Valley residents to witness Trump’s inauguration

By David Skolnick | January 20, 2017 at 12:01a.m.

By DAVID SKOLNICK

skolnick@vindy.com

WASHINGTON

Chase Weiland, a 17-year-old Lordstown High School senior, is eager to see Donald Trump get sworn in as president today, but not too thrilled about the wait.

“I’m very excited about the event, but not excited that we’ll be standing for about six hours,” she said. “But we’re going to be watching history happen. It’s going to be memorable.”

Weiland is one of the dozens of Mahoning Valley residents who made the trip to Washington, D.C., for Trump’s inauguration today.

Weiland is a member of the Lordstown High School Political History Club that sent 17 students with 10 adult chaperones to Washington.

The group left Tuesday and has visited various historic landmarks in the nation’s capital.

Terry Armstrong, Lordstown schools superintendent and one of the adult chaperones, said the group will leave its hotel at 4 a.m. today and head to the inauguration. The gates open at 6:30 a.m. for the noon swearing-in.

“We’ll do a lot of standing, but the kids are excited,” he said.

The group arrived Tuesday and has packed a lot in including tours of numerous monuments, historic buildings and museums as well as Thursday visits with U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown, a Cleveland Democrat, and Rob Portman, a Republican from the Cincinnati area.

“The Capitol building is my favorite,” Weiland said.

The Lordstown group returns home shortly after the swearing-in ceremony.

The forecast calls for temperatures in the 50s and most likely rain.

A group of eight Boy Scouts and seven adult leaders and parents from Boy Scout Troop 60 in Boardman arrived Thursday in the D.C. area to attend today’s swearing-in.

The troop camped overnight at Cherry Hill Park Campground in College Park, Md., the closest campground to D.C., and will head to the event around 6:30-7 a.m. The troop plans to leave shortly after the ceremony, said Ralph Rivera, whose 14-year-old son Jaden is in the troop and suggested the trip.

“Donald Trump drew his interest and my son approached his scoutmaster Byron Harnishfeger about making the inauguration one of the troop’s campouts,” he said. “We’re prepared for the rain. The kids are excited. The adults are cautiously excited. None of us have been to anything like this. There will be a lot of people with a lot of different views at the event.”

Meanwhile, close to 200 people attended a Thursday fundraiser co-hosted by Bruce Zoldan, chief executive officer of B.J. Alan Co. in Youngstown, for football great Jim Brown’s Amer-I-Can inner-city outreach program at the request of Trump and the president-elect’s transition team.

The $1,000-a-ticket event’s signature cocktails included a play on words: Trumpini, Mexican Wallbanger and Putin’s Moscow Hacking Mule.

Honored at the event were Omarosa Manigault, a Youngstown native and reality TV personality who was recently selected by Trump as an assistant to him and director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison; and Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal attorney.

Among those attending were former college basketball coach Bobby Knight, football hall-of-famer Curtis Martin, NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez and Fox News anchor Kimberly Guilfoyle.

Amer-I-Can’s outreach program teaches life skills and personal responsibility to young people in inner-city neighborhoods and works to create educational and employment opportunities in those communities.

Brown, Zoldan and Martin were part of a team that met Dec. 13 with Trump in New York to discuss the expansion of the program with focuses on Youngstown, Chicago and probably one or two other cities to start.

“The next step will be a board meeting in the White House in the very near future to develop a specific plan for the number of cities,” Zoldan said.

There were protestors outside the event, Zoldan said, and “we heard them loud and clear.”

While Zoldan is a friend and supporter of Hillary and Bill Clinton, he said, “I’m willing to take a chance that [Trump] will reach across the aisle and try to help Youngstown and many other communities like Youngstown.”

As for Trump, Zoldan said, “He’s unique. He’s not a polished politician. His rhetoric is sometimes looked upon unfavorably, but he’s interested in helping inner cities and that’s what interests me.”

Other Valley residents in D.C. include Tracey Winbush of Youngstown, who served as the chairwoman of Trump’s campaign in Mahoning County. She is attending her third presidential inauguration and has been in Washington since Tuesday.

While in D.C., she attended the Republican National Committee meeting in which new officers were elected, was interviewed by National Public Radio, went to several political functions, visited the Smithsonian and “spend a lot of money eating.”

If it’s raining this morning, Winbush said she is “definitely not” going to the swearing-in, but will watch it on TV. She’s most excited to attend the Freedom Ball, one of only three balls Trump will be at.

As for the mood in Washington, Winbush said: “People are happy. There are a lot of people running around. I’ve met quite a few people from Ohio. Everyone is looking forward to [today]. People are excited and pleased to be here.”

Kathy Shook of Canfield is attending her first presidential inauguration, but shortly after arriving in the nation’s capital Thursday afternoon, she said he was there primarily for the ball.

“I’m not going to brave the crowds for the swearing-in,” she said. “We’ll find a nice restaurant and watch it from there. I’m very excited about going to the Freedom Ball and being part of our country’s traditions. It’s great to be part of it.”