METRO DIGEST || Animal benefit at Boardman cafe Monday

Animal benefit Monday

Boardman

The Animal Welfare League of Trumbull County has a fundraising event at Carmella’s Cafe, 850 E. Western Reserve Road, from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday.

League volunteers will be bartending, and all tips and donations will go to the shelter. The league’s mission is to promote the welfare and humane treatment of animals, to enrich the lives of people and families through the adoption of homeless pets, and to educate adults and children regarding responsible pet ownership and kindness to animals.

A campaign has been launched to construct and equip a new Animal Welfare Care and Education Center at 812 Youngstown-Kingsville Road, a former tennis club across from Squaw Creek County Club in Vienna. The new shelter will have 47,000 square feet to incorporate current shelter operations, an education center, and an in-house medical treatment area.

Outdoor Mass

YOUNGSTOWN

St. Patrick Church, 1420 Oak Hill Ave., will have an outdoor Mass at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, and will then proceed with a celebration of the feast of St. John the Baptist with a bonfire to permit parishioners to bring worn, outdated, or broken religious articles that will be burned in an appropriate and prayerful ceremony.

Chairs will be provided for the Mass, which will be celebrated in a tent on the church grounds. The event also will include music and light refreshments. The bonfire celebration begins at 6:30 p.m.

KSU research grants for diabetes, kidneys

KENT

Kent State University is receiving $825,792 in federal grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The department’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases awarded $384,192 to the university for diabetes, endocrinology and metabolic research. The department’s National Institute of Mental Health awarded $441,600 to Kent State for research on stress-related diseases and conditions. U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-13th, made the announcement of the grants Friday.

Fire victims identified

GROVE CITY, PA.

The man and woman who died at the scene of an early Monday morning house fire at 432 McConnell St. have been positively identified through dental records, the Mercer County Coroner’s Office announced Friday. The deceased were identified as Brandon Lee Fortuna, 28, of that address, and his sister, Kirsten Lynn Fellows, 43, of Bend Road, Mercer. A determination of the exact cause and manner of death will be made after lab tests and a police investigation are concluded, the coroner’s office said.