Hawaii trip called off

Hawaii trip called off
WARREN -- The 212-member Warren G. Harding High School Marching Band will cancel its upcoming trip to Hawaii because of a lack of funds. The band was to leave in mid-November to perform in recognition of the 65th anniversary of Pearl Harbor and at Hawaii's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The band expressed its appreciation to the community over the past few months for fundraising efforts, band Director Lynn Marlin said. "The band is disappointed that they will not have the opportunity to perform, but they remain grateful of the overwhelming support for the band program as a whole," she said. "Many of our families are currently faced with tough economic times and could simply not afford the added expense of sending their child to Hawaii."
Threat case delayed
YOUNGSTOWN -- The trial for a city man accused of threatening Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court and his wife has been rescheduled for Sept. 5. Kenneth Favors, 51, of West Delason Avenue, faces one count each of intimidation and retaliation, both felonies of the third degree, and two counts of telecommunications harassment -- one a first-degree misdemeanor, the other a fifth-degree felony because it's a subsequent offense. Favors is accused of placing two collect calls to Judge Krichbaum's home last April from the county jail and making threats. The judge's wife answered the phone both times. The trial was to have started Monday before visiting Judge Thomas P. Curran of Cuyahoga County.
Endangerment plea
YOUNGSTOWN -- Nakeia Hall, 24, of Woodcrest Avenue entered a no-contest plea to a first-degree misdemeanor charge of child endangering at her arraignment Monday in Youngstown Municipal Court. Judge Robert P. Milich ordered a pre-sentence investigation and scheduled another hearing for 9:15 a.m. Aug. 17. Police arrested Hall Sunday after police say she left a month-old baby outside a Crandall Avenue residence and drove away. She left three other children -- ages 7, 5 and 3 -- inside the residence with their father, but when she tried to leave the baby, the man refused, saying he was not the father. Hall proceeded to leave the child outside the residence, and she drove away. She said she was threatened by the man. The judge set bond at $2,500, as well as $1,000 per violation for two previous traffic charges. Hall is to have no contact with the infant until the case is settled.
Victim hospitalized
YOUNGSTOWN -- Jose Valentin, 29, of Parkview Avenue was in critical condition Monday evening after being shot Saturday night in a South Side bar parking lot. Valentin said he had argued with the shooter earlier in the day.
Check-fraud charges
STRUTHERS -- Police arrested Donald J. Pratt, 37, of Garfield Street on Monday on charges that he stole a check book and forged more than $1,800 in checks. Pratt was arraigned Monday in municipal court on felony charges of passing bad checks and forgery and jailed in lieu of $37,500 bond, police said. Police said the checks had been stolen in May and that several checks had been written on the account since then.
Arson investigation
SALINEVILLE -- Investigators are awaiting a ruling on the cause of death in a July 3 fire. The Ohio State Fire Marshal's Office has ruled that arson was the cause of the fire that destroyed the home of Vernon "Lee" Gossman, 47, of 18639 Seigler Road, Franklin Township. Gossman's body was identified through dental records late last week. The fire marshal's office said multiple fires had been set throughout the house. The Columbiana County Coroner's Office is awaiting autopsy tests from the Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office, which may take weeks to complete.