Shootings injure 2 men

Shootings injure 2 men
YOUNGSTOWN -- Separate shootings on the North Side late Thursday and early today sent two men to St. Elizabeth Health Center. Darrell Haynes, 34, of Youngstown was in critical condition after being shot in the lower extremities around 12:05 a.m. on Griffith Street. Police took a suspect into custody who a witness said had been arguing with Haynes. Earlier, on nearby Wirt Street, 19-year-old Darrell Brown of Crandall Avenue was shot in the left hip as he stood at the corner of Delaware Avenue. He told police the shots came from a car that drove by around 10:50 p.m. Thursday. Brown was in stable condition at the hospital.
Attack on house
YOUNGSTOWN -- A brick, followed by a two-gallon gas can with an unlighted rag in it, crashed through the living-room window of a house in the 2300 block of Overlook Avenue on the West Side around 10 p.m. Thursday, waking the resident. The can landed on its side and gas seeped into the carpet, but police found no signs that the rag had been ignited before being thrown. The homeowner ran to a neighbor to call police after realizing her phone lines had been cut. The woman told police that she has no problems with her neighbors or any enemies.
Meeting for nurses
BOARDMAN -- The Licensed Practical Nurse Association, Division 3 of Mahoning and Trumbull counties, will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at The Greenbriar, 8064 South Ave. The program will be on nutrition, weight loss and physical fitness.
Fire destroys house
COITSVILLE -- About 15 firefighters from Coitsville, Campbell and Poland battled a blaze that destroyed a two-story, single-family wood house at 4760 McGuffey Road while nobody was home. The cause of the fire, which started in an upstairs bedroom and was reported around 1 p.m. Thursday, is undetermined, but it appears to be accidental, said Fire Chief Nick Pope. No damage estimate was available. Campbell firefighters ran a hose about 800 feet from the nearest hydrant to the blaze. Coitsville and Poland have automatic mutual aid for structure fires.
Animal-cruelty case
AUSTINTOWN-- A former Yorktown Lane woman who lived with dozens of cats has been declared innocent of animal cruelty. Judge David D'Apolito issued a verdict Thursday in Mahoning County Court in the trial of Rosemarie Francis, formerly of 5777 Yorktown Lane.
Francis was charged with bringing cats into her home after it was condemned in October 1999 by the Mahoning County District Board of Health. Neighbors had complained about the odor coming from excrement of cats and dogs living there.
The judge's ruling said that while some cats remained after Francis left the condemned home, witnesses testified that the cats were nourished and in good health.
A humane agent for Animal Charity said he removed 29 live cats and one dead cat from the home and the surrounding neighborhood in April 2000. Several of the cats were euthanized because of illness.
Armed Forces Day
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- Thiel College will have a Mercer County Armed Forces Day ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday on the college front lawn.
Retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Jim Smartz, director of the Mercer County Department of Veterans Affairs, will speak. There will be a U.S. Air Force flyover, and a musical salute by retired U.S. Army Sgt. Tim McCall.
Phone-scam warning
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Police are warning people not to give out personal financial information over the telephone. Shenango Township Police said a man claiming he needed a Social Security number, bank account and credit-card numbers called a woman Thursday afternoon. The man said he needed the information to keep it from being put on the Internet, the woman told police. The man hung up when she asked his name.
Burned toast to blame
GIRARD -- Burned toast is being blamed for a $40,000 fire at the Mary McInnis home at 303 S. Davis St. on Thursday. Fire Capt. Sal Ponzio said McInnis went outside and when she returned, the burning toast had caught some paper towels on fire and the smoke alarm sounded. She went to a neighbor's house to call for help. Firefighter Ken Borniss was treated at Forum Health Northside Medical Center for smoke inhalation.