Woman to have house torn down

BOARDMAN -- The owner of a Melrose Avenue house where two dogs perished in February will serve probation and see that the house and its attached garage are demolished.
Laura Entrikin, 46, whose current address is on South Avenue, received a suspended 30-day jail sentence and will serve a one-year probation. She will pay demolition costs, and she is not to own or harbor any pets.
Entrikin pleaded guilty Thursday to a charge of disorderly conduct before Judge Joseph M. Houser in Mahoning County Area Court here. As part of plea-bargained agreement, a misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals was dismissed.
Atty. Jim Melone, Entrikin's lawyer, said some people will be upset his client did not receive a harsher sentence. She would have had she not fully cooperated with Boardman Township officials and agreed to have her home demolished, he said.
Entrikin surrendered to police after a warrant was issued for her arrest.
Mahoning County Board of Health officials condemned the property at 388 Melrose Ave. in February because of unsanitary conditions. Trustees then approved a nuisance abatement order in March at the request of Darren Crivelli, zoning inspector.
Police and officials from township zoning and the county health board entered the house in February after receiving calls from neighbors who said Entrikin hadn't lived in the dwelling for several weeks.
Officials found two dead dogs amid the trash and debris inside. Two cats also were found. Officials said one was adopted, but the other had to be euthanized because of health problems.
Empty cans, food wrappers and plastic bottles littered the floor inside the house.