Relay for Life

Relay for Life

YOUNGSTOWN —The Youngstown Relay for Life begins today at 6 p.m. at Beeghly Center on the Youngstown State University Campus and continues until noon Saturday. Teams will walk through the night to raise awareness of cancer and money for the American Cancer Society for research and programs. Highlighting this evening is the luminaria ceremony at 9 p.m. to honor cancer survivors and to remember those who have lost the battle against cancer. The luminaria will adorn the south patio of Beeghly Center and will be left burning throughout the night, said Sharon Schroeder, chairwoman of the event.

Book signing

WARREN — New York Times best-selling author Beverly Lewis will sign her newest book, “The Secret,” from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Tuesday at A New Beginning Christian Store, 2232 Elm Road N.E.

Best known for her fiction about Amish life, Lewis has sold about 7 million copies of her books since her inaugural novel, “The Shunning,” released in 1997.

The signing will also feature illustrator Pam Querin of Boardman, who has illustrated two of Lewis’ children’s books that will be available at the event. The signing is free and open to the public. For more information, call (330) 372-4111.

Fugitive arrested

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — A fugitive wanted by state police here has been arrested and is awaiting extradition in New York.

Todd Rae Walker, 22, of New Castle was wanted for a shooting Nov. 29 outside a residence on McClelland Avenue in Union Township.

A 34-year-old New Castle man was shot several times with an assault rifle.

The victim was in critical condition after the shooting, and he is still recuperating at a hospital in Erie, police said.

Contest winner

A car dealership and radio promotion resulted in an East Liverpool resident’s being relieved of her car payments for one year.

Greenwood Chevrolet in Austintown and Greenwood’s Hubbard Chevrolet teamed up with Clear Channel Commun-ications to give one lucky person a chance to get his or her car payments made for a year.

The winner, Christine Allison, was among 129 qualifiers of the contest that started in February.

Participants could register at either of the dealerships or the dealership Web sites and also on any Clear Channel Web site.

Allison won her car payment prize at the qualifiers’ party at Quaker Steak and Lube in Austintown on March 28.

Food drive

YOUNGSTOWN — West Corp. in Niles had a food drive to help feed hungry families in the community and collected 5,827 pounds of food. U-Haul donated the use of a truck for delivery of the items to the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley on Monday.

Helping the local community is one of the priorities of West Corp., said site Director Jonathan Nielson. West is an incoming-call center located at 5185 Youngstown-Warren Road in Niles. It employs about 1,200. The company will celebrate its fifth anniversary in October.

Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley provides food to 155 hunger relief organizations in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

Siren tests planned

YOUNGSTOWN — For the next three Saturdays, Mahoning County’s noon siren tests will last three minutes, instead of the usual one minute.

The tests will determine whether all activation locations for the county’s 53 emergency-alert sirens are working properly as severe weather season approaches, said Clark Jones, the county’s emergency management director. Local fire departments and amateur radio operators will monitor the tests, according to the county’s emergency management agency.

An actual weather alert consists of a three-minute steady siren rotation, Jones said.

During a March 25 test, 17 of the sirens failed to sound because of a flaw in the radio activation system, Jones said.

Culvert replacement

WARREN — Crew Hood Road in Vienna and Liberty townships, about 1,250 feet east of state Route 193, will be closed for a culvert replacement Monday through April 10, the Trumbull County Engineer’s Office reports.

The recommended detour is Crew-Hood Road, Sodom-Hutchings Road, Tibbetts-Wick Road and state Route 193.