Law speaker set for YSU

Law speaker set for YSU
YOUNGSTOWN -- Dr. Paul Finkelman of the University of Tulsa College of Law in Oklahoma will speak at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Youngstown State University to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Brown vs. Board of Education decision.
Finkelman, a Chapman Distinguished Professor of Law, will speak on the topic "Brown vs. Board of Education: The Most Radical Decision in the Supreme Court's History" in the Humphrey Room of Kilcawley Center. He will also give a lecture for the YSU College of Arts and Sciences at 4 p.m. in the same location on "The Intellectual Roots of Modern Racism: Proslavery Science in Antebellum America." Both events are free and open to the public.
Finkelman's will be the first in a series of events planned to mark the 50th anniversary of the landmark decision on desegregation.
Theft report
AUSTINTOWN -- Police are investigating a report that $113,908 was stolen from Ohio Van and Truck Supply on Mahoning Avenue between 1997 and last year. The owner of the business told police that someone changed receipts to cover the theft.
Back to court
STRUTHERS -- Five Poland teens arrested at a party here Friday will be back in court in March.
Judge James R. Lanzo set hearings for 9:30 a.m. March 1 for Matthew T. Downie, 18, of Howell Drive; Russell C. Snyder, 18, of Autumnwood Trail; and Kenneth M. Toth, 18, of Suncrest Drive. Judge Lanzo set hearings for 9:45 a.m. March 1 for Reid Lamport, 18, of Massachusetts Avenue, and Daniel P. McGarry, 18, of Center Road.
All five were charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor after they were arrested along with 13 juveniles at a home on Deer Creek Drive, where suspected marijuana, a variety of alcoholic beverages and cigarettes were being consumed.
Downie, Snyder, Toth, Lamport and McGarry were the only adults at the party. The others were 15 to 17 years old.
Drug buyer shot in face
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 32-year-old Toronto, Ohio, man told police he was shot in the face Monday in his pickup truck on Griffith Street after he paid $20 to a drug dealer. Police interviewed the victim at St. Elizabeth Health Center, where he drove for treatment about 11:30 a.m. Police collected as evidence a syringe, lighter and rock of suspected crack cocaine from the truck.
Bond set in gunfire
YOUNGSTOWN -- Bond has been set at $75,000 cash or surety for Bernard C. Barnes Jr., who is accused of shooting at city Councilman Clarence Boles, D-6th, Saturday morning. Barnes, 22, of West LaClede Avenue, will be back in municipal court Feb. 11 for a preliminary hearing. Boles told police that he had asked Barnes, who was walking in the middle of West LaClede with another man, to move over so that he could drive by. Boles said Barnes fired several shots. The councilman was not injured.
Springfield contract talks
NEW SPRINGFIELD -- Springfield Township trustees are to meet with the township's legal counsel at 4 p.m. today at the township administration building to discuss ongoing contract negotiations.
Youngstown's money
WARREN -- At a meeting at 4:30 p.m. Monday at Avalon Inn, Trumbull County leaders will discuss the possibility of getting a piece of Youngstown's $25 million federal grant.
Ohio's U.S. senators have already rebuffed a request by Commissioners James Tsagaris and Joseph J. Angelo to split the money originally intended for a Youngstown convocation center.
The meeting was called by the Commissioner, Dan Polivka, who is engaged in a four-way primary race to keep his seat.
School closings, delays
SHARON, Pa. -- Icy roads caused by freezing rain overnight across northern Mercer County led some schools to close and others to delay the start of classes today.
A power outage along the Sharon/Hermitage line led the Sharon City School District to delay the start of classes until 10 a.m.
Bad roads were blamed for the closing of Jamestown, Greenville, Reynolds and Grove City public schools as well as St. Michael's School in Greenville.