METRO DIGEST || 3rd-graders aim to ‘Change the World’

‘Change the World’

CORTLAND

Each year, students in Melissa Kmetz’s third-grade class at Lakeview Elementary School take part in a “Change The World” project.

This year, they chose The Hope Foundation of the Mahoning Valley as the focus of their project.

Over a two-week period in May, the students collected “Dollars For Hope” from schoolmates, family and friends, raising $2,000 for the local charity that helps improve the lives of chronically and terminally ill children in the tri-county area.

Kmetz says the class chose to help hospitalized children because, in the words of one of her students, “The kids are so young to be hurting, and they have a lot of life to live. We should at least make them happy in a bad time.”

American flags

HUBBARD

Burgan Real Estate has partnered with volunteers from Covenant Life Fellowship Church to place 5,000 American flags throughout the city. The local company distributes the flags each year in anticipation of the Fourth of July.

Cocaine possession

YOUNGSTOWN

Police said they found a dose of suspected crack cocaine on one of two men Thursday they found inside the vacant Rondinelli Tuxedo building at 3600 Market St.

Officers called out about 6:25 p.m. for people in the building found Edward Fink, 20, and Sean McJunkin, 39, both of Boardman. Reports said both men were searched, and police found a dose of the suspected drug on Fink.

Fink was taken to the Mahoning County jail on charges of possession of cocaine and criminal trespass. McJunkin was issued a citation for criminal trespass and released with a court date.

Stolen electricity

WARREN

Gregory Vanek, 38, of Porter Street Northeast was charged Friday in Warren Municipal Court with petty theft and criminal damaging after authorities determined that he was receiving electricity illegally through a “jump wire.”

Police were called to his house Thursday afternoon and found a jump wire in the basement running into the house and into his fuse box.

Ohio Edison had disconnected the power to the home earlier, police said.

Warren Fire Department disconnected the jump wire to make it safe, and a Warren electrical inspector supervised the repair of the electrical service. Vanek has an address on Wetmore Avenue in Struthers.

Deplorable house

CAMPBELL

A woman was arraigned Friday in Campbell Municipal Court after police discovered a 1-year-old child living at a home in what they called deplorable condition.

Lakasha High, 23, of Campbell faces charges of endangering children, obstruction of official business and resisting arrest.

Officers responded to Monroe Street on Wednesday afternoon after neighbors reported a woman was unresponsive and lying on the ground outside a home.

Police described finding rotting food, piled up garbage and feces in the residence. Officers also reported High tried to stop officers from taking photos of the home. High will appear Aug. 19 for a pretrial hearing. A judge set her bond at $2,500.