Vindy reviews top news stories of 2017

YOUNGSTOWN

Shocking deaths, the area’s ongoing corruption saga and major changes in local politics were among the headline-grabbing events in the Mahoning Valley in 2017.

An eventful news year began with bloodshed, when a Howland man fired at five people, killing two, near a busy township highway in February.

Then, in April, triple-murder defendant Robert Seman, accused of killing a young girl and her grandparents by setting fire to their Powers Way house, brought a stunning conclusion to what likely would have been a gripping trial by jumping to his death from the fourth floor of the Mahoning County Courthouse.

In other deaths that drew the attention of the community and beyond, a Girard police officer was killed in the line of duty; a veteran city firefighter died in an accident; and a body was found in a freezer in Campbell.

Along with the shocking deaths came news on what might not have been surprising to those familiar with the Valley: corruption.

These stories and more were identified by Vindicator staff reporters and editors – as well as by website and social media scoring – as the top news stories for 2017.

Read more about them all in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.