WEATHERSFIELD TOWNSHIP Police get a chance to receive new cruiser

An open house is scheduled for Nov. 20.
By MARY SMITH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MINERAL RIDGE -- The Weathersfield Township Police Department is one of 20 statewide in the running for a new $30,000 cruiser.
Police Chief Joseph Consiglio told trustees Tuesday the department was selected by the Governor's Highway Safety Office for a drawing based on its record of arrests for seat-belt violations and drunken driving.
Two cruisers will be given away. Departments that don't win the cruisers will receive a laser radar system worth $5,000.
The selection will be made in game-show style. Representative officers will get a key to a car, and if they match the key to the right car, the department will receive the car.
Consiglio said the department will go to the drawing in Columbus on Tuesday.
Graffiti on property
Also at Tuesday's meeting, Trustee-elect John Vogel brought pictures of graffiti painted on the old Scandals nightspot on U.S. Route 422, including a crudely drawn Nazi swastika and a devil worship symbol.
He said the building is surrounded by debris.
Zoning inspector Sherry Craver said she has checked into the matter, but nothing has been done because the property is in foreclosure and the owners owe $15,000 in back taxes. If the owners cannot afford to pay the taxes, how can they afford to clean up the site, she asked.
Other residents asked why township street signs are always missing. Administrator David Pugh replied that the road crew puts up 15 to 20 new road signs every six months and the signs are being sold not for scrap metal, as one resident suggested, but because of the name on the sign.
People take them and put them up in their homes, he said.
Open house set
Trustees announced an open house at the administration building for 5 to 7 p.m. Nov. 20. There will be no formal presentation, but representatives from the Trumbull County Engineer's Office will bring maps and data to explain plans for upgrading Niles-Carver Road and Salt Springs Road.
The township is taking out a 10-year state Issue 2 loan for $157,000 for the project. Contracts are likely to be awarded in the spring. MS Consultants of Youngstown is doing the design work.
Fire Chief Randy Pugh told trustees that township firefighters and employees who took a day off work spoke with 385 pupils at Seaborn Elementary in fire safety. He said the program was paid for by the National Fire Safety Council, and the department had enough funds left over from last year to cover the expense of this year's program, with no money needed from the township.
Trustees approved the use of a fire vehicle to transport Santa Claus from the township administration building to Station 41 on state Route 46 on Dec. 6. Chief Pugh said children will meet with Santa at the station from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and can have their pictures taken with him. The event is sponsored by the Mineral Ridge Firemen's Association.
Trustees also changed the date of their next regular meeting from Dec. 9 to Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. A caucus is scheduled for 10 a.m. Dec. 8.