METRO DIGEST || Prosecutor opposes parole for Cox

Opposed to parole

WARREN

Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins is opposing the parole of Carlos Cox, 42, who is serving 18 years to life in prison for the Sept. 27, 1992, murder of Jarrett Kellar in the Highland Homes area of the city. Cox has served 21 years.

Cox, then a cocaine dealer, fired three to four times into a pickup truck in which Kellar was a passenger, striking Kellar, 23, of Champion, in the head.

Cox said the reason was because the driver of the truck, Kellar’s brother, Doug Kellar, had ripped off Cox in an earlier drug deal, according to a letter Watkins wrote to the Ohio Parole Board.

Park entrance reopens

YOUNGSTOWN

Memorial Hill Drive, the historic entrance to Mill Creek Park that stretches from Glenwood Avenue to West Glacier Drive, reopened Thursday.

The drive was closed for a pavement resurfacing and infrastructure improvement project. The project addressed safety and driving conditions for park patrons and preserved the roadway’s original function and historic features.

Sentence continued

WARREN

The Ohio Parole Board has continued the sentence for two years for William Judson, 50, who was convicted of two counts of rape in 1993.

Judson was living in Fowler Township when the assaults began in 1981, but they continued through 1986, when he and his family lived on state Route 305 in Champion Township. His two victims were between age 5 and 10. Judson was between age 15 and 20 when the assaults took place.

Judge Mitchell Shaker of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court sentenced Judson to 15 to 50 years in prison. Judson was paroled in 2009 after serving 16 years of his sentence, but he committed a theft offense a short time later and was sent back to prison.

Hospital-bed donation

CHAMPION

Students and faculty of Kent State University at Trumbull’s nursing program will begin the school year with eight upgraded hospital beds, thanks to ValleyCare Trumbull Memorial Hospital. The donation marks a significant improvement for the campus nursing lab.

“These newer beds more closely resemble what future nurses will encounter in today’s hospitals,” said Kathy Dwinnells, Kent State Trumbull nursing program coordinator.

The donation was made possible through the hospital’s equipment upgrade program, said John Walsh, Trumbull Memorial Hospital’s chief executive officer.

Kent State Trumbull offers a bachelor of science nursing degree, which can be fully completed at the Trumbull campus.

Youth literacy grants

Five Mahoning Valley schools and three organizations received youth literacy grants from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.

The grants to St. Nicholas School in Struthers; Hubbard Middle School; Canfield schools; East Palestine Elementary; Liberty schools; Salvation Army, Youngstown; United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley; and Kyrsten Elizabeth Studer Memorial Foundation were announced Thursday.

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation awards grants annually to nonprofit organizations, schools and libraries within a 20-mile radius of a Dollar General store or distribution center to support literacy programs.

New tax agency office

YOUNGSTOWN

The Regional Income Tax Agency will be moving into new offices Tuesday. The new office location is 2761 Salt Springs Road.

In preparation for the move, the current office at 20 Federal Place on West Federal Street downtown closed Thursday, and will reopen at the new location at 8 a.m.

Check for Mobile Meals

YOUNGSTOWN

Home Savings Charitable Foundation recently donated a check for $3,218 to Trumbull Mobile Meals. The funds will contribute to the purchase of an automatic meat/vegetable slicer.

“We work to serve those who cannot drive to a congregate meal site or food distribution center, regardless of age, gender, race, ancestry, national origin, ethnic background, religious or economic circumstance,” said Barbara Petiya, grant writer for Mobile Meals.

“Our mission is to ensure that no person goes hungry in our neighborhoods,” she said.

“We are really proud to be able to support Trumbull Mobile Meals,” said Trish Mohan, interim director of the Home Savings Charitable Foundation.

Appointed to 2nd term

CANFIELD

Mahoning County commissioners appointed James A. Kiriazis to a second term on the Western Reserve Transit Authority Board that began Thursday and will end Aug. 31, 2019.