Austintown woman sentenced for perjury

Austintown womansentenced for perjury
CLEVELAND -- A federal judge has sentenced an Austintown woman to three years' probation for lying to a grand jury. U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. O'Malley imposed the sentence upon Janet L. Blasens, 35, of Rosemont Avenue. The judge ordered Blasens to spend the first six months of the probation under electronically monitored house arrest.
Blasens, who was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment, had pleaded guilty to the perjury charge in February. Blasens, a former manager of Bella Health Spa in Warren, was charged with lying to a grand jury investigating whether prostitution and money laundering occurred at the spa. The charges arose from an investigation by Warren police and the FBI, the U.S. attorney said.
Robbery suspects
LAKE MILTON -- Bonds were continued for two Newton Falls men suspected of beating and robbing an elderly couple in their Gladstone Road home April 4.
A hearing for John Fetherolf, 18, of Grandview Boulevard, and Shawn P. Robinson, 18, of Center Street, will continue in Mahoning County Court, Austintown, at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
Girl Scout cookies
NILES -- Last call for Girl Scout cookies.
All varieties can still be ordered, but time is running out. The deadline is May 1.
Call the Lake to River Council at (800) 362-9430 or inquire in person at the council office, 980 Warren Ave. The cookies won't be available again until next March.
Poland zoning changed
POLAND -- Village council has approved a zone change for the plot on which Bruster's Ice Cream shop, behind the Old Stone Tavern on U.S. Route 224, now stands. The zoning has been changed from historical commercial district to village center commercial district. The ice cream shop can now remain open later in the day because there is no time restriction on business in the village center commercial district.
Mail carriers' food drive
YOUNGSTOWN -- National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 385 will conduct its annual food drive May 12.
Residents are asked to put nonperishable foods at their mailboxes, which will be collected by carriers during their regular routes that day.
The food is distributed to the Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Second Harvest Food Bank and Gleaners Foodbank.
The drive is a project of Branch 385, the U.S. Postal Service, United Way, AFL-CIO Community Services and Teamsters Local 377.
Locally, collections have grown from 53 tons of food in 1995 to 87.5 tons last year in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.
Last year, the drive took in 64.2 million pounds nationally.
Slavery and Holocaust
YOUNGSTOWN -- The African-American/Jewish Dialogue will present "Slavery and the Holocaust: A Dual Perspective" at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the McGuffey Centre.
The program will include discussion on the similarities and differences between slavery and the Holocaust and their impact on the black and Jewish communities.
Historical and philosophical perspective will be provided by Dr. Saul Friedman, a history professor at Youngstown State University, and the Rev. Donna Sloan, who teaches in YSU's department of philosophy and religious studies.
Two groups will perform: the Holocaust Impact Theater Teen Troupe, which will present original dramatic and musical vignettes; and Chosen Generation, a youth and adult mime ministry at Holy Trinity Missionary Baptist Church.
Traffic fatality
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- State police were investigating a traffic fatality on state Route 58 north of the borough early today.
The accident occurred around 4 a.m. and resulted in the spill of about 75 gallons of truck fuel. Emergency management officials were called to the scene to contain the spill. Details of the crash were not available this morning.