WRTA gets $50K

WRTA gets $50K

YOUNGSTOWN

The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration has awarded $50,000 to the Western Reserve Transit Authority to improve access to transportation options for veterans.

WRTA will use the funds to implement an outreach and education plan to work with county veteran service organizations, the VA Outpatient Clinic on Belmont Avenue, Youngstown State University’s Office of Veterans Affairs and other partners to promote a One-Call/One-Click Center for veterans seeking to use public transportation, according to a news release.

“These funds will help improve the coordination of rides and public transit options for military families in the Youngstown area,” said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Avon, D-Ohio.

Also, a recent financial audit of WRTA by the state auditor’s office has returned a clean audit report and the transportation authority has earned an Auditor of State Award.

Escape the heat

NEW MIDDLETOWN

The New Middletown Municipal Building is open for anyone in need of air conditioning, said the village mayor. Mayor Harry Kale said people can escape the heat at the municipal building, 10711 Main St., which is open between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Other times can be arranged by calling the police department at 330-542-2234.

Eating contest

BOARDMAN

Coney Island at Southern Park Mall will have a hot dog-eating contest at 2 p.m. Saturday. The registration fee is $20 per person, with half of the fee benefiting Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley. For information, stop by Coney Island in the Southern Park Mall, located on the corner of U.S. Route 224 and Market Street.

Tower tours

BAZETTA

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Mosquito Lake will provide tours of the control tower near the state Route 305 dam on five dates this summer. The tower tour will begin at 10 a.m. Sunday, and on July 29, Aug. 12, Aug. 26 and Sept. 2 at the Tailwater parking lot just downstream from the dam.On each of those dates, the Army Corps and state park rangers also will take people on a walk of the nearby Lakeview Trail. Both events are free.

Sentencing postponed

CLEVELAND

The sentencing of a Boardman man who pleaded guilty to insurance fraud is postponed until Sept. 6. Paul J. Amon, 56, will be sentenced by Judge Donald C. Nugent of U.S. District Court. He is one of four area men charged in the staged crash of a truck into the Mum’s The Word floral shop in Boardman on Jan. 27, 2010. The other defendants in the federal indictment were his brother, Joseph P. Amon, 64, of Canfield; James J. Landis, 56, of Canfield; and Thomas V. Franco, 39, of Campbell. All defendants pleaded guilty to the insurance-fraud conspiracy charge.

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