Charter changes on ballot
Charter changes on ballot
YOUNGSTOWN -- City council approved placing six proposed charter changes before voters in November.
The proposed changes are: requiring the mayor to be a resident and an elector for the past five years; lowering the minimum age of council members from 25 to 21; switching the pay for the mayor, law director and finance director from once a month to biweekly; allowing council or its committees to meet in executive session as allowed by state law; adding gender references in the charter for women instead of references for men only; and removing language about property at Lake Milton the city no longer owns.
Council also approved by a 6-1 vote Wednesday to authorize the board of control to negotiate a float loan of up to $3 million for Anthony's on the River for a proposed expansion of the dining and entertainment areas. The item had been in its second reading.
Body-armor indictment
CLEVELAND -- A federal grand jury indicted a Youngstown man on charges that he illegally possessed body armor after he had been convicted of a violent felony.
Indicted was Eric Ballard, 28, of Samuel Avenue.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the federal probation office. It is being prosecuted under the federal Gun Reduction Interdiction Project program, which is aimed at reducing gun violence.
Hit-and-run accident
YOUNGSTOWN -- Police say Daniel Sincel, 49, of Cortland Avenue, Campbell, was involved in a hit-and-run accident on Stiles Avenue at 8:55 p.m. Wednesday, then continued into Hubbard.
In Youngstown, he faces a charge of hit and run after a 51-year-old Youngstown woman was struck.
Hubbard city police have charged him with driving under the influence after finding him sitting in his vehicle on Westview Avenue there. He is due on that charge Wednesday in Girard Municipal Court.
MVSD contract extension
MINERAL RIDGE -- A contract between employees and the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District has been extended 30 days.
MVSD directors agreed Wednesday to continue the contract with 35 members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1649 so they can finalize a new pact. The sides have agreed on a pact but are waiting for it to be typed and signed.
Directors also assigned the duties of retiring chief engineer David Tabak to two other employees. Edward McCormick, chief of operations, will serve as designated operator in charge, and John Zackasee, supervisor of purification, will serve as administrator. Neither will receive additional pay for the extra duties. Tabak retires from the plant at the end of this week.
Help Hotline training
YOUNGSTOWN -- Help Hotline Crisis Center offers free training classes for people interested in volunteering for the 24-hour service. The classes meet from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. for six consecutive Saturdays, beginning Oct. 4.
Volunteers are asked to make a six-month commitment. Call (330) 747-2696 for more information.
Neshannock Road closed
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Neshannock Road was closed this morning from U.S. Route 62 to Virginia Road as a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation crew replaced a pipe. The road was to reopen later today.
Driver dies in crash
LISBON -- A Center Township man died after his sport utility vehicle struck a bridge wall in Elkrun Township.
The Lisbon post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said Donald Burson, 59, of Steubenville Pike Road, was driving west on old Route 154 near Low Road when the crash occurred around 8:10 p.m. Tuesday. The patrol said Burson was driving fast when the vehicle went off the right side of the road and struck the bridge wall. He was wearing a shoulder belt.
Microburst confirmed
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The National Weather Service has confirmed that a microburst with winds estimated at 70 mph came through Lawrence County on Tuesday.
The microburst was about 3/4 of a mile wide and extended for about six miles from the Ohio border north of Hillsville through Mahoning and Union townships.
Microbursts are strong winds near the ground that produce a swath of damage less than 2.5 miles wide.
The hardest hit area Tuesday was Mahoning Township with a large number of uprooted, toppled trees, some of which fell on houses, the National Weather Service said.
Jet ski stolen
SALEM -- Perry Township police are investigating the theft of a jet-ski watercraft. The jet ski was taken from a home on the 300 block of W. Pine Lake Road. The crime occurred sometime between 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, police said.