7th Ward meeting

7th Ward meeting
YOUNGSTOWN -- Seventh Ward residents are being asked to attend the Buckeye Eyes and Ears Block Watch meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Word of Grace Church, 2734 Mount Vernon Ave.
Police Chief Bob Bush and Councilman John A. Nittoli, D-7th, will discuss the rash of break-ins that have been occurring in the upper South Side ward.
Academic Challenge
LISBON -- East Palestine High School took first place Saturday in the Columbiana County Academic Challenge. Salem High School finished second, followed by Southern Local High School in third place. More than 100 students from 11 high schools participated in the 26th annual event, which took place at the Columbiana County Career and Technical Center. Students were quizzed on such subjects as math, science, history and literature.
Couple's home burns
NEGLEY -- Firefighters from four departments battled a house fire for more than three hours Saturday at the home of Chris and Beth Lattanzio, 49743 Dyke Road, Middleton Township, in Columbiana County.
The Negley, Rogers, East Palestine and New Waterford fire departments responded to the blaze, which was reported at 6:24 p.m. Negley Fire Chief Jerry Hoon said the blaze apparently started in an upstairs bedroom of the two-story structure. Hoon said he's not sure whether the cause was suspicious, though the Columbiana County Arson Task Force is investigating. Chris Lattanzio was home when the fire started but escaped unharmed.
United Way report
BOARDMAN -- The Youngstown/Mahoning Valley United Way will have a buffet dinner from 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Holiday Inn, 7410 South Ave., where the 2002 final campaign report will be given. Cost is $23 per person, and there will be a cash bar. Those wishing to attend should RSVP by Feb. 5 to the United Way, 255 Watt St., Youngstown 44505. Tables of eight also are available. For more information, call the United Way at (330) 746-8494.
Highway robbery
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 33-year-old Niles man was robbed at knife point at about 5:40 a.m. Saturday.
The victim told city police he was driving on Martin Luther King Boulevard and stopped to keep from hitting two men who were on the road. One opened the driver's side door, threatened him with a knife, ordered him out of the car and demanded his valuables. The victim, who was not injured, said he gave the robbers $92 and a cell phone, and they got into his car and fled north on the boulevard.
Pedestrian robbed
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Hudson Avenue man was robbed and beaten at about 1:20 a.m. Saturday as he was walking along Hillman Street. The victim told police that a man and a woman came out of a house in the 2000 block of Hillman and began beating him. He said the man pulled out a handgun and demanded money. The victim was thrown down, and the thieves emptied his pockets before running away.
Stabbed in abdomen
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mildred Taylor, 46, of South Earle Avenue was in stable condition Saturday night in St. Elizabeth Health Center after suffering a stab wound to her abdomen. Police reports said Taylor argued with an unidentified man Saturday afternoon over money the man said Taylor owed him for drugs. When Taylor denied owing him money, he pulled out a six-inch knife and stabbed her.