Two pets die in house fire

Two pets die in house fire

HOWLAND — Firefighters said the cause is unknown in a Friday house fire that caused $25,000 in damage and killed two family pets.

The Howland Fire Department responded shortly after 10 a.m. to a call at 3529 Basswood Ave. N.E., where firefighters found “heavy fire conditions” throughout the dwelling, according to a department report. Bazetta Township provided 17 firefighters to assist.

No one was home, but a dog and a parrot perished in the blaze.

I-680 exit ramp to close

AUSTINTOWN — Beginning Monday, the Interstate 680 southbound exit ramp to Meridian Road will close from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily through Friday for excavation work, says the Ohio Department of Transportation.

The detour will be I-680 southbound to the Belle Vista Avenue exit to Mahoning Avenue to Meridian Road.

Two Salem roads closed

SALEM — Steve Andres, the city’s director of public service and safety, has announced two roads will be closed Monday through Friday.

Andres said the railroad crossings on South Ellsworth Avenue and Allen Road will be closed so the Norfolk Southern Railroad can do resurfacing work.

Meetings canceled

WEATHERSFIELD — Meetings scheduled for the Weathersfield Township Zoning Commission on Wednesday and Thursday have been canceled.

Senior-citizens workshop

YOUNGSTOWN — The Janie Wright Mission of Union Baptist Church, 528 Lincoln Ave., will have a workshop geared to senior citizens from 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 16.

June Ewing will present “The Joy of Health,” and a nutritional dinner will be served.

Reservations are requested by Sept. 12 by calling the church office at (330) 746-1217.

Beatitude House appoints Trumbull housing director

YOUNGSTOWN — Beatitude House has appointed Sheila Triplett, former Beatitude House Trumbull County child advocate, as director of its Trumbull County housing programs.

Triplett has a bachelor’s degree in social work from Youngstown State University and a master’s degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix, Cleveland campus.

She has worked in social services for 20 years, and will focus on a recent collaboration with Emmanuel Community Care Center in Girard and expansion of the Beatitude House office on Tod Avenue Northwest in Warren.

The Tod Avenue location is expanding from serving up to seven families at a time to up to 13.

Beatitude House, sponsored by the Ursuline Sisters, a religious order of the Catholic Church, is committed to disadvantaged women and children in Mahoning and Trumbull counties. The agency provides transitional housing for families for up to two years, as well as education.

CSEA program results

YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning County Child Support Enforcement Agency reinstated 256 driver’s licenses and collected $102,162 in child support during August under its Deals for Your Wheels program.

Under this program, parents can get their driver’s licenses reinstated by paying just one month’s child support plus $1 and a $25 reinstatement fee. Normally, a three-month minimum payment or verified employment for wage-withholding purposes is required.

In August 2007, the program reinstated 163 driver’s licenses and collected $67,393 in child support.

The increases in reinstatements and collections may be due to increased public awareness of this annual child support payment incentive, said Janice Schultz, CSEA program administrator.

City worker’s trial set

YOUNGSTOWN — A city water department employee faces trial Oct. 24 on charges of driving under suspension, unsafe vehicles, no seat belt and display of plates/expired plates.

James B. Black, 47, of Helena Avenue, appeared before Municipal Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr. for a pretrial hearing Friday.

City officials said Black, who was hired in January, had been driving city vehicles until they learned his license had been suspended.

He was arrested at the water department July 22 after he failed to appear in municipal court on the traffic charges, which had been filed in June.

U.S. 224 lane restrictions

BOARDMAN — The Ohio Department of Transportation will reduce U.S. Route 224 to one lane in each direction at the Tippecanoe Road/Lockwood Boulevard intersection beginning at 4 a.m. Monday.

The lane restrictions are expected to remain throughout the day until about 7 p.m.

Through the remainder of the week, the intersection will be closed periodically for up to 15 minutes.