Anti-crime event, parade

Anti-crime event, parade
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city's 19th annual National Night Out Against Crime observance will be from 5 until 9 p.m. Tuesday at Homestead Park on East Dewey Avenue. Last year's event drew more than 500 people. The public is invited to participate in the parade that will start at Woodrow Wilson High School and end at the park. Lineup will begin at 4:30 p.m. Banners and placards are permitted.
Entertainment, speakers, games, prizes and refreshments will be available at the park. The event is free and sponsored by the East Side Crime Watch and the Black Knights Police Association. Alcohol is prohibited at this family event.
Gas-spill driver fined
YOUNGSTOWN -- The truck driver police said toppled her rig and spilled 8,500 gallons of gasoline on Interstate 680 in late March pleaded no contest to failure to maintain reasonable control, a minor misdemeanor, and was fined $25 by municipal court Magistrate Anthony Sertick. Minor misdemeanors are punishable by a maximum fine of $150 but no jail time. Justine L. Kelly, 34, of Versailles, N.Y., also had to pay $64 in court costs when she appeared this week. In June, she paid a $60 fee for failing to appear as scheduled for a pretrial in May. The ramp where her rig tipped over March 29 was closed for nine days to permit cleanup. Gasoline seeped into the ground and flowed into the sewer system. Cleanup costs are expected to be borne by the insurance provider for the tractor-trailer owner, Wolf's Run Transport, state Route 438, Seneca Nation Territory, Irving, N.Y. The amount was not immediately available.
Mideast war protest
YOUNGSTOWN --The Valley Coalition for Peace and Justice and the Arab American Community Center and Peace Action Youngstown are joining forces to protest the wars in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine at a rally beginning at 6 p.m. today at Stambaugh Auditorium on Fifth Avenue. There will also be a rally and vigil with remarks from clergy and activists from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the Arab-American Community Center on Belgrade Street in Liberty Township.
Make-a-Wish fundraiser
BOARDMAN -- Families are invited to attend Summer of Wishes, an event to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Boardman Park Maag Amphitheatre.
For a donation, participants will be admitted to a play area where kids can bounce on inflatable bounce-arounds, get their face painted, listen to music, watch magicians, meet clowns and get a balloon. Make-A-Wish Foundation strives to grant wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. For more information, call (330) 965-9085.
Vacant house destroyed
YOUNGSTOWN -- The vacant 21/2 story house at 1319 Shehy St. was intentionally set on fire and fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived at 12:04 a.m. Thursday, reports show. Due to the amount of fire and a lack of water pressure from two hydrants, the structure was allowed to burn down, the fire department said. Loss was estimated at $15,000. Earlier, at 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, fire was confined to the living room of a two-story vacant house at 616 W. Woodland Ave. and likely started with a flammable liquid thrown through a window, reports show. Loss was set at $100.
Car thefts at tourney
BOARDMAN -- Police are investigating thefts from several cars parked at two McClurg Road establishments. Ten people reported their vehicles broken into and purses, cash and credit cards taken around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. The vehicles were parked at the Field of Dreams, where a softball tournament is taking place, and at the D.D. & amp; Velma Davis Family YMCA.
Cell tower copper theft
BOARDMAN -- Revol Communications of Independence has reported the theft of $400 worth of copper from a tower site it leases on Southern Boulevard. A company representative told police the 2-foot-long piece of copper used to ground the tower was taken, likely in the last week.