Christmas home fire

Christmas home fire

NEWTON FALLS

A Christmas Day fire here required assistance from five fire departments. The fire, at a home on state Route 5 near state Route 534, broke out around 10 p.m. Sunday. Fire crews from Newton Falls, Braceville, Lordstown, Southington and Warren Township responded.

According to the Newton Falls Fire Department, no one was in the home at the time of the fire and as of late Monday afternoon, there was no cause for the blaze.

Diesel spills on I-80

WEATHERSFIELD

A short stretch of Interstate 80 reopened late Monday night after a diesel spill closed one lane for hours.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol closed one lane of eastbound I-80 for about two hours Monday evening near Salt Springs Road after a truck spilled diesel onto the freeway late in the afternoon.

Drivers reported temporary backups. That area is just a few miles from a construction zone, where the Ohio Department of Transportation is repairing some overpasses, according to the state patrol.

Crews from nearby municipalities assisted in the cleanup effort.

$250K Mega winner

YOUNGSTOWN

One lottery player who bought a ticket in the Mahoning Valley is $250,000 richer.

According to the Ohio Lottery’s website, www.ohiolottery.com, a winning Mega Millions ticket from Dec. 20 was sold at Circle K, 1125 E. State St., Salem.

The winner matched all five winning numbers — 20, 24, 27, 45, 51 — but did not match the mega ball number, which was 31. Circle K will receive $1,000 for selling the winning ticket.

Gas prices going up

YOUNGSTOWN

Gas prices in the Mahoning Valley are up 9 cents compared with last week, according to AAA’s Fuel Gauge report.

The average price for a gallon of regular-grade gasoline is at $3.24, up from $3.15 last Monday. Valley prices ranged from $3.14 to $3.29, according to online gas-price finder GasBuddy.

That’s about 6 cents higher than the average price one month ago and 21 cents higher than the same gallon of gas this time last year.

Overall, gas prices in Ohio averaged $3.32 for regular-grade gas, up 20 cents compared to last week.

Recovery meeting

YOUNGSTOWN

Recovery International, a self-help mental-health group, meets at 7 p.m. Jan. 5. at Christ Church Presbyterian Church, 1933 Canfield Road.

For more information, call 330-747-1176.

Black-goo aftermath

PITTSBURGH

The insurer of a trucking company whose tanker leaked sticky black goo onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike in November says in court filings that its $1 million policy likely won’t be enough to cover roughly 1,000 claims for damaged vehicles.

That’s why Travelers Indemnity Co. wants to deposit $1 million into a bank account overseen by a federal judge in Pittsburgh to satisfy its policy covering Marino Transportation Services, also known as MTS Transport.

The Stevensville, Md., company owned the tanker truck that leaked the asphalt flux material over about 40 miles of the eastbound toll road in western Pennsylvania on Nov. 22.

The goo damaged tires and, in some cases, the engines and other parts of cars that drove through it.

Vindicator staff/wire reports