OHIO

OHIO

Owners considering Lebanon Raceway move

DAYTON — Lebanon Raceway’s general manager says the track’s owners are looking at moving the facility to Montgomery County.

Mel Hagemeyer said he is disappointed that a majority of Warren County commissioners don’t want slot machines on the fairgrounds property where horses have raced since 1948.

Owners are looking at a new location along Interstate 75 near Dayton.

The Legislature has agreed to help Gov. Ted Strickland put slot machines at Ohio’s race tracks to raise an estimated $933 million for the cash-strapped state. Some lawmakers raised concerns about Lebanon Raceway because commissioners would have to approve any gambling expansion on county -owned lands.

Hagemeyer said slot machines could be set up in a tent off county property until fall 2010, when he expects the new facility to be ready.

PENNSYLVANIA

Police: Train struck man on Pittsburgh tracks

PITTSBURGH — Police say a man has been critically injured after he was struck by a freight train.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the man was struck Saturday night along CSX tracks on the city’s south side. His identity and age were not immediately known, but police say he is in his 20s.

Police Sgt. David Mead says the man was taken to UPMC Mercy with a head injury and broken legs.

It was not immediately clear why he was on the railroad tracks.

Police are investigating the incident.

Man, 43, drowns in lake

PINE BANK — Authorities say a man drowned while on a weekend fishing trip to a Greene County lake.

State police say 43-year-old Scott Varner, of Brave, was swimming with friends in Lake Wilma on Friday night and slipped beneath the surface at 8:40 p.m.

Rescue teams searched for him in the Wayne Township lake until early Saturday. They returned later that morning and found Varner’s body at 11:30 a.m. Saturday near the point at which he was last seen.

The Greene County coroner’s office ruled his death accidental but said an autopsy will be done.

Girl, 13, dies in crash

LOCK HAVEN — Authorities in central Pennsylvania say two power boats collided on the Susquehanna River, killing a 13-year-old girl.

Officials say Clinton County Coroner Donald Walker pronounced Valerie Heidt, of Howard, dead at the scene of the 7:30 p.m. Friday crash near Lock Haven.

Police say the boats were traveling at high speed. The crash occurred during River Fest, a local carnival that draws hundreds to a picnic area near Veterans Bridge.

Authorities say the state Fish and Boat Commission will investigate.

DA: Attorney tried to get drugs into prison

MEDIA — A preliminary hearing is scheduled Thursday for a Philadelphia attorney accused of trying to bring drugs into Delaware County prison while visiting an inmate.

The district attorney’s office says 61-year-old Randall Sommovilla was arrested Friday night after a substance believed to be heroin was picked up in a routine scan. Officials say Sommovilla had come to the prison after visitor hours to see a woman awaiting extradition to New Jersey.

Sommovilla was charged with drug and contraband possession and released on bail. Authorities say he told police he believed another woman had placed the drugs in his clothing.

Delaware County District Attorney G. Michael Green says Sommovilla faces a mandatory minimum of two years in prison if convicted. Sommovilla declined comment to reporters Saturday and did not immediately return a message left Sunday.

Associated Press