Tire recycling canceled
Tire recycling canceled
SHARON, Pa. -- Shenango River Watchers have canceled a tire recycling day set for Saturday and will hold a final river cleanup session of the year on that day instead. Volunteers are asked to meet in the Sharon City Centre parking lot on South Water Avenue at 9 a.m. Participants will be divided into groups and assigned an area to clean. Interested people should register by calling the River Watchers office at (724) 342-5453.
Forum on consolidation
SHARPSVILLE, Pa. -- The borough will have a public forum on the consolidation issue that will appear on the Nov. 2 election ballot. The session will be at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Sharpsville High School auditorium. Councilman Thomas Lally, an opponent of consolidation, will speak, as will a representative of Citizens for the Valley, the ad hoc group of Shenango Valley residents who secured 1,000 voter signatures to get the issue on the ballot. The referendum asks if Sharpsville, Sharon, Hermitage, Farrell and Wheatland should consolidate into one single city that would be governed by a home-rule charter and run by a nine-member elected council.
President to resign
ALLIANCE -- Mount Union College President Dr. John L. Ewing Jr. will resign when his contract expires June 30. Ewing, who took the position in summer 2000, made the announcement to the board of trustees and the campus during the past weekend. Ewing cited the implementation of a comprehensive strategic plan as an accomplishment of his administration. Sy Green, trustee board chairman, said a plan to find Ewing's successor is being developed. Ewing is the 10th president of Mount Union and previously served as president of Dakota Wesleyan University from 1994 to 2000.
Bootleg copies of movies
MERCER, Pa. -- Pennsylvania State Police said Eddie G. Beasley, 47, of Akron, spent two days in Mercer County jail after being caught with more than 500 bootleg copies of movies in his possession. Police said he was the owner of and passenger in a vehicle stopped for speeding in the westbound lanes of Interstate 80 in East Lackawannock Township around 5:25 p.m. Saturday. Police said they were given consent to search the car and turned up more than 500 DVDs, all unauthorized reproductions of various motion pictures, including new releases. Beasley was charged with possession of illegal copies of the films and lodged in jail on $5,000 bond. He posted bond and was released Monday, pending a preliminary hearing.
Foundation awards grants
SALEM -- Salem Community Foundation directors awarded $28,395 in grants at its recent quarterly meeting. Salem Quota Club received $14,655 for a hearing-enhancement program for Salem Schools' elementary classrooms. The school board will assist with the purchase of 15 amplification systems. Directors said the "Hearing to Learn" program offers a surround system for classrooms to assist hearing-impaired pupils and improve classroom sound conditions for the entire class. Grandview Cemetery Association will receive $8,740 to purchase two new tractors with baggers and 44-inch cut mowers to replace groundskeeping equipment. Directors increased by $5,000 the $20,000 annual amount given to the Northern Columbiana County United Way to meet matching gifts.
Request for records
LISBON -- John Soldano, the Democrat candidate for Columbiana County sheriff, said Monday he had made a request to see county records about CiviGenics Inc. of Milford, Mass., which runs the county jail. Soldano said he wants to see the company's annual report on revenue and expenses to the county commissioners. Commissioners hired CiviGenics Inc. to run the jail in 1998. The figures will show whether the jail is saving the county money, the candidate said. The jail charges the county about $48 per prisoner per day, or about $2.1 million a year. Commissioners say that saves the county about $700,000 a year, mostly through lower labor costs.