin at noon Sundayat the Mahoning Township Community Building on U.S. Route 224.
Food and beverages will be provided and races will be shown on a big-screen TV. There also will be door prizes.
The $12 admission fee will benefit the Mahoning Township Volunteer Fire Department.
Man charged in robbery
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- City police arrested one man and are searching for a second man accused in an armed robbery at a home.
Police said a 24-year-old woman on Montgomery Avenue told them when she answered a knock at her door at 1 p.m. Monday there were two men with a gun.
They demanded cash and emptied $56 from her purse, police said. The men drove off in a blue Ford Taurus.
Police said Jacob Barnes, 20, of South Jefferson Street was arrested and charged with robbery, burglary, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, recklessly endangering another person and carrying a firearm without a license. Police are still trying to identify the second man.
Foundation supportsdomestic violence shelter
MERCER, Pa. -- The Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation is helping support a county shelter for women who are victims of domestic violence.
The foundation has given a $5,000 grant to Alternatives for Women: Advocacy, Resources and Education (AWARE) to help finance the local agency's shelter.
AWARE is one of 51 domestic violence shelters across the United States to get a grant from the Texas-based foundation this year.
The foundation was created in 1996 to fund research of cancers affecting women. It expanded its mission in 2000 to include the prevention of violence against women. Since then, it has given out more than $1 million in grants to women's shelters across the country.
Ex-prison official honored
MERCER, Pa. -- Legislation naming the access road to the State Regional Correctional Facility at Mercer after longtime prison superintendent Gilbert A. Walters has been signed into law.
Act 32 of 2003 recognizes Walters' 36 years of service in the corrections field, including nearly 20 years of running the minimum security prison here. The previously unnamed access road links the prison with Pa. Route 258.
Walters received the Pennsylvania Prison Wardens Association's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999.
He began his career as a corrections counselor at Eastern State Penitentiary and served as superintendent at the State Correctional Institution at Pittsburgh before coming to Mercer. He retired Jan. 31 of this year.
Fund-raising event
HOWLAND -- The Howland Tiger Booster Club will host a Night at the Races fund-raising event Saturday in Leo's Ristorante. Proceeds support Howland athletic programs.
Doors open for a reception at 6 p.m., followed by dinner, charity races, silent auction and dancing. Tickets are available from booster club members at $20.