METRO DIGEST || Send holiday cards to service members

Send holiday cards to service members

YOUNGSTOWN

Shepherd of the Valley is partnering with the American Red Cross to collect holiday cards for members of the armed forces, veterans and their families at all SOV’s sites until Dec. 11.

Cards can be dropped off between 8:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily. Sites are: Boardman, 7145 West Blvd; Howland, 4100 North River Road NE.; Niles,1500 McKinley Ave.; Poland, 301 W. Western Reserve Road; and corporate, 5525 Silica Road, Austintown.

Guidelines for sending cards are:

Sign all cards. Use generic salutations such as “Dear Service Member.” Only cards are accepted; don’t include sender’s email or home address on the cards. Don’t put anything in the cards; no glitter. For information, call Elida Cowles at 330-726-7110, ext. 2318.

Park road closing

YOUNGSTOWN

West Newport Drive from Canfield Road to the intersection of Cascade and Kiowa drives will be closed to vehicular traffic from approximately 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday for Mill Creek MetroParks’ Olde Fashioned Christmas at Lanterman’s Mill event.

Fatal crash probed in Hubbard Twp.

HUBBARD

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal Hubbard Township crash. A van rolled onto its side after hitting a rock pile and several trees near Lewis-Seifert and Mount Everett roads around 5:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Officers said the driver, Rex Martin, 61, of Hubbard Township, was dead at the scene. The van’s passenger was transported to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

Martin drove off the road after failing to stop at an intersection, according to the patrol.

Cops find drugs

YOUNGSTOWN

Six was the number during a South Side traffic stop Tuesday.

Reports said police found six bags of crack cocaine on Brisco Huff, 59, no address listed. He was booked into the Mahoning County jail on a charge of possession of crack cocaine after a car he was a passenger in was pulled over about 5:20 p.m. in the 400 block of St. Louis Avenue.

The driver of the car, Demetric Brown, 53, of Regent Street, has six open suspensions on his license, reports said. He was given a citation for driving under suspension.

Coalition to meet

YOUNGSTOWN

The Sixth Ward Citizens Coalition will meet from 6 to 7 p.m. Monday at Metro Assembly of God Church, 2530 South Ave. The group will discuss concerns relating to trash pickup throughout the ward and the effects of the quality-of-life ordinance.

Crash on US 224 causes outage

CANFIELD

A Niles truck driver, Mark A. Molek, 45, was charged with operating a vehicle without reasonable control after hitting a utility pole guyline and knocking down electrical lines Wednesday while turning his commercial truck from U.S. Route 224 onto Fairground Boulevard.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol said the crash was reported at about 10 a.m. Canfield Fire Department was called to the scene because of the downed wires.

Molek fled the scene but was later arrested by Canfield police.

Several hundred homes and businesses in Canfield were without power for a while, but most were back in service by noon.