Parade for 4th canceled

Parade for 4th canceled

YOUNGSTOWN — A Fourth of July parade planned for noon today for downtown has been canceled. Parade organizer the Rev. Cecil Monroe said Wednesday was the final day for potential parade sponsors to respond, and they did not.

“The financial costs that are associated with organizing a Fourth of July parade for an entire city can easily soar into the thousands of dollars — thousands of dollars that one person cannot shoulder alone,” the Rev. Mr. Monroe said.

Route 7 crash kills one

COLUMBIANA — A one-car crash Wednesday night on state Route 7 killed the driver, police said. The Columbiana Police Department identified him as Mathew Rogers, 22, of Negley. The accident happened at 9:56 p.m. between the intersections of Royal Birkdale Drive and state Route 14. Police are investigating.

Fireworks display moved

CORTLAND — The location of the fireworks display originally scheduled for 10 p.m. today at the Mosquito Lake State Park has been changed to behind Lakeview High School.

Baby hit by BB gun shot

LIBERTY — Police are looking into how a 14-month-old baby was shot in the face with a BB gun.

According to police reports, the baby was sitting in a walker in front of 3043 Green Acres Drive while his mother, aunt and a family friend were taking groceries into an apartment Wednesday. The mother said she heard the baby start crying and thought he had been stung by a bee after seeing the red mark above his left eye.

Reports say the mark above the child’s eye turned out to be an embedded BB. He was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center. The wound is not life-threatening.

Smart cars on display

HOWLAND — Four Smart cars will be included in the Howland Fourth of July Car Show that begins at 11 a.m. today after the holiday parade. Ed Johnson, Smart car owner and organizer, said the fuel-efficient cars will be on display in the parking lot behind the gazebo at East Market Street and Willow Drive near the high school.

Marijuana plants found

LIBERTY — Township police are questioning the residents of a home on Montrose Avenue after finding marijuana plants growing in the backyard of the home Wednesday.

A concerned citizen reported marijuana growing there. Officers found nine marijuana plants growing in the backyard, more marijuana inside the home and a notebook with instructions on growing marijuana. Acting Chief Richard Tisone said the occupant will likely face misdemeanor drug charges.

Indecency reported

BOARDMAN — A 21-year-old woman working at a lottery drive-through told police that a customer at the business exposed himself to her. The woman, who works at Millionaires Express, South Avenue, told police she was working at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday when a man arrived to buy lottery tickets. While sitting in his car, the man pulled his shorts down, then drove away.

Fires reported as arson

YOUNGSTOWN — Fires at a vacant office building on the South Side and vacant house on the East Side were deliberately set Wednesday, reports show. Firefighters sent to the office building at 1216 Erie St. at 8:30 p.m. said the structure appeared to have sustained a previous fire. Damage was set at $2,000. At 79 N. Garland Ave., firefighters found the empty two-story house fully engulfed in flames when they arrived just before noon. Damage was set at $4,000.

Boy’s dog attack probed

YOUNGSTOWN — A deputy dog warden was on the East Side on Thursday checking out a report that an 11-year-old Hubbard Road boy was bitten by two loose dogs. The boy was bitten on his upper and lower lip and left leg while playing in his backyard around 9 p.m. Wednesday and required medical treatment, his father told police.

Dave Nelson said he’s trying to make contact with the owner of a garage on Hubbard Road where the boy’s father said the animals live. Nelson said he heard dogs barking inside the garage, but no one answered the door.