Zoning appeals board

Zoning appeals board
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city zoning appeals board earlier this week approved the re-establishment of a tire recycling operation on Jones Street.
Recycled Resources Inc. sought a variance because tire recycling isn't a permitted use on Jones Street, off Poland Avenue on the South Side. Recycled Resources takes over a site that has 100,000 tires left by a previous business that never got a permit to operate, said Bill D'Avignon, city deputy director of planning.
The zoning board also deadlocked 2-2 on whether a licensed group home at 359 Redondo Road is legal. At issue is whether a two-year gap between occupancy of an old operator and the new operator means the use as a group home has expired. The city law department has said the use never changed despite the lapse in occupancy. Board members who weren't at the meeting will review the transcripts and vote at the next meeting.
Amber Alert training
YOUNGSTOWN -- A local four-member Amber Alert team will be in Dallas, Texas, Sunday through Tuesday for a national training seminar sponsored by the U.S. Justice Department. Attending are Mahoning County Sheriff Randall A. Wellington; sheriff's Maj. Michael Budd; James Hartzler, Clear Channel Communications; and Walter Duzzny, Mahoning County Emergency Management Agency director. The seminar is designed, among other things, to increase awareness and understanding about the scope and size of missing and abducted children issues.
Second Harvest benefit
LIBERTY -- Second Harvest Foodbank's 12th annual Taste of the Valley at 5 p.m. Sunday at Holiday Inn MetroPlex will offer food and beverages from 35 area restaurants, and fight hunger at the same time. Silent auction items include a week's stay at a condominium in Florida, gift baskets, jewelry and sports memorabilia. The Youngstown String Quartet will provide music. The few tickets that remain will be sold at the door, organizers said. Second Harvest Foodbank is a charitable organization that provides food to 200 hunger relief organizations in Columbiana, Trumbull and Mahoning counties.
Windshield damaged
SALEM -- A taxi driver reported his windshield was struck by an object he believes was a BB.
The cab was hit as it was being driven on North Ellsworth Avenue between Fifth and Sixth streets about 9:20 p.m. Wednesday, police said.
Death of swans probed
AKRON -- The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife is seeking information on an incident involving injury and death to endangered birds.
Four young trumpeter swans (cygnets) were found dead near the Shenango Wildlife Area in Trumbull County. A veterinarian determined the birds were probably run over by a vehicle.
The birds are classified as endangered species in Ohio. Harming or killing an endangered species is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail. In addition, anyone convicted of an offense could be ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution for each bird killed.
Doug Miller, the division of wildlife's Law Enforcement Supervisor for Northeastern Ohio, said that anyone with information can call the division's confidential, toll-free number. The Turn in a Poacher (TIP) line is (800) POACHER.
Fees for certificates rise
YOUNGSTOWN -- An additional $5 will be charged starting Monday to get a certified birth or death certificate. The increase from $10 was mandated by the state, according to Neil H. Altman, the Youngstown health commissioner and the local registrar of vital statistics. All of the increase will be sent to the state.
Altman also said that under the change, noncertified copies of birth and death certificates will no longer be issued.