SOLEMN services: Churches throughout the Mahoning and Shenango valleys had Ash Wednesday services.

SOLEMN services: Churches throughout the Mahoning and Shenango valleys had Ash Wednesday services. Ash Wednesday is the first day of the Lenten fast, which lasts until Easter. Above, The Rev. Gerald DeLucia of Holy Family Church, Poland, places ashes in the sign of the cross on the forehead of Francesca Strollo, a sixth-grader at Holy Family School. At left, the Holy Family School choir performs. At right, Helen Mary Li, 3, and Patty Faur, both of Poland, listen to the message delivered at the service.