Fire cause determined

Fire cause determined

YOUNGSTOWN — Fire investigators have determined that a Sept. 14 fire at Banner Supply Co., 103 E. Indianola Ave., was caused by an electrical short.

Capt. Alvin Ware, the city’s chief fire investigator, determined the fire was the result of an electrical short in one of the vehicles parked inside the warehouse repair area of the business.

Youngstown fire crews were at the site as early as 7 a.m. battling the fire in a rear warehouse on the property. Smoke from the blaze could be seen for miles in all directions, but crews did manage to stop the fire from spreading to the rest of the business.

There is no estimate on total damages. There were no injuries. The business is open to the public and conducting business.

Nominate Heroes

The Mahoning County Chapter of the Red Cross is now taking nominations for the “Heroes of the Valley” award. The Heroes award recognizes individuals whose humanitarian contributions or extraordinary acts of courage have had a lasting impact on our community.

The categories for nominations include: Animal (caregiver or animal), Community Impact, Educator, Firefighter, Good Neighbor (21 and over), Law Enforcement,

Medical, Workplace Safety, Youth Samaritan (21 and under). Nominations must be submitted to the chapter no later than Nov. 19; nominees will be honored at a breakfast on Feb. 6, 2010. For more details or sponsorship information, call (330) 726-6063.

Fund for fire victim

GIRARD — A fund has been set up for a woman who lost her home in a fire Thursday morning.

William Schumm, a friend of homeowner LeRae Gillette, said the fund is set up in his name at Farmers National Bank.

Donations can be made at any bank branch.

The fire, at Gillette’s duplex at 72 E. Main St., broke out around 6 a.m. Firefighters rescued her and her two upstairs tenants as flames were shooting through the roof. There were no injuries, but the house was destroyed.

Reward for information

SHARON, Pa. — Police are looking for information in a pedestrian hit-and-run that has left a woman in critical condition Friday.

Jodane Godfrey, 52, of Sharon was crossing Stambaugh Avenue at 8:43 p.m. Thursday when she was hit by a dark-colored pickup truck. The vehicle left the scene and continued south on Stambaugh, police said.

Godfrey was taken to Sharon Regional Health System and transferred to St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call city police at (724) 662-6110. Mercer County Crime Solvers also is offering a reward of up to $1,000 if information leads to the identification of the pickup.

Driving safety grant

BROOKFIELD — The township police department has received a $26,830 grant from the Ohio Department of Public Safety to focus on safety priority areas such as seat belt usage, impaired driving.

“These funds are critical to ensuring that we are doing everything possible to keep our community safe,” said township police Chief Daniel A. Faustino. “Based on our crash data, we have identified speed, impaired driving and restraint usage as a priority for Brookfield Township.”

The township had 45 crashes related to impaired driving that caused 26 injuries and three fatalities over a three-year period beginning in 2006, Faustino said. To reduce these numbers, the department will use the grant funds to conduct high-visibility enforcement, and conduct educational events.

Playground grant

YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning-Youngstown Community Action Partnership has received a $5,000 grant to improve the outdoor play space at its McCartney Road Head Start Learning Center.

The money comes from the Head Start Body Start National Center for Physical Development and Outdoor Play.

“We appreciate Head Start Body Start for helping us to evaluate our play spaces and educate our children and their families about the value of physical activity and playing outdoors, in particular,” said Rebecca Raines, site supervisor.

MYCAP is one of 351 grant recipients under the national program. In addition to the play space improvement, each recipient will have targeted training, technical assistance and the expertise of a physical activity consultant as well as access to online courses, webinars and resource materials.