Arson reward offered

Arson reward offered
YOUNGSTOWN -- Anyone with information about a series of house fires on the North Side is asked to call Capt. Alvin Ware, commander of the arson bureau, at (330) 782-0055. Arson is listed as the cause of fires at 2915 Dearborn, where the occupant was in the process of moving, and 2809 Dearborn and 3040 W. Federal St., both of which were vacant. All fires occurred within the last week. A $5,000 reward is being offered from the Ohio Blue Ribbon Arson Committee. The committee is a coalition of insurance companies.
Stolen checks
AUSTINTOWN -- Police are investigating a report that someone stole business checks from a township resident and cashed one in April for $9,500. The thief also tried to cash a stolen check for $5,200 but was denied by the bank, reports state. The man told police that the checks were most likely stolen out of his mailbox. He reported the theft Tuesday after receiving his bank statement.
Water safe to drink
YOUNGSTOWN -- A boil-water alert has been dropped for streets affected by work Monday on a waterline on West Federal Street near Division Street. Tap water is safe to drink on these streets: Temple, Beck, Sarah, Dupont, Dearborn and Hammaker streets; Mosier Place and Robinwood Place; Goodlow, Sloane and Briar Hill avenues; Davis Lane; and Stansbury Drive.
Wildflower garden
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city's design review committee has approved a wildflower garden for a hillside spot behind the Nathaniel R. Jones U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building downtown. The U.S. General Services Administration proposed wildflowers and grasses native to Ohio to replace a sparse patch of grass and weeds. The wildflowers will be on the hillside between Wood and Commerce streets, visible from northbound Wick Avenue.
Purse recovered
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 73-year-old woman whose purse was snatched in the parking lot of Sparkle Market, 1912 Mahoning Ave., around 11 a.m. Wednesday retrieved her property intact after a neighbor yelled at her attacker.
According to a police report, the woman was walking from her car, which was parked on the west side of the building, when a man grabbed her purse. A neighbor witnessed the theft and hollered at the man, who jumped into the passenger side of a waiting car, dropping the woman's purse.
The man is described as black with a long afro and scraggly beard. The car is described as a teal 1996 or 1997 Pontiac Grand Am four-door.
Fingerhut to speak
YOUNGSTOWN -- State Sen. Eric Fingerhut, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, will discuss his opposition to attempts to change overtime pay requirements at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Service Employees International Union Local 1199 Hall on Belmont Avenue.
Endangering charge
SALEM -- A Lowellville woman will appear next Thursday in Columbiana County Municipal Court on a child endangering charge filed by Salem police after her 3-year-old son was found wandering along city streets.
Police charged Krista Little, 23, Center Road, with the first-degree misdemeanor Wednesday.
They said her son was spotted about 9:50 a.m. by residents near Liberty Street and Granite Avenue nearly two blocks from the home on the 1000 block of Newggarden Avenue, where Little was visiting.
The toddler was wearing only a dirty diaper and a short-sleeved shirt.
Columbiana County Children Services, called by police, gathered information that will be conveyed to Mahoning County authorities. The boy was released to his mother's custody.
CPR training offered
NEW SPRINGFIELD -- EMS Coordinator Karen Philibin announced that CPR training will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Springfield Township administration building. There will be a minimal cost. For questions, call the administration building at (330) 542-2377.
Spring cleanup time
MINERAL RIDGE -- Weathersfield Township residents are reminded that they must set their spring cleanup items at the curb of their home by 6 p.m. Sunday to ensure that cleanup crews do not miss them. Township Administrator David Pugh said the entire township will be covered by the cleanup, which runs from Sunday to May 22, but residents are warned that the township does not know what order the cleanup crews will follow.