METRO DIGEST || Youngstown worker dies in building collapse

Youngstown worker dies

CLEVELAND (AP)

A Youngstown man was killed after a building that was being razed in this city collapsed.

Wayne Nicholson, 61, of Youngstown and his co-worker, Vincente Collazo, 49, of Cleveland died in the accident.

The building collapsed around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Authorities say it appears the two men were cutting some metal beams on the second floor of the building when the roof collapsed on top of them.

Officials say they were independent contractors hired to tear down the building behind Ideal Builders Supply on Brookpark Road. It was their first day on the demolition job.

The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reports the accident still is under investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Police dept. split

YOUNGSTOWN

City Police Chief Rod Foley said the police department has separated itself from the Youngstown Police Athletic League, whose bylaws say it is autonomous from city police.

Foley said the department continues to support the city’s youths and will reorganize the crime- prevention program to better serve city residents.

He said the city “will try to go in a different direction” concerning youth activities when it hires a new park-and-recreation director.

E. Park Ave. closure

Columbiana

East Park Avenue between Springfield Road and the former Flying Needles store, just east of the Dairy Queen, will be closed to traffic between noon and 1 p.m. Saturday to allow parking for those attending funeral services at Firestone Cemetery for Cpl. James Ball of the Beaver Township Police Department.

Traffic will be detoured through Firestone Park during the service. Long delays are expected on state Routes 7 and 14 and East Park Avenue during the procession to the cemetery.

McKinley birthday

NILES

McKinley Memorial Library will celebrate the 169th birthday of President William McKinley from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the McKinley Birthplace Home and the McKinley Memorial. The McKinley Birthplace Home will be open for tours and refreshments.

The guests for the birthday celebration will be able to greet a McKinley impersonator at the birthplace home and wish him a happy birthday.

The museum at the National McKinley Birthplace Memorial, 40 N. Main St., will be open for tours. The museum also will have a trivia game. For more information, call McKinley Memorial Library at 330-652-1704, ext. 212.

Resisting arrest

CAMPBELL

A man whom police tried to arrest on an outstanding warrant resisted and faced new charges in municipal court, police said.

Gerald Banks, 20, of Palmer Avenue in Campbell was arrested Monday and charged with aggravated menacing, failure to appear, resisting arrest, obstructing official business and criminal damaging.

Police saw Banks and another man walking on Wilson Avenue around 6 p.m., a report says.

When police approached the men, Banks ran north on Wilson. An officer used a stun gun on him, and he stopped.

He also kicked open the cruiser door as he was getting in, the report says. He threatened and swore at officers on the way to the station and eventually was taken to the Mahoning County jail.

He was arraigned Tuesday in Campbell Municipal Court and was taken back to jail in lieu of $700 bond, or 10 percent of $7,000. His pretrial hearing is May 1.

2nd evaluation asked

WARREN

Like her husband the day before, Felicia Beemer of Warren has asked the court to evaluate her a second time to determine whether she is competent to stand trial and was sane at the time police say she raped her biological daughter.

One evaluation already has been completed, but the results of the evaluation have not been made public.

For her attorney to request a second evaluation indicates she was deemed to be sane and competent the first time, observers said Wednesday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.

Beemer, 21, and her husband, Cody Beemer, 22, are charged with raping their 9-month-old daughter during a visit with her at the Trumbull County Children Services agency in April 2011.

Police-academy class

WARREN

The second class of the Citizen’s Police Academy graduated during a ceremony in Warren City Council chambers Thursday.

Applications are being accepted for upcoming classes in February, March, April and May. The academy includes training for six to seven weeks to give Warren residents an inside look into how the Warren Police Department operates.

Sessions include a tour of the 911 center, police ride-along, training in situations involving the use of deadly force and a breakdown of laws and procedures.

For more information, contact officer Geoff Fusco at 330-841-2788. Applications also can be downloaded from the City of Warren website, www.warren.org, or picked up at the Warren Police Department, 141 South St., or at Warren Weed & Seed office, 760 Main Ave SW.

Classes are being provided through a collaboration among the police department, City of Warren and Warren Weed & Seed, a program funded by a grant from the U.S. Justice Department.