Officials: Fire was arson

Officials: Fire was arson
LIBERTY -- Arson is being blamed for a fire Wednesday night that destroyed $10,000 worth of playground equipment in Church Hill Park.
According to police, an officer on patrol spotted the blaze shortly after 9 p.m. and called the fire department.
Officials said gasoline was used to set the blaze.
Arson also is suspected in an early-morning blaze that closed a Liberty Street market research company.
Fire Chief Michael Durkin said employees were sent home today from TNS Intersearch because of high carbon monoxide levels after the fire was set in an office between 5 and 6 a.m. Durkin said the company employs about 100.
The blaze caused about $25,000 worth of damage to the office and $100,000 in loss of sales, the chief said.
Knife found in girl's purse
YOUNGSTOWN -- An eight-inch knife was found Wednesday in the purse 16-year-old student at Chaney High School, police said. The West Princeton Avenue girl was taken to the Mahoning County Juvenile Justice Center to face a charge of carrying a concealed weapon. Reports don't explain how school officials learned of the knife in the girl's purse.
Shots fired at car
YOUNGSTOWN -- Elias Cruz, a 20-year-old South Pearl Street resident, told police two shots were fired at his car at about 4 p.m. Wednesday when he stopped for the traffic light on the Center Street bridge at Poland Avenue. One of the bullets grazed the right side of his neck. Cruz was taken to Forum Health Northside Medical Center for treatment. Police found shattered glass 50 feet north of the intersection. The victim told police he saw no one and doesn't know who would want to shoot him.
Boy shot by pellet gun
POLAND -- A 13-year-old township boy has been hospitalized after being shot with a BB fired from an air pellet rifle.
Police reports say the boy was shot under the right arm and had suffered lung damage from the pellet. He was in stable condition this morning at St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown.
Police reports say the boy was in the basement of an Apache Lane home with friends Monday evening when another boy shot him with the pellet gun. Police reports say the shooter thought he had unloaded the gun and was attempting to shoot only air at the boy.
The gun belongs to the father of the shooter.
Police have ruled the shooting an accident and say no charges will be filed against the shooter.
Police find, arrest driver
YOUNGSTOWN -- Arthur McGee was arrested on the North Side on Wednesday morning after city police were notified by Liberty police that his red pickup truck was southbound on Belmont Avenue after it struck a car. City police tried to stop McGee on Alameda Avenue, but he kept going, reports show. McGee, 44, of Superior Street, jumped from the moving truck in the 1000 block of Norwood Avenue and ran, police said. The truck ran over bushes at 1143 Norwood then traveled into the front yard of 1829 Clifton Ave., where an officer stopped it. Police said they found McGee hiding in the cab of a truck parked on Norwood. McGee was arrested on charges of driving under suspension, fleeing and eluding, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia (crack pipe).
Animal-neglect case
STRUTHERS -- Kathleen E. Skaleris, 48, of 349 Sexton St. was released on $700 bond Wednesday after being arraigned on six counts of neglect of companion animals, one count of noxious odors and one count of failing to maintain the exterior of her property.
She will go on trial in Struthers Municipal Court on Nov. 7.
Skaleris was arrested on a warrant after police found eight dogs locked inside her Sexton Street home without adequate food or water earlier this month. Police reports state the inside of the house was littered with excrement and the stench inside and out was overwhelming.
Annual Kids Day set
LEETONIA -- The 28th annual Kids Day at Leetonia Sportsman's Club will be noon Saturday at the club grounds on East High Street. There will be shooting, archery and fishing events and a hot-dog roast for children age 6 to 15. The event is free. Registration begins at 11 a.m.