Metro Digest || Lightning strikes

Lightning strikes

YOUNGSTOWN

Lightning strikes kept city firefighters busy as storms rolled through the Mahoning Valley this week.

Firefighters were called to 801 Park Ave. about 9:15 a.m. Thursday when occupants reported they heard a loud bang, and the fire alarm sounded. Officials found a tree that appeared to have been hit by lightning, which traveled down the tree underground and to a transformer sitting on the ground about 10 feet away, reports state. Firefighters said there was no fire, and Ohio Edison was called to the scene.

Later that day, crews responded about 1:10 p.m. to a call at 2232 Coral Sea Drive. The homeowner reported a lightning strike and a problem with her freezer. Firefighters said an electrical problem, likely caused by the strike, made the ice maker short circuit and catch fire. Reports state the freezer was charred inside, and the fridge had black residue in it; however, no other part of the house was damaged.

Clothing giveaway

Youngstown

Free clothing will be available for men, women and children at the West Side Community Center, 304 Matta Ave., from 10 a.m. to noon today.

Boardman band show

Boardman

The Boardman Spartan Marching Band and the Boardman Band and Orchestra Parents Inc. will host Boardman Band Night 2011 at 7 p.m. next Saturday at Boardman Stadium. Besides the 259-member host band, area bands participating are Springfield, Lowellville, West Branch and East Palestine. Admission at the gates is $5 for adults and $3 for students. Senior citizens are admitted free to all Boardman Band events. Gates open at 6 p.m.

Meet the Democrats

Canfield

Democratic elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, will be at the Mahoning County Democratic Party’s tent at the Canfield Fair on Boardman Street, near the grandstand, from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday.

“We came up with an idea to highlight one day where most of the elected officials in Mahoning County will be at one place and at one time to allow the voters to see and talk to them about concerns,” said party Chairman David Betras. “Most of the elected officials from Congressman Tim Ryan to the council persons in the smallest cities and township trustees have made a commitment” to be there, Betras said.

Charge in killing

new castle, pa.

Police are planning to charge a man in the city’s most recent shooting death.

New Castle police arrested the 18-year-old man on charges unrelated to the shooting during a traffic stop Thursday and took him to the Lawrence County Jail pending an arraignment.

Gordon Reese Jr., 31, a city resident, was killed at 10:20 p.m. Tuesday while walking on Williams Street. He yelled at a car to slow down and got into an argument with the driver, who shot him, police said.

Oral rabies vaccines

COLUMBUS

The Ohio Departments of Health and Natural Resources, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and local health departments, will begin fall oral rabies vaccination operations Tuesday in eastern Ohio, including Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

Aerial distribution should be complete within 10 days; however ground baiting may continue through Sept. 30, depending on weather, state officials said.

Residents should keep children and pets away from the baits. Rabies is a viral disease that affects mammals. As of July 11, three rabies cases in animals had been confirmed in Ashtabula County. In 2010, six rabid animals, three from Lake County and one from each of Mahoning, Trumbull, and Guernsey counties, were confirmed, state officials said.