Tuesday, April 24, 2001
Block grant panel
WARREN -- City Councilman Dan Polivka, D-at large, is looking for citizens to serve on an advisory committee to help decide which programs and agencies will receive federal funding in 2002.
The committee meets June 20, 27 and 28 to elect a chairman, interview applicants, and draft a list of those who are to receive Community Development Block Grants.
Council will then vote on the committee's choices, and public hearings will be scheduled. The list will be submitted in November to the U.S. Housing and Urban Development office for approval, which is expected in March 2002.
The CDBG application deadline is May 25.
Mayor Hank Angelo will appoint six citizens to the committee, which will also consist of three council members and each of their two appointees.
To serve, or for more information, call Polivka at (330) 372-7388.
Payroll error fixed
WARREN -- An oversight by a city payroll clerk has been corrected, and city employees who were not paid on time last week have been compensated.
Sal DiLiello, the city's data processing manager, said Monday a clerk forgot to transmit payroll funds to direct-deposit accounts for 196 employees.
The error was noticed Friday and it took about an hour for the city to restore computer payroll files from a backup system, DiLiello said.
The payments were to be transferred Friday to Bank One, which handles the city's direct-deposit accounts.
Employees who have direct-deposit accounts with Bank One were able to access their paychecks Friday. Employees with accounts at other banks were paid Monday.
Benefit for boy
GIRARD -- A benefit for a McDonald boy with Burkitts lymphoma, a rare form of cancer, begins at noon May 5 at the Slovenian Dome, North State Street.
The event will include a $1,000 raffle prize, food and entertainment. A $10 donation is requested for Carson Williams, a son of Dan and Danielle Williams of McDonald.
Youth on bike is shot
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 15-year old boy was shot in the foot while he was riding his bike Monday afternoon on Greeley Lane.
Hassan Merriweather, 15, of Eliot Lane, was treated at St. Elizabeth's Health Center.
Merriweather was riding his bike at 3:15 p.m. when a gray two-door car slowed down behind him. The passenger of the car leaned out the window and began shooting at Merriweather.
Merriweather said he did not know and could not describe the shooter or the driver.
Bomb threat probe
YOUNGSTOWN -- Police are investigating a bomb threat Monday afternoon at the Phar-Mor building, 20 Federal Plaza West.
The threat was received at Exterra Credit Recovery Inc., on the fourth floor of the building, about 2 p.m. An unidentified male spoke to a collector on the phone and said he was going to "blow you ... out of that ... building."
The building was not evacuated, and police did not find a bomb.
Truancy sweep
YOUNGSTOWN -- With the sunny weather Monday, city school officials suspected that some pupils skipped school to add a day to spring break. So the school district ran a truancy sweep and caught 22 youths on the streets.
The pupils were cited under the city's compulsory school attendance law, said Ted Terlesky, the school district's security chief. The sweep is the fourth this school year.
Soliciting arrests
AUSTINTOWN -- Two Toledo women were arrested by an undercover police officer at a truck stop Friday night on charges that they offered to have sex with him for $350.
Debra Sutton and Shannon Maria Gillespie were charged with soliciting sex.
The undercover officer spoke to one of the women about buying sex on the CB radio after hearing her offer "good company."
He met them in the parking lot of the Rebel 38 Truck Stop on Seventy Six Drive, near state Route 46 and Interstate 80. Austintown police later found more than $3,000 the women had.