Metro digest

Pharmacy items taken

YOUNGSTOWN — Police said someone broke into the CVS Pharmacy at 1833 Oak St. around 2:25 a.m. Thursday.

The intruder activated an alarm that brought police to the scene, but they found no one. They did find that various items from the store had been thrown into the rear parking lot.

A store representative told police it appeared the intruder had taken some prescription medicines awaiting customer pickup. Entry was gained through a window serving the pharmacy drive-through, police said.

Burglary thwarted

YOUNGSTOWN — Police said a burglar who broke into an Alameda Avenue home on the North Side around 3 p.m. Wednesday found a lot more than he bargained for — a homeowner with a gun.

The 66-year-old resident told police he was watching television when he heard a noise that he at first thought was the wind. When he looked out the window, he saw two men, one of whom was climbing through his basement window.

The resident said he grabbed his gun and went to the basement, where he saw a man standing atop his washer sink. The resident said he fired a shot at the man, who then climbed back out the window.

Police said they found some blood on the broken window pane, but the two men weren’t located.

Woman scammed

YOUNGSTOWN — Police said an 85-year-old North Side woman was scammed out of more than $4,600 after getting a phony notice that she had won second place in a lottery.

The victim told police that she received a letter containing a check for $4,800 from an address in El Segundo, Calif., giving her a name and telephone number to contact for further information. She said she called the number and spoke to a man who directed her to cash the check and then wire $4,000 to a person in Hayward, Calif., and $500 to a person in Crystal River, Fla.

The victim said she went to a store to do that Saturday, but a clerk in the store refused to send the wires, suspecting something was amiss.

The victim said she went home, and the man called her back, instructing her to go to another store to wire the money. She did so, she said, noting that the fees added $162 to her cost. She said the man called her again and asked for more money, so she went to her bank to withdraw $2,000 but was told the $4,800 check she had deposited had bounced.

Grants from settlement

COLUMBUS — Family Service Agency and Catholic Charities, both of Mahoning County, are among 14 U.S. Housing and Urban Development-certified nonprofit agencies in Ohio that will receive portions of $1 million to expand their foreclosure-counseling services as a result of additional funding resulting from the state’s settlement with Countrywide Financial Corp.

The grants are expected to help more than 13,000 families in 2010, according to the Ohio attorney general’s office.

Family Service will receive $26,076, and Catholic Charities, $59,451.

The $1 million is part of a $4.39 million settlement with Countrywide resolving allegations that the mortgage lender used unfair and deceptive tactics in its loan origination and servicing activities.

The remainder of the settlement is being distributed to Countrywide borrowers in Ohio who have lost their homes to foreclosure, said Attorney General Richard Cordray.

Salvation Army benefit

AUSTINTOWN — The local United Auto Workers are asking the community to help support the Salvation Army.

From 5:30 p.m. to closing time Thursday, people can stop by Bill’s Place, 4771 Mahoning Ave., to help support the Salvation Army of Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

The benefit was organized by the UAW Local 1714 President David Green and Bill’s Place employees. Admission to the establishment is either a new, unwrapped toy, a nonperishable food item or a $5 cover charge that will be donated to the Salvation Army.

Closed for the season

BOARDMAN — Mill Creek Golf Course officially closed for the season Monday, officials announced Thursday. The course is on West Golf Drive, just off U.S. Route 224. It will reopen next spring when weather permits.