United Way meeting Tuesday

United Way meeting Tuesday

POLAND

The United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley is having its 2014 annual meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Lake Club, 1140 Paulin Road.

Barbara Sykes, president of Ohio United Way, is keynote speaker for the event, sponsored by Talmer Bank and Trust, at which milestones achieved by the organization and top campaigns and volunteers will be recognized for their contributions.

Dogs die in fire

YOUNGSTOWN

Fire reports said several dogs died during a fire Thursday afternoon that destroyed a South Side home.

Crews found a fire at 495 Almyra Ave. when they were called about 2:15 p.m. and also found five dachsunds in cages in the driveway when the got there. The homeowner told firefighters he was watching television with his wife when he noticed a fire, but he delayed in calling 911 because he tried to put the fire out himself.

Reports said when the smoke was too much, the homeowner picked up two cages with dogs and ran outside but could not get back in to get the other dogs. Reports said five dogs died.

Firefighters also found four propane tanks that were being used for heat, and several electrical cords were found through the house, with an extension cord from the basement to the living room burned up. Reports said the fire started near a clothes dryer. Damage is listed at $7,000.

Domestic violence

BOARDMAN

A township man faces a misdemeanor domestic-violence charge after police said he shoved and bit his girlfriend, the mother of his 3-month-old child.

Township police arrested Kendall Miller, 21, of Shields Road after the victim reported the incident early Friday.

Miller was taken to the Mahoning County jail, pending an appearance Tuesday in Mahoning County Area Court.

Break-in reported

YOUNGSTOWN

A 33-year-old woman told police Thursday someone broke into her home in the 300 block of West Chalmers Avenue between 1 and 2 p.m. Wednesday while she was there and took three semiautomatic handguns and $150 from a safe.

Reports said the woman told police she was awakened at gunpoint and forced to the floor. She claimed to have called 911 on Wednesday but no officers showed up.

Reports said a check of incoming calls to 911 Wednesday showed no calls from that home the day before.

Goal surpassed

YOUNGSTOWN

Local public radio station WYSU-88.5 FM surpassed its $130,000 fundraising goal Friday. The final total of $132,617 came from 1,083 listeners.

WYSU made history by reaching its goal for the first time without significantly interrupting programs, which has been the traditional public-radio fundraising model. Gary Sexton, director of broadcasting, said the idea was to raise more funds while dedicating fewer hours on air to fundraising appeals.

“We decided to try a fund drive that didn’t interrupt programming, and it worked!” Sexton said. “Our listeners missed no part of any of our network or local programs as we increased our very necessary member support.”

The $130,000 goal was set much higher than goals set for drives in the recent past in order to offset cuts mandated by the university this fiscal year, Sexton said.

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