Metro digest

Fitch Christmas concert

AUSTINTOWN — The Austintown Fitch bands will perform their annual Christmas concert Sunday.

The concert, 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium, features three bands — the Freshman and Symphonic bands conducted by band director Wes O’Connor and the Concert Band conducted by Erin Whistler.

The Symphonic Band will play Alfred Reed’s “Russian Christmas Music,” and a narration will accompany a musical arrangement of “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

Couple’s hearing reset

CANFIELD — A preliminary hearing for a Canfield couple charged with animal cruelty and child endangering has been reset for January.

Brian Spin, 38, and Betsy Spin, 32, of Brookpark Drive, were scheduled to appear Friday morning in Mahoning County Area Court in Canfield. But their pretrial hearing was postponed until 5 p.m. Jan. 13.

The couple were charged Oct. 27 with nine counts of cruelty to animals and two counts of child endangering after Canfield police found 10 dogs and two cats, along with two children ages 7 and 2, living in deplorable conditions.

The children were placed in protective custody, and the animals were euthanized because of their poor health.

Armed robbery

YOUNGSTOWN — A man told police an armed robber kidnapped him at a South Side gasoline station and forced him to drive to a nearby bank to make a $500 ATM withdrawal — and then drive to an apparel store and put $1,020 worth of purchases for the robber on his credit card.

The victim, 20, said he was inflating his car tires at the Shell station at 3500 Market St. at 5 p.m. Thursday, when the gunman demanded money, and the victim surrendered his wallet.

The gunman, age 20 to 25, then entered the car and forced him to drive to the Market Street bank and to a Glenwood Avenue clothing store.

Besides taking the cash from the ATM and charging the clothing, shoes and jewelry on the victim’s credit card, the gunman took a cell phone before ordering the victim to drop him off on a side street near Glenwood Avenue an hour later.

Boardman dog park

BOARDMAN — People interested in starting a dog park in Boardman will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at the township government center, Market Street.

Road closing postponed

HANOVERTON — The U.S. Route 30 closure tentatively scheduled for Monday, just east of the intersection of Route 30 and County Road 407 outside Hanoverton, has been postponed again due to weather, according to a press release from the Ohio Department of Transportation.

The road was scheduled to be closed for a culvert replacement. The project has been postponed until further notice. ODOT’s maintenance crews will perform the culvert replacement.

New US citizens

YOUNGSTOWN — Several people became U.S. citizens in a naturalization ceremony this week before Judge Mark Belinky of Mahoning County Probate Court. Their names, hometowns and countries of origin are: Salvatore Lucente, Boardman, Italy; Zeina Camille Abou Jaoude, Poland, Ohio, Lebanon; Samir Ata Issa Zaben, Campbell, Jordan; Antoine Ikechukwu Ogbonna, Youngstown, Nigeria; and Jose Ernesto Estevez Baez, Campbell, Dominican Republic.

Firearms education

VIENNA — The Mahoning County Democratic and Republican parties along with the Trumbull County Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, Whitetails Unlimited and U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan are sponsoring an Elected Officials Firearms and Conservation Informational Education Day today.

The event will be at the Fish and Game Club of Vienna, 1508 Youngstown Kingsville Road, across the street from the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna.

Elected officials from across the region will attend the seminar featuring a firearms safety session and perspectives on the Second Amendment and conservation from a local Whitetails Unlimited official. Those attending will have the opportunity to shoot a variety of pistols, rifles and archery equipment.