Region news digest: Greek Independence day
Greek independence
WARREN — The eighth annual Greek Independence Day Parade will be at 12:15 p.m. Sunday starting at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, 429 High St. The parade will go west on High and north on Mahoning Avenue to city hall, 391 Mahoning. Judge Peter J. Kontos of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court will be grand marshal. A Greek flag will be raised at city hall. The event celebrates March 25, 1821, when Greeks rose up to seek independence from the Ottoman Empire. Greece became an independent modern state March 22, 1829, after a four-year war.
Trustees to buy pickup
POLAND — Poland Township trustees will meet in special session at 4 p.m. today at the township government center, 3339 Dobbins Road. Trustees plan to buy a used pickup truck for the road department. No other business will be conducted.
Morphine missing
WARREN — Authorities are investigating the possible theft of several vials of morphine at Horizon Village Nursing Home, 2473 North Road N.E. Ned Velasco, facility administrator, told police Wednesday the nursing home received a drug delivery March 3 and that a licensed practical nurse had signed for them. On March 30, the nurse recounted the drugs and found 10 vials of morphine missing. She was suspended. Velasco said the vials could have been delivered to another facility, but he will be working with the facility’s pharmacy, city police narcotics division, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Ohio Board of Pharmacy to determine what happened to the drugs.
Shooting suspect caught
YOUNGSTOWN — An 18-year-old man charged with shooting a store owner’s brother inside Ohio Gas Mart in early February was arrested Thursday at a house on North Feederle Avenue in Warren. Deputy U.S. Marshal Dean Michael said Shawn L. Jones, of Halleck Street, ran to a bedroom when police arrived and hid under blankets. Members of the marshal’s fugitive task force, officers from Girard, Boardman, Warren and the Ohio Adult Parole Authority assisted in the arrest. Vindicator files show a witness told police a man argued with Talvinder Singh, 46, at the Glenwood Avenue store Feb. 3, left and then returned and fired one shot. Police said the bullet just missed Singh’s heart.
Eight become citizens
YOUNGSTOWN — Judge Mark Belinky of Mahoning County Probate Court presided over the naturalization ceremony for eight new American citizens Thursday. The new citizens, their hometowns and their countries of origin are Maria Melnykovich of Austintown (Ukraine), Luz Herrera of Austintown (Dominican Republic), Trevor Metansingh of Youngstown (Jamaica), Azeem Ashraf of Youngstown (Pakistan), Abeer Abbadi of Boardman (Jordan), Ehsan Etawerghi of Boardman (Libya), Parashos Malahtaris of Youngstown (Greece) and Slobodan Solic of Austintown (Serbia).
4-H’ers help food bank
The Lucky Llamas 4-H Club will collect food and funds for Second Harvest Food Bank of Mahoning Valley from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Poland Giant Eagle, 3130 Center Road, Poland, and Kmart at 4475 Mahoning Ave., Austintown. The club will have live llamas at both locations. Every March, the club raises money and collects food to help feed hungry families in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties. Last year, it raised more than $1,000.
Temporary closing
CORTLAND — The Cortland branch of the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library, 212 N. High St., will be closed today because of structural problems with the roof. The branch will reopen at 9 a.m. Saturday for most services. Karen Murphy, branch manager, said a portion of the roof that is not covering the interior is sagging. The building’s children’s and teen areas will be closed until further notice. Regularly scheduled preschool and family story times will be temporarily postponed. Other areas of the library will remain open.