Vandalism cancels classes in Southern Local

SALINEVILLE — Vandals who slashed school bus tires caused classes to be canceled today at Southern Local School District, said Columbiana County Sheriff Raymond Stone. The school called the sheriff’s department around 6 a.m. to report that the tires had been slashed and the buses fired at with a 12-gauge shotgun. It wasn’t immediately clear how many buses were damaged or if school would be open for classes on Wednesday. Stone said the bus garage is about a quarter mile from the schools. He said a schools’ transformer on a telephone pole was also shot several times and an oily substance inside leaked out. Superintendent James Herring could not be reached.