43
Veterans office named for Commissioner Ludt
The Veterans’ Service Commission will soon move to Oakhill.
YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning County Commissioners have named the new office of the county’s Veterans’ Service Commission for county Commissioner David N. Ludt.
A commissioner since 1999, Ludt served in the Army between 1958 and 1961.
“It’s an honor to serve this country. It’s an honor to be part of America, and it’s an honor to be part of Mahoning County, and I’m proud that I’m an American, and I’m proud that I served this country,” Ludt said.
The commission will move from its current second-floor quarters in the county’s South Side Annex to first-floor offices at the county’s Oakhill Renaissance Place in about three to four weeks, said Pete Triveri, county facilities director.
Construction of the commission’s new quarters is nearing completion, and furniture delivery is awaited, Triveri said Thursday.
Veterans will have designated parking spaces at Oakhill, including those reserved for disabled veterans, he said. “It’s really a lot more convenient than what they have now,” he added.
“Our veterans do deserve better, and they are getting better space,” said Anthony T. Traficanti, chairman of the county commissioners.
The commission’s new 3,000-square-foot office will provide handicapped accessibility and more privacy for veterans to discuss their personal affairs with commission staff, he said.
The commission provides temporary financial assistance to needy veterans, helps veterans obtain employment, provides information about veterans’ benefits and transports veterans to medical facilities in Cleveland and Brecksville.
Traficanti suggested some type of monument to veterans could be erected in a courtyard at the commission’s Oakhill offices, and he said recommendations concerning that monument could be sought from veterans organizations.
After the commission moves to Oakhill, the county plans to move its recycling division, auto title department and board of elections from the South Side Annex to Oakhill.
The county bought Oakhill in July 2006 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court and moved its Department of Job and Family Services from rented quarters on the city’s East Side to Oakhill a year later. Oakhill is the former Forum Health Southside Medical Center.
County Administrator George J. Tablack said the county’s architects are trying to find space at Oak- hill for the county health department’s senior citizen day-care center, which is now at the South Side Annex.
Tablack said the county plans to close the South Side Annex, a former department store at 2801 Market St.
In other action, the commissioners set a hearing for 11 a.m. Jan. 6 in Canfield Township Hall concerning a proposal to annex 43 acres on the west side of state Route 46, just north of Herbert Road, from Canfield Township to Canfield city.
The land includes acreage owned by Joseph G. and Claudia L. Sabat and a section of the Ohio Turnpike.
Neither the landowners nor their lawyer, David A. Kovass, could be reached to comment on why they seek to have the land annexed to the city of Canfield and what future use is proposed for the annexed land.