Levy renewal vote set

Levy renewal vote set

NORTH LIMA — Voters in the South Range Local School District will be asked to renew a 4.5-mill levy in May to help cover general operating expenses. The school board on Wednesday approved a measure to allow Treasurer Jim Phillips to get the millage certified by the Mahoning County Auditor’s office. The levy was first approved by district voters in 2004 for 5.9 mills and generates $793,000 per year. Approval of the levy will allow the district to avoid a general fund deficit, which Phillips said is essential to continued operations. “This is no new additional taxes,” Phillips stressed.

Wine shop robbed

YOUNGSTOWN — A gunman wearing a black hoodie robbed the Mahoning Wine Shop after ordering the clerk to open the register and then telling her to lie on the floor, police said. The man entered the store at 1681 Mahoning Ave. on the West Side around 7 p.m. Tuesday, bought a snack and left. He came back a few minutes later and showed the gun, police said. The robber grabbed cash from the register then fled.

Zoning appeals meeting

COLUMBIANA — Fairfield Township’s Board of Zoning Appeals has scheduled a meeting for 7 p.m. Tuesday to discuss the proposed operation of a paintball facility at 4536 state Route 7.

The business, which would feature areas for paintball games and competitions, is being proposed by area resident and businessman Christopher Kudler. He wants to operate the facility on property he owns in the township along Route 7, between Majestic Manufacturing and Performance GMC.

Kudler will have the opportunity to present his proposal, essentially asking the township to allow him to operate a business in an area that is zoned commercial.

Diesel fuel cleaned up

YOUNGSTOWN — About 200 gallons of diesel fuel spilled when a fill motor did not shut off while a worker at Topfer Oil Co. on Southern Boulevard was filling a tanker truck, the fire department said. Some of the diesel fuel made its way into the street and then into a storm sewer Tuesday afternoon. Workers from the city’s wastewater treatment plant were called to the scene to flush the drain after a vacuum truck picked up the liquid, reports show.

Appointed to committee

WARREN — Dan Polivka, a Trumbull County commissioner, has been appointed vice chairman of the public safety and criminal justice committee of the County Commissioners Association of Ohio. The committee addresses issues such as public safety, emergency management and homeland security, law enforcement, courts, jails, juvenile justice, and 911 issues.

Facing drug charges

YOUNGSTOWN — A Boardman man was arrested on drug charges during a traffic stop on the North Side. Joel A. Gonzalez, 27, of Brookfield Avenue was arraigned Wednesday in municipal court on charges of possession of heroin and possession of drug abuse instruments and drug paraphernalia. Members of the Street Crimes Unit who had been watching a house on Dennick Avenue because of drug activity complaints followed a pickup truck that had been at the house around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. The truck’s rear license plate was not illuminated, and the driver was traveling above the speed limit despite icy roads, police said. The truck was pulled over on Logan Avenue. Gonzalez, the passenger, was arrested on a traffic warrant that had been issued in Campbell. Police found suspected heroin, two syringes and spoon with drug residue tucked into his underwear, reports show. The pickup driver was issued a citation for the license plate light and given a warning about the speed violation.

Indecent-assault arrest

SHARON, Pa. — A city man is charged with indecent assault after a 7-year-old boy said the man fondled him.

Zackery R. Antoniotti, 19, of Prospect Street, was arrested Tuesday on a warrant at a Liberty Street address, said city police.

He was taken to the Mercer County Jail in lieu of $7,500 bond after his arraignment.

The assaults occurred at the child’s house, police said. The child told police he thinks the fondling occurred more than 10 times. He told his mother about it Dec. 17.