METRO DIGEST || ACTION rally at YSU on locally grown food

ACTION rally on food

YOUNGSTOWN

The faith-based activist group ACTION will have a rally to promote use of locally grown food on campus at 6 p.m. today at The Rock near Youngstown State University’s Kilcawley Center.

The rally’s purpose is to encourage YSU President Jim Tressel to continue to honor his pledge to expand the purchase of local food for students and staff within the institution.

ACTION representatives noted the majority of food served at institutions such as YSU is highly processed, while even fresh food within the same food system travels an average of 1,500 miles, with little profit going to local farmers.

For information, contact Rose Carter, executive director of the Alliance for Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods, at 330- 941-0475 or taulen@aol.com.

Two jailed in robbery

WARREN

A man and woman living on Oak Knoll Avenue Southeast were arraigned on one count each of aggravated robbery Wednesday related to an incident on Belle Avenue, and each is being held in the Trumbull County jail without eligibility to make bond.

Laura N. Panagis, 26, and Joseph A. Moore, 31, who also has a South Raccoon Road, Austintown, address, were arrested Tuesday afternoon at the Capri Motel, 8033 E. Market St.

When police entered the room, they found a brown substance in a piece of magazine paper and are having it tested for heroin.

A woman living on Belle said Panagis and Moore knocked on her door Jan. 24 and asked for $20, but the victim said she had no money. Moore told her she better give him the money or he would take everything. He then punched her in the stomach and took a bag containing a cell phone and $140 cash, police said.

3 more heroin deaths

WARREN

Trumbull County Common Pleas Court officials say the opiate epidemic has killed three people recently who had criminal cases pending in the court.

One was a man, 42, of Coleridge Avenue who was facing a heroin-possession charge that dated back to August. His case was terminated Tuesday as a result of his death.

Another was a man, 30, of Morningside Road in Niles, who also faced a heroin-possession charge from August. He pleaded guilty in January and was due for sentencing Feb. 23, but that was canceled due to his death.

A man, 29, of Middlefield, charged with heroin possession in September, was accepted in the common pleas court’s drug court program in January. The case was terminated Feb. 22 by his death.

Man shot in Warren

WARREN

A man, 34, of Burton Street Southeast, suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the stomach and was found on the porch of a home in the 2600 block of Burton Street at 2 a.m. Wednesday.

The man was taken by ambulance to ValleyCare Trumbull Memorial Hospital. Police say he was coherent but losing blood and didn’t tell police much because of his poor condition.

Green Beer Day

YOUNGSTOWN

To kick off the St. Patrick’s Day season, Friday is being touted as Green Beer Day in downtown Youngstown.

The hoopla will begin about 5 p.m. when Mayor John A. McNally, clad in green, will arrive at O’Donold’s Irish Pub, 122 W. Federal St.

The mayor will attach a hose from the truck to transfer thousands of gallons of green beer into the pub’s tanks.

Bagpipers and Irish step dancers will be part of the fun. The Shaffer Brothers Band will perform inside O’Donold’s.

The annual St. Patty’s Day Beer Crawl will take place March 11 at various downtown bars.

East Side robberies

YOUNGSTOWN

Robberies were reported Tuesday on the East Side.

About 5:15 p.m. at K&P Sportswear, 713 N. Garland Ave., employees told police a woman took several items into a changing room while staff were helping other customers, then ran out with the $850 in merchandise to a waiting car driven by a man, reports said.

About a half-hour later, police were called to Citi Trends, 2960 McCartney Road, where reports said a woman came to the register with a handbag while a man was paying for merchandise. The woman asked the clerk if there were any more bags like the one she was holding and when she was told no, she ran out the door as the man was leaving. Reports said they both got in the same car and drove away.

In both cases, the car described by witnesses was a Dodge 300, reports said.

Menacing in Boardman

BOARDMAN

Police are investigating two menacing reports Tuesday.

In one, a Metro PCS customer reportedly became enraged after learning of fees needed to add to her phone plan. According to a police report, she shouted expletives and physical threats at the store employee as well as mooning the victim before leaving.

In another incident reported later that day by a Mathews Road resident, a suspect purportedly threatened him over a parking space.

When the victim told the suspect the parking was first-come first-served, the suspect purportedly made physical threats to both the victim and the victim’s car, according to a report.

Canfield water tests

CANFIELD

Canfield School District administrators tested the water in their facilities to ensure good water quality. Superintendent Alex Geordan said the choice to do it was made out of precaution and was a small price to pay for the peace of mind. All the water samples were sent to the Mahoning County Board of Health and resulted in no lead detection.