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Police chief asks council to expand department
The chief said the juvenile drugs of choice in New Middletown are heroin and marijuana.
NEW MIDDLETOWN — With juvenile crime on the upswing, the village’s new police chief wants to expand the police department and is also asking residents to report suspicious activity in their neighborhoods.
Former police Sgt. Vince D’Egidio, who was sworn in as the village’s new chief at Monday’s village council meeting, asked members to consider hiring an additional full-time police officer after Jan. 1 to allow more hours of coverage for the village. There are now three full-timers, but one of them is a school resource officer who works full-time in the schools and is not available for regular patrol work during the school year.
D’Egidio also asked residents to be alert to “lots of in-and-out traffic” at area residences — which may signal drug activity. He said if they notice such activity, they should record license numbers and telephone the village police department at (330) 542-2846.
D’Egidio said the juvenile “drugs of choice” in the village are heroin and marijuana. He said that the youths are stealing GPS and radio equipment to scrap and sell for drug money and in the last month there have been “a host of illegal entries into unlocked cars and garages.” He said five juveniles were arrested recently on state Route 170 across from Springfield Local High School for drug violations and receiving stolen property.
D’Egidio said the department, which formerly tried to work with the youths through counseling, has changed to a more aggressive law enforcement strategy with juveniles because the counseling wasn’t working.
He also announced he is accepting applications from experienced police officers to fill a vacant part-time office position. Applications are available at the village offices on Route 170.
Also Monday, council:
UAccepted the resignation of part-time police officer Jason Lanzo due to time commitments.
UDoubled Fiscal Officer Carl Flitcraft Jr.’s wages from $500 to $1,000 monthly to compensate him for additional duties he has taken on since the retirement of Police Chief William Morvay, who oversaw the street department.
UAgreed to pay $4,000 to RLM Electric, Springfield Township, for upgrading of an apparatus bay for firetrucks.
UAccepted a $1,130 bid from Quality Garage Doors, a local firm, to install two garage door openers on the road equipment building. There was one lower bid, from Omega Doors, Youngstown, which offered to do the job for $990. Council member Dan Santangelo recommended council accept Omega’s bid because it is a locally based company and he believed it would be more available for after-hours repairs. Council member Dan Stanton voted no. He explained after the meeting that he thought that council should have first asked for bids on the cost of running an electrical feed to the garage as this might turn out to be more expensive than the doors.
UD’Egidio announced the annual Halloween Party will be 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, at the village administration building.