Charged with rape
Charged with rape
WARREN -- A 42-year-old Warren man has pleaded innocent to two counts of rape. Gregory S. Mort, of Shady Lane Circle Northeast, entered the pleas this morning before Judge Peter Kontos of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court. Mort is being held in the county jail in lieu of a $100,000 bond. According to the indictment, Mort is accused of raping a female teenager he knew on Jan. 8 at Mort's home.
St. Rose Church festivalset for this weekend
GIRARD -- The seventh annual St. Rose Church Summer Festival will be from Friday through Sunday on the church grounds, 48 E. Main St. The festival will be from 6 to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and from 6 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Sunday, when drawings for food baskets and cash raffles will take place. The top prize will be $3,000. Bands will be featured each evening from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m., with Champagne on Friday, the Del Rezek Band on Saturday and Al Hreno on Sunday. An outdoor polka Mass will be at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, with the Del Rezek Band playing for the Mass. The event will feature bingo in an air conditioned hall nightly from 6 to 11 p.m. and games, rides and food.
Mosquito spraying
MINERAL RIDGE -- Mosquito spraying was taking place today in Weathersfield Township by Alexander Pest Control, Poland. The spraying would be postponed to Wednesday if it rained.
Suit over property
WARREN -- A Parkman Road woman has filed a lawsuit stating that the city of Warren and Trumbull County commissioners gave two deeds on the same real estate to two people. Helen Albert, 5803 Parkman Road, filed the lawsuit in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court. Commissioners could not be reached to comment. Greg Hicks, city law director, said he had not received a copy of the suit so he was unable to comment. The suit also names Warren Homes II L.P. and Warren Homes III L.P as defendants. Officials of Warren Homes, which is a partnership that began to build homes in the city in the late 1990s using tax credits, also could not reached. Albert contends commissioners and the city of Warren conveyed the exact same parcel to her and Warren Homes II L.P. and Warren Homes III L.P. Albert also states in the suit that she has superior title interest and right in the real estate. Albert is asking the court to award her an amount in excess of $25,000.
Street paving
CORTLAND -- A section of North High Street will be paved this summer through an extension of the Ohio Department of Transportation project on West Market Street, city officials say. Work to pave West Market Street and install new sidewalks is nearly complete. The additional work will include paving North High from the bridge over Walnut Run through the Main Street intersection to Phillips-Rice Road. The cost of the entire project is expected to be $150,000, with the city contributing between $15,000 and $20,000, city service director Don Wittman said.
Ward meeting set
WARREN -- Councilman Alford L. Novak, D-2nd, will conduct a ward meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Packard Park Shelter House. Representatives of several general fund departments are expected to attend, and a presentation will be made on how income tax money is spent. Voters will decide next month whether to renew the 0.5 percent income tax for the police and fire departments. The meeting is open to all city residents.
School's closing
WARREN -- Residents will get a final opportunity Wednesday to walk through McKinley Elementary School, which closed at the end of the school year. Walk-throughs will be from 10 a.m. to noon and from 6 to 8 p.m. The school was built in 1919. The school board opted to close it at the end of the school year because of a looming deficit. School officials have said the closure will save about $2.2 million. They cited a projected $4 million deficit by 2007 that would grow to $17 million by 2008 if cuts aren't made.
Meeting postponed
WARREN -- The Trumbull County Board of Elections has postponed a scheduled Aug. 27 meeting to discuss irregularities in voter registration cards submitted by America Coming Together. A new date will be set at the board's regular monthly meeting Aug. 3 at 3 p.m.