Council OKs rezoning

Council OKs rezoning
WARREN -- City council has passed an ordinance to rezone 8.9 vacant acres on the southwest corner of Palmyra Road and Orleans Street Southwest, from Residential A to Residential B, to permit construction of a 37-unit complex of cottage-style senior apartments. Council took the action in a brief special meeting Monday afternoon to help Pirhl LLC of Warrensville Heights meet a Thursday deadline for getting the proper zoning in support of its tax credit application for the complex for low-income people, age 55 and older.
Fire destroys barn
NEW SPRINGFIELD -- A barn fire at 13822 Beaver-Springfield Road just before 11 p.m. Sunday reduced the structure to rubble, said Beaver Township Fire Chief Gary Borman. No animals were injured. The barn was used for hay storage and contained horse stalls, he said. He had no loss estimate Monday. Borman said the cause and noted it doesn't look suspicious.
Fire captain injured
YOUNGSTOWN -- Firefighters sent to a 406 E. Myrtle Ave. fire around 11 p.m. Sunday smelled gasoline on the first floor and found the front and side doors of the vacant house forced open, reports show. A fire captain going downstairs tripped over debris and injured his back and shoulder. Remnants of drug activity were seen in the house. Loss was listed as $1,000.
Man shot April 14 dies
YOUNGSTOWN -- Leroy M. Thomas, who was found lying under the Arby's marquee at 3130 Market St. around 3 a.m. April 14 with several bullet wounds, died over the weekend, police said. Thomas, 37, of West Indianola Avenue, died at 11:50 p.m. Friday, reports show. He is the city's eighth homicide victim of the year.
Voting machine tests
MERCER, Pa. -- A public test of Mercer County's new voting machines is set for 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Elections and Registration office in the basement of the Mercer County Courthouse. Dr. Thomas Rookey, elections director, said one ballot would be tested from each of the county's 100 precincts. Pennsylvania's primary elections will be May 16.
Disaster checklist
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown Channel, in cooperation with Mahoning County Emergency Management & amp; Communications, now offers an interactive checklist for disaster preparedness. The checklist may be viewed by going to the Web site www.theyoungstownchannel.com, then clicking on the "Mahoning Internet Alert System" tab on the left. Besides suggesting items such as flashlights and AM/FM radios, the site is linked to vendors who sell such products. There also is a link to important phone numbers for local emergency personnel. The Youngstown Channel is a pilot project of The New TV Inc., a nonprofit organization that uses Internet broadcasting to encourage citizen participation in government.
2 arrested in homicide
YOUNGSTOWN -- Two Liberty women were arrested Monday in the Aug. 16, 2005, homicide of Matthew J. Saunders of Youngstown. Members of the Street Crimes Unit and Mahoning Valley Violent Crimes Task Force arrested Andrea Kimble, 22, at her Greenacres Drive home and Laticia Alexander, 29, at a friend's house on Rush Boulevard. Both were secretly indicted last week on charges of aggravated murder and aggravated robbery. Last fall, Jawan Johnson, 25, and Marcus Thomas, 20, both of Youngstown, were arrested on the same charges. Saunders, 40, was found shot in the head at 11:56 p.m. outside his car in a parking lot at Pyatt and Erie streets on the South Side.
Woman held in beating
YOUNGSTOWN -- Sonya L. Cohill of Woodford Avenue used a 32-inch aluminum bat to hit her boyfriend in the head, police said. Cohill, 36, was arraigned Monday in municipal court on a domestic violence charge, and bond was set at $10,000. She will be back in court May 11. Police said the attack took place Sunday morning.