METRO DIGEST || Attack at store

Attack at store

YOUNGSTOWN

A Lowellville man is in the Mahoning County jail in lieu of $10,000 bond after police say he attacked an employee at a McCartney Road grocery store Tuesday.

Alfred Jerome Bonanno, who also uses the last name Mohammad, was arraigned before Magistrate Anthony Sertick on Wednesday on charges of assault and aggravated menacing.

Police were called to the store about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, where an employee said Bonnano accused him of being a drug dealer, then punched him in the hand.

The employee fought back, and Bonanno then left. He was found by police a short distance away, reports said.

Special meeting

CANFIELD

The Cardinal Joint Fire District Board of Trustees will have a special meeting to discuss employment and compensation of public officials or employees at 9 a.m. today at Station No. 1, 104 Lisbon St.

Free trip to facility

YOUNGSTOWN

A free trip for family members of juveniles housed at the Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility in Highland Hills will depart for that facility at 11:30 a.m. Saturday in a van or bus from J&W Crown Limousines & Coachline, 1315 Market St.

The return time will be between 5 and 5:30 p.m. that day.

For reservations, call Jill Ames, senior juvenile parole officer at the Ohio Department of Youth Services, at 330-807-9801.

Poll: Portman ahead

COLUMBUS

Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman has opened a 17-point lead among Ohio voters, according to a poll released Wednesday by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

Among 497 likely voters, 55 percent sided with Portman, versus 38 percent for his Democratic challenger, former Gov. Ted Strickland.

The results have a margin of error of more than 4 percentage points.

Strickland has steadily lost ground in Quinnipiac’s polls. He was ahead in early polling more than a year ago, but Portman has gained ground since.

Last month, Quinnipiac had the race at 51 percent Portman, 40 percent Strickland.

Absentee ballots

MERCER, PA.

More than 1,000 absentee ballots will be mailed in Mercer County beginning Friday to voters who have already submitted applications.

Those voters should be looking for the ballots to arrive in their mailboxes early next week.

Voters who will be out of their precinct on Election Day, Nov. 8, or have an illness or disability that doesn’t permit them to vote in person should apply now for absentee ballots.

The county will process them in the order they arrive.

The deadline to apply is Nov. 1; the deadline to return the completed ballot is Nov. 4.

Voters are encouraged to mail applications and/or completed ballots more than a week ahead of any deadline to ensure timely delivery by the postal service.