Tense moments in a columbiana county village this morning....As four buildings were evacuated in lisbon. The town was brought to a virtual standstill...

The initial call came to East Palestine's 9-1-1 center at 8:45.The call was a threat to the county courts, saying that a bomb would go off at NOON at one of the county's four courthouses. At that point Sheriff Dave Smith contacted the county commissioners and the decision was made to evacuate the buildings.

"THE BOMB THREAT WAS, AND THE CALLER STATED THAT THEIR WAS A BOMB IN A COUNTY COURTHOUSE. OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE HE DIDN'T SPECIFY EXACT LOCATION OF THE BOMB, WE TOOK IT UPON OURSELVES TO EVACUATE THE JUVIENILE COURT THE MAIN COURTHOUSE IN DOWNTOWN LISBON AND THE COURTHOUSE ON SALTWELL ROAD THE MUNICIPAL COURT."

The sheriffs department, lisbon police, and federal prison guards then began the process of shutting down roads into and out of the village as fire officials searched for anything suspicious inside the courts, they found nothing. Police have traced the 9-1-1 call to a pay phone in Negley which is just east of Lisbon. they have not named any suspects at this time. And while no explosives were found, it is more than just the inconvienance of evacuating buildings that is a problem for county officials.