Trustees interview police chief candidates

Trustees interviewpolice chief candidates
HOWLAND -- Township trustees hope to hire a new police chief by Friday.
Trustees interviewed two remaining candidates in a closed session Tuesday. Trustee Rick Clark said both are excellent choices.
He said trustees will meet again in executive session at 3 p.m. Friday. He said a decision may be made after that meeting.
The candidates are Michael J. Menster, captain of operations with the Sharon, Pa., police department, and Paul S. Monroe, detective bureau commander of the Howland department.
2nd-lowest bidder wins
GIRARD -- The city controlling board has awarded a contract to the second-lowest bidder on a waterline project.
The board made up of Mayor James J. Melfi, service director Jerry Lambert and safety director Frank Rich voted unanimously to award the contract to M & amp;M Inc., which bid $14,818 to move a city-owned waterline at state Routes 193 and 304.
A bid of $14,000 from DPM Paving was rejected.
Law director Mark M. Standohar issued an opinion that the city didn't have to award the contract to DPM because its company officers, Dante Massacci Sr. of Warren, and his son, Dante Massacci Jr. of Howland, are facing sentencing after pleading guilty to bribing a Warren official to get a demolition contract.
Standohar also said in the opinion that DPM's bonding documents were submitted after the deadline.
Addiction servicesschedules forum
LIBERTY -- The Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services will have a forum at 5:30 p.m. March 12 in the Holiday Inn MetroPlex on community needs related to the state's publicly-funded alcohol and drug system.
The Mahoning Valley forum is among seven being conducted statewide.
Information obtained at the meetings will be included in the department's five-year comprehensive plan.
Those attending are asked to focus on four questions: How does alcohol and other drug use affect your community; how serious of a problem is it in your community; who in your community would benefit from prevention and treatment services; and how would those treatment services improve your community.
Apple Cider Festival
LORDSTOWN -- The Lordstown Apple Cider Festival Committee will have a dinner from 4 to 7 p.m. March 15 in the village administration building, 1455 Salt Springs Road, to raise funds for the festival.
The menu includes turkey and all the trimmings, dessert and beverage. Cost is $7 for adults and $3 for children 12 and under.
Grave decorations
YOUNGSTOWN -- All artificial and Christmas decorations must be removed from diocesan cemeteries by March 23.
These are Calvary Cemetery in Youngstown, Resurrection Cemetery in Austintown, All Souls Cemetery in Cortland and Calvary Cemetery in Massillon.
After that date, all items, except fresh-cut flowers in approved vases, will be removed by crews.
Arrest on arson charges
YOUNGSTOWN -- Robert A. Lee, 25, of Dearborn Street, who smelled of gasoline and had singed facial hair, was arrested Tuesday night on charges of arson and possession of criminal tools.
Capt. Alvin Ware, commander of the Youngstown Fire Department arson bureau, said Lee has been under investigation for about a year in a rash of arsons in the Dearborn, Davis Lane, Martin Luther King Boulevard area.
Lee was taken into custody after a fire at 2929 Dearborn, police said.
Ware said he has no motive yet for the fires set at vacant houses, but isn't ruling out the possibility of insurance fraud.
Carjacking reported
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 19-year-old Columbiana man told police he was carjacked on Market Street at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The victim said he and a friend from Boardman were approached by two men, one of whom stuck a gun in his ribs and ordered him back into his car, which he had just parked outside a bar.
The suspects got in the back seat and forced the victim to drive to Hylda Avenue, where the victim and his friend were ordered out of the car. The suspects drove off with a wallet and cell phone, reports show.