Metro digest

Measure to help retirees

WARREN — U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, introduced legislation in Washington that would provide funding for a Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Association (VEBA), which would cover Delphi hourly and salaried employees and retirees who lost their health coverage through Delphi and GM’s Chapter 11.

The bill, introduced Friday, instructs the Treasury Department to place $3 billion of unused money from the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (TARP) into a health-care trust for Delphi retirees who lose their health coverage through Delphi and GM’s Chapter 11 bankruptcies. The VEBA will provide health care at levels similar to that which retirees are either receiving or received before Delphi’s bankruptcy.

Ryan was joined by Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI), as well as Ohio Democratic Reps. Betty Sutton, Mary Jo Kilroy, Marcy Kaptur, Dennis Kucinich, Charlie Wilson and John Boccieri as original co-sponsors.

$216,760 for firefighters

LIBERTY – U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, announced that the Liberty Township Fire Department will receive $216,760 from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through its Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program.

The goal of any SAFER grant is to enhance the ability to attain and maintain 24-hour staffing and to assure that communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards.

Culvert replacement

COITSVILLE — Bedford Road between U.S. Route 422 and Villa Maria Road will be closed Tuesday through Thursday for a culvert replacement, the Mahoning County Engineer’s Office has announced.

The culvert is just south of the Bedford Trails Golf Course. Traffic will be detoured along Villa Maria Road, South Hubbard Road and Route 422.

Arrested on drug charges

POLAND — Village police arrested a New Middletown woman Wednesday morning on charges of possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia and driving under the influence of alcohol.

Police stopped Danielle D. Compton, 34, Silver Creek Road, on North Main Street after they said she ran a red light, and they noticed the smell of alcohol in her car, according to the police report. Compton told police she had cocaine in her car and a rolled-up dollar bill in her bra. Police recovered a “light-blue cylinder-shaped container with a screw on top containing a plastic [bag] of suspected cocaine,” the report states.

Compton’s blood-alcohol content was 0.173, more than twice the legal limit, according to the report. Compton pleaded innocent to operating a vehicle while impaired and the drug paraphernalia charge, according to court records. She will appear in court Sept. 14.

National Night Out event

YOUNGSTOWN — The city will have a National Night Out event from 4 p.m. until dusk Tuesday at Wick Park on the city’s North Side.

The event, which is free and open to the public, features refreshments, games, prizes and entertainment. Organizations are invited to set up informational booths.

National Night Out is a national annual event designed to heighten crime- and drug-prevention awareness; generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime programs; strengthen neighborhood spirit and police- community partnerships; and send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

Grant for Mobile Meals

WARREN — Trumbull Mobile Meals Inc. received a $1,406 grant from the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley and the Kennedy Family Foundation to purchase and install a prep sink for its kitchen.

The foundation is operated exclusively for charitable, educational and scientific purposes which effectively assist and promote the well-being of residents of Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

Angel Food Blessings

YOUNGSTOWN — Crossroads Church, 554 S. Meridian Road, will be taking orders for Angel Food Blessings in a box.

Crossroads is a host site for the Angel Food Program, which helps reduce the amount people spend on groceries each month. The cost is $30 per unit, which includes meats, vegetables, fruit and more.

Recipients get $75 worth of groceries. There are no income restrictions or guidelines. If you eat, you qualify.

Participants must pre-order and pre-pay. Cash, money orders and Ohio Direction Card are accepted. Orders for the August menu will be taken on these dates: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday and Aug. 8, 15 and 17; 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and Aug. 12. Distribution will be from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Aug. 22. For more information, call (330) 544-1064, (330) 799-9988 or (234) 855-0683.

Relay for Life at prisons

LEAVITTSBURG — The Trumbull Correctional Institution and Trumbull Correctional Camp here will have an American Cancer Society mini Relay For Life beginning at 8 a.m. Monday.

The one-day relay will feature many of the activities that take place during a typical two-day event. This includes a volleyball tournament, golf, a variety of games and musical entertainment.

It is estimated that 452 offenders will take part in the mini- relay. All offenders also will have the opportunity to walk in honor of cancer survivors and in memory of those who died of cancer.

In 2007, TCI and TCC hosted a similar event that raised $1,000. No event took place last year.