Warning cancels meeting; rainfall nears record

The Valley's total rainfall so far this month is 5.4 inches above normal.
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.
The Valley had 0.26 inches of rain Wednesday, which brought the Valley's total rainfall this month to 8.53 inches, according to Tony Spicer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Cleveland.
That's 5.40 inches above normal for this time of year.
That also makes this July the second wettest on record. The previous second-place rainfall for July was 8.31 inches in 1986. The highest July rainfall on record is 9.68 inches in 1992, said Spicer. The highest one-month total is 10.66 inches in June 1986.
The readings were taken at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna.
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.
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 that all the areas that were flooded were tiled and that there is no permanent damage.
Red Cross services
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.
In Canfield, authorities reported that rain Wednesday caused the closing of portions of these roads: Fairview, Kings, Hilltop, Queens, North Broad, Colonial and South Hillside. All were reopened by this morning.
Animal welfare officials urged residents to remember pets and to report to officials any animals in distress or in harm's way because of flooding.