Residents flee fire

Residents flee fire
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- Authorities said an overloaded electrical circuit caused a fire that damaged the home of Frank and Tawny Smith at 121 S. Second St. around 5:20 a.m. today.
Fire Chief Steve Thompson said the house is occupied by the Smiths and their two daughters and that one daughter left home just minutes before a smoke detector went off, awakening the rest of the family.
They all got out safely but three dogs were left behind, Thompson said, adding that firefighters rescued all three. One of the dogs had to be revived with oxygen, he said.
Thompson traced the cause of the fire to an overloaded power strip plugged into an extension cord in a second-floor bedroom. There were too many appliances drawing power through that strip, causing the line to overheat and ignite, he said.
The bedroom suffered heavy fire damage, but the damage to the rest of the house was confined to smoke and heat, he said. There was a small amount of water damage on the first floor, he said.
Assault charge
SHARON, Pa. -- Police arrested Marlene R. King, 26, of Alderman Avenue, on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person after her boyfriend accused her of stabbing him. Stephen Lonesome, 42, of the same address, told police the two got into an argument around 11 p.m. Thursday, and, when he tried to leave, King stabbed him in the back with what police believe was a steak knife. Lonesome drove himself to Sharon Regional Health System, where he was treated for what police said was a superficial wound. King was arrested at home and held overnight for arraignment.
Donations at concert
SALEM -- The American Red Cross and the Salvation Army will accept donations of cash and nonperishable food for Columbiana County flood victims during a concert Sunday at Ponderosa Park. Gates open at 12:30 p.m. Campers Country Productions and Ponderosa Park also will make flood relief donations based on concert tickets sold. The concert features SheDaisy, The Povertyneck Hillbillies and the local band Desperado. The concert begins at 2 p.m. Radio station Froggy 104 will do a remote broadcast before the concert begins.
Hospice volunteers
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- There will be a five-week volunteer training program for Jameson Hospice. Volunteers who support Jameson Hospice's ideals and goals are needed to provide respite, companionship and bereavement services in patients' residences and as office support staff during the day. The Jameson Hospice Volunteer Training program will be from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesdays starting next week to Oct. 27. For information and registration, call Marlene Gruey at (724) 656-4250, Ext. 115.
SRU enrollment
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- Slippery Rock University has set records this fall for student enrollment and credit-hours undertaken, the university announced. A total of 7,928 students are enrolled this fall, representing nearly a 2 percent increase from last year and breaking the previous record, set in 1991, by three students. This fall's total represents the fifth consecutive year of enrollment growth at SRU. Credit hours undertaken are at 110,524, substantially above last year's record of 106,334.
Columbiana bicentennial
COLUMBIANA -- The Columbiana bicentennial committee will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at the Columbiana Historical Society on the public square. The committee is seeking ideas from the community for the city's bicentennial celebration in 2005. For more information call Greg or Melanie Sprouse at (330) 482-0161.
Pipe was not a bomb
SOMERSET, Pa. (AP) -- An empty piece of plastic pipe tied up westbound traffic on the Pennsylvania Turnpike for more than five hours Thursday.
State police were concerned about the polyvinyl chloride pipe found in the westbound lanes near Somerset about 12:30 p.m. because its ends were capped, making it look like a pipe bomb.
Westbound traffic was diverted into a single lane on the berm of the road until a state police bomb squad from the Hershey area arrived about 5:30 p.m. Traffic returned to normal about an hour later, police said.
Police don't know how the PVC pipe got there.