Energy chief delays visit to Piketon

PIKETON — U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry has postponed his visit to the southern Ohio home of a former Cold War-era uranium plant.

Perry was slated Monday to visit the cleanup site of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon. In a statement, he said he had to be at a Cabinet meeting Monday in Washington but hoped to reschedule the visit.

Ohio’s U.S. senators, Republican Rob Portman and Democrat Sherrod Brown, have urged Perry to get a firsthand look at the cleanup work and its role in the region’s economy.

Commissioners from four southern Ohio counties wrote to Perry asking for continued funding for the cleanup, which produces some of the best-paid jobs in an area with high unemployment. However, Piketon’s mayor expressed concerns about a possible onsite waste disposal facility.

2 arrested after body found in freezer

CAMPBELL — Police in Mahoning County say two people have been arrested after a body was discovered inside a freezer.

The body was found in a home in Campbell on Saturday, but police believe it had been moved from Youngstown.

Investigators believe the body is female. A coroner is working to identify the remains and determine a cause of death.

A man and a woman were arrested over the weekend and are scheduled to be arraigned Monday on charges including abuse of a corpse. They are being held at the Mahoning County jail.

The home where the body was found is not owned by either suspect.

Small plane crash-lands in field

LOUDONVILLE — Authorities say a small plane crash-landed in a northern Ohio field, leaving the two men on board with minor injuries.

Investigators say a father and son from Maine experienced engine trouble while flying Sunday evening and tried to land in a field near Loudonville. The two-seat aircraft skidded and flipped upside down in another field.

The men were able to climb out of the aircraft and were taken to a hospital with minor injuries. The Ashland County Sheriff’s Office said it wasn’t immediately sharing details about the pair.

The Ashland Times-Gazette reports that the Federal Aviation Administration was expected to continue an investigation into the crash on Monday.

2 killed when car hits utility pole, tree

MEDINA — The Ohio Highway Patrol says two men have died after their car swerved off the road and struck a utility pole and a tree.

Police say the driver, 30-year-old Martin Davis of Lodi, and a passenger, 29-year-old Kevin Scholz of Redding, California, were both killed in the crash Sunday in Medina County.

Investigators believe the car was speeding when it veered off the road. Police also believe alcohol was a factor in the crash.

Police say the men were not wearing seatbelts.