Performance audit cost

Performance audit cost
WARREN -- The Ohio Auditor's Office will let Trumbull County commissioners know next week how much it will charge to do a performance audit evaluating the efficiency of the Trumbull County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The expense will be billed to the bureau. Once it is begun, the audit will take about two weeks to complete, Commissioner James Tsagaris said after meeting with auditors Friday.
Bankruptcy filing
YOUNGSTOWN -- Rood Trucking Inc. of Mineral Ridge filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Youngstown. The trucking company employs about 140 people and operates in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Michigan, said president George H. Rood Sr. He said the company is seeking to reorganize as a result of the overall downturn in the trucking industry. The company has been in business since 1960.
Trial in baby's killing
YOUNGSTOWN -- Jury selection will resume Monday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for the capital murder trial of John Drummond Jr. Drummond, 26, of Allerton Court, faces multiple counts of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, felonious assault and improperly discharging a firearm into a home. Police say Drummond fired several shots from an assault rifle into a house on Rutledge Drive in March 2003. One of the shots struck 3-month-old Jiyen C. Dent Jr. in the head, killing him. The boy was in a baby swing in the living room at the time. His parents were home but were not shot.
Canfield schools
CANFIELD -- The school board will have a special meeting Wednesday to approve a contract with the union that represents the district's cafeteria workers, aides and secretarial and custodial staff. The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the board office. The board recently determined that for this year, its regular meetings will be held at 6 p.m. the third Wednesday of each month in the board office.
Schools to dismiss early
YOUNGSTOWN -- Because of professional meetings, all schools in the Youngstown city district will dismiss pupils a half-hour earlier than the usual Monday.
Traffic deaths hearing
FARRELL, Pa. -- A preliminary hearing scheduled for a man accused of vehicular homicide and other charges has been rescheduled. Joseph C. Stemple Jr., 41, of Bethlehem, Pa., was to have a preliminary hearing Friday in charges stemming from a crash that killed a New Castle couple. His new hearing is set for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday before District Justice Henry Russo. He is being held in Mercer County jail on $100,000 bond.
Shenango Township Police said Stemple, son of a Montgomery County police chief, was driving his vehicle the wrong way on Pa. Route 60 around 5 p.m. Nov. 5 when he drove head-on into a car driven by Donald Romanio Sr., 69, of New Castle. Romanio's wife, Norma, 73, died in the crash. Romanio died later in St. Elizabeth Health Center, Youngstown.
Police said Stemple was driving north in the southbound lanes.
He was also injured and was a patient in St. Elizabeth for a short time. Court documents showed his blood alcohol count at the time of the accident was 0.30 percent, well above the 0.08 percent mark at which point Pennsylvania law says a person is intoxicated.
'Food Check-Out Day'
CANFIELD -- The Mahoning County Farm Bureau and Whitehouse Fruit Farm are celebrating "Food Check-Out Day" by sponsoring a place-mat design and coloring contest for youngsters in grades one through six.
Food Check-Out Day, Feb. 6, is the day of the year on which the average U.S. family has earned enough money to pay for their annual household food supply.
Applications for the local contest are available at the farm on state Route 62 and must be returned by Friday. Prizes will be given in age categories, and winners' place mats will be reprinted and used in local restaurants during National Agriculture Week in March.
Activities at the farm begin at 10 a.m. Feb. 6, including a presentation to place-mat contest winners and donations given to the Second Harvest Food Bank and the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley by Whitehouse and the Mahoning County Farm Bureau.
Movies in Canfield
CANFIELD -- The Canfield Historical Society announces the return of Cinema Sunday to The Bond House Museum Feb. 1. Two films produced in Canfield will be shown. The first provides a peek at people and activities in the village in 1932. The second is a documentary on the 1946 Canfield Fair. The public is invited, and admittance to both films is free. The show begins at 2 p.m. at the Bond House, 44 W. Main St. Popcorn and drinks will also be provided. For more information, call the Canfield Historical Society at (330) 533-3458.