Gunshots investigated

Gunshots investigated

LIBERTY — Police are trying to determine who is responsible for firing two shots into the air while chasing two juveniles just before midnight Saturday.

Officers went to the Biscayne Drive area to investigate a report of gunshots being fired. The boys, one 15-year-old from the township and a 15-year-old from Niles, at first told police nothing happened but soon changed the story.

According to police reports, the two juveniles said they had been walking from a friend’s house on the North Side of Youngstown when a car started following them. The boys, reports say, told officers they ran and someone got out of the car and fired two shots into the air.

Police seize marijuana

GIRARD — City police and the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force, after a one-month investigation, seized marijuana and other items from one home in Girard and another in Liberty Township.

Police reports, calling the homes a midlevel marijuana cultivation operation, say officers searched 345 Ohio Avenue in Girard and 1038 Liberty Street in Liberty on Friday afternoon.

Police seized more than 100 marijuana plants and growing materials between the two houses. Arrest are pending on three adults. There may be additional charges on some of the adults because children were present in the Ohio Avenue house.

OVI checkpoint scheduled

A sobriety checkpoint will be set up somewhere in Mahoning County from 10 p.m. Friday until 2 a.m. Saturday.

The Mahoning County Operating a Vehicle Impaired Task Force will target impaired drivers.

Also, drivers should look for increased enforcement efforts by the task force from Aug. 15 through Sept. 1 for the “Over the Limit, Under Arrest” crackdown. An impaired driving simulator will be at the Canfield Fair sponsored by the task force, Mahoning Safe Communities, and Designated Drivers 4 Hire.

More information and resources can be found at www.stopimpaireddriving.org.

Food distribution

YOUNGSTOWN — Second Harvest Food Bank of Mahoning Valley will distribute 60,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to low-income residents of the Mahoning Valley this week.

The produce, made available through a partnership between Second Harvest Food Bank, Ohio farmers and Ohio legislators, includes peaches, fresh green beans, corn, greens, radishes, beets, zucchini, cucumbers and cabbage. Distribution dates, locations and times are:

Today: Community Resource Center, 940 Pennsylvania Ave., East Liverpool, 2:30 p.m.

Wednesday: First United Methodist Church, 244 South Broadway Ave., Salem, 1:30 p.m.; Pleasant Valley Share Outreach, 2055 Pleasant Valley Road, Niles, 4 p.m.

Thursday: Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church, 8148 Ulp St., Masury, 1:30 p.m.

Saturday: Beulah Baptist Church, 570 Sherwood Ave., Youngstown, 9 a.m.

Fire involves 3 houses

YOUNGSTOWN — A fire at 134 E. Delason Ave. on the South Side was fully involved when firefighters arrived and spread to occupied houses on either side early Sunday. No injuries were reported. Neighbors said a man lived at that address, but that information wasn’t confirmed. The structure, valued at $8,300, was a total loss.

Two walls, the roof and the attic at the house at 138 E. Delason Ave. sustained $5,000 in damage, a fire department official said. At 130 E. Delason Ave., fire blew out the attic window and, for safety, firefighters were ordered out. Damage was set at $2,800, a total loss.

School supply giveaway

GIRARD — Emmanuel Community Care Center, 2 N. State St., will distribute school supplies between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Aug. 18-21 to children whose families are registered at the center.

Families in need of school supplies should contact Emmanuel center at (330) 545-4301 by Friday.

Donations of supplies are being accepted. Items needed include college-ruled paper and notebooks, scissors (especially Fiskars), pencil cases, erasers, pocket folders, rulers, composition books, markers, colored pencils, red pens and pencil sharpeners. Donations are needed by Aug. 13.

For information, contact Sister Jean Orsuto, center director.

Girl injured in fight

YOUNGSTOWN — A 16-year-old girl Chaney High School received medical treatment after being punched and cut by another teenage girl on Federal Street downtown during the Greater Youngstown Italian Fest late Sunday, police said.

The victim had a 1-inch cut under her right eye and slight swelling around her mouth and both eyes and told police the other girl had a razor. A passer-by broke up the fight around 11:30 p.m., reports show. The injured girl told police that she’s had many arguments with the suspect.

No arrests were made.

The case has been turned over to the juvenile division.

Bridge work to begin

EAST PALESTINE — The Ohio Department of Transportation’s District 11 has announced work will begin Monday to replace the West Street bridge over the Norfolk Southern Railway in the city.

The bridge between Martin Avenue and Grant Street will be closed for 90 consecutive days for the construction. A local detour route will be posted.

The project will include the replacement of the existing structure, new approach pavement and sidewalks.

ODOT’s contractor for the $1.2 million project is BOG Construction Inc., from Berlin Center, Ohio. The completion date is Oct. 15.

Man suffers stab wound

YOUNGSTOWN — Anthony Blalock was found with a stab wound to his back around 12:10 a.m. Monday, lying on the sidewalk in the 1400 block of South Avenue, police said.

Blalock, 25, of Hillman Street, told police he was walking north when two men approached from behind, one of whom stabbed him. Blalock said they ran and he fell to the ground, yelling for help.

He was in stable condition at St. Elizabeth Health Center.

No motive was given for the attack.

Wagon, pipes stolen

LOWELLVILLE — One hundred aluminum pipes and a hay wagon were reported stolen from Countryside Farms and Greenhouse.

The pipes that were on the wagon were last seen July 12. The farm, located off U.S. Route 224 near the Pennsylvania state line, has been closed periodically throughout the summer and the theft was reported to Poland Township police when the owners couldn’t locate the wagon three days ago.

It will cost the farm an estimated total of $7,500 to replace the stolen property: $5,000 for the pipes and $2,500 for the wagon.