METRO DIGEST: Senate budget plan includes land transfer for former Youngstown Developmental Center

MCMHRB closer to taking over YDC

YOUNGSTOWN

The Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board has passed an important hurdle in its effort to take over the Youngstown Developmental Center, which is slated for closure Friday.

According to Duane Piccirilli, executive director of the mental health and recovery board, the Ohio Senate’s version of the state budget includes passing YDC’s office building and residential cottages to MCMHRB for $1. But that the budget must still go back to committee and be signed by Gov. John Kasich.

Piccirilli said if his agency gets YDC, 4891 E. State Line Road, near Mineral Ridge, non-profit organizations would occupy the office building, and the cottages would house consumers such as those with autism or who are frail. “There will be no treatment or drug detox. We are very sensitive to the neighborhood,” he said.

Arrest made in holiday shooting

YOUNGSTOWN

Members of the U.S. Marshals Northeast Ohio Fugitive Task Force arrested a suspect in a Memorial Day shooting in which a 32-year-old man was wounded on Oregon Avenue.

Tommy Grant, 33, of Youngstown, was arrested on Oregon on the West Side on a warrant issued Tuesday by city police for felonious assault.

Reports said the shooting came after a melee at an apartment complex on Oregon, and the victim was driven to the hospital by a private car. Police received several conflicting statements from witnesses at the time of the shooting, reports said.

Picked up on warrant

YOUNGSTOWN

A city man with 19 open suspensions on his license and wanted on a warrant was taken into custody Tuesday after he pulled into a driveway in front of police with loud music playing from his car.

Reports said police cited Elijah Robinson, 29, for possession of marijuana, loud music from a motor vehicle and driving under suspension. He was picked up on a warrant from Liberty for driving under suspension.

Vice squad officers on patrol about 6:55 p.m. on East Florida Avenue on the South Side heard loud music coming from a car four houses away from where they were at, reports said. Reports said the car was driven by Robinson, who pulled into a nearby drive. When he got out of the car, a bag of suspected marijuana fell out of his pockets, reports said.

Baseball bat attack

WARREN

A city man, 60, was knocked unconscious by two males who attacked him and hit him in the back of the head with a baseball bat as he walked near a convenience store in the 1700 block of West Market Street.

Police believe the incident occurred about 1 a.m. Wednesday.

After being hit with the bat, one of the males continued to punch the victim in the face, he told police. The suspects were about 20 years old and dressed in dark clothing. The men tried to rob him, but all he had were two beers, and the suspects didn’t take them.

The victim said an unidentified person saw him lying down there and drove him to the hospital.

Cut during assault

WARREN

A man, 31, who listed addresses in Warren and Canton, suffered a severe cut in the driveway of a home on Florine Avenue Southwest at 7:13 a.m. Tuesday. A Warren police report said the cut came from an assault, but it did not provide any other details.

Ham radio event

CANFIELD

In cooperation with Mill Creek MetroParks, radio operators from the Mahoning Valley Amateur Radio Association will host a public event from noon Saturday until 2 p.m. Sunday. The free event aims to show the public how amateur radio responds to public communications during emergencies, according to a news release.

Ham operators will set up at the MetroParks Farm, located at 7574 Columbiana-Canfield Road, and operate for a 24-hour period, powered by stand-alone generators, batteries and solar power. This emergency preparedness exercise is an annual event organized by the American Radio Relay League.

OH WOW! gets grant

YOUNGSTOWN

The PNC Foundation’s Grow Up Great Initiative awarded a $5,000 grant to OH WOW! The Roger & Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science & Technology on Federal Street downtown.

The grant will help the center expand access to STEM – science, technology, engineering and math – experiences to preschoolers enrolled in selected units of United Way’s Success By 6 program.

To learn more about the PNC Grow Up Great initiative, go to www.pncgrowupgreat.com.