Man charged in rape

Man charged in rape

NILES

A Champion Township man is charged in connection with the rape of a girl.

Bond is set at $750,000 for Verl Gibson, 79, who was arraigned Monday in Niles Municipal Court, according to 21-WFMJ TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner.

Police said Gibson repeatedly assaulted the child, who is under 13 years old, during visits in Niles. He faces a first-degree felony rape charge.

Kiwanis egg hunt

BOARDMAN

The 67th annual Kiwanis Club of Boardman’s Easter egg hunt is Wednesday at Boardman Township Park’s Tots Town. There will be two sessions – 9:15 a.m. and noon.

The hunt is for the kindergartners from Boardman School District’s four elementary schools. Students in the high school’s home-economics classes stuffed more than 1,300 eggs with candy.

The Easter Bunny and students from the high school’s Key Club will assist children who may need help finding eggs. Sponsors for the event are Walmart, Chick-fil-A, Giannios Candy Co. and Giant Eagle.

5K for autism set

AUSTINTOWN

The Autism Society of Mahoning Valley announces the fourth annual Valley Autism 5K and Family Fun Walk presented by John Kufleitner Auto Group. Registration starts at 8 a.m., and the first run event starts at 9 a.m. April 22 at Austintown Township Park, 600 Kirk Road.

Race registrations and additional event information are available at ValleyAutism5K.org or by calling 330-333-9609.

The event will include a 5K run, 5K timed walk, kids fun run, 1-mile family fun walk, Special Needs Resource Fair and family friendly carnival. The 5K event is a combination of trails and roads. Prizes will be awarded to the top runners in each age category, top overall male and female in 5K walk category.

Families are encouraged to participate and show support by creating fundraising with their team. For information on ASMV, visit AutismMV.org

Farmers markets

Alta Head Start will host farmers markets from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday at various locations for parents and partners of Alta to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables using “Alta bucks” they’ve earned by volunteering at Head Start sites during the school year.

The locations are McCartney Learning Center, 1988 McCart-ney Road, OCCHA Learning Center, 3660 Shirley Road, and Rockford Village Learning Center, all in Youngstown; St. James Learning Center, 7640 Glenwood Ave., Boardman; and Westchester Learning Center, 122 Westchester Drive, Austintown. There also will be kid-friendly events and giveaways at all sites.

Mine safety is topic

YOUNGSTOWN

Christopher Mark of the Mine Safety and Health Administration will speak at Youngstown State University at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Mark is a former miner whose work focuses on mine safety, including the prevention of cave-ins and other hazards. He will deliver his free lecture in Cushwa Hall Room B112. The speaker series is sponsored, in part, by the James Dale Ethics Center. Contact Ray Beiersdorfer at ray@cc.ysu.edu, or 330-941-1753 with questions or for information.

New director, plan

YOUNGSTOWN

Beatitude House, 238 Tod Lane, a ministry of the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown, will introduce its newly named executive director and present its new strategic plan for the ministry at 11 a.m. Thursday at its offices.

The new director, along with Sisters Patricia McNicholas and Sister Mary McCormick, will be available to comment. Light refreshments will be served.

Targeting absenteeism

Washington

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, and Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Washington state Republican, introduced the Chronic Absenteeism Reduction Act on Monday.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10 percent or more of the school year. Students who are chronically absent are 68 percent less likely than other students to graduate high school.

The Chronic Absenteeism Reduction Act extends the allowable use of funds of Title IV-A block grants to allow schools the flexibility to invest in getting students to engage in academic programs before having to invest in enriching those programs.

The bill allows schools to enact attendance programs that cater to their local needs by authorizing existing funds for schools to develop and implement effective strategies to combat chronic absence in schools.