Arson suspect arrested

Arson suspect arrested
HOWLAND -- Firefighters say arson destroyed a storage building at 3616 Basswood Ave. N.E. Saturday morning. The call came in shortly after 10 a.m. and when firefighters arrived on the scene, the building was fully engulfed, they said. Sandra Holliday was the owner. A suspect has been arrested, but firefighters declined to identify the person, referring comment to police, who couldn't be reached Saturday evening. The blaze caused about $1,500 damage to the building, its contents and a pickup truck parked nearby.
Rivers Day canoe trip
TRANSFER, Pa. -- Shenango River Watchers and the Shenango Conservancy are sponsoring a Rivers Day canoe trip down the Shenango River on Saturday. June is Pennsylvania Rivers Month. Participants will meet at the Kidds Mill Covered Bridge parking area in Transfer at 9 a.m. The trip down to Big Bend at the head of Shenango River Lake will take until about 4 p.m. Participants are advised to bring a sack lunch. Drinks and dessert will be provided. Canoes and life jackets are available for Shenango River Watchers members. Nonmembers must pay a $10 membership fee to get a boat. For more information or to reserve a canoe, call (724) 342-5453.
Lake Arthur cruises
PORTERSVILLE, Pa -- Buffet-style dinner and brunch cruises will be offered aboard the Nautical Nature at Lake Arthur in Moraine State Park. A dinner cruise will be at 6:30 p.m. Saturday; a brunch cruise will be at noon next Sunday. Both are 11/2 hours and include a tour of the lake. Dinner-cruise costs are $19.25 for adults and $13.50 for kids. The brunch cruise is $12.75 for adults and $11 for kids. Call (724) 368-9185 for a reservation or more information.
Signal suggestion
ERIE, Pa. (AP) -- A consultant told transportation planners that the city should get rid of about one-third of its 210 traffic signals. John Elliot of Urban Engineers told officials Wednesday that Erie could save up to $40,000 a year if it removed about 70 signals and replaced them with stop or yield signs. "If there is one thing we heard over and over again from people it was, 'Fix the traffic signals,'" Elliot told planners in a preview of a final report, expected to be released next month.
Bush to head to Pa.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush will make a double-header trip to Pennsylvania on Wednesday, juggling a speech about compassion and AIDS with a fund-raising reception for Republican campaigns. The visit will mark the president's 29th trip to the state, the nation's fifth-largest electoral prize, since taking office. He has visited Pennsylvania more than any other state, except to his homes in Texas and Maine.
Bush is scheduled to make a midmorning speech on compassion and HIV/AIDS at the Greater Exodus Baptist Church in Philadelphia, according to the White House schedule released Friday night. He will then attend a noontime "Victory 2004" reception at a private residence in Villanova.
Prison receives books
ERIE, Pa. (AP) -- Books by Charles Dickens, Mark Twain and Henry David Thoreau are among 10,000 donated to the Erie County Prison after a county library branch shut down. Erie County's Friends of the Library donated about half of the 20,000 books at the county library's Liberty branch, which shut down June 4. The prison used to get library books from the library, but only about 50 to 70 at a time for each 94-inmate unit at the lockup. "The fact is, they're going to help other citizens of Erie County in a different situation than most of us," said Friends of the Library president Robert Gallivan.
Safety Day planned
COLUMBIANA -- A Safety Day is planned from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Cashland, 144 N. Main St. Columbiana police and fire departments will be on hand to talk to children and distribute information on safety issues. Police will offer fingerprinting of children.