Niles council action

Niles council action

NILES — City council heard complaints Wednesday from two residents about flooding. The Lawnview Avenue residents, Violet Bradbury and Brenda Claypool, said that despite installation of a storm sewer system in 2005, flooding in backyards has increased. Mark Hess, grant and development coordinator for the engineering office, said the storm sewers are working properly and it’s up to residents to direct water from their property into the system.

Council approved an ordinance requiring bonds for the director of the income tax division and the treasurer’s clerk. The action was taken after the city received a ruling from the state auditor’s office that bonds for the two positions are required.

Council also approved an ordinance authorizing the advertising for bids for the purchase and installation of a columbarium for the city cemetery. The columbarium, a receptacle for ashes from cremation, will contain 96 niches or repositories.

Voting on YSU contract

YOUNGSTOWN — The 380 members of the Youngstown State University faculty union will vote on the terms of a new three-year contract next week. The YSU-Ohio Education Association and the university reached agreement on a tentative accord last week, and the union has scheduled a membership informational meeting for 4 p.m. Wednesday to explain the details. Voting on the pact will begin immediately after that meeting ends and run until 7 p.m. Wednesday. It will resume from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday to ensure everyone gets a chance to cast a ballot. The YSU Board of Trustees is expected to vote on the contract this month as well but had not scheduled a meeting for that purpose as of Wednesday. Terms of the contract won’t be released until both sides ratify the agreement.

Boy hit by vehicle dies

MESOPOTAMIA — A 6-year-old boy was killed after being struck by a vehicle while crossing state Route 87 on Tuesday afternoon. Johnny Hostetler of North Bloomfield died in Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland after originally being treated at Geauga County Hospital. The Ohio State Highway Patrol at Southington reported that Johnny was crossing Route 87, about a quarter-mile east of state Route 534 about 2:30 p.m. While walking from north to south, he was struck by a 2007 Jeep Compass driven by Jo Ann Gingerich, 53, of North Bloomfield, who was traveling east. She was treated for minor injuries at Forum Health Trumbull Memorial Hospital, the patrol said. No charges have been filed as the accident remains under investigation, the patrol added.

Hit-and-run investigated

BERLIN CENTER — The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating a hit-and-run that injured Robert Hurley on state Route 534 around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. The patrol had no more information, saying the report was still with the trooper who responded to the scene. Hurley, 39, of South Pricetown Road (state Route 534) remained in the trauma unit at St. Elizabeth Health Center on Wednesday, his sister said, adding that his right leg was crushed and requires surgery. She said he landed in a ditch and someone heard his screams. Anyone who has information about what happened is asked to call the patrol’s Canfield post at (330) 533-6866.

State sues caterers

COLUMBUS (AP) — The state is suing the operators of a Columbus catering business that Attorney General Marc Dann says turned wedding receptions into “total nightmares.” Dann says Syndrea Whetsel Shy and her son Donald Shy III cheated consumers out of thousands of dollars. The attorney general says an investigation found the Shys frequently failed to show up, and when they did it was often without enough food, utensils, plates or servers. Dann’s office says the Shys routinely changed the name of their company to confuse consumers and hide their poor reputation. The suit asks that the pair be fined at least $25,000 for violating state consumer protection laws. A phone listing at the Shys’ business address was answered by a fax machine Wednesday.