METRO DIGEST || Increased penalties animal cruelty

Penalty for hurting pets

COLUMBUS

The Ohio Senate OK’d legislation Wednesday upping criminal penalties against those who seriously hurt pet dogs and cats.

House Bill 60 passed on a unanimous vote and awaits concurrence from the Ohio House before being forwarded to Gov. John Kasich for his signature.

Under the legislation, individuals who “knowingly cause serious physical harm” to companion animals would face felony charges. Under current law, such abuse is considered a misdemeanor on a first offense and a felony on subsequent violations.

The bill also tightens prohibitions in state law for kennel owners who abuse or neglect animals in their care. Resulting fines would be directed to county humane societies or law enforcement who investigate cases of neglect and abuse.

46 bridge open to traffic

CANFIELD

The state Route 46 bridge is now open to traffic.

According to a news release from the Ohio Turnpike Commission, workers have completed the Route 46 bridge construction and removed the detour signs.

“The work was completed on schedule and is part of the Ohio Turnpike’s largest capital improvement program in 15 years,” the release said.

St. E’s labor pact

YOUNGSTOWN

Service employees at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, members of Teamsters Local 377, approved a new three-year contract with the hospital Wednesday.

According to 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner, the contract includes wage increases in each of the three years, and improvements in benefits and job security.

The contract, the culmination of two months of negotiations, covers about 600 hospital employees. Details were not available Wednesday because the hospital had not yet signed the agreement.

Probing robbery report

LIBERTY

Police are investigating a report of an armed robbery in the parking lot of Walmart on Goldie Road.

Officers met with a 17-year-old Youngstown boy shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday. The teen told police he had posted online about selling second-hand items, but when he, his sister and his sister’s cousin met with the potential buyer in the Walmart parking lot, the person who said he would buy the items instead pulled out a semiautomatic handgun.

The victim said he gave the boy with the gun his Cartier sunglasses, a Louis Vuitton belt and a pendant. A police report estimates the total value of the stolen items at $1,850.

Witnesses said the thief, who had a white male in his passenger seat, left the parking lot in a brownish Oldsmobile and fled westbound on Interstate 80. Police believe the suspect is a 17-year-old Canfield male.

‘Art in the Park’ event

BOARDMAN

Boardman Center Middle School will host “Art in the Park,” a fundraiser for a school makeover planned for next month, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. tonight at Boardman Park’s Lariccia Center.

The event will feature a silent auction of local artists’ work, as well as a basket raffle. Student artwork also will be on display.

For information about the Boardman Center Project – a school and community initiative to improve the school – visit boardmancenterproject.com or call the school at 330-726-3400.

Flags at Niles cemetery

NILES

Flags will be installed for Memorial Day at Niles City Cemetery at 5 p.m. today by the American Legion William McKinley Post 106.

Bench honors teacher

CAMPBELL

Campbell City Schools dedicated a bench Wednesday in honor of former second-grade teacher Leigh Yallech.

A teacher in Campbell for 17 years, Yallech suffered a stroke and died in 2015 at age 46.

The Leigh Yallech Memorial Fund arranged for the bench to be placed in her honor at the Campbell K-7 School courtyard.

Students planted flowers near the bench and the Parent-Teacher Organization provided a picnic with a magician.

Theft of firearm

BOARDMAN

Police are investigating a claim that a township man stole his roommate’s firearm and sold it to buy cocaine.

According to the police report, the 26-year-old victim of Edenridge Drive called police about 2 a.m. Wednesday, claiming his handgun had been stolen from his home. The victim told police he was unsure if he had misplaced the gun when it went missing three weeks ago until a witness told him he saw the roommate carrying it two or three weeks ago.

The witness told him the roommate sold it for cocaine, and the victim decided to confront the suspect.

Seeking info on levy

CANFIELD

City council members passed a resolution during a special meeting Wednesday afternoon to allow Christine Clayton, finance director, to ask the Mahoning County auditor how much a 3.9-mill levy would generate annually for Canfield city.

When the auditor responds, council members said they would make more of a firm decision regarding a levy for the November ballot.