METRO DIGEST || Holiday parade is Sunday

Holiday parade

BOARDMAN

The 34th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade will step off at 1 p.m. Sunday. The two-hour parade will begin on Market Street at McClurg Road and proceed north on Market Street to Southwoods Avenue. The parade’s theme is “Cead Mile Failte,” which translates from Gaelic to “A Hundred Thousand Welcomes.” Grand marshal is John Sheridan.

About 140 organizations will participate in the parade and of those, about a dozen are animal entries such as llamas, Irish wolfhounds and horses. The parade is sponsored by the Mahoning Valley Irish Organizations, 21 WFMJ-TV and The Vindicator.

Game will aid injured workers

BOARDMAN

When the Struthers Wildcats and the Poland Bulldogs tip off Saturday in a boys basketball district final, the game also will help two Struthers workers injured in a sewage-plant explosion.

The Struthers and Poland fire crews will be collecting donations for Ken Stiver and Gary Wilson, the two Struthers workers severely burned in a sewage-plant explosion two weeks ago. They each have burns over more than 90 percent of their bodies. Struthers and Poland fire departments worked closely on rescue efforts that day.

Starting at 3:30 p.m., firefighters will be outside the Boardman High School gymnasium collecting donations until the 6 p.m. start of the game.

The funds will help defray costs the families will incur for the prolonged recovery period of the men at Pittsburgh Mercy Health System.

Basketball benefit

LORDSTOWN

A basketball fundraiser to benefit the family of Sgt. Dale Thomas, a Lordstown police officer who died suddenly just before Christmas, will be at 5 p.m. Sunday at Lordstown High School.

Proceeds will benefit the officer’s young sons. Playing in the 5 p.m. game will be the Lordstown Community vs. Trumbull Metro Police. The second game features the police vs. fire and emergency-medical services. The cost is $5 for adults, $2.50 for children up to 10 years old and free for children under 10.

Police seek help

BOARDMAN

Police are asking for help in recovering a veteran’s stolen flag. A retired U.S. Army veteran told police his American flag on his front porch was stolen between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 4 a.m. Wednesday. The man lives in the 7000 block of Trenholm Road and called officers when he realized his 4-foot flag was taken and the front yard spotlight that illuminates the flag was taken, police said.

Program postponed

youngstown

The Financing the Growth of Your Business program scheduled for Wednesday at Youngstown State University’s Williamson College of Business Administration has been postponed. It will be rescheduled for May.

Home robbed

Brookfield

Police said up to five men introducing themselves as tree trimmers robbed a women’s home and removed all phones from the residence before leaving.

The victim, living on Kimberly Avenue, told the robbers she didn’t want the service after they offered to trim her trees Wednesday, according to a press release.

They forced themselves into the home, pinned her down and stole an undetermined amount of cash and medication, police said.

She said the perpetrators were all white males in their 20s and 30s and spoke with foreign accents.