STRUTHERS Release raises concern

School attorneys are considering whether to seek a restraining order against the gunman.
By PAUL WHEATLEY
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
STRUTHERS -- School officials and residents are angered and frightened that a man who fired a rifle across the street from an elementary school in September was not given a harsher sentence.
"I just can't believe they're letting this man come back near the schools," said Leanne Lordi, PTA president.
Police arrested Michael Colick, 46, on Sept. 22 after neighbors complained that he was shooting a gun at the home he shared with his parents at 517 Ninth St., near Lyon Plat Elementary School.
Police say Colick pointed the .22-caliber rifle at an officer when he was first confronted, then dropped it after the fifth command by officers to do so.
Colick had been sentenced to six months by Judge James R. Lanzo of Struthers Municipal Court after being found guilty of assault and illegally discharging a firearm. He is scheduled for release from the Mahoning County jail March 22.
It was the maximum sentence. Colick will be on probation for a year after his release.
But that's not good enough for Lordi, who lives near Colick. She says she's seen and heard him yelling profanities in his yard or while wandering the streets.
"And then he has guns," she said. "I feel bad for his parents, but at 2:30 p.m. there's 200 children who walk out that school door."
Response: Colick's father, John, 84, said there aren't any guns in the home.
"I don't know why they're worrying about him now," he said. "They took away everything from him."
John Colick said he does not know the nature of his son's problems but said his son was injured in two motorcycle accidents as a teen-ager.
"He served his time," he said.
He said his son doesn't have a job or anywhere else to live and is needed at home.
Judge Lanzo said he offered the younger Colick the chance to admit himself into a hospital, in lieu of jail time, but Colick's attorney said they could not find a suitable facility.
"I wanted to get him some help," Lanzo said. "He was either going to jail, or he was going to get some help."
The judge said although he is concerned about Colick's living so close to the school, his hands are tied by the law.
Struthers Superintendent Sandy DiBacco said school attorneys are considering seeking a restraining order against Michael Colick.
"We have major concerns," she said, although she noted that Lyon Plat will be vacated June 4, the end of the school year.