METRO DIGEST || Spelling bee today

Spelling bee today

YOUNGSTOWN

Sixty-eight elementary, middle and junior-high school students face off today in the 78th annual Vindicator Regional Spelling Bee at Youngstown State University.

The bee, a community tradition since 1934, kicks off at 9 a.m. in the Chestnut Room at Kilcawley Center.

This year’s bee includes 33 boys and 35 girls from schools throughout the Mahoning Valley. The winner will receive an all-expense-paid trip including hotel, travel accommodations, tours, meals and incidental expenses, to Washington, D.C., for him- or herself and an adult to compete in the 84th Scripps National Spelling Bee May 29-June 4.

5 held hostage

YOUNGSTOWN

Police are looking for three men who held five people hostage in their home during an aggravated robbery.

Three of the five victims were in the living room at 328 West Judson Ave. on Friday playing video games when three masked men broke in the front door brandishing handguns, they said. One of the men smacked a victim in the forehead with the butt of a gun then made all three lie face down on the floor at gunpoint.

The men asked for money and guns and hit the victims again when they said there was nothing in the house. One of the men went upstairs and pistol-whipped a fourth victim before bringing him and a fifth victim to the first floor. All were marched into the basement and told to wait. One of the victims escaped out a side door and was able to flag down a Boardman police officer.

The men ransacked the home. Taken was a gaming system and $400 in cash. They were gone when Youngstown and Boardman police arrived.

Bitten by neighbor

YOUNGSTOWN

A 22-year-old Rosewood Lane woman told police about 10:30 p.m. Thursday that a 40-year-old neighbor hit her in the face with a handgun after they had an argument in her home. The victim said the other woman came to her apartment and began to argue with her about a fight they had a year ago, then struck her. The victim said the woman also bit her on her chest.

Officers observed a large, swollen bruise on the victim’s forehead and the wound on her chest.

The suspect fled before police arrived. The victim said she would seek medical treatment on her own.

Car assault

YOUNGSTOWN

A 22-year-old city woman said a conflict with another woman resulted in a confrontation on Fifth Avenue around 10:30 p.m. Thursday and damage to the victim’s vehicle.

The victim said she noticed a car following her on Fifth on the city’s North Side, then the car cut in front of her, cutting her off. Another car pulled up behind her, blocking her escape. Two women and a man got in the car behind her, and the driver of the car in front of her got out and stood by her car.

Then the woman from the car in front got back in her car and backed into the victim’s car, causing damage.

Legacy meeting

YOUNGSTOWN

Legacy Academy for Leaders in the Arts is having an emergency academic- planning meeting at 3 p.m. today in modular 30 at the school, 1812 Oak Hill Ave.

Hubbard cemetery

hubbard

All holiday decorations should be removed from grave sites at Hubbard Union Cemetery, 210 Oakdale Ave. Any Christmas or winter items left after April 14 will be disposed of by cemetery workers.