Tornado warning, more rain

Gov. Taft was scheduled to visit storm and flood damage in the Valley today.
VINDICATOR STAFF REPORT
A Warren City Council meeting was canceled Wednesday evening after a tornado warning sent council members and administrators seeking shelter in the municipal building's basement.
A tornado was reportedly spotted in Champion, but officials said this morning there was no touchdown. Heavy rain and ominous clouds passed through the area, but Trumbull County 911 dispatchers say no damage was reported.
The council meeting was canceled before council could vote on any of the legislation, including a measure that would allow city voters to decide in November if they want a commission to write a city charter.
Gov. Bob Taft is visiting the Mahoning Valley today as part of his review of the extent of storm-related damage in Northeast Ohio.
His schedule includes a stop this morning at Elizabeth Baptist Church on South Garland Avenue on Youngstown's East Side.
A tornado damaged businesses and felled numerous trees in that area Monday; flooding has affected the entire region.
Inmates evacuated
The Northeast Ohio Community Alternative Program, at 411 Pine Avenue S.E., Warren, was evacuated Wednesday morning because of flooding.
The alternative jail facility was holding 79 men and 27 women at the time.
Some inmates, who were close to finishing their sentences and were already on work release programs, will be allowed to go home until the facility reopens, officials said.
The others will be sent to the Trumbull County jail.
NEOCAP officials said they do not know how long the facility will be shut down.
Sheriff Thomas Altiere said NEOCAP employees will supervise their inmates on the fourth floor of the county jail.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the mayor's office said Ohio Edison crews turned off power on several Warren streets because of flooding.
The streets are South Park Avenue, from the railroad to Fulton Street, the east side of Main Street, Lovers Lane and Tod Avenue at Beal.
It is not known how long the electricity will remain off.
In McDonald
Flooding at the newly remodeled McDonald High School was under control and well on its way to being cleaned up by 10 a.m. Tuesday, district treasurer Thomas Radabaugh said.
Radabaugh said there was flooding in the hallway and entry north of the board offices, the auditorium, the weight room and downstairs, underneath the gym.
"It could have been a lot worse," Radabaugh said, noting all the areas that were flooded were tiled and there is no permanent damage.
National Red Cross relief workers are expected in Warren today.
Among the services offered will be delivery of meals to residents in areas affected by flooding.
The cost of the operation to the Red Cross is expected to be between $50,000 and $250,000, said community development director Michael Keys.
Warren sanitation workers will collect carpet, furniture and other waterlogged items at the curb until Aug. 1.
They will not pick up downed trees or limbs, Mayor Hank Angelo said.