UPDATE: Antone's woes: Schools move proms; bride left 'devastated'

BOARDMAN — Alycia Trekur of Liberty had to move her wedding reception venue and change her wedding date in fear that Antone's Banquet Centre will not be open come fall.

Now, Trekur is concerned she will not be able to get back the deposit of $2,080 she put down for Antone's. She's working to cut costs to make up for the lost funds.

"At this point, we are devastated," she said. "We can't let it ruin our wedding."

Questions continue to swirl around the Boardman banquet center which has denied for a month that it was going out of business.

Antone's owner Ross Scianna again assured The Vindicator earlier this week that his venue was not closing. However, the phone to the venue is disconnected and he is not responding to repeated cellphone calls and texts today.

Meanwhile, Poland schools confirmed today that plans to have the high school prom at Antone's Banquet Center on Market Street were scrapped due to issues with the event center.

After the school district had difficulty confirming its event plans for it's May 5 prom with the banquet center, the decision was made to move the event to The Georgetown.

The district did not lose any money, Superintendent David Janofa said.

Concern that the banquet center would close started about one month ago. A former employee told media outlets that she was instructed by Antone's owner Ross Scianna to inform customers with booked events that Antone's was closing.

That same employee reportedly confirmed on Friday, Feb. 17 to Poland's prom advisor that the event center would be closing within days, prompting the schools to cancel their plans and seek a new venue. Poland has had its prom at Antone's for many years.

Meanwhile, The Vindicator has also learned Campbell’s junior class advisers called Antone’s on Tuesday to ensure the availability of the hall for the students’ prom and found that the phone line had been disconnected.

Campbell has not made a request for a return on its deposit at this time, Superintendent Matthew Bowen said.

The advisers plan to stop at Antone’s today to guarantee that the hall will be available.

“We need to be proactive, our advisors are making every effort to contact the hall to guarantee our students can enjoy a well-deserved prom which they worked so very hard to fundraiser for,” Bowen said.