Heart Walk chairwoman

Heart Walk chairwoman
NORTH CANTON -- Stephanie Schorsten, a 22-year-old Youngstown native, is honorary chairwoman of the American Heart Walk in Stark County on Saturday. The walk will begin at Tinseltown Theater in Belden Village Mall off Interstate 77 in North Canton. Schorsten, a graduate hall director for Walsh University, is working toward her master's degree in mental health counseling. At 21, she had open heart surgery to repair holes in the upper and lower chambers of her heart and a cleft valve.
Truancy sweep
YOUNGSTOWN -- Eighteen city school pupils and two parents were cited by police under the city's compulsory school attendance ordinance during a citywide truancy sweep Wednesday, said Ted Terlesky, city schools' security chief. A dozen Youngstown police cars scoured the city in search of pupils on the streets. The sweeps, which began last school year, involve the city police's Weed and Seed program and the Mahoning County Juvenile Court's probation department.
Calla Road detour
SALEM -- Calla Road between Seacrist Road and state Route 534 in Goshen Township will be closed Tuesday while workers from the Mahoning County Engineer's Office replace a culvert. Traffic will be detoured along Route 534, Middletown and Seacrist roads.
Sewer groundbreaking
DAMASCUS -- Ground was broken Tuesday for a $1.5 million sewer system here. The system is needed because several residents in Damascus and surrounding Goshen Township have failing septic tanks. It will serve about 200 residents and be able to treat up to 80,000 gallons of sewage a day. The general contractor is Conti Corp. of Lowellville.
Murder trial testimony
YOUNGSTOWN -- Testimony began Wednesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, where Tommy Williams is being tried in a murder case. Authorities accuse Williams, 23, of Meadow Street, of shooting and killing 22-year-old Michael Booker of Austintown outside Pal Joey's Lounge on Midlothian Boulevard in April 2000. It's the second time Williams has been tried in the case. His first trial ended with a hung jury earlier this year.
New court official
YOUNGSTOWN -- Norma Pruitt Ryan has been hired as the first full-time assignment commissioner for Youngstown Municipal Court and will be sworn in at 8:30 a.m. Monday in Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr.'s courtroom.
Ryan, who will be paid $36,033 annually, previously worked for Preble County Juvenile Court in Eaton, Ohio, from June 1995 to June 2000 as a deputy clerk of court, where she gained experience in case management.
Among her duties, Ryan will work with other courts to prevent conflicts in scheduling and promote efficiency through joint efforts in a common computer system, forms and training.
Sojourner House event
BOARDMAN -- Several people and organizations will be honored at today's 10th anniversary recognition dinner for donors and fund-raisers who have helped the Sojourner House domestic violence program. The event, which also will honor victims of domestic violence, will be at 5:30 p.m. at Antone's Banquet Center on Market Street. Honorees will include Dale and Sherry Sheely, owners of Sheely's Furniture in North Lima, for their donation of furniture to help victims to rebuild their lives; A.C. McCullough and Kelly Stevens, WHOT-FM morning radio personalities, for conducting an annual fund-raising golf outing; Home Savings and Loan Co. employees, for consistently donating money and food; and the Canfield Police Department, for conducting a clothing and cellular-phone drive and storing the items collected.
Firearms charges
CLEVELAND -- A federal grand jury in Cleveland has indicted three Youngstown-area residents on charges of being felons in possession of one or more firearms. The U.S. Attorney's Office identified the suspects as Anita G. Gore, 33, whose last known address was on Mahoning Avenue in Milton Township; Nick S. Kaczmark, 25, whose last known address was on Broadview Avenue in Girard; and Paul D. Brown, 23, last known to reside on Falls Avenue in Youngstown.