METRO DIGEST || Holiday cards for military, veterans

Collecting holiday cards

POLAND

Shepherd of the Valley Poland, in partnership with the American Red Cross, is collecting holiday cards for members of the armed forces, veterans and their families. To kick off the collection, SOV Poland residents visited Zion Lutheran Church and made cards with children in the preschool program.

Zion Lutheran is continuing to collect cards, as is SOV Poland, 301 W. Western Reserve Road, where cards can be dropped off daily between 8:30 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Guidelines for sending cards to service members: sign them; use generic salutations, such as “Dear Service Member”; cards addressed to specific individuals can’t be delivered through this program; only cards are accepted and they need not be in envelopes; don’t include email or home addresses; don’t put anything in the cards and do not use glitter.

For information, contact Elida Cowles at 330-726-7110, ext. 2318.

Deadline to register

WARREN

Tuesday is the deadline to register for a seminar on “The Challenging and Rewarding Business of Strategic Planning,” which will take place from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Dec. 2 at The Raymond John Wean Foundation-Western Reserve Room, 147 W. Market St.

Seminar speaker will be Janus Small, president of Janus Small Associates LLC, a consulting firm based in Cleveland, that focuses on strengthening educational, faith-based community development, social service and cultural arts organizations for increased service to the community. She teaches in the nonprofit management program at John Carroll University and the MBA program at Youngstown State University.

The cost is $10 per person with light refreshments provided. To register, visit www.rjweanfdn.org. For information, call Lori Wiebe at 330-394-5600, ext. 103.

DQ Christmas events

CORNERSBURG

Austintown Dairy Queen, 146 N. Canfield-Niles Road, and Cornersburg Dairy Queen, 3555 S. Meridian Road, will have Christmas events Dec. 6 and Dec. 5, respectively. Both events are from 5 to 8 p.m.

Santa will bring his reindeer, and children get a free photo with Santa and “Curly” the cone. Santa will also pass out treats and presents to the children.

There will also be roasted chestnuts on an open fire. Guests will be invited to roast hot dogs, marshmallows and drink hot chocolate, and sing Christmas carols.

Man dies in crash

LISBON

The Ohio State Highway Patrol reported a Washingtonville man died in a one-vehicle crash Friday along county Route 428 in Middleton Township.

Abraham Thomas, 69, drove his 2000 Lincoln Continental off the right side of the road while traveling northbound at 9:31 a.m. Friday. His vehicle struck a culvert and an embankment, which made his car flip.

Negley Volunteer Fire Department and EMS transported Thomas to Salem Regional Medical Center. Ohio State Highway Patrol reported Thomas died from the crash. Patrol added that Thomas was not wearing a seatbelt.

2nd arson at house

WARREN

A second arson at the same vacant house in two weeks destroyed the house early Friday at 1478 Hamilton Street SW.

Both fires were apparently intentionally set, said Ken Nussle, Warren fire chief.

Friday’s 2:09 a.m. fire gutted the interior of the house and caused $20,000 damage. It caused a part of the roof to fall in and destroyed the trusses. Nussle said he will recommend demolition. There was no one inside the house, and there were no injuries.

The origin of the fire is not known. The first time it caught fire was Nov. 7, when the fire involved a room on the first floor.

Several hurt in accident

YOUNGSTOWN

Several people were hospitalized Friday after a Ford SUV slipped off Interstate 680 and flipped near the ramp leading to the 711 connector. Vindicator news partner 21 WFMJ-TV reported that people inside the van, including some children, did not appear seriously injured, but all were transported to a hospital for evaluation. Youngstown police are investigating to determine whether icy road conditions played a role in the crash. Further information was not available at press time.

Shootings kill 4, hurt 1

CLEVELAND

Police say a pregnant woman and three others were shot and killed in a Cleveland home, and a 10-year-old girl was wounded but expected to survive.

Cleveland police Chief Calvin Williams tells the Northeast Ohio Media group that two men and two women were killed and the 10-year-old girl was hurt and has been taken to a hospital after the shooting Friday night.