Choir competition at Stambaugh

YOUNGSTOWN — For Deneja Phillips, performing in front of hundreds of people on the Stambaugh Auditorium stage may have been a vocal exercise, but it also was an exercise in pure fun and enjoyment.

“I felt excited,” added Deneja, 14, a Hayes Middle School eighth-grader.

Deneja, who came with her mother, Shanel, was part of a choir that participated in today’s first “Coming Together for Prevention in Perfect Harmony” event. Her group represented the Youngstown Afterschool Alliance Prevention, a four-day-a-week program at her school that helps youngsters develop their social, academic, cultural and emotional skills.

The two-hour program was the idea of Judge Theresa Dellick of Mahoning County Juvenile Court and approved by the Ohio Department of Youth Services. Judge Dellick got roughly $80,000 in state funds for juvenile court diversion programs and wanted to distribute the money to the community.

For the complete story, see Sunday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.