Village stays in the dark after levy fails

CORNING, Ohio (AP) -- The streetlights won't be coming back on any time soon in this cash-strapped village.
For the second time, voters rejected a property-tax levy that Village Council members said would have restored city services.
Council members ordered streetlights turned off in February, and the hours of the village's only policeman and street maintenance worker were cut.
A levy that would have generated $16,000 in revenue for the village failed by one vote last November.
The village was left with $115,000 for the year when that levy failed, clerk Sheri Dodson said.
Tuesday's levy was rejected 87-71, meaning the streetlights will stay dark each night in this community about 55 miles southeast of Columbus.
Some of the 539 residents of the former mining community complained when the lights went dark that council members were trying to punish them for not supporting the first levy.
Residents have been squabbling with council about how the village is being run. Many are opposed to a proposed $5 million sewer project, while others complain that streets aren't being maintained.
Dodson said that Corning will have no choice but to place another government operations levy on the ballot in November.