Metro digest

Youngstown woman shot while in her car

YOUNGSTOWN — A city woman is hospitalized with injuries not considered life-threatening after a shooting on the city’s South Side.

The 30-year-old Florist Street woman was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center just after 11 p.m. Wednesday with a gunshot wound below the left armpit.

She and witnesses told police she was at a stop light at the intersection of Oakhill Avenue and Falls Avenue facing south when a dark-colored SUV pulled alongside her car. A front passenger in the SUV began firing into her car, hitting her on the left side.

The woman and the two witnesses could not provide a description of the shooter or the driver.

Vandalism at stadium

BOARDMAN — Someone discharged a fire extinguisher, damaging the inside of a press box at Spartan Stadium behind Center Middle School.

A school district employee reported that Wednesday morning he discovered that someone had entered the press box and discharged a fire extinguisher on the floor and other surfaces.

Nothing was missing, the employee told police.

Sewer blockage forces closing of Hubbard High

HUBBARD — Richard Buchenic, superintendent of the Hubbard School District, said a blockage in the sewer lines forced the closing of Hubbard High School on Thursday and today.

The problem is in the boiler area of the school basement.

Buchenic said the problem was being handled Wednesday night and continued Thursday. He canceled classes today.

Dominion East program

WARREN — The Cleveland Housing Network is offering Dominion East Ohio Gas customers in the Mahoning Valley assistance with saving money on their bill through its Housewarming Program.

The program consists of having a weatherization inspection conducted in the home, followed by cost-cutting improvements such as insulation or furnace replacement.

For more information, call (800) 377-3774.

Bird-banding session near Mount Union

ALLIANCE — The John T. Huston-Dr. John D. Brumbaugh Nature Center of Mount Union College will have a bird- banding session from 8 to 10 a.m. Sept. 12 and a walk with a center naturalist at 2 p.m. Sept. 13.

Al Eibel will set up mist nets to capture songbirds Sept. 12. He will then band each bird and collect data such as species, sex, age, mass, wing length and general health. The birds will then be released.

Bird banding allows scientists to collect information about a bird’s age, distribution, migration and reproduction.

No registration is required for the banding or nature walk.

The center is six miles south of the college on Daniel Street, just off state Route 183.

For more information, contact the center at (330) 823-7487.

Grant applications for youth-oriented efforts

YOUNGSTOWN — The Young Philanthropist Fund Board will review and award grants to any 501(c)(3) organization with a youth-oriented program in the Mahoning Valley.

The total disbursement will be $2,000, and the request must be for a youth program.

For grant applications, visit the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley’s Web site at www.cfmv.org. Click on the grant tab, fill out the application and return it to the foundation.

All applications must be postmarked by Nov. 20. Indicate on the application that you are requesting funds from the Young Philanthropist Fund. Funds will be disbursed in March 2010.

Established in early 2006, the Young Philanthropist Fund’s goal is to introduce the Valley’s younger generation to the role of philanthropy, according to a press release by foundation spokeswoman Susan Carsonie.

The fund board is composed of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley staff, members of Youth Leadership, the Mahoning Valley Professional 20/30 Club, Youngstown State University and community leaders.