Drop in fair attendance

Drop in fair attendance

BAZETTA

Attendance at the Trumbull County Fair that ended Sunday appears to have dropped by about 9 percent over last year.

Tom Sawyer, a county fair board member, said specific attendance numbers for Tuesday through Saturday and an estimate for Sunday gives the fair a total of 40,478 people, compared with 44,688 in 2016.

Sawyer said the good weather Saturday and Sunday helped offset uncertainty about the weather earlier in the week.

Rain was forecast for last Monday through Friday, which may have hurt attendance, but most of that rain didn’t materialize, Sawyer said. A few people were overcome by the heat, but that’s a relatively low number, he added.

Skimming device

AUSTINTOWN

Police said a credit-card skimming device was reportedly found attached to a gas pump at a local gas station.

Police came to Pilot Travel Center, 1150 N. Canfield-Niles Road, last week responding to a report of a device at the facility, which has several gas pumps.

The device was reported to the FBI on Thursday.

Special FBI Agent Bryon Speakes removed the device and kept it as evidence in the investigation, reports said.

Mahoning Co. officials accept $3M in grants

YOUNGSTOWN

The Mahoning County commissioners on Monday accepted nearly $3 million in grants that will be passed through to Community Corrections Association Inc., based on the city’s South Side, which operates both residential and nonresidential programs serving both misdemeanor and felony offenders.

The grants were received through a subsidy agreement with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction for Community Based Correction Programs.

Of the nearly $3 million, $338,353 will be spent on nonresidential misdemeanor programs over two years, and $438,330 will be spent on nonresidential felony programs over two years.

The remaining $2.2 million will go toward community-based correctional facilities and programs.

Detectives probe theft

AUSTINTOWN

Township detectives are investigating a report from an area woman who reported Sunday that thousands of dollars of sports memorabilia was stolen from her during her process of moving.

The woman told police two signed footballs – one by Joe Montana, the other by Dan Marino – approximately valued at $7,000, were missing from a box after it was placed in a storage unit at Austintown Self Storage on Clarkins Drive.

Citations issued

YOUNGSTOWN

A sobriety checkpoint Saturday operated by the Mahoning County Operating a Vehicle Impaired Task Force in the area of Hillman Way and Market in Boardman resulted in eight people receiving citations for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Over the weekend in Youngstown, nine people received citations in municipal court for OVI as well.

Man hit by car

BRACEVILLE

Daniel Short Jr., 20, of Youngstown suffered severe injuries when he was hit by a car while walking a bicycle on Warren-Ravenna Road at 10:25 p.m. Friday.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol said the car driver was Terry Weekly, 48, of Newton Falls.

Short was taken to Trumbull Memorial Hospital for treatment.

No charges have been filed, and the crash is under investigation, said the patrol’s Sgt. Dan Jesse.

Salem man arrested

YOUNGSTOWN

Reports said a Salem man was arrested Saturday evening after he threw two bags of suspected crack cocaine at the feet of a police officer after his car was pulled over.

Richard Colon, 66, was taken to the Mahoning County jail on charges of possession of cocaine after he was pulled over just after 7 p.m. in the parking lot of a 1902 Oak St. store on the East Side after he ran a red light.

Reports said as officers were walking up to his car Colon could be seen throwing something out the window. The two bags landed at the feet of an officer who was on the passenger’s side of the car.

Association meeting

YOUNGSTOWN

The Garden District Neighborhood Association will have its next meeting at 6:30 p.m. today at St. John Lutheran Church’s Colonial Hall, 1420 Mahoning Ave.

Councilman Mike Ray, D-4th, will give an update of activities on the West Side and city. Community police officer Melvin Johnson will be in attendance. Special guest will be Kelly Melvin-Campbell.

There will also be a Fall Fest Planning Committee meeting at 5:30, preceding the regular meeting.

Public meeting

WARREN

The Trumbull County commissioners will have a public meeting at 11 a.m. today in their meeting room on the fifth floor of the county administration building, 160 High St. NW, to discuss certain recommendations from the county budget review committee.

They also will meet with the budget review committee at 2 p.m. Thursday at the same location.

The 12-citizen budget review committee met for several months to investigate matters affecting the county budget.

The volunteers, selected by the commissioners, released a report in early June recommending at least $2 million in cost savings the commissioners could make; $2.6 million in property-tax cuts they could make; and recommending a $12.6 million increase in sales taxes through a half-percent sales-tax increase.

Special meeting today

BELOIT

The West Branch school board will host a special meeting at 1 p.m. today in the high school conference room, 14277 Main St. The board will discuss personnel and board policy.

Man shot in mouth

YOUNGSTOWN

A 44-year-old Glenwood Avenue man told police he was shot in the mouth by a BB gun Sunday after he heard pellets striking the his apartment window.

Officers were called about 7:45 p.m. to the 3000 block of Glenwood, where the victim told police he heard something hit his window. When he went on his balcony to investigate, he was hit in the mouth by a pellet from a BB gun.

The man had a chipped tooth and was bleeding from the mouth.

Man beaten, gun stolen

YOUNGSTOWN

A 20-year-old man told police Sunday he was beaten after getting out of his car and his 9 mm handgun was taken.

Officers were called about 9:10 p.m. to the 700 block of Cambridge Avenue on the South Side, where the man told police he was getting out of his car when another car with three men inside pulled up next to his.

The victim told police he tried to hide his gun under the front seat, but the men pulled him out of his car, beat him, then went through his car and took his gun before driving away.

Reports said the man had a split lip. The gun was entered into a database for stolen guns, reports said.

Cruelty to animals

YOUNGSTOWN

A West Side man was cited for cruelty to animals Friday afternoon after officers found a dog in his locked car on Belmont Avenue.

Reports said police were called about 3:05 p.m. to the veterans clinic at 2031 Belmont Ave. by a security guard who told police a dog was inside a car that had the windows rolled up almost completely.

Officers went inside and found the owner, Gregory Mansour, 66, of North Bon Air Avenue. He opened the doors and allowed police and Animal Charity workers to check the dog.

The dog was given water, and a temperature reading of the inside of the car showed 104 degrees, reports said.

Mansour was cited and allowed to keep the dog.