Soldier found dead

Soldier found dead
AUSTINTOWN -- A 22nd Signal Brigade soldier from Austintown was found dead in his room at Larson Barracks in Kitzingen, Germany, on Christmas Day, according to an Army release reported in Stars and Stripes' European edition Wednesday.
Army Pfc. John M. Steenge, 19, was found around 2 p.m. Sunday. He was assigned to the brigade's Company C, 17th Signal Battalion, the newspaper said.
The cause of Steenge's death is under investigation, according to the release.
Steenge is survived by his parents and a brother. A memorial ceremony is planned, but a date has not been announced.
Police investigate wreck
FRANKLIN -- The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating a Thursday morning fatal accident. Kevin E. Walter, 27, of Lisbon was driving eastbound on state Route 518 around 5 a.m. when his 1998 Ford Contour went off the right side of the road and struck a guardrail, ejecting Walter. Police say the car continued off the left side of the road, over a culvert, went airborne and eventually came to rest in a field.
Drug trafficking charges
WARREN -- Jacob Ansell, 21, of 877 Niles-Cortland Road, Warren, and Jason Disko, 19, of 309 Ann St., Niles, pleaded innocent this week in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to drug trafficking charges after being secretly indicted by a Trumbull County grand jury.
Ansell is charged with two counts of trafficking in marijuana, fifth-degree felonies. He was released after posting bond of $2,500 cash or surety, and is to appear Jan. 23 before Judge Peter Kontos.
Disko is charged with four fifth-degree felonies: complicity to trafficking in marijuana, trafficking in marijuana, trafficking in marijuana with forfeiture, and possession of marijuana with forfeiture. He was released after posting bond of $3,500 cash or surety. He is to appear Wednesday before Judge W. Wyatt McKay.
Drug-charge hearing
CAMPBELL -- Keith Rodgers Jr., 19, will be back in municipal court Feb. 28 for a preliminary hearing on a felony charge of drug possession and for a pretrial on misdemeanor charges of possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, the clerk of court's office said. Rodgers' court record shows an address of Chambers Street. He was arrested Dec. 19.
Cost of closing landfill
LISBON -- Center Township must pay the entire $1.45 million cost of closing a landfill on Bittner Road, which ceased operation in 1988. The 7th District Court of Appeals made the ruling this week, affirming a similar ruling earlier this year by Judge David Tobin of Columbiana County Common Pleas Court. Trustees filed a lawsuit in 2003 hoping the court would require the village of Lisbon to share in the cost of closing the nearly nine-acre landfill since the township and village both used it.
Democratic party dinner
WARREN -- The Trumbull County Democratic Party will hold a dinner featuring Congressmen Ted Strickland and Sherrod Brown as guest speakers at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 13 at DiViesti Banquet Hall. For more information, call Chairman Christ Michelakis at (330) 219-4014. A $50 donation is requested.
Legal counsel is hired
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The Redevelopment of Authority of Lawrence County has hired Atty. Samuel Kamin as its legal counsel to replace Atty. John Hodge. The authority, at a meeting earlier this week, also accepted Hodge's resignation. Hodge is to be sworn in as a common pleas court judge on Tuesday. Kamin is with the law firm Goldberg, Kamin and Garvin of Pittsburgh.
Aggravated robbery
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Youngstown man is being charged with aggravated robbery after a confrontation with a clerk at a South Avenue store.
Police said Kevin L. Harvey, 36, of Hunter Avenue went to the Unlimited Wireless Cellular store at 3332 South Ave. and asked that his cellular telephone be repaired. The owner refused because the phone was not purchased at the store, reports show.
Harvey became angry and began to destroy the store, at some point, reaching across the counter and into a cash drawer. It was undetermined if any money had been taken.
Reports said Harvey also smashed a display case and scuffled with the attendant before police arrived. He was leaving the store when officers pulled into the parking lot.