Festival moves inside

Festival moves inside

YOUNGSTOWN — Because of the rainy forecast, Sunday’s Polish Day celebration is moving indoors at St. Casimir Catholic Church, 149 Jefferson St., in the Brier Hill neighborhood. It was originally scheduled for Woodworth Park in Beaver Township. It will feature Polish food, music and crafts.

Because it’s no longer in a municipal park, the festival will now serve Polish beer and vodka. Admission and parking are free. From downtown Youngstown: Take U.S. Route 422 (Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard); turn right on to Worthington Street, then left on Oakland Street and right on Jefferson Street.

Fire training in Poland

POLAND — The Western Reserve Joint Fire District will be conducting training on Center Road, east of Diana Drive, in Poland Township on Sunday and Sept. 28. starting at 3 p.m. Traffic will be maintained by police.

Swindler gets $30 from owner of lost bird

YOUNGSTOWN — A 63-year-old Boardman woman who received a call in response to an ad she placed in the newspaper about her lost African parrot was scammed out of $30, police said. The victim was told to meet a woman at St. Patrick Church on Oak Hill Avenue on Thursday. Instead, a young man met her, saying he had been instructed to take her to where she could recover the bird. The woman gave the man a ride in her car to a house on a side street near Hillman Street. She gave the man $30, and he walked to the rear of the house. He returned, saying the person who had the bird would not relinquish it. The man rode back to the church with the bird owner and then left on foot. The woman then contacted police.

Beatitude House receives technology grant

WARREN — Beatitude House was awarded a grant of $35,500 from the Raymond John Wean Foundation to help upgrade technology. Beatitude House will be able to create a new Web site and purchase new donor management software.

“This donation is going to transform the way we work day to day,” explained development associate Michelle Rockwood. “After implementing the new technology we will be able to work more efficiently, obtain donations online and invest in a new server.” Beatitude House, sponsored by the Ursuline Sisters, assists disadvantaged women and children.

Traffic stop results in drug and gun charges

YOUNGSTOWN — A traffic stop for not having the rear license plate illuminated resulted in drug and gun charges for Jammie Traylor, 22, of South Raccoon Road, Austintown. Traylor was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and possession of dangerous drugs (prescription painkiller) after Patrolman Michael Anderson’s dog Ninja alerted on the vehicle around 12:30 a.m. Friday. Police confiscated the pills and a loaded 9mm handgun found in the car. Traylor is expected to be arraigned Monday.

He made news in May 2007 when one of his two big dogs bit a retired firefighter in Mill Creek Park. A jury found him guilty of having a vicious animal, and he was sentenced to jail, but the charge was dismissed after a successful appeal to the Seventh District Court of Appeals that challenged the vicious-dog ordinance. The city has appealed the appellate court’s decision.

Man arraigned on gun, drug charges

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa.— A Youngstown man was arraigned before District Magistrate Judge Scott McGrath after being charged with carrying a firearm without a license and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. A New Wilmington police dog detected drugs in Eric Desmond Brown’s parked 1992 Buick LeSabre on Tuesday after Westminster College officials received a call that Brown had illegal substances.

Police said Brown, 22, allowed them to search his car. They found an unloaded .380-caliber handgun under the seat and a loaded magazine and a small quantity of marijuana in the glove compartment.

They determined Brown had legally purchased the gun in Ohio but had no license to carry it in either Ohio or Pennsylvania. They also found no evidence Brown had the drugs or the gun in his possession while on the Westminster campus. A hearing is set for Wednesday in Lawrence County Central Court.