School bus crash

School bus crash
SEBRING -- Ten to 15 youths were being treated this morning at Alliance Community Hospital after an accident involving a West Branch school bus and a tractor-trailer, police said.
The accident happened about 8:30 a.m. on Bandy Road, north of West Middletown Road near Sebring.
An Ohio State Highway Patrol dispatcher said late this morning that the injuries appeared minor but she had no other details.
The state patrol and Smith Township police were investigating.
A hospital spokesman couldn't be reached to comment late this morning.
Child safety seat check
BOARDMAN -- The Mahoning Valley SAFE KIDS Coalition will team with Greenwood Chevrolet to sponsor a child safety seat check from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at Babies "R" Us on Doral Drive here.
Technicians will check the seats for proper installation. Each check takes about 20 minutes.
Reservations must be made by calling the Safe Kids Coalition at (330) 884-4031.
Dem director named
COLUMBUS -- The Ohio Democratic Party hired Dan Trevas, a former Statehouse correspondent for The Vindicator and Dix Newspapers, as its new communications director, effective Sept. 22.
Trevas, 38, spent a decade as an Ohio Statehouse reporter before being hired in November 2001 as communications director for the Columbus City Council.
"Dan brings a tremendous amount of communications experience and knowledge of Ohio politics to the position," said Dennis L. White, Ohio Democratic Party chairman. "He will help us effectively communicate the continuing successes Democrats are making in Ohio."
Trevas received a bachelor's degree in journalism from Ohio University in 1987, and a master's degree in journalism from Ohio University in 1999. He lives in Columbus with his wife, Robin.
4 firefighters hired
COITSVILLE -- Township trustees hired four auxiliary firefighters during a special meeting Wednesday. Before hiring them, trustees voted to eliminate residency requirements for safety-service personnel.
Firefighters hired are Donald Lisowski, Karen Davis and Dan Maloney, all of Coitsville, and Terry J. Gigax of Campbell.
Purse-snatching injury
STRUTHERS -- An 85-year-old woman suffered minor injuries when her purse was snatched in the parking lot of Nemenz IGA on Creed Street about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. A witness who tried to help also suffered a minor injury.
The assailant is described as a stocky white woman in her late 40s weighing about 180 pounds. She had graying dark hair that hung below her shoulders and was wearing a pink shirt. She rode off in a white car driven by a dark-haired white man with a dark mustache.
The victim and witness refused medical treatment.
Bridge replacement set
WARREN -- Trumbull County commissioners have approved an $82,000 contract for the emergency replacement of a small bridge on Warner Road on the Fowler/Hartford line that was damaged during recent flooding.
The bridge, about 0.5 miles north of state Route 305, was closed by the Trumbull County Engineer's Office on Aug. 8, after an inspection revealed weakening abutments. It was subsequently demolished, officials say.
Construction of a replacement by The Ohio Bridge Corp., of Cambridge, could begin Monday and is expected to take 30 days.
Tractor-trailer diversion
HUBBARD -- Eastbound traffic on Interstate 80 came to a stop shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday when a tractor-trailer hit the left guard rail and jackknifed, blocking the road.
No one was injured, Ohio State Highway Patrol reports say.
The driver, Patrick Dingess, 33, of Manchester, Ind., was cited by the patrol for failure to control, reports say.
More W. Nile cases found
More cases of West Nile virus have turned up in Lawrence and Mercer counties.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported that a 30-year-old Lawrence County man was diagnosed with the disease Tuesday, the second human case in that county this year.
The first was a 75-year-old man whose case was reported July 30.
There has been only one human case in Mercer County so far, an 11-year-old girl whose diagnosis was reported Aug. 22.
The state said the disease turned up in more animals in Mercer County on Tuesday. A horse was diagnosed with West Nile, the second horse in the county to come down with the disease. Two dead blue jays had it as well. One bird was found in Jackson Township and the other in West Middlesex.