Mock search, recovery

Mock search, recovery

COITSVILLE — A mock search and recovery event sponsored by the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office will be at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Purple Cat Daycare, 4738 McCartney Road.

The sheriff’s Senior Service Unit, Dive Team and USSARR (U.S. Search and Rescue/Recovery) will be on the scene to search the area for a person who has walked away from the facility. The Civil Air Patrol will also assist.

The event will bring attention to the cooperative efforts of public safety departments in using all resources available in finding an individual as quickly as possible.

Dinner benefit for woman

BOARDMAN —A benefit dinner is being held Oct. 12 to help raise money for a woman who was severely injured when a drunken driver collided with the motorcycle she was riding on.

In May, while vacationing in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Susie Reader, 36, of Boardman, and her boyfriend were hit by a driver who made an illegal left turn. Reader’s boyfriend was killed, and, after several surgeries, she was left with medical bills and no job.

The all-you-can-eat chicken-dinner benefit will be from noon to 5 p.m. at Jumpin’ Jack’s Chicken Shack, 9159 Market St.

People can also participate in a 50/50 raffle and a Chinese auction.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for children 8 and under, and all proceeds will go toward Reader’s medical expenses and costs of living for her and her 8-year-old daughter. Tickets can be purchased at the door or by calling (330) 783-0155 or (330) 207-5616.

Donations are welcome; contact Becky Reader at (330) 783-0155.

Bird feeder fundraiser

BOARDMAN— The Audubon Society of Mahoning Valley is having its semiannual bird feeder cleaning fundraiser. The event will be today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop, 90 Boardman-Canfield Road.

The Audubon Society is asking for a $3 donation from those who would like their bird feeders cleaned and sanitized by store volunteers. “The donation goes directly to the Audubon Society,” local president Jeff Harvey said. “You don’t have to pay, but most people do.”

Refreshments will be provided.

For more information, contact Harvey at (330) 360-1683 or (330) 629-2473.

Copper coils stolen

WARREN — Larry’s Truck Electric Service reported that 35 to 40 copper coils valued at $14,000 were stolen from the business at 429 Logan Avenue S.E.

A representative from the business said the coils were apparently taken sometime between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning.

No damage was found to the building, which was still locked, a police report said.

Peace award banquet

YOUNGSTOWN — The 12th annual Peace Award Recognition Banquet, sponsored by the Mahoning Valley Task Force on Crime and Violence, will be at 6 p.m. Oct. 20 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish Hall on Via Mount Carmel. The event will honor citizens and organizations from the Mahoning Valley who are dedicated to reinforcing goals of building a stronger and safer community.

Tickets are $25 per person and will be mailed before the banquet. Make checks payable to Help Hotline Crisis Center and mail to the center at P.O. Box 46, Youngstown 44501, attention Brenda Gray.

The task force would also like to have tickets purchased and donated to 30 senior citizens. If you purchase a ticket for a senior, it will not be sent to you but set aside and given to a senior.

Contact Ricky George, task force chairman, at (330) 941-3469 or Terri Bryant at (330) 744-9011.

MVSD gets $1.69M loan

MINERAL RIDGE — The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has provided a $1.69 million loan to the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District.

The money will be used to upgrade the district’s chemical softening, settling and recarbonation facilities.

The existing water purification and pumping works, built in 1932, provides drinking water to Youngstown, Niles and McDonald.

The loan carries a 3.2 percent interest rate.

Beatitude groundbreaking

WARREN — The Beatitude House will have a groundbreaking ceremony for its $1.5 million expansion project at its Warren shelter, 1370 Tod Avenue N.W., at 10 a.m. Nov. 6.

The project will provide homes for six additional families, add a classroom and children’s playroom and provide other improvements. The Warren location now provides housing to up to seven families at a time.

Beatitude House, sponsored by the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown, a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church, is committed to disadvantaged women and children in Mahoning and Trumbull counties. The agency provides transitional housing for families for up to two years, as well as education.

Purse snatching

YOUNGSTOWN — A woman using a shortcut path between Glenwood and Griselda avenues to get home from a store was attacked from behind and pushed down and had her purse snatched Thursday evening, police said.

The 49-year-old woman’s purse, minus her wallet, was found in a parking lot on Glenwood when police retraced her path around 6:30 p.m.

The victim described the thief as 40 years old and 5 feet 10 inches with dirty matted hair and dirty clothes.

Driving-related charges

YOUNGSTOWN — After a crash into a wooden guardrail in Wick Park, James Kula of Austintown told police his wife had been driving. But she said he told her to say that — because he doesn’t have a valid license, according to a police report.

Kula, 44, of Woodland Trace, was driving under suspension and has 22 driving under suspension convictions on his record, reports show. Kula was charged with driving under suspension, failure to control and failure to obey a traffic device.

He failed to show for arraignment in municipal court later Thursday and a warrant was issued.

On Wednesday, the day before Kula was cited by Youngstown police, he was stopped by an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper on Mahoning Avenue in Austintown and charged with driving under suspension, records show.

Suspicious fires probed

SALEM — The Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating eight suspicious fires that have occurred in Columbiana County since Sept. 23.

Cara Keithley, a spokeswoman for the fire marshal’s office, said Friday, “It’s too early to say if they are connected.”

The fires included barns and hay, a garage, a camper and a home under construction.

The location of the fires ranged from Hanoverton to Wellsville and East Liverpool.

Keithley said, “The concern is that there is a large number of unexplained fires in close proximity in a small amount of time.”

The fire marshal’s office is seeking information from the public and encourages anyone who may know something about the fires to call the investigative unit at (800) 589-2728.

The Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office is also investigating.

Fundraiser for patient

CAMPBELL — A spaghetti benefit dinner for Donn Candella, who recently had an allogenic bone marrow transplant at Cleveland Clinic for a type of cancer called myleodysplasia, is Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Roosevelt Park Community Center.

Candella must remain in Cleveland until at least the end of October because of the high risk of infection and rejection associated with this type of marrow transplant, according to his doctor.

Candella and his wife, Gloria, have a son, Anthony, 10, and a daughter, Adrianna, 4.

Proceeds from the dinner will help offset the medical expenses associated with the transplant.

Adult tickets are $10 and those for children under 10 are free. There will also be a Chinese auction and 50/50 raffle.