Nuisance property

Nuisance property

AUSTINTOWN

Township trustees have declared an addiction recovery center a nuisance property.

The township zoning office requested the trustees declare Braking Point Recovery Center, 45 N. Canfield-Niles Road, a nuisance for garbage overflow on the treatment center’s property.

Trustees took action Monday.

Braking Point laid off most of its employees in late October. Owner Ryan Sheridan’s home and the center were raided by agents from Ohio Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Unit, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the IRS and U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

The nuisance declaration allows the township to remedy the garbage situation at the owner’s expense.

Awards from AAA

CLEVELAND

Four area police departments received awards from AAA East Central for making travel safe in their jurisdictions.

Awards were handed out to the Canfield, Bazetta, Newton Falls and New Middletown police departments.

AAA East Central conducts a variety of free highway safety programs throughout Ohio focusing on all age groups. The club also partners with law enforcement and safety agencies on initiatives to improve the safety of the community and local highways.

Sentenced to prison

WARREN

Craig S. Gillette, 29, of the Cleveland area, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison Monday after his conviction on two counts of rape and three counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor in a trial last month in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.

Gillette was convicted of having sex twice with a 12-year-old girl in late 2012 and engaging in sexual conduct with the girl three times when she was 13.

The trial was in the courtroom of Judge Peter Kontos.

Diane Barber, assistant county prosecutor, said Gillette previously had been convicted of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. He also was convicted four times of violating sex-offender requirements imposed because of his earlier sex offense.

All the earlier offenses occurred in Cuyahoga, Summit and Portage counties, Barber said.

Free presentation

YOUNGSTOWN

Rivka Neriya-Ben Shahar, a senior lecturer at Sapir Academic College in Sderot, Israel, will give a free presentation at 1 p.m. today in the Jones Room of Kilcawley Center on the campus of Youngstown State University.

Neriya-Ben Shahar, who teaches courses in research methods, communication, religion and gender, has presented her research at more than 40 academic conferences and seminars in the United States and Israel and has published 16 papers dealing with various perspectives on gender, religion and media.

The lecture is titled “Old Order Amish and Jewish Ultra-Orthodox Women’s Responses to the Internet.” Neriya-Ben Shahar is conducting a comparative ethnography of Old Order Amish and Hasidic Jewish communities with a focus on women’s experiences.

2 men plead not guilty

WARREN

Two men were arraigned Monday, accused of trying to break into the Dawlah Market, 1104 Palmyra Road SW, at 2:40 a.m. Sunday.

Spencer Morrell, 19, of Lisbon Road in Salem, and Angelo V. Ficke, 18, of Parkman Road Southwest and Edenburg Drive in Youngstown, are both charged with attempt to commit a felony offense and carrying a concealed weapon.

Not-guilty pleas were entered for them in Warren Municipal Court, and Ficke was released from the jail after posting $15,000 bond. He also pleaded not guilty to drug abuse. Police said they found Xanax pills in his pocket. Morrell remains in jail in lieu of $15,000 bond.

The store owner reported hearing a gunshot then looked out and saw two males. He saw them pry a screen off of a window, he said.

When officers arrived, Morrell and Ficke were still there. Police recovered a handgun that police say Ficke was trying to hide. They also recovered a handgun they believe Morrell placed on a window ledge.

Injured during robbery

WARREN

A man and woman, both about 50 and sleeping at the man’s house on Maxwell Avenue Northwest, were awakened at 4 a.m. Friday by two males wearing masks holding flashlights and guns who had broken in and demanded money.

The burglars ordered the couple to their knees and then to lie on their stomachs. The male refused to get on his stomach, and one of the suspects kicked him in the face, causing an injury below his lip, police said.

The suspects then ordered the man to open his safe, getting $1,500 in cash, plus jewelry. They also took the keys to the victim’s black 2012 Dodge Challenger.

The male victim suffered an apparent minor injury, police said.

Announcing candidacy

WARREN

Atty. Sam Bluedorm will announce his candidacy for Trumbull County Family Court Judge from 5 to 7 p.m. today at Sorrento’s Banquet Hall on Parkman Road Northwest.

Bluedorn has been in private practice 25 years as a partner in the Bluedorn & Ohlin Law Firm.

Bluedorn will seek the judge position currently held by Pamela Rintala. He is a former Warren assistant prosecutor.

Funds for new facility

COLUMBUS

State Sen. Sean J. O’Brien of Bazetta, D-32nd, announced Monday that the state Controlling Board has approved the release of $450,000 for a new shower/restroom facility at Mosquito Lake State Park’s campground.

The board also approved the release of $490,000 at Pymatuning State Park for renovation of the north building and $350,000 to Geneva State Park.

All three state parks will use some of the money for full-service upgrades to campsites.