Chemical spill closes road in Unity Township

Chemical spill closes road in Unity Township
UNITY -- State Route 165 and state Route 14 in Unity Township near Unity were closed this morning because of a hazardous chemical spill. A trucker called the Lisbon post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol at 4:18 a.m. to report his truck was leaking a toxic resin onto the highway. A patrol spokeswoman said the road would be closed until cleanup is complete.
New Castle project
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- City council is expected to vote Thursday to extend the date for the downtown revitalization project to Dec. 31. The work was scheduled to be done March 1, but bad weather last summer delayed it, officials said. The project involves work on sewers and streets as well as a private development by Cascade Development. The city received a $5 million grant from the Pennsylvania Capital Assistance Fund to help pay for the work. The grant is contingent on private developers' making improvements downtown. John DiMuccio, city consultant, said the city is still working on a parking lot and the developers are still remodeling a building on East Washington Street that was the site of the first movie theater owned by the Warner brothers, Youngstown natives who went on to become Hollywood movie-makers.
Harvest for Hunger drive
YOUNGSTOWN -- Second Harvest Foodbank will kick off the annual monthlong Harvest for Hunger food drive and fund-raiser at 9 a.m. Monday at its new facility, 2805 Salt Springs Road. In the 12 years since Harvest for Hunger began in 19 counties in northeast Ohio, more than 1 million pounds of food has been provided to hungry people. Each pound of food or dollar raised stays in our community. For each $10 given, the food bank distributes $103 worth of food. Participating stores include Giant Eagle, Sparkle Markets and Tops. For more information, call (330) 792-5522. Second Harvest collects, stores and distributes food to 200 hunger-relief organizations in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties.
Court seeks volunteers
LISBON -- Columbiana County Probate Court is seeking volunteers to help monitor its guardianship cases. Participants would periodically visit people who have been declared in guardianship by the court because of mental retardation, illness, problems with chronic substance abuse or other reasons. The "court visitors" would report on their circumstances, such as their living conditions. Judge Thomas Baronzzi of the probate court is instituting the visitor program to ensure that those in guardianships are not being abused or neglected. Anyone interested in volunteering should call Teri Willis at probate court, (330) 424-9516, Ext. 633.
Jailed man hospitalized
SHARON, Pa. -- Police said a Hermitage man arrested on charges of receiving stolen property and possession of drug paraphernalia apparently tried to kill himself in a city jail cell by cutting his wrist with a sharpened penny. George A. Bilunka Jr., 24, of North Water Avenue, remained under observation today in Sharon Regional Health System. Police said he was arrested at Lincoln Street and State Line Road around 4:30 p.m. Monday after police from Southwest Mercer County Regional Police Department and Brookfield Township saw him pick up a bag of coins that had been stolen from a home in Farrell. Police said Bilunka retrieved the coins from a stream bed in Brookfield and was headed into Sharon when police stopped him.
Liquor store in market
SEWICKLEY, Pa. (AP) -- The second state liquor store in a supermarket will be located in a Giant Eagle in Ohio Township, according to a lease approved by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. The five-year lease at the store on Ben Avon Heights Road will cost the state nearly $46,000 a year. Liquor purchases will be rung up by LCB employees, who will keep those transactions separate from grocery sales. The store within a store will be 3,059 square feet and should open in about six months. The only other state liquor store in a supermarket is in Montgomery County, near Philadelphia.