GOP to stay neutral on Canfield tax levy

April 2, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

CANFIELD

The Mahoning County Republican Party is staying neutral on the Canfield schools May operating levy.

Republican committee people representing precincts within the school district voted 8-1 not to take a position after hearing a presentation from the school district. Party chairman Mark Munroe said it was not a matter of whether members supported the levy itself.

“While committee members were impressed with the presentation, and many were sympathetic to the need, the majority agreed it was not appropriate to support or oppose the issue,” Munroe said. “One reason for the hesitation was the fact that each election season there are often many local issues, and to open the door to levy endorsements would distract from the primary mission of supporting candidates.”

Canfield schools has a 6.8-mill operating levy on the ballot, plus a 1.6-mill emergency renewal levy.

I-680 restrictions

YOUNGSTOWN

Interstate 680 northbound will have various lane restrictions from Midlothian Boulevard to Shirley Road from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday for pothole repairs.

Work-zone safety

YOUNGSTOWN

Work Zone Safety Awareness Week begins Monday, and the Ohio Department of Transportation recently released the results of 10 years of work-zone crash statistics.

Drivers are more likely to be injured or killed in a work zone on a dry and sunny August afternoon than any other time of year, according to an ODOT news release.

There were 5,038 work-zone crashes last year resulting in 1,262 injury crashes and 10 fatal crashes — down from 5,105 crashes, 1,286 injury crashes, and 13 fatal crashes in 2009, the report states.

In ODOT’s analysis, the top-three causes of work-zone crashes were following too closely, failure to control, and improper lane changes. Beginning this year, ODOT will require its contractors to use high-intensity flashing lights and reflective tape on all equipment in work zones, according to the release.

Benefit walk set

BOARDMAN

Easter Seals and the Youngstown Hearing & Speech Center have organized “Walk With Me” next Saturday at Boardman Park.

Participants can register for free at the Lariccia Family Community Center, and every participant who raises $25 or more will receive an event T-shirt. The walk begins at 9:30 a.m., and participants can walk, roll, stroll or run a 1-, 3- or 5-mile course through Boardman Park. All proceeds benefit Easter Seals and Youngstown Hearing & Speech Center programs and services. To register, go to www.walkwithme.org/youngstown

Salem Butler closed

SALEM

The last paintings in the Salem branch of The Butler Institute of American Art are expected to be out of the facility next week.

Kathryn Earnhart, a spokeswoman for the Butler, said the Salem facility at 343 E. State St., has been closed temporarily. It is not known when the branch will reopen. Earnhart said that may be in the hands of city officials. They could not be contacted Friday.

For the second time, bricks and water from a building to the east of The Butler have been falling on the art museum. In both cases, water got into The Butler.

Operations will stop until the adjacent structure and museum building are safe. The Salem branch opened in 1991.