People who made a difference in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys in 2003:

People who made a difference in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys in 2003:
jAl Rivalsky, a Springfield Township firefighter and EMS volunteer, was honored by Springfield Township trustees for the recognition he received in creating a training program for the fire department's Explorer Post for youths 13 to 18 years old. He has contributed 348 hours of volunteer service and has been a member of the fire department for 71/2 years.
jDaniel Colvin, 19, of Youngstown's North Side penned a poem that led him to Washington, D.C., to meet a few of the nation's black leaders. The poem, "Armed with a Conscience," is about two reluctant, opposing soldiers meeting on a battlefield and the merits of peace.
The North Side Citizens' Coalition created a program that pays 75 percent of basic landscaping work up to $300 for homes in qualified Youngstown neighborhoods, with homeowners paying the rest, in an effort to keep neighborhoods from falling into disrepair.
Led by a trustee, Joseph Magielski, a set of new officers stabilized the finances of the Free Polish Krakusy Society, Polish National Alliance Lodge 827, which let the group continue operating Krakusy Hall on Youngstown's South Side.
hMembers of First Unitarian Church, Rodef Sholom Temple and Richard Brown Memorial United Methodist Church on Youngstown's North Side collaborated to create a successful farmers market that operated for several weeks in the fall. Plans are to continue the farmers market in 2004. Jim Converse, above, was one of its organizers
A dozen youths were part of the AIM High program, run by General Motors Lordstown and United Autoworkers Local 1714, that built a pavilion next to the Boys and Girls Club on Oak Hill Avenue in Youngstown. AIM, which stands for An Investment in Me, is made up of high school seniors enrolled at career and technical centers in Mahoning and Trumbull counties.
A group of young men who grew up on Kenmore Avenue on Youngstown's South Side organized a block party for neighborhood children that grew from a small gathering to drawing about 4,000 people this year.
The Mayor's Task Force on Crime and Violence Prevention organized a distribution of 1,000 emergency porch-light bulbs that can alert neighbors to problems and help police, fire and rescue crews locate a house. The Ohio Attorney General's Office provided a $5,000 grant to buy the bulbs.
Kathleen Price of Austintown, Mission of Love Foundation president, led a group of volunteers who built the first hospice on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation in South Dakota. It is believed to be the first hospice on a reservation in the United States.
hAustintown firefighter John Fritz raised $5,700 in donations for Rainbow Babies & amp; Children's Hospital in Cleveland and the Tri-County Spina Bifida Association by walking from the township to Cleveland in full firefighting gear. Fritz's 3-year-old daughter, Ryley, has spina bifida, a neural birth defect.
jKenny Ferenchak, who graduated from Fitch High School in the spring, fasted once a week in the late winter as part of a project to raise money for the Second Harvest Foodbank of the Mahoning Valley. Ferenchak is the president of Fitch's Interact club, which raised about $800 through the project.
jFireworks magnate George Zambelli Sr. was recognized by the Boy Scouts of America for his years of helping youth. In May, he received the Silver Buffalo Award, the highest honor given by the Boy Scouts, for providing fireworks to many Scouting events through the years. He was the owner of Zambelli Fireworks Internationale in New Castle.
Candy makers throughout the region stepped up to help one of their own. Caiazza Candy in New Castle lost its manufacturing plant and most of its stock in a July 24 fire, but Fairfield Confectionery in New Castle, Daffin's Candies in Sharon and Giannios Candy Co. in Struthers gave the candy company space, equipment and workers to help produce what was lost in the fire.
jLisa Rohrbaugh, director of the East Palestine Memorial Public Library, is involved in school and community organizations and active in the schools. She is always coming up with unique ideas for the library, and unique ways to use the funding available. There are programs for adults as well as children. There's an antiques appraisal program each year, and very popular prose and poetry contests that draw contestants from across the border in Pennsylvania as well as from Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties.
Brian Welsh and Cheryl Pilch led the effort to raise $5,000 for 50 shortwave radio scanners to be placed in child-care centers in Lawrence County. The scanners were to notify workers of impending bad weather or terrorist attacks, said Welsh, director of the Lawrence County Family Center. Pilch is director of Child Care Information Services of Lawrence County.
Pat Cline of Adelaide Avenue N.E., Warren, is chairman of the Trumbull County Unmet Needs and Long-term Recovery Committee. The committee is made up of Mahoning Valley churches and nonprofit organizations and was formed to help the victims of the summer flooding. Committee volunteers have referred 1,000 people to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, cleaned 100 homes and rehabilitated eight homes that were severely damaged. It also distributed 30 to 40 kits containing school materials for children. Cline, 36, is an emergency room nurse at The Cleveland Clinic.
John Tolson, a Salem businessman and member of the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce, has been one of the most dedicated proponents of establishing a modern 911 system in Columbiana County. The county is one of only a handful of counties left in the state without a modern system that instantly provides emergency dispatchers with the address from which a 911 call is being placed and other vital details. Tolson campaigned for passage of a 50-cent monthly telephone surcharge to aid in funding the system. The surcharge measure passed in November's general election.
hNorth Lima couple Jeanne and Eugene Smith donated a mule-drawn school bus to the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus in November. The bus, which served Columbiana County's Central School District likely near the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, had been in the Smiths' possession since they bought their farm in 1958.
Greg Moring, Youngstown State University associate art professor, designed the 14.5-foot gates that will serve as the entrance to the $3.3 million addition to YSU's Bliss Hall, which includes a foundry. The gates depict steel workers to symbolize the connection between the history of Youngstown and the work that will happen in the building.
William Cole, a corrections officer at the State Regional Correctional Facility at Mercer, received the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections' Outstanding Performance Award for his involvement in the prison's Citizenship Oversight Committee, National Issues Forum and Hostage Negotiation Team. He provides training to other institutions in the Character Development Program, which he developed. He was also instrumental in developing the Unit Based Citizenship Program.
Susan Rinella of Greenville, a clinical nurse at UPMC Horizon, received the 2003 Cameos of Caring award presented by the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. She is a member of the hospital's Performance Improvement and Pain Management committees and is a certified CPR instructor. She also works as a preceptor for new nurses and high school students and has a specialty in pediatric nursing.
Beatrice Oakes, 83, of Hermitage was named honoree of the annual Mercer County Heart Walk held by the Mercer County Division of the American Heart Association held in September. She not only overcame heart disease five years ago, but has since become a heart walk participant, raising at least $500 each year. This year, as honoree, she alone raised $1,642 during the event.
Aleesha Wyman, 5, formerly of West Middlesex, was presented with a hero's plaque by the borough fire department in May for her presence of mind to dial 911 when her great-grandmother's stove caught fire. While her great-grandmother was busy trying to extinguish the grease fire, Aleesha called on the emergency training she'd been given at her preschool center to walk to the telephone and dial 911 for help. She was presented with a plaque, and her preschool class got a party sponsored by the fire department.
Mahoning County Career & amp; Technical Center students in the aviation technology program and the interactive multimedia/visual design arts program repaired and repainted "Penny," the large piggy bank used at fund-raising events for the Easter Seals of Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties. They worked in October under the direction of Melissa Hackett, teacher of the multimedia program, and Scott Rowe, aviation teacher.
hFourteen-year-old Wayne Claycomb of Youngstown, a Chaney High School freshman, collected several boxes of toys for the children in 500 Appalachian families served by the Journeys of Service Helping Upper Appalachia mission in Steubenville; he and his family delivered the items in December. The Youngstown teen was inspired by a JOSHUA service camp he attended.
Fourth-graders in Amy Majernick's class at West Elementary School in Youngstown helped arrange 36 Easter baskets for children at Forum Health Tod Children's Hospital in April. West Elementary staff and pupils in various classes created and donated the items to fill the baskets.
Instructor John D. Panella Jr. and students in the millwork and carpentry program at the Mahoning County Career & amp; Technical Center helped the National Park Service rebuild a historically accurate Virginia worm fence in April on Pickett's Charge battlefield in the Gettysburg (Pa.) National Military Park.
Parker Hannifin Corp. joined Youngstown State University in a partnership that created the country's first Hydraulics Research and Education Center in YSU's engineering program.
hRenee Brandt and Tracey Wolfe, both of Boardman, helped rescue 77-year-old William Lee of Youngstown from his burning car on South Avenue on Nov. 7. Township trustees recently honored the women for their bravery.
In an effort to educate the university community about eating disorders, training pitfalls, media images and healthful food choices, Youngstown State University students Emily Eckman and Anthony Candel, both members of the Student Government Association, teamed up in April to create Body Image Awareness Week on campus. Candel is an exercise science major; Eckman majors in nutrition.
jJim Petuch, Youngstown State University Recycling manager, and other members of the YSU community were honored for their efforts in the Dump and Run and re:CREATE programs, which collect various items from campus buildings and distribute them to nonprofit agencies in the Mahoning Valley. YSU was named the 2003 University/College "Partner of the Year" by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WasteWise program.
Under the direction of Dr. Jane Reid, a marketing professor, about 200 students in Youngstown State University's Williamson College of Business Administration volunteered at various nonprofit groups during the college's second annual Dare to Care event in November.
Various donors helped Youngstown State University raise $10 million of the $12 million needed to build a new recreation and wellness center on campus completely with private funds. The John S. and Doris M. Andrews Trust, named after the late financier and his wife, has pledged $2 million to the project. Other major contributions include $1.5 million from John and Denise York, $1 million from the Ward and Florence Simon Beecher Foundation, $750,000 from Anthony and Mary Lariccia and $500,000 from D.D. and Velma Davis.