The city of Canton has begun talks to reinstate four fired firefighters and avoid arbitration.

The Canton Repository reports an arbitrator ruled Thursday that firefighter Rosario Carcione be reinstated. City Safety Director Thomas Ream fired Carcione and four other firefighters last month stating they broke the law and violated city work rules.

The city investigation and the arbitrator’s report both focused on a longtime practice known as partial shift swaps and the payment of money when those occurred.

The firings occured after the city learned that some firefighters were working excessive numbers of hours, and believed the excess work led to accidents, according to the arbitrator's report.A firefighter can ask a co-worker to be their substitute and work part of their shift. The firefighter who gets the time off is then supposed to work the same hours in return later.

On the web : cantonrep.com

 

Police in Canton are concerned about a possible robbery team that they believe is linked to a string of incidents near a city school.

The Canton Repository reports that in two separate incidents, vicitms told police they were attacked by three suspects in their 20s.

The descriptions of the suspects are vague. Authorities believe the same suspects are connected to six robberies near old Lehman High School in Canton.

None of victims report any injuries and Capt. Dave Davis tells the newspaper he wants it to stay that way. Davis said the time of day and the locations of the robberies are reasons police say the incidents could be linked. 

On the web: CantonRep.com

Two Stark County newspapers claim that more than 40 of their vending machines have been stolen within the past two months.

The Canton Repository and The Independent of Massillon are offering a $500 reward for any information that leads to the arrest or conviction in the thefts.

Surveillance video shows a man and woman loading two vending machines into their vehicle Sunday night at Lindsay's Restaurant on 1900 Tuscarawas Street.