METRO DIGEST || Low-cost vaccines, microchips for pets

Vaccines, microchips offered for pets

BOARDMAN

Animal Charity of Ohio Inc., 4140 Market St., is hosting a discounted vaccine and microchip clinic Saturday.

Keeping your pet’s vaccinations current can prevent common illnesses and potentially avoid costly veterinarian bills. Having your pet implanted with a microchip can allow for a quicker reunion if the pet goes missing.

The clinic will offer several packages that include rabies and heartworm testing. The rabies vaccines for cats and dogs is $10; microchipping for cats and dogs is $15 (if not purchased in a package). Pets must be on leashes or in appropriate pet carriers to be seen.

Visit www.animalcharityofohio.org for information. A 5 percent discount will be given for all clients that register by calling 330-788-1064.

There will be subsequent clinics April 11, May 9 and June 13.

SOUP dinner set

WARREN

Warren SOUP will have its next micro-finance dinner at 6 p.m. Saturday. SOUP provides microfunding for creative local projects that will have a positive impact on the city. The event will be on the second floor of the Artisan Cafe, 410 S. Main St.

Warren SOUP is organized by a committee of local residents with a passion for social change. SOUP is a public dinner of soup, salad and bread for $5. Tickets are sold at the door; no advance sales or reservations are necessary.

SOUPs take place, at minimum, once every quarter. Diners will hear four-minute presentations from Warren Arts Center, The Sewing Bank (Fashion Warriors), Charles Street Flower Power Garden and Ernest.com. They are seeking funding for their projects. Diners then have the opportunity to ask a few questions before voting for their favorite project.

The winner will be announced at the end of the evening, and the winner will receive all the money raised from the Warren SOUP event that night.

Man hospitalized after touching live wire

STRUTHERS

A man is hospitalized after coming in contact with a power line during a construction job.

Fire officials from Struthers tell 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner, they were called to the Kids Stuff store on Lowellville Road Thursday afternoon where a father and son were installing a peaked roof over a flat roof.

When the father stood up, his head touched the live power line above.

Rescuers say the man was suffering from some facial burns and other unknown injuries. Further details were not available.

Theft of snowblower

GIRARD

Edwin F. Pacheco Lopez, 18, of Cedar Lane in Youngstown, is in the Trumbull County jail in lieu of $25,000 bond on a robbery charge, accused of knocking a Liberty woman to the ground Jan. 27 while she was using her snowblower and stealing the snowblower.

Police were called to a home on Homestead Road, where a 69-year-old woman said she was blowing snow at 3:30 p.m. when she noticed a car drive up and down the street three times.

Suddenly, she was knocked to the ground from behind. When she turned around, she saw a younger male pulling her snowblower down the driveway. A male got out of the driver’s seat of the car that had been passing her house and helped the other man put the snowblower into the trunk, and they fled.

Police arrested Pacheco Lopez on Tuesday afternoon at a gas station on Belmont Avenue in Liberty on a felony robbery warrant.

Woman sentenced for theft from employer

PITTSBURGH

A New Castle, Pa., resident has been sentenced to 42 months in federal prison and ordered to make $647,108 in restitution for thefts from a South Hills car dealership, where she was office manager.

Deborah Cassini, 61, of West Laurel Avenue drew the sentence Wednesday after pleading guilty to wire fraud and filing false income-tax returns. She will be on supervised release for three years after prison.

Cassini’s embezzlement scheme included 163 online payments to her personal credit cards from Three Rivers Volks-wagen’s bank account, issuing herself extra pay 98 times, skimming cash hundreds of times and concealing the thefts with false accounting entries, the U.S. attorney said.

The case was investigated by the IRS and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Quiz Bowl tournament

AUSTINTOWN

Sixteen varsity and junior varsity Mahoning area Quiz Bowl teams will compete in the annual tournament from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at Austintown Fitch High School, 4560 Falcon Drive.

The teams have competed since January. Boardman High School Varsity and JV teams are the Mahoning League champions. The tournament features timed rounds in which students answer questions from a variety of categories such as history, literature, science and math.

The area’s brightest academic students will gather to compete to be Mahoning tournament champions.

Repairs to fire station

BOARDMAN

The fire department is looking at some costly repair work after a firetruck leaving a station Wednesday damaged the station’s front garage doors.

When firefighters at Station 73 on Lockwood Boulevard and Shields Road got called out for a medical emergency about 8 a.m. Wednesday, a compartment door popped open and hit a center pillar between two garage doors.

“We’re anticipating a pretty costly repair,” said Fire Chief Mark Pitzer. “The damage to the firetruck will be minimal; we just need to replace the compartment door that popped open.”

The cost to fix the garage doors, however, likely will be expensive, he said.

A contractor worked to make temporary repairs Wednesday. Firetrucks will use the station’s rear garage doors to get out. No one was injured.

Arrested on warrant

BOARDMAN

A Youngstown man is in the Mahoning County jail on a $20,000 bond after he was arrested on a warrant for a second-degree felony burglary charge.

Police say Anthony Patterson, 19, of Lucius Avenue, broke into a Stratford Avenue home in December and stole almost $9,000 worth of items.

When police responded to the call, they found the house ransacked and determined that the suspect entered through a window.

The victims reported that two laptops, two iPhones, jewelry and clothing were missing. The total value of the missing items was $8,800.

Patterson was arraigned earlier this week and is set to be back in Mahoning County Area Court here Tuesday.

Democratic primary endorsements

YOUNGSTOWN

The Mahoning Valley Democratic Club endorsed Youngstown and Struthers candidates in the Democratic primary.

In Youngstown council races, the group endorsed, by ward, Julius T. Oliver in the 1st, T.J. Rodgers in the 2nd, Rick Alli in the 3rd, Mike Ray in the 4th, Cynthia McWilson in the 5th, Anita Davis in the 6th, and Holly Lynn Hanni in the 7th.

In Struthers, the club endorsed Ronald A. Carcelli for mayor (his opponent, Danny Thomas Jr., didn’t seek it); Michael S. Patrick, Joseph Rudzik and John M. Pontikos for three council at-large seats; and Robert D. Carcelli III for the 4th Ward.

Club members could vote in any races regardless of where they live.